Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jaime Ford

Title: Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

By: Jamie Ford

Published: 2009

Call #:  AF Ford

This WWII historical novel touches on a forgotten piece of American history - Japanese internment camps. In response to the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor, Japanese-Americans became the enemy on American soil.  The novel begins in 1986,  when an adult Henry learns of a basement in the Panama Hotel filled with the belongings left behind when Japanese families were sent to internment camps.  The discovery awakens Henry's memories of Keiko, the young Japanese girl who made attending an all-white prep school just a little bit easier.  Henry instantly connects with Keiko, but struggles because she’s Japanese, something his Chinese family will never accept. Still, Henry can’t deny their friendship and finds his world falling apart when the Japanese are all rounded up and sent off to internment camps.  He does his best to keep their relationship alive, but can this friendship between enemies survive a war?

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet unfolds a timeless tale of the innocence of youth that looks beyond the things that make a person the enemy. It is a story about fathers and sons and the things that can drive them apart or heal old wounds. This novel is about how music can bring people together and war can tear them apart. It touches on the importance of loyalties, honor, family, and what it costs to keep a promise. With so many layers, this novel is sure to speak to anyone who picks it up.

Mary-Megan K.
Popular Materials Assistant