Lois Donovan’s second historical novel for young readers with Ronsdale; deals with racism; delves into important events in Alberta’s history.
This novel begins when 13-year-old Kami, the daughter of a Japanese-Canadian mother and a Scottish-Canadian father, moves with her mother from Vancouver to Edmonton. Here she hopes to reunite with the father who appears to have abandoned her. While rummaging through family boxes, she finds an old diary written by her greatgrandmother. Newspaper clippings inside send her hurtling back in time to 1929, where she encounters extreme prejudice because of her
Asian features. After a number of disturbing adventures, Kami is taken in as a domestic servant by Judge Emily Murphy, one of the “famous five,” at the time of her battle to have women declared “persons” – a defining moment in the struggle for women’s rights. Although Kami views Judge Murphy as a “heroine,” she is startled to discover that Murphy holds racist views. On her return to the present, Kami must come to terms, not only with her own heritage, but how she views the ongoing struggle for the rights of all persons.