Reviewed by Lisa Gricius, Clerk & Substitute Librarian

This is a powerful little book. Similar to When the Emperor Was Divine, Julie Otsuka knows how to pack a punch into a short novel. Her lyrical prose and ability to captivate her readers in one sentence amazes me. The Buddha in the Attic tells the story of a group of young women brought over by boat from Japan to San Francisco under false pretenses. Their hopes for the "American Dream" are soon shattered and survival becomes their way of life--along with the "American Betrayal". This is an important reminder of how our country betrayed their own during a time of paranoia and fear. Hopefully, we can learn from past mistakes and Ms. Otsuka does an amazing job of reminding us!

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Reviewed by Kate Vreeland, Adult Librarian

Although this is fiction, the author has based her novel on true stories from female soldiers who have served in Iraq and on interviews with Iraqi women. A disturbing story, but well-written in the voices of Kate, a young female soldier, and Naema, a female Iraqi medical student. Alternating stories from these women, told through their thoughts and experiences, depict very realistically the horrors they have to withstand. Kate is a guard in a prison camp, where she is harassed by the prisoners, as well as by her own fellow soldiers. Naema has had to flee her home in Baghdad, to hopefully find refuge at her grandmother's, only to find they're not safe there either - her father and brother are arrested and taken to the prison camp.
    In between the war narratives, Kate tells of her struggle upon returning home; she is not only injured, but she also has to face her PTSD and cope with a new everyday life. Will she ever be whole again? Then we ask the real question: How many of our soldiers (sailors, Marines, airmen) return from war in her condition?

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