This book tells the story of twins. Isabella and Ha were identical twins born in Vietnam but adopted separately. Growing up in vastly different circumstances these two reunited as teens, against all odds. This is a portrait of nature Vs nurture. With hours of interviews this book offers a glimpse into these two girls lives.

.
Thank you #algonquin and #NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

✔️ It is rare that I can finish a non fiction book in two days - especially if it’s not a memoir, but I finished this one . The story of Isabella, her twin sister Ha, and adopted sister Olivia, is told in a beautiful way. We hear each girls’ story, the stories of their birth mothers and adopted mothers.
✔️ the authors did an amazing job of also interweaving the story of the sisters with history and facts - about interracial and transnational adoption, nature vs nurture, twin studies, racism etc

Identical twins Isabella and Hà were born in Vietnam but separated soon after. While Hà grew up in a rural village and was raised by her aunt and partner, Isabella was adopted, along with another Vietnamese girl Olivia, by a wealthy white American family in the suburbs of Chicago. The three girls' lives took an unexpected turn when Isabella & Olivia's adoptive mother learned of Hà.

In this seminal book, Hayasaki explores the themes of nature vs nurture and cross-cultural adoption from multiple angles. Apart from detailing the early lives of the three sisters and their families through extensive interviews, Hayasaki also includes research topics on twins, especially genetics and epigenetics! As a certified science nerd, I enjoyed reading these discussions.

I also love Hayasaki's research on the relationships between adoptive families and adoptees. In particular, how white families adopt non-white babies and how their colorblindness inadvertently causes more stress and trauma to these children. I wasn't aware Americans tend to increase their adoption of Asian kids after wars — Japanese and Korean babies after WW2 and Vietnamese children after the Vietnamese War.

Somewhere Sisters is a compelling story about three sisters with a great mixture of investigative journalism, political commentary, and pop science.

A heavy &deeply researched book, Somewhere Sisters drew me in quickly, as the words, experiences, & stories that stemmed from identical twins Isabella & Hà came out from the pages. Twins separated as babies, the sisters knew very little about each other until they were reunited as teenagers. Hà & Isabella were both born in Việt Nam to a Disabled mother, who for many reasons that the book explores, had to give Isabella up to an orphanage. Isabella and another girl Isabella grew up with in the orphanage – her sister not by blood, Olivia – were both adopted from Việt Nam by an upper-class, wealthy white family in Illinois. Hà, raised by her Aunt by blood and her aunt's life partner (a lesbian couple) in Việt Nam, had a very different childhood than Isabella's & Olivia's.

Hayasaki does an incredible job balancing & centering the experiences of the three sisters, Isabella, Hà, & Olivia, but adds crucial historical context along the way. I admit that I've been ignorant to the impact colonization, imperialism, & racism has had on transracial adoption (I knew some basics, but not about specific historical moments & incidents, like Operation Babylift). As Hayasaki mentions in the notes, she spent hundreds of hours with these family members &, "over the years, walked each sister through her story several times, fact-checking, making sure she was comfortable with what she shared and periodically asking why she was open to having these parts of her journey in a book at all. Each explained to me, in her own way, that she was sharing her life for others who might be able to relate, or for herself, out of a sense of pride in what she had overcome, or for those who know her personally but might never have really heard or seen her in her entirety."

This book has many complex topics & feelings from each sister. There's much in this that I am reflecting on & will be spending time learning more. This book left me thinking deeply of how the webs of colonization, imperialism, & racism are so intricately connected to individual people & how even when things are approached with empathy or good intentions, the systems in place can sometimes render these approaches with trauma & harm regardless. I want to emphasize here too, as I mentioned I know very little about transracial adoption & encourage you to seek out reviews from transracial adoptee reviewers for this book as more reviews emerge.

Adoption is close to my heart and I love getting my hands on new books about the topic. This new one from Erika Hayasaki was perfect. It had all the things I enjoy reading about. Facts, a story of siblings and families reuniting, growing up, getting news about where you were born, and more!

This book was outlined so well and flowed well from story to story from each of the twins' personal birth histories. I'm always interested in seeing the nature vs. nurture play out and Hayasaki's research goes into this. She's done an amazing job of making the science understandable and also relatable.

I'm suggesting families in my various adoption groups read this as well as my teen son and his peers that are now examining their own adoption stories and birth family reunions.

Four stars for me! Thanks to NetGalley for the chance to read it in advance.

Somewhere Sisters by Erika Hayasaki, 320 pages. NONFICTION. Algonquin Books, 2022. $28.
Language: PG13 (16 swears, 1 “f”); Mature Content: PG; Violence: PG
BUYING ADVISORY: HS - ADVISABLE
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
Isabella, Hà, and Olivia are sisters. All three are Vietnamese and were adopted when their biological parents couldn’t take care of them. Two were adopted from the same orphanage by an American family, and one was rejected by the orphanage and was instead raised by an aunt and her partner in Vietnam. These three girls struggle with identity, rejection, education, and more – and their stories aren’t over yet.
Hayasaki interviewed these girls and what she refers to as their constellation of family members. She also gives readers context by including lots of research regarding the political and social environments in both America and Vietnam that led to the adoption of these girls and regarding behavioral science, especially the theories and experiments having to do with twins. While the story and information is real, Hayasaki has written in a format that was easier to read than I was expecting – I even enjoyed reading the chapters about research! I feel like I have gained knowledge about my country, my identity, my family, and my hopes for the future – for me, for America, and for the world.
The main characters are American and Vietnamese, though they also relate their experiences with others of various races. Hayasaki also references adoption and twin experiences from and in other countries. The mature content rating is for discussions of war, poverty, abortion and miscarriages; mention of prostitutes, sex, and drugs; and alcohol use, including underage drinking. The violence rating is for brief discussion of suicide as well as for mentions of child abuse and implied murder.
Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen

A compelling story about Identical twin sisters reared by two different families on two separate continents. I always like to read about other people’s life stories and experiences, especially reunited family members.
Contact was made early on, facilitated by Keely, Isabella’s mother, whose persistence paid off. I did feel empathy for the sisters with their reunification was under a lot of scrutiny. I was also intrigued with the fact a lot of the story takes place in the Chicago suburbs, a place I am quite familiar with.
The author provides information on adoption, twin research, and transnational adoptions.
Against the odds, the sisters had a chance to be together and become acquainted. While many hurdles were overcome, their story does have a positive tone, which cannot be said for all adoptees.

I know Erika Hayasaki to be an excellent writer so I was happy to be able to read this new book of hers on a subject that fascinates us all--twins. She traces the stories of three Vietnamese girls, two of who were adopted by a white family in America and one who grew up in Viet Nam, adopted by two women, one of which was her birth aunt. The American mother discovers that one of her adopted girls is a twin and relentlessly searches for her and finds her and then integrates her into their American lives. It's a very unique and interesting story with a lot of points to consider regarding choices that were made. I think there is something here for any reader.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book. So much to consider here!

Fascinating look at international adoption via three girls. One is half of a pair of twins where one was adopted with another girl from an Vietnamese orphanage and the other was raised by a queer aunt and her partner in Vietnam. There is an excellent mix of factual information on the history of adoption and twins, but what really makes it work is the firsthand account from the girls and their reunion and how the American twin Isabella and her non-related sister from the orphanage Olivia deal with race. A great book club read.