by Alan Gratz
First published 2017
Hideki Kaneshiro works alongside his family on their Hawaiian farm when Japanese bombers strike Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. The attack shatters his peaceful world in a single day. Federal agents come to interrogate his parents. Former friends and neighbors now view him with distrust and anger. His Japanese heritage transforms him from American boy into suspected enemy overnight. His father risks being taken to a detention camp. His mother fights to keep their family intact as suspicion swirls around them. Hideki finds himself caught between two identities, forced to prove his American loyalty while facing the prejudice and fear that war unleashes. He learns that choosing sides becomes complicated when the country you love questions your right to belong. The farm boy who never doubted his place in America must now defend it.
Genres: historical-fiction, war, coming-of-age, family-drama
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, identity-crisis
Setting: Hawaii, Pearl Harbor
Period: 1941
338 pages · Hardcover · Scholastic Press
Content warnings: racism