Book Reviews

We publish extensive book reviews in our New Year’s Edition and Summer Book Review.

  • Fast and tasty eats

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    Fast and tasty eats
    Fast and tasty eats

    RecipeTin Eats Dinner By Nagi Maehashi (Woodstock, VT: Countryman Press, 2023, 376 pp., $35, hard cover) Nagi Maehashi is the creator of RecipeTin Eats, a Website that took off internationally […] READ MORE

  • An in-depth examination of the WRA’s legal system

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    An in-depth examination of the WRA’s legal system
    An in-depth examination of the WRA’s legal system

    LAWYER, JAILER, ALLY, FOE: Complicity and Conscience in America’s World War II Concentration Camps By Eric L. Muller (Chapel Hill, N.C.: University of North Carolina Press, 2023, 283 pp., $30, […] READ MORE

  • Murder and emotions unravel in postwar Little Tokyo mystery

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    Murder and emotions unravel in postwar Little Tokyo mystery
    Murder and emotions unravel in postwar Little Tokyo mystery

    EVERGREEN By Naomi Hirahara (New York: Soho Press, 2023, 312 pp., $27.95, hardcover) Continuing to fill in the gaps of the postwar resettlement, Naomi Hirahara provides an intriguing and provocative […] READ MORE

  • Warren Furutani’s memoir sparks interest, but falls short

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    Warren Furutani’s memoir sparks interest, but falls short
    Warren Furutani’s memoir sparks interest, but falls short

    ac•tiv•ist, noun: a person who works to bring about political or social change By Warren Furutani (Warren Furutani: 2022, 272 pp., $21, paperback) For some 50 years, Warren Furutani has […] READ MORE

  • EO9066’s ‘coerced prison work(ers)’

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    EO9066’s ‘coerced prison work(ers)’
    EO9066’s ‘coerced prison work(ers)’

    JAPANESE AMERICAN INCARCERATION: The Camps and Coerced Labor During World War II By Stephanie Hinnershitz (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2021, 309 pp., $39.95, hardcover) Although certainly not an American […] READ MORE

  • An inquiry into the Kibei-Nisei ‘diasporic experiences’

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    An inquiry into the Kibei-Nisei ‘diasporic experiences’
    An inquiry into the Kibei-Nisei ‘diasporic experiences’

    CITIZENS, IMMIGRANTS, AND THE STATELESS: A Japanese American Diaspora in the Pacific By Michael R. Jin (Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press, 2022, 223 pp., $30, paperback) I feel a close […] READ MORE

  • Sweet monster story has an S.F. J-Town tie-in

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    Sweet monster story has an S.F. J-Town tie-in
    Sweet monster story has an S.F. J-Town tie-in

    Silly Green Mask By Judith Kajiwara, Illustrated by Felicia Hoshino (Oakland, Calif.: Lowkey Publishing, 2022, 38 pp., $24.99, hard cover) “Silly Green Mask” is a sweet story with a surprising […] READ MORE

  • Making friends, one origami at a time

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    Making friends, one origami at a time
    Making friends, one origami at a time

    Yuna’s Cardboard Castles By Marie Tang, illustrated by Jieting Chen (Minneapolis: Beaming Books, 2023, 40 pp., $18.99, hard cover) This is a cute, simple story about how children can face […] READ MORE

  • Serving her country with tenacity, gratitude and compassion

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    Serving her country with tenacity, gratitude and compassion
    Serving her country with tenacity, gratitude and compassion

    A Life of Service: The Story of Sen. Tammy Duckworth By Christina Soontornvat, illustrated by Dow Phumiruk (Somerville, Mass.: Candlewick Press, 2022, 48 pp., $18.99, hard cover) Award-winning Thai American […] READ MORE

  • On girl power

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    On girl power
    On girl power

    You are Revolutionary! By Cindy Wang Brandt, illustrated by Lynnor Bontigao (Minneapolis: Beaming Books, 2021, 32 pp., $17.99, hard cover) This is a cute book about how diverse children grow […] READ MORE