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Book Review of So Far from the Bamboo Grove

So Far from the Bamboo Grove
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I found this little gem At a local swap meet.The plot is based on early experiences of a Japanese girl living in Korea when WWII came along and ripped her happy existence apart. Yoko 12 and her sister, Ko, 16 and their mother start on a journey to save their lives. Yoko's father was involved with the Japanese govm't and as such was a target of any of Japan's enemies. Her elder brother Hideyo, was off working in a munitions factory and was left to figure out where they were and to try to find them.
While full of fear, danger,and uncertainty the story is lovely in its show of family loyalty as well as its showing how even chance kindnesses can later become life saving events. There is much to be learned about both Korean and Japanese culture. This would be a suitable book for an older teenager ( otherwise the war and its participants would make no sense) and I enjoyed it as an adult. I wanted it to go on, but alas, it was over.