Me on Waiting on Wednesday (215)

Waiting on Wednesday is a bunch of weekly fun hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. :)

Title: Ink and Ashes
Author: Valynne E. Maetani
Release Date: May 15, 2015
Publisher: Tu Books

From Goodreads:

Claire Takata has never known much about her father, who passed away when she was a little girl. But on the anniversary of his death, not long before her seventeenth birthday, she finds a mysterious letter from her deceased father, addressed to her stepfather. Claire never even knew that they had met.

Claire knows she should let it go, but she can’t shake the feeling that something’s been kept from her. In search of answers, Claire combs through anything that will give her information about her father . . . until she discovers he was a member of the yakuza, the Japanese mafia. The discovery opens a door that should have been left closed.

So begins the race to outrun his legacy as the secrets of her father’s past threaten Claire’s friends and family, newfound love, and ultimately her life. Ink and Ashes, winner of Tu Books’ New Visions Award, is a heart-stopping debut mystery that will keep readers on the edge of their seats until the very last page.

I like the sound of this. It doesn't sound like anything I've read before in terms of the story/plot. Yes, it's a mystery, but it's different because it involves the yakuza. I want to know more, I want to know how deep into Japanese culture, whether in North America or in Japan, this book goes. I want more diverse stories, more books that take place in different cultures then mine, different countries than where I live. I know enough about characters with the same general suburban background as mine. What I don't know about growing up a different skin colour or in a different area of town or with a different faith/belief system or with a different family structure could fill an encyclopedia. Hopefully I'm not the only person who thinks this way.