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Wednesday, August 24, 2016

Book Review - EMANCIPATED HEART by Jan Cline


This author chose a difficult topic to write about--Japanese interment during World War II--not one of the US's proudest achievements. When President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, the military moved thousands of Japanese--the majority of whom were US Citizens--into primitive, unsanitary, and prison-like conditions behind high barbed-wire fence. They were given 48 hours to pack a small suitcase and move. This is the fictional story of one such family, the Katos--Papa-san, Mama-san, Hana (the older daughter), Martin (the only son), and Chiko (younger daughter). As you read this, I know you're your to be thoroughly engrossed and pulled into the scenes, smells, and sounds of the camp.

The story begins with Papa-san's removal to an even worse prison, one reserved for dissidents who didn't meekly comply with the situation. The heartbreak they tried to hide to give their father and husband a hopeful sendoff on the train is enough to make a grown man cry. Hana tries to shoulder the responsibility for holding the two younger teens in line while comforting her mother and looking for ways to earn enough money to sustain them. Her mother's faith seems so inadequate and impossible to Hana.

Before the interment, Hana had earned her nursing degree, so she finds a job at the local hospital, working for one Caucasian doctor who hired her and treats her well, one who hates anything Japanese, and the head nurse who seems to hate everyone.

Now two men compete for Hana's favor--Neil Bennett, the Caucasian who hired her-- and John Yamada, a long-time family friend. Hana is undecided and reluctant to enter into anything, and her faith is nearly nonexistent in the face of so many hardships.

How will God triumph in this situation? How can Hana keep her family together until the Papa-san comes back? I strongly encourage you to find out by going to Amazon or Barnes and Noble and buying your own copy. I believe you will be lifted as well as educated!

I received a free preliminary copy of this book in return for an honest review.

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