It took me months to read Obaasan’s Boots by Janis Bridger and Lara Jean Okihiro because I was reading it via an online reader copy at lunch and when I could sneak it in on my phone (which was not as often as I’d like as there was always something else to read or do when there). This long time reading probably affected the biggest issue I had which was, I was not always sure which cousin was who. Charlotte and Lou are marked by name on their chapters, but I forgot the details of their lives.
However, despite that, this was a lovely book. A sad book, but lovely. We are not just having a grandmother and granddaughters connection story, but a story of self-discovery and a piece of history. At first I thought it was American history, but come to find out, it is Canadian. Yes, Canadian Japanese citizens and noncitizens alike were put into internment camps like the states did our own Japanese American people. Sadly, discrimination knows no borders.
Based on Bridger and Okihiro’s family, two cousins spend the day with their grandmother. At first it is not as fun as it could be, but when their grandmother starts telling them stories of her life, and the years during and after World War II, while they are tending the garden, they both start to realize how important it is to know these stories, to retell them and, like the plants of Obaasan’s garden, they need to be careful with them.
This piece of history is one that we do not usually see and is as important now as ever. Mentioned a few times, the characters say, “Could this happen again?” And that answer is, yes.
Perhaps one of my favorite parts is how the culture of the Japanese-Canadian people is shown. They mix old and new ways, how even those born in Japan can consider themselves Canadian, and the ideals of “good citizen” come into play. The ideas of home, family and worth are shown. We see the era and values, and how Obaasan is a “good daughter,” “good sister,” and a “good wife.” Their hopes (hope if they “corporate” things will be okay; hope if they trust someone that trust is returned), and we see how a family came to be through the hardships they faced. And so much more in a small read.
All ages could read/listen it, but younger or sensitive readers might not be the best audience.