A Japanese American incarceration narrative told through an original and effective blend of prose and illustration.
A Japanese American family is split between an incarceration camp and the battlefront.
It’s 1944, and Mak, Mari’s 18-year-old brother, has gone away to fight in World War II. Mari has vowed not to speak again until he comes back, no matter how strange her father or anyone else at Manzanar finds it. Mari spends her time drawing and waiting for letters from her brother, who experiences first basic training and then combat. Mak is forced to face the fact that the same government that locked his family up for being Japanese is happy enough to send him to the front—and racism from White fellow Americans continues overseas, of course. As Mak tries to protect his family from the uglier side of war, Mari contends with her quarreling parents, dismal life at camp, and her own volatile moods. Told through prose and black-and-white comic panels, Mari’s and Mak’s stories come to life. Mari’s sections are sometimes hampered by a disjointed narrative style that leaves her age and perception of events unclear and that is a mismatch for the relatively more brutal sections detailing Mak’s wartime experiences. Even so, the stark inequities that Japanese Americans faced as well as the quieter struggle of parents and children trying to understand each other and grow together both shine through.
A Japanese American incarceration narrative told through an original and effective blend of prose and illustration. (author’s note, bibliography) (Historical fiction. 10-15)Pub Date: Oct. 18, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5344-7762-9
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Riveting, inspiring, and sometimes hilarious.
If you made a recording to be heard by the aliens who found the iPod, what would you record?
For 11-year-old Alex Petroski, it's easy. He records everything. He records the story of how he travels to New Mexico to a rocket festival with his dog, Carl Sagan, and his rocket. He records finding out that a man with the same name and birthday as his dead father has an address in Las Vegas. He records eating at Johnny Rockets for the first time with his new friends, who are giving him a ride to find his dead father (who might not be dead!), and losing Carl Sagan in the wilds of Las Vegas, and discovering he has a half sister. He even records his own awful accident. Cheng delivers a sweet, soulful debut novel with a brilliant, refreshing structure. His characters manage to come alive through the “transcript” of Alex’s iPod recording, an odd medium that sounds like it would be confusing but really works. Taking inspiration from the Voyager Golden Record released to space in 1977, Alex, who explains he has “light brown skin,” records all the important moments of a journey that takes him from a family of two to a family of plenty.
Riveting, inspiring, and sometimes hilarious. (Fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Feb. 28, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-399-18637-0
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
Guaranteed to enchant, enthrall, and enmagick.
An elderly witch, a magical girl, a brave carpenter, a wise monster, a tiny dragon, paper birds, and a madwoman converge to thwart a magician who feeds on sorrow.
Every year Elders of the Protectorate leave a baby in the forest, warning everyone an evil Witch demands this sacrifice. In reality, every year, a kind witch named Xan rescues the babies and find families for them. One year Xan saves a baby girl with a crescent birthmark who accidentally feeds on moonlight and becomes “enmagicked.” Magic babies can be tricky, so Xan adopts little Luna herself and lovingly raises her, with help from an ancient swamp monster and a chatty, wee dragon. Luna’s magical powers emerge as her 13th birthday approaches. Meanwhile, Luna’s deranged real mother enters the forest to find her daughter. Simultaneously, a young carpenter from the Protectorate enters the forest to kill the Witch and end the sacrifices. Xan also enters the forest to rescue the next sacrificed child, and Luna, the monster, and the dragon enter the forest to protect Xan. In the dramatic denouement, a volcano erupts, the real villain attempts to destroy all, and love prevails. Replete with traditional motifs, this nontraditional fairy tale boasts sinister and endearing characters, magical elements, strong storytelling, and unleashed forces. Luna has black eyes, curly, black hair, and “amber” skin.
Guaranteed to enchant, enthrall, and enmagick. (Fantasy. 10-14)Pub Date: Aug. 9, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-61620-567-6
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Algonquin
Review Posted Online: May 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016
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