Review by Milly17 -- Wonks by William Reese Hamilton
-
Milly17
- Posts: 5
- Joined: 12 Jun 2020, 11:15
- Currently Reading:
- Bookshelf Size: 4
- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-milly17.html
- Latest Review: Opaque by Calix Leigh-Reign
Review by Milly17 -- Wonks by William Reese Hamilton
[Following is a volunteer review of "Wonks" by William Reese Hamilton.]
Do you ever wonder what kind of person you are? What kind of person you would become if faced with hardship? How would you react to severe instances of trauma or under unrelenting stress day in and day out? What kind of situation would you have to be in to have these questions answered? William Reese Hamilton’s novel Wonks tells the story of a young boy’s experience in a Japanese run internment camp in the Philippines alongside his mother during the Second World War. As he spends his formative years growing up in this prison he uncovers that perhaps the way people act during times of stress is indicative of who they are as a person, and that trying times can bring out the best and the worst in human beings.
Wonks begins with the young boy Johnny’s explanation of his surroundings. What he thinks, what he feels, and how he copes with what is happening around him. He is taken from his home at a very young age with his mother and placed into a Japanese internment camp, at this time his father is in another location working and they are separated. The novel is told from Johnny’s point of view, he is retelling the story through what could be felt like a diary entry. Johnny talks about the inhumane treatment of the prisoners, the relationships he forms with others, the struggles of day to day life, and how he spends his time with the other teens in the camp. The novel outlines what is happening inside and outside the camp and allows the readers to be immersed in the time. The main character is a great storyteller.
This book is filled with adventure, humor, sadness, and hope. My immediate reaction to this novel was shock. This book is bold, and it lets the readers know from the beginning that this is going to be a “real” account of what is happening, and it will not be sugar-coated for the history books. This novel is descriptive enough to give the readers a real sense of the emotions surrounding being captured and imprisoned. It is heartwarming in the way it develops the characters and their backgrounds leading to more meaningful connections across characters. The book felt balanced in that it allowed you to read about something so serious and tragic while also being able to laugh at other instances of childhood innocence. This book brings forward strong emotions, such as rage towards the Japanese soldiers for their actions. It makes you feel sadness for the inexplicable treatments of one person to another and to think that there was a time when things like this happened and the horror of it. It makes you feel hopeful for the redemption of the captured and as well as empathetic towards their situation and the unbearable lifestyle in the camps they had to endure. From the living conditions to the food each account of what happened pulls deeper into the story.
The aspect that I liked most about this book was the description, the writer was very dedicated to the detail. This attention allowed me to visualize the setting and the characters. I could see myself being placed somewhere like that and think about what I would or could do about it. It gives what feels like a very accurate account of what happened in the camps during that period. What I liked the least about this book was that I started to lose connection to it. There is only so much pain and suffering someone can read about before they no longer become shocked by it, therefore about two-thirds of the way through I found myself waiting for the next big thing to happened and was no longer interested in the day to day lives of the characters. With that being said this novel was never boring, and I was pleased to find that each chapter added something new to the situation.
I give this novel 3 out of 4 stars. I would recommend it to young adults, as it is told in a way that would appeal to the sensibilities of youth, however it is not lost on adult readers. I found it to be a great read however I did get the feeling it was better suited to a younger audience. I believe that a younger audience would find it more powerful as many may not have been exposed to something so real and tragic and would able be able to better relate to the mindset of the characters being that they are of the same age. This novel is beautifully written and edited as I did not find any errors throughout. It is simply a great story about a forgotten time.
******
Wonks
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Do you ever wonder what kind of person you are? What kind of person you would become if faced with hardship? How would you react to severe instances of trauma or under unrelenting stress day in and day out? What kind of situation would you have to be in to have these questions answered? William Reese Hamilton’s novel Wonks tells the story of a young boy’s experience in a Japanese run internment camp in the Philippines alongside his mother during the Second World War. As he spends his formative years growing up in this prison he uncovers that perhaps the way people act during times of stress is indicative of who they are as a person, and that trying times can bring out the best and the worst in human beings.
Wonks begins with the young boy Johnny’s explanation of his surroundings. What he thinks, what he feels, and how he copes with what is happening around him. He is taken from his home at a very young age with his mother and placed into a Japanese internment camp, at this time his father is in another location working and they are separated. The novel is told from Johnny’s point of view, he is retelling the story through what could be felt like a diary entry. Johnny talks about the inhumane treatment of the prisoners, the relationships he forms with others, the struggles of day to day life, and how he spends his time with the other teens in the camp. The novel outlines what is happening inside and outside the camp and allows the readers to be immersed in the time. The main character is a great storyteller.
This book is filled with adventure, humor, sadness, and hope. My immediate reaction to this novel was shock. This book is bold, and it lets the readers know from the beginning that this is going to be a “real” account of what is happening, and it will not be sugar-coated for the history books. This novel is descriptive enough to give the readers a real sense of the emotions surrounding being captured and imprisoned. It is heartwarming in the way it develops the characters and their backgrounds leading to more meaningful connections across characters. The book felt balanced in that it allowed you to read about something so serious and tragic while also being able to laugh at other instances of childhood innocence. This book brings forward strong emotions, such as rage towards the Japanese soldiers for their actions. It makes you feel sadness for the inexplicable treatments of one person to another and to think that there was a time when things like this happened and the horror of it. It makes you feel hopeful for the redemption of the captured and as well as empathetic towards their situation and the unbearable lifestyle in the camps they had to endure. From the living conditions to the food each account of what happened pulls deeper into the story.
The aspect that I liked most about this book was the description, the writer was very dedicated to the detail. This attention allowed me to visualize the setting and the characters. I could see myself being placed somewhere like that and think about what I would or could do about it. It gives what feels like a very accurate account of what happened in the camps during that period. What I liked the least about this book was that I started to lose connection to it. There is only so much pain and suffering someone can read about before they no longer become shocked by it, therefore about two-thirds of the way through I found myself waiting for the next big thing to happened and was no longer interested in the day to day lives of the characters. With that being said this novel was never boring, and I was pleased to find that each chapter added something new to the situation.
I give this novel 3 out of 4 stars. I would recommend it to young adults, as it is told in a way that would appeal to the sensibilities of youth, however it is not lost on adult readers. I found it to be a great read however I did get the feeling it was better suited to a younger audience. I believe that a younger audience would find it more powerful as many may not have been exposed to something so real and tragic and would able be able to better relate to the mindset of the characters being that they are of the same age. This novel is beautifully written and edited as I did not find any errors throughout. It is simply a great story about a forgotten time.
******
Wonks
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Opaque by Calix Leigh-Reign
