Helpful Score: 1
Lawd, what a yawn fest! Got through about a third of the book then picked up again at the last few chapters. Nope, didn't miss anything. Maybe it's because I'm not particularly drawn to this period, but I've raved over some of her earlier books and thought I'd give this one a try too. Disappointing. I didn't find it an inspiring testament of the human spirit, only a whole lot of dull. I suggest you try instead The Lighthouse Keeper's Daughter, A Memory of Violets, or The Girl Who Came Home.
Helpful Score: 1
This is a beautifully developed and touching story of the children and teachers of the China Inland Missionary School in Chefoo, China during the Japanese occupation of WWII. The students and teachers have to move multiple times to new locations and endure horrible living conditions yet learn to rely on each other and find their courage and endurance. As the war drags on, they grow up into young teens and the reader realizes how much of the children's development is being missed by the parents. Written in alternating chapters of a child and a teacher, this book offers a look at both perspectives of the school during the internment. The book only touched lightly on the Japanese and the Chinese which could have provided a deeper and more fully rounded experience for the reader. I enjoyed this unusual war story and was quite moved at the ending of it.
