Book Club - Tallgrass by Sandra Dallas

June 19, 2012

I thoroughly enjoyed the audiobook version of July’s Book Club selection. I didn’t know much about the rural home front during World War II and even less about Japanese internment camps. Tallgrass sneakily taught me a lot about both while I listened to a really good story.

The story is told from thirteen-year-old Rennie’s point of view. She’s a spunky young woman, (think Scout from To Kill a Mockingbird) in a small Colorado town that has life turned upside-down when the government builds a Japanese internment camp just outside the city limits. With most of the town’s young men off at war, Rennie’s father turns to the young Japanese men in the camp to keep the family’s beet farm afloat.

When a girl in town is murdered, tensions between the townsfolk flare. Ms. Dallas brings out the best and worst in her characters under pressure. We see it all through the lens of a naïve, adolescent girl who faces some of life’s darkest moments with humor and the steadfast support of a strong family.

If you're reading Tallgrass, click on this link and write a review. Read what others had to say too, then join us to talk about Tallgrass and enjoy a cuppa on Friday, July 6th at 10:00 a.m. here at the Kearney Branch.

Laura M.
Kearney Branch