Valerie S. (VolunteerVal) -
"The world is full of people who find it easier to be afraid and hate than to learn and perhaps share friendship." - Knowing You by Tracie Peterson
Set in 1909 at the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition in Seattle, the key themes of Knowing You by Tracie Peterson are sadly relevant today. The above quote is as true now as it was in 1909.
"People will always find a reason to belittle others or find fault, especially when they're insecure in themselves."
Although Japanese culture is celebrated at the Expo, many white people are prejudiced against people of Japanese heritage, including May the heroine whose mother is Japanese and whose father is white.
In her childhood, May and her parents lived next door to the Munro family. Lee Munro was her only friend, one of the few people who treated her with kindness and respect because of her biracial heritage. May and Lee lost touch when the Munro family suddenly moved, and are brought into each other's lives years later when both are working at the Expo, Lee as a police detective and May as a Camera Girl artist.
Through the Expo, May learns about Japanese culture which is unknown to her because her mother refuses to share or practice it while Lee investigates a series of crimes committed at the Expo while pursuing an art thief. They renew their friendship which quickly grows into love and romance.
I liked May and Lee as characters, but their dialog and actions felt stilted; this may be due in part to the time period in which the story is set. It was difficult to read about the historically accurate racial prejudice portrayed in the novel, but the resolution felt believable. I appreciated the art theft plot and the intrigue it brought to the story. In my opinion, the spiritual aspects of the plot were heavy-handed and bordered on preachy. However, I really related to the following quote which is sadly true today:
"The Bible is the Word of God and should be admired and taken with the greatest of respect. I find so many people look only for verses that they can hurl at each other like spiritual rocks in slings."
This is the third novel in the Pictures of the Heart series, but the only one I've read. I mostly had no issues sinking into this story without reading the first two books, but occasionally I was missing some context involving secondary characters. The cover is beautiful with its shades of purple and Japanese architecture, but I was disappointed that the cover model has no hint of Japanese ancestry which was a key theme in the plot.
Thank you to Bethany House for the review copy of this novel. I was not required to write a positive review; all thoughts are my own.
Set in 1909 at the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition in Seattle, the key themes of Knowing You by Tracie Peterson are sadly relevant today. The above quote is as true now as it was in 1909.
"People will always find a reason to belittle others or find fault, especially when they're insecure in themselves."
Although Japanese culture is celebrated at the Expo, many white people are prejudiced against people of Japanese heritage, including May the heroine whose mother is Japanese and whose father is white.
In her childhood, May and her parents lived next door to the Munro family. Lee Munro was her only friend, one of the few people who treated her with kindness and respect because of her biracial heritage. May and Lee lost touch when the Munro family suddenly moved, and are brought into each other's lives years later when both are working at the Expo, Lee as a police detective and May as a Camera Girl artist.
Through the Expo, May learns about Japanese culture which is unknown to her because her mother refuses to share or practice it while Lee investigates a series of crimes committed at the Expo while pursuing an art thief. They renew their friendship which quickly grows into love and romance.
I liked May and Lee as characters, but their dialog and actions felt stilted; this may be due in part to the time period in which the story is set. It was difficult to read about the historically accurate racial prejudice portrayed in the novel, but the resolution felt believable. I appreciated the art theft plot and the intrigue it brought to the story. In my opinion, the spiritual aspects of the plot were heavy-handed and bordered on preachy. However, I really related to the following quote which is sadly true today:
"The Bible is the Word of God and should be admired and taken with the greatest of respect. I find so many people look only for verses that they can hurl at each other like spiritual rocks in slings."
This is the third novel in the Pictures of the Heart series, but the only one I've read. I mostly had no issues sinking into this story without reading the first two books, but occasionally I was missing some context involving secondary characters. The cover is beautiful with its shades of purple and Japanese architecture, but I was disappointed that the cover model has no hint of Japanese ancestry which was a key theme in the plot.
Thank you to Bethany House for the review copy of this novel. I was not required to write a positive review; all thoughts are my own.
