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Jun 21, 2014GilmoreGuide rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
In Sarah Bird's new novel Above the East China Sea the island of Okinawa is the centerpiece of a multi-generational drama that plays out during World War II and modern times. Tamiko is a native of the island in the 1940s when it is considered an outpost of Japan. She wants only to be like her older sister, Hatsuko, who attends the Princess Lily high school, meaning she has a chance at a life beyond being a maid or shop clerk but can move into the lower rungs of Japanese society. Luz is her contemporary counterpart, living on the island because her mother is stationed there. As a military brat she feels no ties to anyone or anything—a trait compounded by the fact that her sister Codie was recently killed in Afghanistan. Losing this only tie to love has hardened her to the point of foolish risks and being utterly closed off to people of any kind. Bird takes these two young girls and by blending the past and the present pulls the reader into a story of love, war, heritage, and devotion. The rest of this review can be read at: http://wp.me/p2B7gG-Ln