by Kirby Larson
First published 2021
Nanea feels ready to take on real work at her grandparents' market in Hawaii. At nine years old, she knows she can handle more than anyone gives her credit for. She wants to prove she can contribute something meaningful to her family. Then Japanese planes attack Pearl Harbor where her father works. Everything Nanea knows gets turned upside down in a single morning. Friends disappear. Family members go missing. People whisper about more attacks coming to the islands. Nanea watches her world transform from the peaceful place she knew into something frightening and uncertain. War has arrived in paradise, and nothing feels safe anymore. She must find her courage when her family and community need her most. The attack forces Nanea to grow up faster than she ever imagined, but it also gives her the chance to show the strength she always knew she had inside.
Genres: american-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, world-war-ii
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: coming-of-age, found-family
Setting: Hawaii, Pearl Harbor
Period: World War II
Unknown Binding · American Girl Publishing Inc
Content warnings: war