This book took me a long time to read and I am typically a fast reader. The story moved too slowly for me and the ending was predictable. I did think if offered something new with regard to WW2 novels regarding the Japanese-Canadian internments. It was written from an interesting perspective.

This is a Historical Fiction that takes place right after Pearl Harbor in Canada. This book follows Hayden who loves Chidori (A Canada Japanese). Chidori's Family is forced into an internment camp, and Hayden joins the Royal Canadian Air Force. This is about love helping them though the evils they had to over come, so they can find each other again. I found the beginning of this book to be so slow and a little boring, but I found the middle and ending to be very good. The characters in this book was really developed, and I really enjoyed going on the journey with them. The writing in this book was good. I was kindly provided an e-copy of this book by the publisher (One More Chapter) or author (Danielle R. Graham) via NetGalley, so I can give honest review about how I feel about this book. I want to send a big Thank you to them for that.

In a time where we have been experiencing such hate, racism, and division, Chidori and Hayden's story is what we need. It breaks your heart to see the suffering the Japanese went through during WWII. I have always found it incredible how society will treat someone of a certain race or color based on another person's behavior just because they share the race or color.

I enjoyed getting to see the point of view of both of the characters, along with their journal entries, so you experience everything with them. For fans of historical fiction and WWII novels, I would recommend this novel for a different perspective of others who also suffered at the hands of this war.

I know this book was a labor of love. The overlapping histories were carefully and thoughtfully researched. Characters represented a variety of historical viewpoints. The plot lines were carefully woven together. The settings were interesting and varied. In all, the book was nice. It was safe. It was pleasant.

I loved every single thing about this book. I love that someone wrote a story that I have not heard before. To cover all of the major points in World War Two -- the fear of the families of Japanese descent, the fight in Europe, the separation of families and loved ones -- in just one story is ambitious, but this was done well and written beautifully. When I wasn’t reading, I was thinking about the story and itching to get back into it.

Many writers are digging into the still untold World War Two stories, and I am so appreciative of their work. This was an enlightening story about the shameful actions that the North American countries participated in but do not talk about because it is a black mark on our history and another example of how poorly these countries have treated those they see as outsiders.

This is a sweet and endearing love story.
I did feel a bit mislead by the cover. I'll admit that. It also felt a little young adultish to me. It also was a bit confusing at time with the back and forths.

Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for allowing me to read this advanced copy for my honest review.

I am a huge fan of historical fiction and this book did not disappoint. It was unique in the sense that the majority of the book was from the male main characters perspective which I actually quite liked. The book was set in British Columbia in the 1940's where two childhood friends fall in love. As the war progresses Chidori finds herself, along with her family, rounded up with the other Japanese-Candian citizens, while Hayden enlists to be a pilot. The only thing that keeps them both going is the hope for a reunion.

This book not only had a unique perspective but also looked at the impact WWII had on Canada which I personally did not know much of. I would recommend this book to anyone who love historical fiction.

This was a hard story to read due to the content. What a sad time in history, what a horrible time for the Japanese who lived outside of Japan.
This dealt with heartache, POW camps, suicide, loss and war. It was all dealt with kindly, but still so sad.
The writing was well done. I wish there were better transitions between time periods as there were lots of flashbacks. It was difficult to not know the year that things were taking place. But overall a good read.

All We Left Behind is a work of historical fiction set in Canada during World War II. A beautiful love story fraught with heartache and joy. One theme depicts the horrible treatment the Canadian government engaged in while sending Japanese Canadiens to internment camps, confiscating their property and not allowing them to return to their homes after the war. The other theme depicts life in a POW camp. But love triumphs in the end. Danielle Graham has brought us a beautifully written novel.

A very good historical novel about the internment of Japanese/Canadian citizens during WW2.. Hayden and Chidori are childhood friends who fall in love. When Chidori is sent to the interior, Hayden feels his only option is to join the Canadian Air Force to hasten the war to conclusion so she can return. He gets shot down and ends up in a POW camp for his time overseas.. Chidori writes to Hayden to tell him where she is but his parents never pass the information on to him. When Hayden returns home to find out Chidori hasn’t returned home he falls into alcohol and depression. Finally his mother gives him the letters and he calls the farm where she lives only to find out there is going to be a wedding. Is it hers? You’ll have to read the story to find out.

A story about historical fiction with romance. The setting for this book is Mayne Island in Canada. It is a story about the internment of Japanese Canadians during World War II. Japanese prejudices abounded in Canada as well as the U.S. Hayden has known Chidori since childhood and they are committed to each other. Chidori and her family are removed from Marne Island because of her Japanese descent and “the Japs are helping the enemies.” Even if they were born in Canada, it was deemed a threat to national security for them to remain. Hayden goes overseas as a pilot and becomes a POW.

Whether it was the internment camp or POW camp, the reader understood the trials and tribulations of the times and the heartache individuals endured. The unfairness of the War Measures Act was clear. I learned more through this fiction novel about the injustice and bigotry of the times in Canada.

I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical fiction and/or romance novels.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, One More Chapter, a division of Harper Collins Publishers, for an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

4.5 Stars

This was a fantastic historical novel, and it’s the first WWII story I’ve read where the main characters were Canadian.

While I was more than pleased with the way the story ended (honestly, I was starting to get a little worried!), I felt that there could’ve been a little more to bring the story full circle. It just felt incomplete, as if there should’ve have been at least a few more pages or even an extra chapter.

Regardless, I really enjoyed reading this book and highly recommend it!

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3756272294

A heart-wrenching historical fiction book based on true events. Being separated by war, a young couple vows they will wait for each other. With one in a Japanese-Canadian interment camp and the other shot down during an air battle, the odds of finding each other again are minimal. Told mostly through journals of the couple, the book is sometimes hard to read but also impossible to put down. The books also begs for a sequel. I recommend this book to everyone. I received an arc of this book from NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions expressed are my own.

Thank you NetGalley and Harper 360 for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. I love reading historical fiction based on WWII. This one was different because it dealt with Japanese-Canadians being sent to internment camps after the bombing of Pearl Harbor and Japan’s involvement in the War. Hayden Pierce and Chidoro Setoguchi have been friends since childhood. As they grow older they fall in love and pledge to to wait for each other as the war rages and changes their lives forever. Chidori’s family is sent away to an internment camp and later Hayden joins the service to fight in the war hoping to make a difference so he and Chidori can live happily ever after. Things don’t work out how either of them imagined and their future with to each other becomes almost impossible. I loved this story and found myself thinking about the characters long after the story ended.

"All We Left Behind" by Danielle R. Graham
Release Date: 3.30.2021

Hayden Pierce and Chidori Setoguchi are childhood friends who are in love, living in Vancouver, 1941. They are planning their future, when Pearl Harbor is bombed.

After Pearl Harbor, Chidori and her family are forced to move into an internment camp. Hayden decides to join the Royal Canadian Air Force as a pilot. They pledge to wait for one another and plan to marry after the war.

Hayden's plane is shot down in Germany territory, and after a month in a Germany military hospital, he is taken to POW Stalag camp. After the camp is liberated and Hayden's strength returns, he arrives back home to find that none of the Japanese residents have returned.

This novel was told in the perspective of Hayden; many of World War II novels are told in the female's perspective. There were journal entries from Chidori mixed in. Focusing on love, friendship, and perseverance, this was a refreshing read. I was not aware that the shameful behavior of placing Japanese residents in camps occurred in Canada, too.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read in exchange for my review.

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I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. This is a book about friendship, love, war, loss and injustice. WWII is raging in Europe though the US has not yet been attacked. Chidori is Japanese Canadian and was born in Canada. Hayden is a young man who is very much in love with her despite racial bigotry. The Japanese were welcome to run their businesses, own stores and accumulate wealth as long as they did not form more than friendships with “white Canadians.” Despite much hesitation on Chidori’s part and ugly racial slurs by residents of their small town, Hayden persuades Chidori to go steady. They are a sweet couple and obviously in love despite their young age.

When Pearl Harbor is attacked all Japanese residents, even those born in Canada (thus Canadian), are stripped of their rights, homes, money and citizenship if they live close to the western shoreline or on western Canadian islands. They are shipped off to detention centers and from there to locations east of the Rockies.

Hayden is despondent and joins the war effort in Europe. He trains as a pilot, is shot down and spends months in a German prisoner camp. When the Germans are defeated and the camp is liberated by the Russians Hayden makes his way home. He has not heard from Chidori in years, but goes in search of her despite discouragement from his family.

I had no idea that Canada imprisoned Japanese citizens and residents after Pearl Harbor was attacked. It was inhumane. The book is beautifully written, you can feel Hayden’s pain and loss. The Holocaust is touched upon and I think the author loses her way a bit here. She researched the Japanese Canadian situation very well. I think the Holocaust deserved the same.

"All We Left Behind" by Danielle R. Graham was a wonderful and insightful story of two young friends who realize they are in love in a very trying time in history. A did not realize that Japanese internment camps were also in Canada, making this very interesting from that perspective. The plot shifts could be a little confusing at times, and I could have done without the profanity; but I'm sure I will read another book by Danielle Graham in the future. Thank you NetGalley and One More Chapter publisher for the opportunity to receive and ARC to review!

While this book opens people's eyes to what happened in Canada during WWII and is a wonderful example of how one man's devotion to his sweetheart can keep him alive, it is ultimately a missed opportunity to truly highlight the unjust treatment of Japanese-Canadians. The novel focuses on Hayden and his love for Chidori as he deals with being a pilot and ultimately a POW during WWII. Through flashbacks, the story highlights their friendships blossoming into a romantic relationship and then the devastation of her family's forced relocation because they are Japanese. Through out it all, Hayden's belief that they will be together in the end is what keeps him going.
This story does a good job of showing his love and dedication to Chidori despite the hurdles they face - first for town's disapproval of her heritage and then for the separation of war. In terms of a love story, the novel works. However, the novel presents a number of larger issues that do not receive the attention they should. There is an attempt to show how horribly the Japanese-Canadians are treated, from property taken away, forced relocation, terrible living conditions, and bans from returning home. Unfortunately, all that is told to the reader rather than shown. It is all exposed through letters or conversations or Hayden witnessing what happens to Chidori's family. It would have been a much stronger story had it been shown through Chidori's point of view. Then the reader would have "experienced" the degradation rather than simply being told it happened. At the same time, this novel touches on the severe mental impact being at war has on a person between what happened to Hayden's sister and his own nightmares and depression, but the subject doesn't really seem to get the attention it deserves. Come the end it seems to be wrapped up in a neat little bow and made all better.
This is a sweet story, but it could have been much more impacting. Too much time was spend on the romance between Hayden and Chidori rather than exposing the harsh reality of the Canada's treatment of the Japanese. While this was a great example of how love can keep one strong in the harshest of conditions, it ultimately felt like a missed opportunity to do so much more.

This is a really sweet story of forbidden love, set during WWII. I love historical fiction, especially WWII, but this one takes place in Canada and focused on Japanese Canadians which is an aspect of this era that I knew nothing about. The main characters, Hayden and Chidori, were likeable and well-developed, as were their friends and family. I loved following their relationship from children to young adults in the small fishing community of Mayne Island in British Columbia. The story is told primarily from Hayden’s perspective, interspersed with Chi’s journal entries, which was an interesting concept. I'm a sucker for a great love story so I loved the theme of love transcending all. However, this book isn't just a love story, the author gives a solid portrayal of Hayden's time as a pilot with the Royal Canadian Air Force, followed by his experiences in a military hospital and then as a POW. There was one part of the story line at the very end of the book, which I won't disclose here, that kept me from giving it 5 stars. Otherwise I loved this book! Thank you Net Galley for the opportunity to read this book.

Every emotion you can think of is thrown at you in All We Left Behind by Danielle R. Graham. Growing up together on Mayne Island, Hayden and Chidori know they are meant for each other and plan a future together. A future that will be torn apart by circumstances over which they have not control. As the tensions and bigotry of war come to their island, each must go in different directions, directions which will separate them and will test their love as well as their belief in the goodness of man. A very intense novel which does, in the end, help you believe in love and hope.