WEEDFLOWER

Culling memories from her own family history, Cynthia Kadohata has written a powerful story about a painful chapter in American history. The excitement 12-year-old Sumiko feels when she's invited to her first birthday party is replaced by hurt and confusion when the door is closed in her face. It's a foretaste of the prejudice that spreads like weeds in a garden after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The family is soon removed from their California flower farm and interred on a desert reservation in Arizona, where the Indians resent the intruders. Kimberly Farr relates this dark chapter of American history with authority, allowing listeners to walk in Sumiko's shoes. N.E.M. © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine [Published: AUG/ SEP 06]