Above the East China Sea

February 17, 2014
Set in Okinawa with heroines who live seven decades apart, Bird's ambitious and rewarding novel offers a fascinating glimpse of the Pacific island. The novel begins in 1945 as Tamiko, a pregnant 15-year-old, commits suicide by throwing herself into the East China Sea, out of fear (spawned by Japanese propaganda) that the American soldiers overtaking the island will rape and kill her. Her story unfolds in flashback, as Tamiko speaks to her unborn child while both their spirits await entry into the next world. Alternating chapters set in contemporary Okinawa feature Luz James, the bratty military daughter of a part-Okinawan mother in the U.S. Air Force, who is mourning her sister Codie, killed during a tour of duty in Afghanistan. Bird draws a parallel between Luz, who suffers from suicidal thoughts herself, and Tamiko, who is similarly grief-stricken over the fate of her sister, Hatsuko, whose blind acceptance of government propaganda led her to serve as a nurse at a military hospital under terrible conditions. Bird (The Yokota Officer's Club), herself an "Army brat," invests the narrative with psychological veracity and effectively contrasts brusque military lingo with the islanders' lyrical expressions. While some readers may find the dialogue between Tamiko and her unborn child an awkward device, this potential flaw is balanced by the powerful sense of history and place.

February 15, 2014
The devastating Battle of Okinawa looms large in the lives of two young women--one who lived through the carnage, another who is absorbing its spiritual aftereffects. The ninth novel by Bird (The Gap Year, 2011, etc.) alternates between two narrators at two points in time. One is Tamiko, a teenage girl who, during World War II, was separated from her family thanks to both the Japanese soldiers who ran roughshod over the island of Okinawa's native culture and the American soldiers who brutalized its landscape. The other is Luz, a teenage Air Force brat who, in the present day, has just moved to Okinawa with her mother. Luz's grandmother was Okinawan, but she feels disconnected: The abrupt change of scenery, combined with mourning the death of her sister in Afghanistan, has left her listless and wayward. So when she sees a horrifying vision of a dying woman and child one night at the beach, is she hallucinating or witnessing something more serious? It's the latter, as Bird's braided narrative slowly makes clear, and her novel is rich with detail on Okinawan religious lore about lost souls. Tamiko's and Luz's narratives make for interesting tonal counterpoints to each other. Tamiko's story is foursquare and mordant, focused as it is on war's devastation; Bird writes potently of her being thrust into the role of a Princess Lily girl, a young nursing assistant helping the demoralized Japanese soldiers. Luz's story is no less concerned with loss, but it's lighter on its feet, making room for her comic banter with friends and a growing crush on one of her new Okinawan acquaintances. Though the novel occasionally feels bogged down by Bird's research, she sensitively connects her two sharp narrators. An admirable study of war's impact on and legacy in an underdiscussed place.

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March 1, 2014

"Army brat" Luz James is new to Okinawa with her MP mother but now without her closest confidante, older sister Codie, who was killed while on duty in Afghanistan. As Luz combines mourning with partying with her friends, questions arise about her complicated family history and ties to the island. The discoveries of an antique lapel pin and a letter hidden away by her mother propel Luz into an unexpected journey through the streets and the past of Okinawa. Interspersed with Luz's contemporary story is the tale of Tamiko Kokuba, an Okinawan high schooler trapped with her older sister amid the chaos of the 1945 Battle of Okinawa. At once a history lesson, a suspenseful and magical mystery, and a YA-level romance, this is a rich and engrossing achievement; a testament both to the sacrifices of the "Himeyuri Corps" of teenaged nurses during World War II and the modern military family. VERDICT Austinite and former "base kid" Bird (The Gap Year) presents the two girls' distinct voices honestly and compellingly. Crossover potential abounds here--meticulously researched historical fiction, YA appeal, a contemporary tale of military life, and an exploration of folklore. Fans of Amy Tan or Khaled Hosseini will be drawn to the adept mingling of settings and cultures, while the mystery elements evoke the fiction of Alice Sebold.--Jennifer B. Stidham, Houston Community Coll. Northeast

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from March 15, 2014
Obon, the Buddhist festival of the dead, provides the frame for Bird's novel about two girls who live in the same place, the Okinawa Prefecture of Japan, but at different times. Tamiko, a 15-year-old schoolgirl, leaves home with her sister, Hatsuko, to take part in Japan's desperate, last-ditch defense against the Americans in 1945. More than 60 years later, Luz James, a part-Okinawan military brat living at Kadena Air Base, is grieving for her own sister, who was killed while serving with the air force in Afghanistan. Bird uses distinct voices to weave her narrative. Luz's voice convincingly captures a smart but troubled contemporary teen, while Tamiko's voice reflects her place in a very different culture. Readers won't soon forget Tamiko's searing depiction of her experiences during the Battle of Okinawa, when more than one-third of the local population was killed or committed suicide. Links between the two girls, hinted at early on, crystallize as Luz's quest to learn more about her ancestors takes her deeper into the past and into the traditions that still exert a hold on daily Okinawan life. Bird, whose other novels include the well-received Yokota Officers Club (2001), has delivered a multilayered and utterly involving work with plenty of grist for book discussions.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)