Wednesday, January 15, 2014

6:120 Tallgrass by Sandra Dallas

Set just after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in a small town in CO where a Japanese Internment camp, Tallgrass, has just been erected, the story focuses on the town's racial issues in light of a hideous murder.  The story is narrated by Rennie, a 13yr old girl, whose family is unusual in their willingness to accept the Japanese and try to do what they feel is right even when late one night a few months after the camp is opened, one of Rennie's friends is found dead in a hay pile outside her house after being brutalized by her killer.  The town is up in arms and the fear of the Japanese is heightened and turned to hate as almost everyone blames them for the girl's murder.

Simply but well told but there are definitely shades of To Kill a Mockingbird running throughout the story. The killer is eventually revealed and was not anyone I had expected so that was a pleasant surprise although it was odd to have all the stories ends completely wrapped up in a neat bow (maybe I've been reading too many series).  My biggest complaint is that I was reading the kindle version and the number of typos was ridiculous.

Page count: 340p/1,619p ytd/182,657p lifetime

No comments:

Post a Comment