What readers think of Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, plus links to write your own review.

We had to read this book for our school. It was horrible, the most boring book I have ever read. The plot is literally this:
1. keiko gets sent to a concentration camp
2. henry finds her
3. repeat about four times
the only difference between the different times is that one time henry kisses her
this book was so boring that we literally buried it to be dug up in 5 years with a note telling the kids that if a book this bad is ever discovered, stop reading it!

I enjoyed the characters and the story. It was interesting to read about how the different families were treated and details of the camp. I would recommend it.

Loved this book - read it twice!

I had to read this book for class and I got so tired. This story moves terribly slow. I could barely finish it because I would lose interest. The book was dull and lifeless. I would NEVER EVER recommend this story to ANYONE, even if i despised that person I would not want to wish that kind of torture onto anyone. This was the worst book I have ever had the misfortune to read. I hated every word. This story should be burned!!!!!!!!

Most young people today would not understand the prejudice that happened as a result of W.W. II after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. But despite the evils of war, there are always heroes, there are always people falling in love and helping others despite the abyss of racism and separate cultures, religions, politics. There are always friendships and bonding that exist despite skin color or social barriers. Here two children fall in love and care for each other because of who they are. They are genuine in their feelings for each other. Here is a beautifully crafted love story eminating with humaness, determination, concern and eventually mutual understanding. Here also a friendship develops between a black man and a Chinese boy that continues throughout the years. Like Huckleberry Finn and Jim, there is no color barrier, only true friendship. Here also we see 40 years later intermarriage between a white woman and a Chinese man. What would have been prohibited at one time becomes acceptable years later. This is an heroic book with heroic people, and with a most touching yet believable ending. Read the book! It's OUTSTANDING!!!!!!!

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford creates a clash in my mind. What is an easy story to read, due to the author's flowing narrative style, contrasts with its underlying serious subject of a world in conflict. On the one hand, it could be a simple love story, on the other, it's a gut-wrenching view of America in the early 40's. At first I thought, "oh no, not another World War II story!". I'm glad to say that Ford's take on this is fresh, if not entirely new.

"I Am Chinese" proclaims the button Henry's father insists he wear to his predominantly white school which he attends on scholarship, meaning he works in the kitchen for the honor of his education. Here he meets Keiko, an American girl of Japanese heritage, also attending on scholarship. A strong friendship is formed between the two. Simple. If only! Keiko and her family are among the more than 120,000 ethnic Japanese rounded up and interred in war camps. Just as well, Henry's father thinks as he does not approve of Henry's relationship with Keiko. After all, the Japanese are his enemy and America's as well.

Ford's characters paint a thoughtful picture of a father and son at odds, one where cultures, obedience and loyalty collide. Truth, friendship, love, what it means to be American; these themes are drawn with Seattle's jazz scene and the hotel of the title as its backdrop. Bitter...Sweet. You decide.

I wanted to like this book, since the premise of it sounded interesting to me. Unfortunately, it was mostly fluff, with lots of unbelievable plot points, ridiculous coincidences, and characters who didn't feel real. Disappointing.

Having been in the internment camp myself, Tule Lake and Heart Mountain, it was intriguing to read about how someone from the outside viewed the entire episode of injustice from the perspective of a non-Japanese. The love story and cultural differences between Henry and Keiko were skillfully written in alternating times, which made me flash back and forth anticipating the outcome of these two lives. I was especially interested in how the music element was intertwined as a vital part of the story. I, as a child 2-5 years old, remember my first sound of music being played by a trumpeter in Heart Mountain, who I lovingly called my Poo-pa-poo Man. Music performance and education became my lifelong love and profession as a result of this memory. Enjoyed the book immensely. Keep writing and will look forward to the movie, too.