Holly's Response to Second Half of Weedflower

Ch. 16-33

This was a heroic story that truly should be read by anyone of any age. Sumiko is a beautiful character who finds herself trapped in a world that is against her due to nothing that is in her power to help. The second half of the book really made me look up to her through her constant struggles with her family, friends, and life situation. I was impacted by her when she received the mirror during her second Christmas in the concentration camp and she smiled back at the reflection of herself. To me she wasn’t conceited like they said, she was just looking at the person she had become and was feeling satisfied. She goes from a friendless young girl who feels alone to a more mature girl who knows what she wants out of life and is willing to go after her dream. I loved Frank, the Indian boy who ended up helping to change Sumiko’s life. I felt like their bond was so strong that it could help to change everyone else’s prejudices. He saw Sumiko for who she was, and loved her both inside and out. it was really touching when Sumiko stood up for Frank against the other Japanese boys who were trying to beat him up. I also liked how Sumiko felt that she owed the boy that she hit an apology and fulfilled it by the end of the story.
I can see myself using this story in my classroom to teach my students about racial injustices that went on in the past. It would be a great book to help teach them about mistakes that people make against others and how we should learn from them. It could help teach them about empathy, which I believe is a very important quality for a person to posses. The story helped to teach me a lot about putting myself in someone else's shoes and seeing how helpless and isolated the Japanese American's must have felt during WWII. Sumiko's story is empowering and I do not know if I could ever have dealt with this treatment like she did. I really liked her dream of owning a flower shop and am glad that in the end she decided that she still might stick to her dream. I think through tough times it is important to remember who you are and what makes you happy, because that is what will help to get you through. That is another part of this story that I would hope my students to get and also a really good lesson. I really wish the story would not have ended so soon, maybe there will be a follow up book on her life and what her fait was?