The Bracelet by Yoshiko Uchida is a sentimental tale that tells the story of a Japanese-American girl by the name of Emi. In this story it is the year 1942 and all of the Japanese-Americans are being sent to internment camps because the U.S. and Japan are at war. Emi and her family are among those who are being sent away and Emi has lost everything but her family to the government.
Emi is very sad to leave her best friend Laurie, but Laurie gives her a gold bracelet with a heart shaped charm on it so that Emi will remember her. Emi is touched by Laurie’s gift and she tells her friend that she will never take it off.
When Emi’s family gets to their camp, which is an old racetrack, Emi realizes that her bracelet is gone. With the help of her mother and sister she looks for it everywhere, but it is not found. Emi is crushed when she realizes that it is gone forever, but then she begins to understand that she does not need the bracelet in order to remember Laurie by. She knows that she will be able to remember Laurie just fine with the memories she holds dear to her in her heart.
This is a touching story about loss and love. I could not help but feel incredibly sorry for what Emi and her family had to go through in the 40’s. Although I know it was a fact of life for the Japanese living in America, it was unjust and I hate to hear about it, even though I know Emi is a fictitious character. The bracelet that Laurie gave Emi symbolized hope and friendship to Emi, and even though she realized that she did not need it to remember her friend by, I can see why it would mean a lot to her to have that symbol around during the dark days of camp.
Yoshiko Uchida was born in 1921 and passed away in 1992. She was born in the United States after her parents immigrated here from Japan. All throughout her childhood, she never once realized how different she was from her friends until the bombing at Pearl Harbor happened. Sometime after this her family was sent to live in an internment camp, however Yoshiko was soon given the chance to leave and she went to graduate school and proceeded to begin her career as an author. She has written many books over the course of her life, they include "Journey Home", "Journey to Topaz", "A Jar of Dreams", "The Wise Old Woman", "The Terrible Leak", "The Birthday Visitor" and many more.
Images courtesy of http://images.bestwebbuys.com/muze/bookmed/09/9780698113909.jpg
Emi is very sad to leave her best friend Laurie, but Laurie gives her a gold bracelet with a heart shaped charm on it so that Emi will remember her. Emi is touched by Laurie’s gift and she tells her friend that she will never take it off.
When Emi’s family gets to their camp, which is an old racetrack, Emi realizes that her bracelet is gone. With the help of her mother and sister she looks for it everywhere, but it is not found. Emi is crushed when she realizes that it is gone forever, but then she begins to understand that she does not need the bracelet in order to remember Laurie by. She knows that she will be able to remember Laurie just fine with the memories she holds dear to her in her heart.
This is a touching story about loss and love. I could not help but feel incredibly sorry for what Emi and her family had to go through in the 40’s. Although I know it was a fact of life for the Japanese living in America, it was unjust and I hate to hear about it, even though I know Emi is a fictitious character. The bracelet that Laurie gave Emi symbolized hope and friendship to Emi, and even though she realized that she did not need it to remember her friend by, I can see why it would mean a lot to her to have that symbol around during the dark days of camp.
Yoshiko Uchida was born in 1921 and passed away in 1992. She was born in the United States after her parents immigrated here from Japan. All throughout her childhood, she never once realized how different she was from her friends until the bombing at Pearl Harbor happened. Sometime after this her family was sent to live in an internment camp, however Yoshiko was soon given the chance to leave and she went to graduate school and proceeded to begin her career as an author. She has written many books over the course of her life, they include "Journey Home", "Journey to Topaz", "A Jar of Dreams", "The Wise Old Woman", "The Terrible Leak", "The Birthday Visitor" and many more.
Images courtesy of http://images.bestwebbuys.com/muze/bookmed/09/9780698113909.jpg
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