Sisters in Yellow

The main character, Hana, has a deep belief that yellow is a luck-changing color. Yellow is the source of wealth, happiness and stability. These are all the things she searches for as we meet her at age fifteen. Hana’s mother works in a bar providing money for necessities, but their necessities are in the world of the impoverished. With the resolution to leave this life behind, Hana adds to her high school load by working in a diner and takes every shift she can get. However, the stability she seeks is taken from her and she clings to those who give her hope of a better life.

For those of us who puzzle at Yakuza or violent life, this well written story details the slow path from poverty to hopelessness. It is an astonishing book and this reader can never consider crime or criminals in the same way.