Colorado Kids Book Reviews - The Divine Wind

Title: The Divine Wind
Author: Garry Disher
Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books/Scholastic Press
Number of Pages: 153

I was ecstatic with this great novel to end my summer reading fest, provided to me by C.K. The Divine Wind by Garry Disher is a love story, a forbidden love story at that. It's set in an Australian pearl diving town prior to World War II. A divinely beautiful girl (hence the title) and a young, restless, and handsome Australian boy fall in love. The boy's name is Hart. There's only one problem, Mitsu Sennosuke, other wise known as Mitsy is Japanese. The time period is World War II with fighter planes sweeping across the South Pacific and Japanese bombs falling everywhere. The poignant fact that Mitsy is Japanese may matter more than anything else. It was not the best time to be falling in love with a Japanese girl. Tensions were high, like they are today with the 9/11 memorial just around the corner. Many Americans are treating Muslims horridly, because of what the terrorists did last year. This book made me think a great deal about 9/11. It doesn't seem fair to lump all Muslims into one basket just as it wasn't fair in the 1940's to lump all Japanese into one basket.

Our story begins by describing the feelings of Hart's family as his world is crumbling around him. The remote Australian town of Broome could no longer escape the devastation of World War II. For most it meant their sun drenched Australian lives would never be the same. Will Hart follow his heart? (Forgive me, I couldn't help it!) Or will he give into the social pressures of the day? I don't want to give anything away.

Don't forget to look for The Divine Wind at your local library or bookstore, I know you'll love it. It's a thrilling love story mixed with historical fiction and a real eye opener. I'll leave the rest for you to read on your own. I personally loved it. My favorite part was when Hart went pearl diving. I could envision the landscape of a pristine Australian coastline and practically taste the salty water. I would recommend this book to kids ages 10 and up because of the war-related conflicts.

If you like World War II as much as I do then you may also enjoy Sadako and The Thousand Paper Cranes and Farewell to Mansanar. Both of these books deal with the Japanese involvement in World War II. I hope you'll give this book a go. The Divine Wind will have you hooked and booking the next flight down under. Take a plunge into this amazing story about World War II and the amazing relationships of a remote Australian town. (October, 2002)