Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford

Chinese-American Henry Lee tells his story in both 1942 and 1986. The young boy Henry struggles with his sullen father whose primary interest is the Chinese war against Japan. He is one of only two Asian students in his Seattle school. The other is a Japanese-American girl named Keiko. Although he knows it is a friendship forbidden by his father, he grows to love Keiko. Then comes Pearl Harbor and Executive Order 9066. In the confusion, his connection to Keiko is lost.

The adult Henry has a strained relationship with his son made worse by the death of his wife. Then he learns that an old Seattle hotel is being refurbished and contains many of the things left behind by the Japanese families forced to leave. He discovers items that connect him to Keiko and their early life Seattle providing a chance to take a different path in his adult life.

I suspect Ford puts too nice a spin on life in the camps but I was glad to see he wasn't afraid to write a happy ending.