Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford

Henry Lee, a twelve year old Chinese American living in Seattle, meets Keiko, a similarly-aged Japanese American girl during WWII, right before the Japanese internment. Both are attending an American school, and are subjected to  ridicule and prejudice because of their race. Keiko, actually, has it much worse, being Japanese right in the aftermath of Pearl Harbor. They meet because they are both scholarshipping in the American school, which means that they serve in the cafeteria and do other odd jobs in order to go to the "better" school. Henry's father hates the Japanese, and when he finds out his son has befriended Keiko, refuses to speak to him. For years this silence continues.
The story goes back and forth between the 40's and the 80's. In the latter years, Henry has just lost his wife, Ethel, and is trying to repair the relationship with his son, Marty, which has been strained during Ethel's last years of life.
The Panama Hotel, which is referenced in the title of the book, served as a place where many Japanese families stored their belongings when they were sent off to the camps. Henry, as an adult, hears about how the new owner of the hotel has found these treasures in the basement and allows people to come in a claim what is theirs. Henry goes, hoping to find Keiko's family's belongings.  And he does.
The book tells the story of Henry and Keiko's friendship, her family's internment and Henry's resolve to wait for her, despite his father's protests.  In the end, he does lose touch with her and marries Ethel.
The ending of the book was much to "pat" for me; all the pieces fall into place too easily, and not realistically, at least for this reader. And Henry's character as a child was far too grown-up to believe. The book was entertaining, but a bit of a "formula" book for me.

More for the Want to Read List

The New York Times published 100 Notable Book List.

Too many to put on my Want to Read List

The Siege by Helen Dunmore

This novel about the Siege in Leningrad during WWII, caught my fancy right away, being a Russian major and lover of all things Russian. I did enjoy the story of Anna, a young woman who takes care of her father and brother during the Siege. Her mother had died earlier in her life. Anna meets a young doctor, Andrei, who moves into the apartment. There is not really a strong story here but more a story of survival. I found it fascinating and of course, disturbing, to read about what people had to do to survive during that awful time. It's estimated that half of the population of the city was lost during the war. I recall vividly, even though it's been about 35 years since I was there, visiting the Piskarevsky Cemetary when I studied in Leningrad in the early 70's. Quite a moving experience.