About this item
A mother-daughter story about the strong pull of tradition, and the lure and cost of breaking free of it. When Shoko decided to marry an American GI and leave Japan, she had her parents' blessing, her brother's scorn, and a gift from her husband-a book on how to be a proper American housewife. As she crossed the ocean to America, Shoko also brought with her a secret she would need to keep her entire life... Half a century later, Shoko's plans to finally return to Japan and reconcile with her brother are derailed by illness. In her place, she sends her grown American daughter, Sue, a divorced single mother whose own life isn't what she hoped for. As Sue takes in Japan, with all its beauty and contradictions, she discovers another side to her mother and returns to America unexpectedly changed and irrevocably touched.
About the Author
Margaret Dilloway is the author of middle grade and women's fiction. Ancestry.com says she's 51% Asian, as well as Irish and Welsh, though she's not sure how the extra 1% is possible. Her fictional character analysis says she's half Dumbledore and half Audrey from Twin Peaks. Awards include the Children's Literature Council of Southern California's Award for Best Children's Literature (Summer of a Thousand Pies) ; ALA's Asian/Pacific Islander Honor Award for Children's Literature (Momotaro: Xander and the Island of Monsters) ; the ALA Literary Tastes Award for Women's Fiction (The Care and Handling of Roses with Thorns) ; and the Pulpwood Queens' Bonus Book of the Year Award (The Care and Handling of Roses with Thorns) .Margaret is a long form improv performer and produces an online improv show, the Baby-Sitters Club Interactive Improv and Trivia show, a parody based on the book series, through the Pack Theater in Los Angeles every month. She's also on a house team at Finest City Improv in San Diego.
