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Rating: 
Summary: Read this book to your son, and grow closer to him.
Review: I lived in Hawaii for ten years while a graduate student and grew to love the Hawaiian cultures. This was a story I could live and at the same time get a better understanding of the immigrants who worked the sugar cane fields. I bought three more books and sent one to my son, who was raised in Hawaii -- his friends were from families like Middle Son. I sent one to a dear Japanese Hawaiian woman, and we will write to each other about the meanings she sees in the story. It was a well written book, simple, but touched my heart deeply. I liked the way the Iida gave me hints into the drowning a little at a time, chapter to chapter. It is a book worthy to be next to Hemingway's short stories. I plan to read the book over again and again.
Rating: 
Summary: Almost like being there!
Review: I picked up a copy of Deborah's book at the Maui Writer's Retreat. Now that I am at home and reading it, I feel like I never left that Pacific paradise. The emotions are raw and you want to just hold these characters and never let them go. This is a wonderful first novel. I am going to recommend it to all I meet.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best accounts of life on a Maui Plantation
Review: I was born and raised on Maui, though now I live on another island. I have a sister who hardly reads, yet this is the *only* book she will read. And she reads it constantly. My entire family has read it at least once, though some have read it more than that. When people ask why we love this book so much, it's because in its own way it symbolizes family strength and aloha in a way that is easy to relate to. From the moment I picked up this book, I knew it was something special. The writer describes Maui the way it used to be, faithfully paying attention to the beauty of details and the emotions it inspires. My childhood memories came to life through her writing. My grandparents would talk about their days on the plantation, and reading the book gave me a sense of nostalgia. Certainly, this is not a history book. It reads like a wonderfully friendly novel, with enough detail to make the reader feel as if they are there amidst the cane fields and the tiny housings. The characters grow and change in subtle ways. I felt like I was learning with them. Learning to get beyond prejudice and stereotypes, to become something more than expected.
Rating:
Summary: Maui Reads Middle Son
Review: The Maui libraries as well as the Center of the Book, Maui, have chosen Deborah Iida's lyrical novel, Middle Son, for all of Maui to read and discuss during April. What a pleasure it is to have a new excuse to revisit this poignant story! I have read it three times already and each time I discover a deeper layer of satisfaction. The first time I read it, I had just moved here and it helped introduce me to local pidgin and to gain a deeper understanding of things Japanese-Hawaiian which I learned is different from Native Hawaiian, which is different from Haole-Hawaiian, Chinese-Hawaiian, Portugeuse-Hawaiian, Korean-Hawaiian, and etc! To live Hawaii is to live multiculturally. One kind of pidgin is different from all other kinds. Which adds to the uniqueness of Maui.
Ms. Iida's characters remain with you long after the book is returned to the shelf. Every time I pass a cane field, I think of the workers' lives in the camps; of Mariko undressing baby William and looking at him for the last moment he belongs to her; of cutting her hair; of Spencer, William and Taizo at the reservoir, the last moment of their childhoods, simply kids on the verge of committing an adult mistake. This book is a modern classic which we on Maui are lucky to have to share with the world.
Rating:
Summary: Middle Son
Review: This is one of the most sensitive, beautiful books that I've read in years....Please note that there were only two bad reviews both from students that were required to read it....The simplicity and economy of words were so masterfully orchestrated ...The character studies so rich....It reads quickly but you'll want to savor each word.
Rating: 
Summary: she no talk right
Review: WHAT A JOY TO READ AND REREAD SUCH A BOOK. EACH READING PROVIDES MORE INSIGHT AND A NEW LAYER NOT SEEN BEFORE. EVERY SENTENCE IS NEEDED, AN EMOTION HIDDEN WITHEN. THE CHARECTERS ARE RICHLY DEFINED AND PRESENTED AS THEY ARE. ALL JUDGEMENTS SKILLFULLY LEFT FOR THE READER TO PONDER. I, A CAUCASIAN WOMAN, FOUND MYSELF WITHEN THE PAGES. AN UNNOTICED SECRET OBSERVER OF THIS REMARKABLE FAMILY STORY. DURING THE JOY, AND SORROW, THE LIVING AND THE DYING. I CAME TO HAVE A RESPECTFUL UNDERSTANDING OF THIS STRANGE AND UNKNOWN CULTURE. A WORLD SO FAR FROM MY OWN. I HIGHLY RECCOMEND THIS BOOK. THE READER WILL GAIN A GREATER SENSE OF LIFE LESSONS IN ANOTHER TIME AND PLACE. I ANXIOUSLY AWAIT MS. IIDAS NEXT BOOK.
Rating:
Summary: BEAUTIFULLY CRAFTED JOURNEY OF ANOTHER TIME AND PLACE
Review: WHAT A JOY TO READ AND REREAD SUCH A BOOK. EACH READING PROVIDES MORE INSIGHT AND A NEW LAYER NOT SEEN BEFORE. EVERY SENTENCE IS NEEDED, AN EMOTION HIDDEN WITHEN. THE CHARECTERS ARE RICHLY DEFINED AND PRESENTED AS THEY ARE. ALL JUDGEMENTS SKILLFULLY LEFT FOR THE READER TO PONDER. I, A CAUCASIAN WOMAN, FOUND MYSELF WITHEN THE PAGES. AN UNNOTICED SECRET OBSERVER OF THIS REMARKABLE FAMILY STORY. DURING THE JOY, AND SORROW, THE LIVING AND THE DYING. I CAME TO HAVE A RESPECTFUL UNDERSTANDING OF THIS STRANGE AND UNKNOWN CULTURE. A WORLD SO FAR FROM MY OWN. I HIGHLY RECCOMEND THIS BOOK. THE READER WILL GAIN A GREATER SENSE OF LIFE LESSONS IN ANOTHER TIME AND PLACE. I ANXIOUSLY AWAIT MS. IIDAS NEXT BOOK.
Rating:
Summary: A Brilliant Cultural Portrait
Review: When I told a couple of my friends that I was in the mood for a good story but had a limited amount of free time in which to read it, they both highly recommended Deborah Iida's Middle Son. After hearing them gush about the poignancy of the characters' interactions, the vibrant descriptions of the Maui setting, and the authenticity of the dialect, I picked up the book and dove in. They were accurate on all accounts. As Spencer tries to confront the painful faces of his childhood, we are allowed to share in his struggle for acceptance and peace within his memories. Iida's tale is both haunting and moving, and Spencer's simple, honest questions resonated with me long after I'd finished the last sentence. Aside from the satisfaction that comes from a skillfully-told family saga, the book's greatest triumph is its vivid portrayal of Japanese-Hawaiian culture. As someone with little to no exposure to this portion of our country's heritage, I relished the lush island imagery, the rich Buddhist influences, and the engaging regional tongue. Spencer captures the dialogue's concise eloquence when he remarks that his Caucasian friend uses "many words for a short idea" (71). Overall, I enthusiastically add my praise to that of my friends. Middle Son is a touching account of one man's reconciliation with his past, and the Hawaiian narrator presents a voice too often overlooked in American literature.
Rating:
Summary: A Brilliant Cultural Portrait
Review: When I told a couple of my friends that I was in the mood for a good story but had a limited amount of free time in which to read it, they both highly recommended Deborah Iida's Middle Son. After hearing them gush about the poignancy of the characters' interactions, the vibrant descriptions of the Maui setting, and the authenticity of the dialect, I picked up the book and dove in. They were accurate on all accounts. As Spencer tries to confront the painful faces of his childhood, we are allowed to share in his struggle for acceptance and peace within his memories. Iida's tale is both haunting and moving, and Spencer's simple, honest questions resonated with me long after I'd finished the last sentence. Aside from the satisfaction that comes from a skillfully-told family saga, the book's greatest triumph is its vivid portrayal of Japanese-Hawaiian culture. As someone with little to no exposure to this portion of our country's heritage, I relished the lush island imagery, the rich Buddhist influences, and the engaging regional tongue. Spencer captures the dialogue's concise eloquence when he remarks that his Caucasian friend uses "many words for a short idea" (71). Overall, I enthusiastically add my praise to that of my friends. Middle Son is a touching account of one man's reconciliation with his past, and the Hawaiian narrator presents a voice too often overlooked in American literature.
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