ALA Booklist (Wed Sep 01 00:00:00 CDT 2004)

In this first-person narrative, readers find out what it was like to be a young Japanese American boy in Seattle after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. First Joe's immigrant dad is arrested and held in secret. Then the rest of the family is removed to internment camps. Joe's older brother can't wait to join the army and prove his loyalty, and he fights the Nazis in Europe, but that doesn't reduce the prejudice and the family's hardship. There have been several books about the Japanese American internment--fiction, nonfiction, and even a few picture books--including Ken Mochizuki's Baseball Saved Us (1993) and Yoshiko Uchida's autobiographical accounts. Like some of those, this one makes history the drama, and Patneaude scrupulously reports the facts and shows the wide range of attitudes among Japanese Americans and whites, citizens and immigrants, even among members of one family. Basing his story on extensive research and interviews, the author does a fine job of bringing the daily experience up close through the story of an American kid torn from home.

Horn Book

Joe is a happy, well-adjusted eleven-year-old living near Seattle. When Pearl Harbor is bombed, he and his Japanese-American family suddenly become the enemy. Joe's anger and confusion, the prejudice he faces in his small community, and his forced relocation to an internment camp are all handled realistically in this moving novel.

Kirkus Reviews

On the brink of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, Joe Hanada and his family search for the perfect Christmas tree, invited to do so by a good neighbor. Joe and his family are Americans of Japanese origin, as are many in the farming community near Seattle, Washington. Soon, too soon, the friendly atmosphere of the place turns to active hatred by some. On December 7th, the FBI takes Joe's father away in his pajamas and the family begins to struggle to carry on. And then it's their turn. The walls of the title tell much about the harsh conditions in the guarded and fenced facilities where the "detainees" must live—each family in a single room. Some of the non-Japanese are good people, some hateful, and Joe's descriptions of them are powerful. Eventually, his father is returned to the family and his older brother joins the American army and is shipped into combat. Joe's first-person narrative is moving and clear in its depiction of this life, so cruel and unfair, though Joe's voice sometimes seems more mature than an 11-year-old. An important and forceful a contribution to the field. (Historical fiction. 6-9)

School Library Journal

Gr 5-8-The bombing of Pearl Harbor puts an end to 11-year-old Joe Hanada's happy-go-lucky life in the White River Valley near Seattle. Basketball, marbles, and Christmas plans are suddenly overshadowed by fears about the war. When longtime acquaintances begin to suspect Japanese-Americans of being spies, even the loyalty of Joe's Caucasian best friend can't soften the hurt of being called names or of having his father, a leader in the Issei community, taken away by the FBI. Joe finds comfort in his journal, where he records his impressions in both prose and haiku. After he is sent to the Tule Lake Relocation Camp in California with his older brother Mike and their mother and grandmother, Joe finds relief from the tedium of confinement in his writing. When Mike turns 18, he volunteers for the Army, eager to prove his loyalty. Not all of the detainees share his desire to fight for the U.S. Some request repatriation to Japan, while others forbid their children to speak English. The inclusion of many differing viewpoints within the Japanese-American community makes this book unique. Featuring a main character who grows and develops as historical events unfold, this well-written novel is a worthy companion to Ken Mochizuki's Baseball Saved Us (Lee & Low, 1993) and Yoshiko Uchida's Journey to Topaz (Turtleback, 1985) and Journey Home (McElderry, 1978).-Ginny Gustin, Sonoma County Library System, Santa Rosa, CA Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.