Book summary

At the close of World War II, William Fujita is in frigid Massachusetts, recently released from an internment camp in his native California. Margaret Kelly, a widow, made a special request to camp officials that they send Fujita, a horticulturist, to revitalize the barren farmland that she owns. Fujita, Margaret, another widow named Livvie, and Livvie's son Garvin grow together in an impromptu family. Fujita and Garvin in particular forge a relationship that sustains them both as they gather together the shards of their shattered lives.

Media reviews

"'What the Scarecrow Said' is actually two stories, interwoven to make one, with characters that are neither sentimental nor unrealistically triumphant. It skips the moralizing that so frequently accompanies books about historical injustice--especially internment camps....Ikeda has written a story in the context of actual historical events, but creates a tale full of vivid movement and fresh insight."