This book is a quick read about an interesting time in history. Starting in 1918 this is the story of Korean women immigrating to Hawaii as picture brides, a phenomenon I knew nothing about before this book. I love when an author can bring some life to some piece of history that hasn’t been used in hundreds of books. I will say the story read fairly flat to me, and I thought it could have grabbed the reader ore with some more depth to the characters. They were very interesting, and I found the ending told from Pearl’s perspective to be the best. Willow and her best friend Hongju have been told about how amazing life in Hawaii is and they both have agreed to be picture wives. As they start their journey they also befriend the other girls going across on their ship forming bonds that will last a lifetime. Which is good because the things they heard about Hawaii - that food and clothing grew on trees and you could sweep up money and even an 18 year old girl could go to school (Willow’s dream) were lies. This is a powerful story and the historical events seemed realistic.