November 2, 2015
First-person, present-tense narration gives voice to a voiceless child amid the internment of Japanese Americans during WWII. Ten-year-old Manami and her family are relocated from Bainbridge Island, Wash., to a California internment camp after the bombing of Pearl Harbor; in a wrenching early scene, a soldier forcibly separates Manami from Yujiin, her beloved dog, after which she becomes mute, expressing her longing only in drawings. Manami’s narration occasionally takes the form of short, poetic bursts:
“So it is settled. Father will work. Mother will cook. Grandfather will sit. What will I do? Water plants. Sit with Grandfather. Wait for Yujiin.” Sepahban, the author of several works of children’s nonfiction, eloquently conveys the devastating effects of internment and a resilience undergirded by cultural traditions. In one quietly powerful scene, Manami acknowledges her depressed grandfather’s return to family meals: “A ceremony to honor a special occasion. Mother is preparing tea.” In depicting how Manami’s college-age brother, Ron, must choose between internment or joining the army, Sepahban captures the contradictions of this bleak period. Engrossing and heartrending historical fiction. Ages 9–12. Agent: Kathleen Rushall, Marsal Lyon Literary Agency.