PEACE IS A CHAIN REACTION

Groups of people on different sides of the globe find themselves linked by World War II.

Succinct narration interspersed with photographs, notes, and quotes explains the events leading to the attack on Pearl Harbor and the United States entering World War II. Stone takes great pains to convey the blatant discrimination against people of Japanese descent, who were stripped of their rights and imprisoned in camps. Yuzuru Takeshita, born and raised in California and who also lived in Japan for some time, struggled with the injustice of being unlawfully imprisoned. Meanwhile, in Japan, thousands of high school girls, including Toshiko Inoue, were tasked with a secret mission; they endured long hours and harsh conditions to make balloon bombs designed to attack the United States. Though many balloons made it to American soil, for the most part, they did limited damage; however, six civilians were killed, including children. Years after the war, a chance meeting between Takeshita and Inoue eventually led to correspondence between the U.S. victims’ families and several balloon workers. Stone artfully weaves these stories together as several of the workers and the American families eventually meet to explore their collective trauma and forgiveness.

An extraordinary story that brings a new perspective to the human toll of war and the capacity for healing.