Author: Stephanie Morrill
Genre: YA Historical Fiction
Release Date: March 5th, 2019
Publisher: Blink YA
Source: ARC received from publisher which did not influence my opinion
My rating: 5 stars
Synopsis:
Evalina Cassano’s life in an Italian-American family in 1941 is everything it “should be” until she falls in love with Taichi Hamasaki, the son of Japanese immigrants. Despite the scandal it would cause and that inter-racial marriage is illegal in California, Evalina and Taichi vow they will find a way to be together. But anti-Japanese feelings erupt across the country after the attack on Pearl Harbor, and Taichi and his family are forced to give up their farm and move to an internment camp.
Degrading treatment make life at Manzanar Relocation Center difficult. Taichi’s only connection to the outside world are treasured letters from Evalina. Feeling that the only action she can take to help Taichi is to speak out on behalf of all Japanese Americans, Evalina becomes increasingly vocal at school and at home. Meanwhile, inside Manzanar, fighting between different Japanese-American factions arises. Taichi begins to doubt he will ever leave the camp alive.
With tensions running high and their freedom on the line, Evalina and Taichi must hold true to their values and believe in their love to make a way back to each other against unbelievable odds.
My Review:
Although this one actually started off slow for me, and I was unsure if I would like it, it really redeemed itself in the end. I usually love historical fiction like this, especially when it is about certain parts of history that I only know the bare minimum about. To be honest, the only thing I really knew about the Japanese detainment camps during WWII had to do with what I'd learned from one of the characters in the original Karate Kid movie. Yeah, I know, that's sad. I'm sure I learned other things in school, but that is all that stuck with me.
The book started out seeming like it was just going to be a pretty simple romance story with some of the historical times that it was set in. But once we got to the point where Taichi got sent to the camp, it really got into what resonated with me. The fact that here in America we would start a camp, and run it, almost as bad as what the Nazi's were doing in Germany, frustrates me. However, the book reminded me about how the press made sure to only cover what made it look like the camps were nice relaxing, fun places. That the truth of the matter wasn't really shown. That kind of detail is so relevant in today's world, when we hear about fake news, and you hear that governments or companies, want to control what is reported.
But it wasn't just the Japanese interment camp parts that this book really brought up. There was also the bit that Evalina had to deal with not only as a female, but also as a minority in the country at that time as well. The fact that inter-racial marriage was so illegal at that time, so much more than really ever occurred to me, a very sheltered girl when I was growing up in the suburbs of the 80s.
Overall this was a great historical fiction for teens, and I look forward to putting it in my school library for my students to read.