My Brother, My Sister, and I

This true story opens in the last days of WWII, with Yoko being the main character, who is 13. Her family has to flee Northern Korea where they live, and after they arrive back at Kyoto their mother dies, leaving Yoko, Hideo (21), her brother, and Ko, an older sister.

They have no idea where their father is, as he was in the army in Manchuria.They are extremely poor with little food. While they are staying in a warehouse, it is set on fire and Ko is injured.

Hideyo and Yoko go to care for Ko at the hospital, and the first night they are there a robber tries to steal their things but they catch him.

When Ko is finally released from the hospital, the three have to live in a shack Hideyo constructs under a bridge until Ko becomes ill again, and a friend offers to let Yoko live with them while Hideyo sleeps at the hospital to be near Ko.

Their struggle for survival gives a good picture of just how grim life was in Japan just after the end of World War II, where cities were destroyed, food was scarce, and family life was severely disrupted.

There are some themes talked about in the book that might need some explanation. One is the hibakusha, which are the survivors of the atomic bombing that were terribly scarred from the effects of the blast. These people ended up being shunned by other Japanese.

This is a very grim but very moving book about how some people were able to survive in extremely, extremely bad conditions.



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