Little Ruth is taken to an orphanage immediately after being born to Rachel (the main character in the first book). People with Hanson's Disease (or leprosy) were not allowed to be with their children and babies were immediately removed from Moloka'i to avoid contracting the disease.
Ruth is spirited, to say the least, and is eventually adopted by a Japanese family. Ruth's is a hapa, half Hawaiian and half Japanese. She endures a lot of teasing and bullying growing up due to her halfness. The family moves to California to work on Uncle Jiro's farm. This was right before Pearl Harbor and even then, the racism was terrible. Once Pearl Harbor happened, it got much much worse.
Ruth, now a wife and mother, ends up imprisoned in Manzanar, an interment camp for anyone who looks Japanese, even if they were born in the US. This really happened, people. Our government really did this to Americans because of how they looked and it's sickening. With all the hysteria happening today, I sincerely hope we never become this horrible again.
Ruth is in the prison (camp is to nice and not realistic) with her parents and immediate family. The atrocities that happened, with the the fatality of one family member, are horrible. Once the government gets it's brain back, the families are allowed to leave and try to regain their livlihoods. Back home, however, anything Japanese, including homes and businesses, were torched by white idiots.
Ruth and family start gaining back their lives, when a letter arrives from Hawaii. Rachel, now cured of Hanson's Disease (and on "parole" from Moloka'i) thanks to Sulfa, wants to hear from Ruth. Ruth was never told about why she was given up for adoption and, with her mother's blessing, meets her birth mother.
This was another fantastic book that was real and raw and lovingly written. Read both in order, they are well worth your time.
