Title: Shadow Child         

Author: Rahna Reiko Rizzuto      

Genre: Historical Fiction

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing   

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 343

Rating: 4/5 stars

*Warning: mature content. Parents be advised*

Synopsis (Goodreads):

A haunting and suspenseful literary tale set in 1970s New York City and World War II-era Japan, about three strong women, the dangerous ties of family and identity, and the long shadow our histories can cast.

Twin sisters Hana and Kei grew up in a tiny Hawaiian town in the 1950s and 1960s, so close they shared the same nickname. Raised in dreamlike isolation by their loving but unstable mother, they were fatherless, mixed-race, and utterly inseparable, devoted to one another. But when their cherished threesome with Mama is broken, and then further shattered by a violent, nearly fatal betrayal that neither young woman can forgive, it seems their bond may be severed forever–until, six years later, Kei arrives on Hana’s lonely Manhattan doorstep with a secret that will change everything.

Told in interwoven narratives that glide seamlessly between the gritty streets of New York, the lush and dangerous landscape of Hawaii, and the horrors of the Japanese internment camps and the bombing of Hiroshima, SHADOW CHILD is set against an epic sweep of history. Volcanos, tsunamis, abandonment, racism, and war form the urgent, unforgettable backdrop of this intimate, evocative, and deeply moving story of motherhood, sisterhood, and second chances.

Review:

Thank you to @grandcentralpub for sending me a copy of this book for review.

I was so intrigued by the plot of this book. It goes back and forth between World War Two era and 20 some years later. It takes place in Hawaii and New York and let the reader put pieces together and connect the dots between the two eras.

Hannah and Kei are twin sisters who loved each other very much, until something happened that tore them apart, leaving Hannah to move to New York. Their mother also seems to have a dark past as she is considered the crazy on in their town in Hawaii.

When Kei comes to visit Hannah in New York, something happens that sends Hannah down a spiral of trying to make sense of what’s happened, both past and present.

The writing is amazing in this book. And the idea was also great but I felt like the book ended with a lot left unspoken and unresolved and I didn’t get a good feeling from the ending. I also would have liked some other things explained a bit more, but I really liked reading about Lily in the World War Two era. I think this is a book you’ll have to pick up and decide for yourself. As the writing is beautiful I’m giving the book ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Happy reading!