Picture Bride (book review)

Picture Bride, by Yoshiko Uchida,is the story of twenty-one-year-old Hana Omiya, a Japanese immigrant who has come to America to marry a man she has yet to meet. She is one of many picture brides coming in from Japan in the early twentieth century. At first, Hana finds herself unhappy and in love with another man, but over time, although her husband Taro Takeda may not be handsome, she discovers that he loves her more than anyone else. Together, Taro and Hana raise a child whom they love, but who disappoints them in the end. And together, after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, they are sent to the desert detention camps to wait out the war. Can both of them make it through the challenges of the influenza plague and having their daughter run away, or will this be the end of Taro and Hana's now-happy marriage for good?

I really enjoyed this book, although it was extremely sad and showed the prejudice that Americans had against foreigners in that time. I loved to watch Hana's feelings toward Taro gradually change from quiet acceptance to true love, and I enjoyed watching Hana's daughter grow up, although I was just as disappointed as they were when she ran away with her boyfriend. I thought this book was fantastic! Although it got off to a slow start, it picked up quickly and I was hooked throughout!

I give this book four out of five stars.

This book was for the A-Z Challenge.