So Far From the Bamboo Grove is an autobiography of Yoko Kawashima Watkins, who lived during the period of World War 2. The other characters in the book are: Ko, Yoko's older sister, Hideyo, Yoko's older brother, and Yoko's mother. Yoko's father was a Japanese government officials who works in Manchuria, so he wasn't living with her at that time. Yoko's brother Hideyo, one day decides to work for the army. His mother encouraged him not to go, but he insisted. Luckily, Yoko's mother found out that Hideyo didn't pass the exam so he had to work in a factory instead. But, just when Yoko's family think that everything else would go smooth, it hasn't. One night, Corporal Matsumara, a soldier fighting in the war, saved them by giving them permission to go to the train station and head to Seoul. Yoko was wondering why they have to do that, but finds out soon enough that Korean Communist armies are planning to kill them. Before they know it, they head on to the train and had no idea what lay ahead of them. All they know is that they are going to have a difficult, long, and suprising journey. What I like about the book is how Yoko, Ko, and their mother seem to bond with each other. Ko usually was the one helping them get food, their mother makes sure that they are both safe, and Yoko following the path of her honorable sister. I like the book because it is exciting and the events that happen are in order. It wasn't a made-up story and I experience how it's like to live during a war. "The other Korean Communist soldier was walking among the patients, poking at them with the tip of his gun. My teeth were chattering, my heart thumping. The soldier poke at my side." That shows exactly how it's like living in a war where anything can happen. You could be attacked at anytime. It is a terrific story, full of action. What I dislike about the book is how they barely talk much about their father. They only say that he works in Manchuria, but no info on whether he is still alive or not. The book had too little characters, and there was only two main characters: Ko and Yoko. The ending of the book was too fast. It didn't explain what they did after their reunion. It also didn't have a lot of incidents that happen when Hideyo was working at the factory. I didn't know all of his classmates when he was working there. "None of the four young men could sleep for thinking of this, their last night together." Hideyo and his friends were going to separate and weren't going to see each other for time being, making Hideyo lonesome. My favorite part of the book is when Ko and Yoko finally arrived in Japan. They both went to school there, but the kids keep teasing Yoko. For supper, Ko would usually find food in the garbage cans or buy food from the money she earned. Yoko's shoes were torn and she tried working to earn money to buy new ones. But, she never did. She would usually have many chances, but she keeps changing her mind. Yoko still had many challenges ahead of her. She had went through an adventure that she'll never forget. She went through a bitter, difficult, and rough life, but overcame them all.