Daughter of Moloka'i

 Years ago I read Moloka'i by Alan Brennert and I loved it. So when I saw Daughter of Moloka'i on the shelf in the library I snatched it up. This book is a companion to the other book. This book is focused on Ruth who was born to her parents who lived in a quarantined community on the island of Molokai because her parents had Hanson's Disease before there was a cure. All children born to parents on the quarantine facility were taken away at birth and sent to an orphanage. Ruth is adopted by a kind couple of Japanese descent. She becomes the little sister to three older brothers. The family moves to California and work on a strawberry and grape farm. Life for Ruth and her family turns upside down when FDR sends all Japanese to internment camps. Ruth and her family are sent to Manzanar Relocation Camp (which is now a national park). When they are finally released from the camp they return to their farm and everything was taken from them. They settle in a bigger town to the north and start over from scratch. By now the medical field has found out that sulfa drugs can treat Hanson's disease. Ruth gets a letter from her birth mother, Rachel, who wants to reconnect. I loved every minute of this book.