What do you think about the ending?

Do you wish the story had ended differently for any of the characters? If so, how would that have affected the growth of the others? How do you feel about Dopey's decision after the war? Do you agree with Maddie's choice of placing a keepsake on the floating lantern?

Naturally I was saddened by the loss of Lane, and the effects of his survival and return home are fairly obvious. Lane's parents made the right decision, I think, to stay in California, and I like the characters of TJ and Jo as a couple. I was not comfortable with Maddie's choice to give up Lane's medal. The Distinguished Service Cross is a very important award and is something that her daughter might have prized as she got older.

I agree with dorothyt regarding Maddie's decision on the DSC. Any family member of a DSC recipient would be appalled by her action. Again, this goes back to my original critique of this book....she is trying to cover to much. In this case she not only doesn't fully understand what it means to earn the DSC she also doesn't fully understand the floating lanterns.

I loved this book overall, but the entire story ended for me when Lane died. In some novels there is a sense that the story wouldn't be the same if the sacrifice of a character wasn't made-that some character or another couldn't grow or reach potential without the tragedy. However, in this case I didn't see Lane's death as at all necessary for the story. It didn't need to be tragic for the rest of the book to make sense. His death added nothing to the development of the relationships in the novel. Also, I really hated that she put the medal with the lantern. It struck me as very selfish of her to throw away a tangible reminder of what Lane had done. I agree with ioc that their daughter or grandaughter might have really wanted that someday. UPDATE: I should add that I think I disliked the ending so much because I love the characters so much and felt Lane's death was overly-senseless. Of course, I'm a big baby who doesn't like sad endings anyway :)

Hi ioc,

I'd love to address your concern about my understanding of the Distinguished Service Cross and Toro Nagashi. As a huge admirer of our country's veterans and my father's Japanese culture with which I've been raised, please rest assured I have immense respect for both of the elements you mentioned.

For the characters, the lantern ceremony was more about growth and symbolism than following the tradition precisely. But more importantly, Maddie's choice regarding the DSC -- similar to military medals respectfully left on cemetery headstones -- would not necessarily have been my own. Whether I agree with her or not, she had her personal reasons for her action that, as the author (and a married mother myself), I had to resist second guessing. Ack, now I sound like I have multiple personalities. I'd better stop there, lol.

Anyway, thank you to everyone on this thread for reading and for taking the time to voice your thoughts!

Kristina