Views and Mechanics Publisher's Note Editor's Note Review of Terrorist Review of God's Gym Review of Cherry Blossoms in Twilight Creative Nonfiction Ain't Is A Word By Marcie Hollowell & Kristen Munch Love Under the Big Top By Andy Martello Revival By Brenda G. Wooley Poetry Letting Go Wish By Antoinette Brim Pam Farwick By G. David Schwartz Confession While Dining By Mary Lou Taylor Homeschooling Adventures By Beth Happel Fiction Ike Experiences Vanity By Sidney Kidd What Keeps Me Alive By Paul Brittain Minor Damage By Jane Hammons How To Cook for Your In-Laws By Ricky Ginsburg About the Contributors © 2006, River Walk Journal and respective authors and artists. All rights reserved. Do not use or reproduce without permission. River Walk Journal, Inc. Board of Directors Chairman - Elizabeth Ross Vice Chairman - Joseph Koch Secretary/Treasurer - Geri Stock-Ross Editorial Director - Patti Kurtz, DA Literacy Director - Bill Mausteller Policy Director - PA State Rep. Jess Stairs Advisory Board Chairman - Patti Kurtz, DA Asst. Chairman - Dan Lachenman, PhD Samuel Hazo Christopher Leland Edwin Yoder Joseph Bathanti Journal Staff Publisher - Elizabeth Ross Editor-In-Chief - Joseph Koch Sen. Fiction Editor - Patti Kurtz Sen. Poetry Editor - Neeldhara Misra Sen. Creative Nonfiction Editor - Brenda Coxe Contributing Editor - Robert Dittman Publicity Director (PA) - Geri Stock-Ross For information about submissions, visit http://www.riverwalkjournal.org/subs.html. Questions about promotions, subscribers' services, and advertising should be sent to publisher@riverwalkjournal.org. River Walk Journal, Inc. is a non-profit corporation run entirely by volunteers. For information about volunteer opportunities and internships, visit VolunteerMatch. |
Review of Cherry Blossoms in Twilight Memoirs of a Japanese Girl By Yaeko Sugama Weidon & Linda Austin Moonbridge Publications ISBN: 0-9772323-0-1 Irrepressibly sincere, to the point and insightful describe this essay-formatted paperback that details the trials and misadventures of a young Japanese girl trying to adapt to the pitfalls of growing up. Preface admission holds that co-writer Linda Austin had to wade through a jungle of broken English and emotional marshiness to bring this young girl’s story to life. Succinct certainly applies to this concise 84 page account of cross-cultural adaptation. Looking like an oversized pamphlet and done in larger print, Cherry Blossoms in Twilight tells a story that may cross cultural boundaries several times over. In her brief preface Yaeko thanks her friend Frankie Haynes who saw wide ranging interest in [Yaeko’s] life and encouraged her to write about it. In a touching passage Yaeko writes, “She [Haynes] read my broken English writing and typed the stories as best she could.” Yaeko’s daughter Linda is also credited with contributing personal details of her and her mother’s life to further bring out the color of Yaeko’s stories. Yaeko’s book is broken up into five basic but telling chapters: Childhood, School, WWII, After the War and A New Life. The simplistic chapter heads belie the experiences Yaeko brings to life, giving them universal meanings. More sophisticated readers may find this particularly personal account too simplistic. But even the most aloof readers have lived through this tale even if on their own soil and even if it only spans the transition between the common stages of a familiar culture’s evolution. We have all lived this book. It is a question of how much of the universal chord we see in print through her experiences. Middle School or High School history educators will find this highly personalized international account of growing up useful. Its short length will work in its favor among active audiences. |