Vickie HallReseñas

December 7, 1941 is a day many American remember as the day that Japanese forces attacked US military bases in Hawaii. For hundreds of thousands of Japanese and people of Japanese descent living in the US, this was the beginning of a horrible nightmare. Soon rounded up like cattle, they were forced to leave almost all of their possessions behind and live in "relocation centers," a polite name for what really amounted to a prison. Through the dark times, the Onishi family will have to depend upon each other in ways they never imagined.

This story was hard to read. I had heard about the relocation and detention of Japanese citizens and US citizens of Japanese ancestry, but I didn't know a lot of the details. The fact that this happened at all is horrific. I can't imagine what it would have been like to live like this. The book follows the Onishi family. Father Kenji owns a music store in San Francisco. He is truly living the American dream. His hard work has allowed him to buy a home and have a beautiful family. All that changes with the bombing of Pearl Harbor though. Suddenly the Onishis are the enemy merely based on how they look physically. Initially they go along with things to prove their allegiance to the US, but things quickly get out of hand when they realize this isn't the American experience they signed up for.

I found the writing to be a bit jumpy for my liking, but that doesn't take away from the story one bit. In this instance the story was so intriguing. I wanted to keep reading, but I was almost afraid to see how much worse things could be. If you are unfamiliar with the situation for Japanese (and people of Japanese descent) during those war years this is a must read. I can't imagine being forced from everything I know like that. Ultimately they find strength with each other though. The book manages to end on a rising note, and I wanted more just so I could see if the Onishis got the happy ending that I really felt they deserved. This book will make you think and will make you sad that something like this ever had to happen. It's not necessarily an enjoyable read, but it's a great book.

Book provided for review.

4 STARS

Before hearing about this book I can only remember hearing about what happened once to the Japan American people. Sadly I really did not understand at all what it was about and what happened to so many innocent people.

This book was hard to read in so many ways. It told what happened to the fictional family Kenji and Aiko Onishi and their three children. Based on what happened to many people. It was hard for me to connect with the characters. I knew it would not be a easy book to read. I kept saying well that would not happen now, we know better, but do we? I think about 9/11 and anti Iran, Iraq, Afghan or the cold war anti Russia. It is easy to say us against them.
This tells how all of a sudden the Japanese/American citizens were now the enemies. That is was now okay to spit on them, round them up, destroy their property, take their homes, and make them pay for what the leaders of their former Country actions did.
How it kept going worse to worse before it got better. How some people turned negative, others tried to change by protesting, others by sacrificing. They could not change what was happening now but how they let them be affected they could change.

Kenji and Aiko had a nice house. Two boys and a girl. Mr. Onishi was proud that his children were American. He had his own business. Aiko had a good job in a flower shop. Little by little everything was taken from them by greedy people, by thoughtless ones.

They were first taken to a race track, lived worse conditions than the horses. Later they were sent to Topaz out by delta. The conditions were not great. I can picture just how hot and dry it got in the summer. No air condition, no fans, no thick walls and tall trees.( right now about an hour away from Topaz on Jun.13 it is 83degrees at 4:30) It is hot and that's with fans. Winter would really get cold their.)

Toward the end I was crying hard. The story did end on hope. These stories about the history different people faced is important to learn about so we don't keep making the same errors over and over again. They are
not easy to face and read about. But they did happen and some happened not so far from where I live now. Lets not let it happen again.

4 stars

All That Was Promised was good. I have read simalar stories like some of these type of incidents in my own family histories about conversions in Wales to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. So to me the book was very personal to my life. Don't know what choices I would make if I lived at that time.

It starts in spring of 1847 Cardiff, Glamorgan, Wales with the Reverend Richard Kenyon at church one sunday. His Brother Robert,his wife Abigail and daughter Amelia are going to start going to a different church with a richer class of people who can help them in business.

Reverend Kenyon and his wife Leah will miss seeing their 14 year old niece Amelia so often. So far they have not been able to have children. Amelia will miss them. She is not close to her parents.

Robert does not love his wife. He married her for her money. He wants to be more than he is. He runs the business that his father left him, selling tea. Abigail wants to be seen with the best people,own the best. She is not happy and is always belittling Amelia and Robert.

The Reverend Kenyon was running errands when he saw a crowd around a man standing on a rock preaching, He listened for a bit and than someone through a rock and hit him. The Reverend wanted to know more so he took him home and listened to him while they gave him first aid. They talked for hours. Reverend asked so many questions that he had and wanted him to come back the next day.

Leah could not believe her husband was actually listening and believing him. She complained to her sister Claire. When Claire realized that her brother-in-law was the one asking questions and wanting to know more. Claire trusted him and if he was willing to listen than she and her husband were going to come listen too.

Reverend Trahern was minister in the better off church that Robert and Abigail were now going too. He was preaching about the evil Mormons and wanted them stopped and telling lies about what they believed and were doing.

Ben Lachlan was the missionary to Wales that Reverend Kenyon met. This was his third mission. He and his wife sacrificed so much. He was not with his wife when his two sons were born.

This book has some great characters that I wanted to know what choices they make and why. Their are a lot more characters. I really liked how well they were written.

This story tells of the suffering the converts went through. How they were beaten,robbed and many trials they had because they were following what they believed. Some faced so much hardship. Some were stopped from joining the church because they could not handle the perscution.
Also told some of the joy and blessings they received. I know this book is fiction but some of the trials and blessings were based on real events that happened back in the early years of the church.

I admit that I am a Member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Right now my daughter is serving a mission for the church. I am glad that she is not having rocks thrown at her. It is hard for me to see all the hate that goes in to stop the gospel or even understand it.

I am excited to read the next book in the series to see what happens to the characters next. Who will leave Wales and who decides to stay.
I was given this ebook to read and asked to give honest review of it when I was through.
Published January 8th 2011 by Bonneville 231 pages ISBN:1599554798

4 STARS

Journey of Promise is the sequal to All That Was Promised.
It continues telling the story or Richard and Leah Kenyon and other converts to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. As they try to save up and be prepared to go too Zion. They continue to have setbacks and trials. They all face some pretty
hard trials.

I admit I shared some tears in a couple of places in reading the book. I have read both books in the last few days and I hope I don't mix somethings up between the two. I connected a little bit more with this book. My emotions were all over the place while reading.
Their are some really good characters that I wanted things to workout for them. I admired the way they face their trials and wish I could be like these characters.(The good Characters not the bad examples)

Charlotte Bryant does not want to go to Zion and leave her home in Wales. She also knows that Meredith will not break the promise she made to stay with always. Meredith made that before she married Ben. Ben was also willing to wait to go back home to America and help build up Zion. So Charlotte makes the sacrifice to go. She convinces them that she wants to go but can't without their help.

Reverend Trahern is trying to get people to continue to boycot the Mormon's businesses. Anything to stop them. He preaches hate.
and is willing to use anyone or thing.

Richard gets thrown in jail and acused of attempted murder of three girls. While he is in prison he faces more trials. He tries to be a good example in what ever he does. Many more trials befall his family and friends while they prepare and start the journey. I don't want to say too much more about all the different things that happen and give away to much.

I wish it was another chapter long in the book. I also wonder if their will be another book.
Their faith continues to grow. With listening to the spirit they get many things done. I know that somethings you could say were just the authors ideas but I know of many miracles like these did happen to saints,many of the trials a lot of early converts faced.
With reading some of my family histories that members of my family who came over from Wales like these characters do.

I admit that I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. So I am biased a little to this type of story.
I was given Journey of Promise to read and asked to give honest review of it and All That was Promised. I was not paid. My own opinions.

Published March 12th 2013 by Cedar Fort, Inc. ISBN:1462111165 272 pages

I wish I could find the enthusiasm for this book that many other reviewers have. I loved the setting of 1940s wartime, and I thought that aspect was handled well. The story's concept intrigued me. Unfortunately, it was muddled and mired in pages of nothing in particular happening. Too much of the writing did not advance the story forward. Instead, I often felt stagnant, desperately waiting for something of interest to happen.

My biggest problem here was the characters. First, I didn't particularly like Bonnie. Despite her tragic background, I found her difficult to care about. Rather than coming across as a sympathetic character, her rash behavior and uncaring treatment of others made me want to avoid her.

The secondary story line of Glen took forever to make sense to me. He had absolutely no obvious (or even tenuous) connection to Bonnie at all. Furthermore, his character needed to be better developed before I could make a connection or care about him.

A caution to Kindle owners: this book's formatting is problematic. There are no spaces or paragraph indents. It's one steady stream of run-on text. Also words often lack spacing between. If you want to read this one, you might consider going with the print version.

I enjoyed reading ‘Secrets of the Red Box’. I wasn’t sure if I was going to like it reading the description, but I did. The book is set in the 1940′s, during World War II, when Roosevelt was president. I think all women are fascinated by the 1940′s. Most movies you see of that time period romanticize the 1940′s. The women’s hairstyles were lovely and what was not to love about their clothes.

Bonnie is a young woman that was physically abused by her father growing up, as was her mother. She was made to work in the fields at a very young age picking strawberry’s. She never felt love from her father, and all she ever wanted was to feel loved and that she mattered to someone. As a little girl Bonnie promised herself that she would have money and would never have to work again. She was a runaway at the age of 16, and was very determined to make a better life for herself.

I didn’t like Bonnie much in the first part of the book. She was selfish, manipulative and a liar. Lies rolled off of her tongue very, very easily. She didn’t let anyone get close to her, for the fear of being hurt and she didn’t want anyone to know her past. As in the title of the book, …Red Box, Bonnie carried the red box with her every where she moved to. You don’t really know what is in the box, until the end of the book. She does hint to the contents of the box though. You learn that it has something from her past, something that she doesn’t want anyone to know about, something that she is ashamed of, but doesn’t really admit that do herself.

Throughout the book you see that Bonnie carries no real affection for any of the men she meets. She uses them for what they can give her. She picks military men, men that are lonely and that crave love and attention. When she met Glen all of that changed. Then we see a different side of Bonnie, one that is softer, caring and giving. I started to care about Bonnie in the second half of the book. She genuinely loves Glen, and they are happy together. Then something happens to change that.

Throughout the book I thought the Red Box held evidence of Bonnie killing someone, or a horrible family secret she didn’t want revealed. You don’t find out the contents of the Red Box til almost the very end. I was actually surprised of it’s contents. I would have never guessed what was in there.

If you have never read one of Ms Hall’s books you should pick this one up. It has a little of everything, history, romance, mystery and a little drama. The first few chapters were a little slow, but keep reading and you want be disappointed. Secrets of the Red Box was very well written, and I will be reading more of Ms Hall’s books.

The story begins in the 1940's, our Country is at War..and Bonnie Cooper is on the run for her life.
Throughout the book there are flashback to her childhood...it is a wonder she made it to adulthood. You walk with her and see her trying to be the little child she is, only to be beaten back. Literally, both she and her Mother are beaten, by her Father. You wonder how can a man be so cold, and unfeeling?
By reading you find out why Bonnie is so afraid to let people close to her. She is afraid to have any friends, and never lets anyone very near her. She is a compulsive liar...and wow what a tangle she can weave.
You will wonder if she will settle for a man with money...not love, just for security? Will she ever find security, or is that impossible.
You will have to wait to near to the end of the book to find out what could possibly be in the box. Then you wonder why she even ever kept it??
A real compelling read, and one you can't stop once you start. You need to turn that page and find out what is happening now!

I received this book through The Book Blasts and Blog Tours Promotions, hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer, and was not required to give a positive review.