Picture Book Review: My Lost Freedom

 

This might be a hard book for younger readers, but it's an important one. 

This is the story of George Takei and his time at the internment camps.

There's a lot to unpack. While this is terrible to read about - it's necessary to understand our past. There's some joy here as people tried to make the best of a terrible situation. It ends with hope.

There are author photos in the back from before the war, at the internment camp, and after the war. 

This book should be in every library. 

Middle Grade Review: Pearl

 

Amy is a Japanese American who lives in Hawaii. When word reaches her parents about her great-grandmother's illness, she's sent to Japan for a visit. And then Japan attacks Pearl Harbor. Amy can't go home. 

She's forced into translating radio transmissions for Japan. She's not sure what to feel; she's torn in two directions. Which should her loyalties lie? She hears rumors that all the Japanese Americans are forced to abandon their homes and live in internment camps. If that's true, why should she be loyal to that kind of government?

The most important question on her mind: Will she ever get home?

My Thoughts: This was a really great graphic novel. I felt so bad for Amy. She was caught between two worlds - two countries and two families. I can't imagine being in her shoes and deciding what to do next. What a horrible choice. This one sits with you for a bit....

I do like how this WWII story is from a different perspective. This is a great jumping off point for readers; I would want to read more about the war after reading this graphic novel.

Cover Thoughts: I like the wave.

Source: ARC sent for review

Library Recommendation: A must have book for your school and public library

For the American Side:

Reivew: Miss Morgan's Book Brigade

 

Jessie Carson takes a break from her micromanaging boss who is overly critical and NYPL. She's hired as a librarian for the American Committee for Devastated France. WWI is still going on; Jessie thinks she can help. Her eyes are opened when she sees the French countryside. 

The library needs to be rebuilt, but Jessie isn't about to let that stop her. She knows the power of books and stories. Right away she bonds with the other CARDS - even though most of them are donating their time. Jessie isn't a debutant, but she fits right in.

People need shelter, food, and most importantly hope. The CARDS drop by for social visits and to distribute food. Jessie tags along and showcases books. Soon she starts storytime out in the community. Her story is lost to history until one library worker finds her name in the archives at NYPL. Wendy Peterson researches the CARDS and Jessie. She wants to share the story of these amazing and brave women. 

My Thoughts: This book hooked me from the beginning. I enjoyed the dual perspectives from Jessie and Wendy. I love how Wendy found Jessie's story and was determined to share it. I'm so impressed by these women - they helped so many people. I love how they persisted with the different villagers. Those poor people went through so much - the war, the loss, the grief, and trying to pick the pieces back up. I loved the relationships in this book. I loved the moments of research and time inside the library. This was such an inspiring read! 

Cover Thoughts: Well done

Library Recommendation: This book is sure to be a book discussion book. A must have book for library collections. 

Middle Grade Review: Heroes

Frank and Stanley are best friends, growing up on Pearl Harbor. They love superheroes and work together to create comic books. Frank writes the stories and Stanley draws them. They were meeting with a family friend on the USS Utah for a tour. 

The tour has barely started when Japanese planes flew overhead dropping bombs. From that moment on, Frank and Stanley's lives were in danger. They fight to make their way back home. 

Frank is white and Stanley is Japanese American. While the boys get back home, Stanley's mother recognizes that things have changed. She's burying their Japanese ancestry items.  People start looking at them differently afterwards. 

Even when they get home, the boys are not safe. 

My Thoughts: The story takes place in three parts: Before, During, and After. I loved the different parts and the fact that the book took place mostly in one day. There's lot of action and danger that kept me turning the pages quickly. I felt terrible for both the boys for all the horrors they witnessed. However, I felt worse for Stanley has he dealt with racism from people who had known his family.  While this book doesn't go much beyond the day of the attack, it does talk about the horrific history of the Japanese internment camps. I really enjoyed the question that this book sets out to answer: What makes a hero? I love how it worked as a topic for the main characters but also for the country. The point that we joined the war after an attack and not before raises some questions.  This is a great book for an introduction to Pearl Habor and the reasons America joined to war. 

Cover Thoughts: Great

Source: Checked out from the library

Library Recommendation: Highly recommended for your school and public library's collection.

Graphic Novel Review: Catherine's War

Rachel discovered photography at school, and it changed her life. She hasn't heard from parents in months. She isn't sure what's happening, but the war is getting closer. Rachel is Jewish. It's no longer safe in France. 

At first, Rachel has to change her name and learn a new identity. She becomes Catherine. And then she has to leave her friends and her new home. She travels to a new place where she remembers to take pictures. Catherine doesn't let the war stop her from making friends, but she's never out of danger.

She travels to new places, always leaving a part of her behind, but always taking a piece with her in photographic evidence. 

My Thoughts: I really loved this graphic novel. It was an interesting look at WWII through a photographer's eyes. I felt so bad for Rachel and her friends. But I was also impressed by their willingness to move again and again. I'm so impressed by the people who took in these children, who gave them a good home, and who cared for them. It must have been so hard, so scary, and so devastating when you had to move again or when you were split up from those you grew to care about. So much courage in this graphic novel. This story was based on the author's mother's experience. 

Cover Thoughts: Cute

Source: my library

Library Recommendation: A must have graphic novel collection for your school and public library. 

If You Like... Books and Movies

 I watched a few movies recently that reminded me of some great books so I thought I'd share:

Review: Opera Sisters

 

Ida and Lousie life a comfortable life in London. Their one true love - the opera. They save their money to purchase tickets. They chat with fellow opera lovers while they wait for tickets and become friends. 

But times are changing. Hitler comes to power. Soon he's targeting Jewish people. They start asking their friends for help. The Cook sisters do what they can. But the more they learn, the more risks they take to help. Can they make a difference?

My Thoughts: This is the first time I've heard about these sisters, and I want to know more. I enjoyed this book. The plot of the novel is interspersed with historical moments - which adds context to the story but also kept me from fully sinking into the story. Also there was a huge time jump that wasn't fully explained and I wondered what had happened during that time. It jumped from the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 to D-Day. I loved that one of the sisters was a romance writer - and that's how she funded many of the rescues. I do love the idea that one person (or two in this case) can make a huge difference.

Cover Thoughts: Stunning

Source: ARC sent for review

Review: Rose Code

 

During World War Two, two girls meet up on the train heading for Bletchley Park. They have no idea how much their lives will change. They're not even sure what they'll be doing for Bletchley Park or how their efforts will be helping out during the war.

Osla, a debutant, wants people to stop thinking of her as a silly girl not capable of anything.

Mab wants to do her part - and maybe find a husband at the same time.

They end up rooming together at a local house with a family who has a daughter their age. Beth isn't terribly clever and she never stands up to her mother, but her mind works in the vest best of ways for Bletchley Park. It isn't long before Mab and Osla convince Beth to apply for a job too.

The three of them have wonderful and terrible moments. Through it all, they have each other - until their friendship falls apart. Now, years later, they come back together for one last mission.

My Thoughts: I'm a sucker for a good spy novel - and while this wasn't exactly what I imagined, I couldn't but this book down. The story had a dual timeline - one during the war and one years later right before Prince Philip married Princess Elizabeth. The three girls were also narrators. Each had secrets and each had something to prove. I loved learning more about Bletchley Park and the work they did. I liked the unlikely friendships. I really the present day story and how that came together.

* I loved the author's note and learning who the girls where based on in history. It was fascinating. 

Cover Thoughts: Love it

Source: My library

Library Recommendation: A great WWII book - fans of the era will gobble this one up. Highly recommended for your library.

D-Day: A poem

Today marks the 71st anniversary of D-Day, where Americans landed on the shores of Normandy. 

Library of Congress

Chief Photographer's Mate (CPHOM) Robert F. Sargent, U.S. Coast Guard

Here's a poem I wrote in college about an imaginary conversation with my grandfather who survived D-Day. He died when I was five or so and I have no recollections of him. 

He was Welsh and the word for grandfather is Taid, which I what I called him.

Overload on the Shores of Omaha

"I don't want to talk about it

and that's final."

I had heard these words

time and time again.

Taid never wanted to talk about his vacation in France

I would ask questions

from stories that I heard at school.

He could complain that I was bothering him

and my mother took me away

so he could rest in peace.

Then one day, he called me

to his side.

Finally he shared his story.

Only once he started,

I wanted to beg him to stop.

I didn't want to hear how afraid he was

or how the sea surged crimson

at the crack of dawn

when they landed on the shores of France.

I didn't want to hear about the bodies lying on the beach

or the ones floating

who would never swim back to shore.

He told me about the recurring nightmare,

his friends would call out for help

but there was no where to turn

and no where to run.

The next day, Taid took his last breath.

I stood proudly by his gave

but I did not cry

not even when they folded the flag

or when the shots rang out.

I played the role of his brave soldier.

Review: Code Talkers

At the tender age of 6, Kii Yazhi was taken away from his family and put into school. At the school, they were forbidden to talk Navajo. Instead they must practice their English. They were also given new clothes, new haircuts, and above all a new name.

Ned grew up at the school learning English. Before long, the country was engaged in WWII. Ned wanted to go and fight, but he promised his parents he would wait a year. After the year was over, he entered the Marine Corps, lying about his age.

There he learned about a special program for those who spoke Navajo. He joined this program and learned that he would have to keep his life a complete secret.

He and other Navajo speakers created a code where they sent messages back and forth. It was a code the leaders were convinced the Japanese couldn't crack.

My Thoughts: I've always wanted to read this book and so I chose it for the book club at the library. It as good, a bit different than what I expected. Ned shares his viewpoint from the war, which were equally interesting and horrifying. He narrated the book as if he were telling his story to his grandchildren. Normally, I don't like that interaction between the reader and the story, but for this book, it works. I loved learning about a piece of history I knew nothing about previously.

Cover Thoughts: Great - simple but effective

Source: my Library