THE ENDING: How did you respond to the ending of the story? Why/why not did you find the ending satisfying? Explain what conflicts got resolved, and what issues remain unresolved for the Kawashima family. Why do you think Yoko chose to end the book there?

The first thing I said was " That was it?" I kind of like the ending because she got to see her brother. But we still never found out how she met her father and how he escaped from the prison. Also how do they finally get out of poverty? I guess we will never know. Still I think Yoko left it at a cliff hanger so that we would read her next book.

The complaints that I have are that were how did Mr. Nadio turn out? Where was her father being held prisoner at? Does Ko get married? You know stuff like that. Still I wish that they told us more. Still I think that the book was very good and I really want read the second book.


2. Despite all their hardships, the Kawashima family takes time out throughout the course of the novel to observe certain Japanese customs in the traditional manner. Why do you think they do this? What purpose does it serve in their lives? If you were in their family's position, which customs or rituals do you think you and your family would still observe?

The customs that they still keep is how they celebrate New Year's. They ate rice cakes and had green tea. I really liked how Yoko bought Ko green tea and Ko bought Yoko rice cakes. Even though they were poor they still wanted to celebrate New Year's. If I were in their position I would still make sweet potato pie and celebrate Kwanzaa.

3. Which character in the novel do you respect and admire the most? Give specific reasons for your choice.

The character I admire the most is Ko. When their mother died she had to tale over and so she had a lot of stress on her. She also has to feed Yoko and herself, pay the school , keep her and Yoko warm and a ton of other things. Also the fact that she never got to say goodbye to her mother before she died and she took it really hard, but she didn't let her emotions get the best of her so she could take care of Yoko.

4. What did you learn about history from this novel? In 1-2 paragraphs, share some of the historical content you found new and/or interesting as we read the novel. What do you still want to learn, or what questions do you still have?

What I've learned from this book is how to be grateful of what you have. All of the pain and suffering that Yoko and her family went through. Also I learned how to dry out food and other stuff. I found out that the Japanese had taken over Korea for over 50 years and how they ruled them.

5. What lesson(s) about human nature can you learn from this novel? In other words, discuss the theme(s).

Be happy of what you have. You could be running for your life at this moment. So don't be whining that you didn't get your Wii or Mp3 player because that was what you wanted for Christmas. So would rather have bombs being thrown on you or be a little disappointed that you didn't get what you want. So embrace today and be happy!