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miraswan's review against another edition
5.0
Shaking and crying on campus as I read this. It was so good and so sad and so... so many things I can't put into words right now. The way Alex and Charlie captured me in the first few letters was an incredible feat of writing because the two worked so well with each other. I loved seeing the balance between them.
In many ways, Frank and Charlie played similar roles to Alex albeit in different ways. Both were a counterweight to Alex's... almost accepting defeat ways? I don't believe he did accept, and that he tried to fix things / survive things in his own way! His anger and pain was very real, and I fault no one for simply trying to survive through trauma. I only bring this up because Frank was protesting and sharp and adamant and Charlie had a fire in her that led to her defiance in everything. I noticed Alex was content to follow along in their wake -- and his turning point was the lack of Charlie and Frank in his life which we see most notably in part three. It's when he unfolds as a character in some ways - and crumples in others.
I feel as though Alex lost many things in this war. His dreams of the future were one of them -- he let go of his belief in Frank fixing everything, in the US realizing their mistake, in becoming a comic artist, in meeting Charlie. It was... painful to witness the way this happened. The light in Alex most certainly dimmed. And yet the ending was so hopeful. I want him to hold onto that. I'm glad he found the light. I'm glad he found hope again.
Anyway I cried.
In many ways, Frank and Charlie played similar roles to Alex albeit in different ways. Both were a counterweight to Alex's... almost accepting defeat ways? I don't believe he did accept, and that he tried to fix things / survive things in his own way! His anger and pain was very real, and I fault no one for simply trying to survive through trauma. I only bring this up because Frank was protesting and sharp and adamant and Charlie had a fire in her that led to her defiance in everything. I noticed Alex was content to follow along in their wake -- and his turning point was the lack of Charlie and Frank in his life which we see most notably in part three. It's when he unfolds as a character in some ways - and crumples in others.
I feel as though Alex lost many things in this war. His dreams of the future were one of them -- he let go of his belief in Frank fixing everything, in the US realizing their mistake, in becoming a comic artist, in meeting Charlie. It was... painful to witness the way this happened. The light in Alex most certainly dimmed. And yet the ending was so hopeful. I want him to hold onto that. I'm glad he found the light. I'm glad he found hope again.
Anyway I cried.
linesuponapage's review against another edition
5.0
Description from the Publisher:
"For readers of The Librarian Of Auschwitz, This Light Between Us is a powerfully affecting story of World War II about the unlikeliest of pen pals—a Japanese American boy and a French Jewish girl—as they fight to maintain hope in a time of war.
“I remember visiting Manzanar and standing in the windswept plains where over ten thousand internees were once imprisoned, their voices cut off. I remember how much I wanted to write a story that did right by them. Hopefully this book delivers.”—Andrew Fukuda"
My review:
This Light Between Us by Andrew Fukuda absolutely broke my heart. I had previous knowledge of the numerous Japanese Internment Camps and what the people went through because I have an older friend who was three years old at Manzanar Relocation Center with his six family members. He refused to take the Reparation from the government because he was serving in the military when President Reagan signed the bill to give Compensation to all the survivors of the camp. He told me his story back in 2001. He is a patriotic man who wrestled with the two sides of his history just as Alex did.
The physical descriptions of the center, the treatment of the Japanese people was hard enough to read than Mr. Fukuda throws in a penpal friendship between Alex and Charlie, who is a Jewish girl residing in Paris. Between the Relocation Centers in the States and the Concentration Camps in Europe as parallel settings, the story gets even more impressive and traumatic. I have to be honest, I took a few weeks off reading this book because my empathetic heart broke so many times and I just needed a break from the pain. I am lucky that I can do such a thing since Alex and Charlie didn't have that option.
The anger, the pride, the hatred were papable characters of their own and this story although aimed at YAs is a must-read for all age groups. I can't give Mr. Fukuda enough praise for his style of writing. The Epistolary style is my favorite writing methods and sometimes in other books I've read, it doesn't cover enough of the sense of smell, feelings, relationships, and setting. This book did not let me down. It is up there with The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis; Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn; Alice Walker's The Color Purple, and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society written by Annie Barrows and Mary Ann Shaffer. I know it is going to be a best-seller! I also think it would make a great movie.
I want to give an example of a paragraph that was a description in top-notch form. Let me set the setting: Alex and his family (his mother and brother, Frank,) are entering the Internment Camp along with the other first wave of prisoners and they see bleak tarpaper shelters in the middle of a near-empty desert: “Never judge a book by its cover. This is what they tell themselves. But once inside, their worst fears are confirmed. The book is worse than the cover. The walls are just wood sheeting, splintery and thin. No paint or insulation or plaster covers them. The floor is composed of wood planks with large knotholes slapped together. No linoleum covering. Placed around the room are seven army cots, metal skeletons. None with a mattress or a pillow. An oil furnace in the corner, standing cold as a tombstone. No desk, no chair, no running water, no toilet. Only a single bulb, unlit, hangs from a cord dangling from an overhead beam. Beneath it, coarse army blankets are thrown in a pile. Frank walks to far side. The wall—no more than a thin partition—doesn’t reach the peaked roof, leaving a three-foot triangular space.”
Can you see it? Do you feel the promise of a cozy shelter? Nope, neither did I. This one paragraph (which I hope the author didn't change) is just one of so many paragraphs that are even more detailed than this but I didn't want to use any of them as they would ruin the story. Trust me. This book is filled with brilliance for such a sad, sad, part of our history.
This Light Between Us has some romance, and fun in it too because like in all situations of life there ebbs and flows, highs and lows and somehow you have to lighten the load just to continue living. This is definitely a must-buy-to-re-read novel so that you can find other tidbits of truth in it. I am giving this a 5 star even though I feel it has earned more than that.
Thank you to Netgalley, Andrew Fuduka, and Macmillan-Tor/Forge for the opportunity to read this beautifully written book in lieu of my honest review.
"For readers of The Librarian Of Auschwitz, This Light Between Us is a powerfully affecting story of World War II about the unlikeliest of pen pals—a Japanese American boy and a French Jewish girl—as they fight to maintain hope in a time of war.
“I remember visiting Manzanar and standing in the windswept plains where over ten thousand internees were once imprisoned, their voices cut off. I remember how much I wanted to write a story that did right by them. Hopefully this book delivers.”—Andrew Fukuda"
My review:
This Light Between Us by Andrew Fukuda absolutely broke my heart. I had previous knowledge of the numerous Japanese Internment Camps and what the people went through because I have an older friend who was three years old at Manzanar Relocation Center with his six family members. He refused to take the Reparation from the government because he was serving in the military when President Reagan signed the bill to give Compensation to all the survivors of the camp. He told me his story back in 2001. He is a patriotic man who wrestled with the two sides of his history just as Alex did.
The physical descriptions of the center, the treatment of the Japanese people was hard enough to read than Mr. Fukuda throws in a penpal friendship between Alex and Charlie, who is a Jewish girl residing in Paris. Between the Relocation Centers in the States and the Concentration Camps in Europe as parallel settings, the story gets even more impressive and traumatic. I have to be honest, I took a few weeks off reading this book because my empathetic heart broke so many times and I just needed a break from the pain. I am lucky that I can do such a thing since Alex and Charlie didn't have that option.
The anger, the pride, the hatred were papable characters of their own and this story although aimed at YAs is a must-read for all age groups. I can't give Mr. Fukuda enough praise for his style of writing. The Epistolary style is my favorite writing methods and sometimes in other books I've read, it doesn't cover enough of the sense of smell, feelings, relationships, and setting. This book did not let me down. It is up there with The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis; Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn; Alice Walker's The Color Purple, and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society written by Annie Barrows and Mary Ann Shaffer. I know it is going to be a best-seller! I also think it would make a great movie.
I want to give an example of a paragraph that was a description in top-notch form. Let me set the setting: Alex and his family (his mother and brother, Frank,) are entering the Internment Camp along with the other first wave of prisoners and they see bleak tarpaper shelters in the middle of a near-empty desert: “Never judge a book by its cover. This is what they tell themselves. But once inside, their worst fears are confirmed. The book is worse than the cover. The walls are just wood sheeting, splintery and thin. No paint or insulation or plaster covers them. The floor is composed of wood planks with large knotholes slapped together. No linoleum covering. Placed around the room are seven army cots, metal skeletons. None with a mattress or a pillow. An oil furnace in the corner, standing cold as a tombstone. No desk, no chair, no running water, no toilet. Only a single bulb, unlit, hangs from a cord dangling from an overhead beam. Beneath it, coarse army blankets are thrown in a pile. Frank walks to far side. The wall—no more than a thin partition—doesn’t reach the peaked roof, leaving a three-foot triangular space.”
Can you see it? Do you feel the promise of a cozy shelter? Nope, neither did I. This one paragraph (which I hope the author didn't change) is just one of so many paragraphs that are even more detailed than this but I didn't want to use any of them as they would ruin the story. Trust me. This book is filled with brilliance for such a sad, sad, part of our history.
This Light Between Us has some romance, and fun in it too because like in all situations of life there ebbs and flows, highs and lows and somehow you have to lighten the load just to continue living. This is definitely a must-buy-to-re-read novel so that you can find other tidbits of truth in it. I am giving this a 5 star even though I feel it has earned more than that.
Thank you to Netgalley, Andrew Fuduka, and Macmillan-Tor/Forge for the opportunity to read this beautifully written book in lieu of my honest review.
linesuponapage's review against another edition
5.0
This Light Between Us by Andrew Fukuda absolutely broke my heart. I had previous knowledge of the numerous Japanese Internment Camps and what the people went through because I have an older friend who was three years old at Manzanar Relocation Center with his six family members. He refused to take the Reparation from the government because he was serving in the military when President Reagan signed the bill to give Compensation to all the survivors of the camp. He told me his story back in 2001. He is a patriotic man who wrestled with the two sides of his history just as Alex did.
The physical descriptions of the center, the treatment of the Japanese people was hard enough to read than Mr. Fukuda throws in a penpal friendship between Alex and Charlie, who is a Jewish girl residing in Paris. Between the Relocation Centers in the States and the Concentration Camps in Europe as parallel settings, the story gets even more impressive and traumatic. I have to be honest, I took a few weeks off reading this book because my empathetic heart broke so many times and I just needed a break from the pain. I am lucky that I can do such a thing since Alex and Charlie didn't have that option.
The anger, the pride, the hatred were papable characters of their own and this story although aimed at YAs is a must-read for all age groups. I can't give Mr. Fukuda enough praise for his style of writing. The Epistolary style is my favorite writing methods and sometimes in other books I've read, it doesn't cover enough of the sense of smell, feelings, relationships, and setting. This book did not let me down. It is up there with The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis; Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn; Alice Walker's The Color Purple, and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society written by Annie Barrows and Mary Ann Shaffer. I know it is going to be a best-seller! I also think it would make a great movie.
I want to give an example of a paragraph that was a description in top-notch form. Let me set the setting: Alex and his family (his mother and brother, Frank,) are entering the Internment Camp along with the other first wave of prisoners and they see bleak tarpaper shelters in the middle of a near-empty desert: “Never judge a book by its cover. This is what they tell themselves. But once inside, their worst fears are confirmed. The book is worse than the cover. The walls are just wood sheeting, splintery and thin. No paint or insulation or plaster covers them. The floor is composed of wood planks with large knotholes slapped together. No linoleum covering. Placed around the room are seven army cots, metal skeletons. None with a mattress or a pillow. An oil furnace in the corner, standing cold as a tombstone. No desk, no chair, no running water, no toilet. Only a single bulb, unlit, hangs from a cord dangling from an overhead beam. Beneath it, coarse army blankets are thrown in a pile. Frank walks to far side. The wall—no more than a thin partition—doesn’t reach the peaked roof, leaving a three-foot triangular space.”
Can you see it? Do you feel the promise of a cozy shelter? Nope, neither did I. This one paragraph (which I hope the author didn't change) is just one of so many paragraphs that are even more detailed than this but I didn't want to use any of them as they would ruin the story. Trust me. This book is filled with brilliance for such a sad, sad, part of our history.
This Light Between Us has some romance, and fun in it too because like in all situations of life there ebbs and flows, highs and lows and somehow you have to lighten the load just to continue living. This is definitely a must-buy-to-re-read novel so that you can find other tidbits of truth in it. I am giving this a 5 star even though I feel it has earned more than that.
Thank you to Netgalley, Andrew Fuduka, and Macmillan-Tor/Forge for the opportunity to read this beautifully written book in lieu of my honest review
The physical descriptions of the center, the treatment of the Japanese people was hard enough to read than Mr. Fukuda throws in a penpal friendship between Alex and Charlie, who is a Jewish girl residing in Paris. Between the Relocation Centers in the States and the Concentration Camps in Europe as parallel settings, the story gets even more impressive and traumatic. I have to be honest, I took a few weeks off reading this book because my empathetic heart broke so many times and I just needed a break from the pain. I am lucky that I can do such a thing since Alex and Charlie didn't have that option.
The anger, the pride, the hatred were papable characters of their own and this story although aimed at YAs is a must-read for all age groups. I can't give Mr. Fukuda enough praise for his style of writing. The Epistolary style is my favorite writing methods and sometimes in other books I've read, it doesn't cover enough of the sense of smell, feelings, relationships, and setting. This book did not let me down. It is up there with The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis; Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn; Alice Walker's The Color Purple, and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society written by Annie Barrows and Mary Ann Shaffer. I know it is going to be a best-seller! I also think it would make a great movie.
I want to give an example of a paragraph that was a description in top-notch form. Let me set the setting: Alex and his family (his mother and brother, Frank,) are entering the Internment Camp along with the other first wave of prisoners and they see bleak tarpaper shelters in the middle of a near-empty desert: “Never judge a book by its cover. This is what they tell themselves. But once inside, their worst fears are confirmed. The book is worse than the cover. The walls are just wood sheeting, splintery and thin. No paint or insulation or plaster covers them. The floor is composed of wood planks with large knotholes slapped together. No linoleum covering. Placed around the room are seven army cots, metal skeletons. None with a mattress or a pillow. An oil furnace in the corner, standing cold as a tombstone. No desk, no chair, no running water, no toilet. Only a single bulb, unlit, hangs from a cord dangling from an overhead beam. Beneath it, coarse army blankets are thrown in a pile. Frank walks to far side. The wall—no more than a thin partition—doesn’t reach the peaked roof, leaving a three-foot triangular space.”
Can you see it? Do you feel the promise of a cozy shelter? Nope, neither did I. This one paragraph (which I hope the author didn't change) is just one of so many paragraphs that are even more detailed than this but I didn't want to use any of them as they would ruin the story. Trust me. This book is filled with brilliance for such a sad, sad, part of our history.
This Light Between Us has some romance, and fun in it too because like in all situations of life there ebbs and flows, highs and lows and somehow you have to lighten the load just to continue living. This is definitely a must-buy-to-re-read novel so that you can find other tidbits of truth in it. I am giving this a 5 star even though I feel it has earned more than that.
Thank you to Netgalley, Andrew Fuduka, and Macmillan-Tor/Forge for the opportunity to read this beautifully written book in lieu of my honest review
blodeuedd's review against another edition
3.0
I knew it would come a time when this would turn sad, and I kept on hoping that there would be light at the end of that tunnel.
Two 10 year olds become penpals. A world apart, and they will come to mean everything to each other. Alex is Japanese-American, who grows up on a strawberry farm. Charlie is Jewish and lives in Paris.
They keep on writing and the years go by. Charlie sees how people change, soon there are Germans in the streets, but nothing bad could ever happen, right?
For Alex is happens faster. Pearl Harbor, growing tension, interment camps.
People are stupid, people are evil. Why weren't every German American or Italian American in camps then too? I guess there had to be on evil enemy that did not look like the rest. I guess one has to be grateful that everyone was just not killed outright.
And I kept wondering about Charlie. Since there are no more letters due to obvious reasons we have no idea knowing what happens to her.
The cover does tell that he will enlist. And of course he will search for her, and break my heart.
The narrator was great. He sounded familiar, but I have not listened to him before. He did well with their different voices and I felt I was right there, on suicide hill.
A good book, that would make a really good movie. Oh this is really one of those that needs to be a movie too. Especially in these times.
Two 10 year olds become penpals. A world apart, and they will come to mean everything to each other. Alex is Japanese-American, who grows up on a strawberry farm. Charlie is Jewish and lives in Paris.
They keep on writing and the years go by. Charlie sees how people change, soon there are Germans in the streets, but nothing bad could ever happen, right?
For Alex is happens faster. Pearl Harbor, growing tension, interment camps.
People are stupid, people are evil. Why weren't every German American or Italian American in camps then too? I guess there had to be on evil enemy that did not look like the rest. I guess one has to be grateful that everyone was just not killed outright.
And I kept wondering about Charlie. Since there are no more letters due to obvious reasons we have no idea knowing what happens to her.
The cover does tell that he will enlist. And of course he will search for her, and break my heart.
The narrator was great. He sounded familiar, but I have not listened to him before. He did well with their different voices and I felt I was right there, on suicide hill.
A good book, that would make a really good movie. Oh this is really one of those that needs to be a movie too. Especially in these times.
katiez0314's review against another edition
5.0
THIS ONE. WOW.
WWII YA so so wonderful in capturing the pain of Japanese Internment camps in the US and concentration camps across Europe
Some magical realism, a love story, and this is a must read on my criteria
Loved loved loved
WWII YA so so wonderful in capturing the pain of Japanese Internment camps in the US and concentration camps across Europe
Some magical realism, a love story, and this is a must read on my criteria
Loved loved loved
simoneandherbooks's review against another edition
4.0
It's been quite some time since I've read a historical fiction novel, but it's also been a long time since I've read one based in World War 2. Because there are so many WW2 novels I stopped reading them all together. When I was offered to read a book that covers the war, but also the Japanese internment camps and the all Japanese-American military unit called the 442nd (also known as the most decorated military unit of the United States with the most losses). This particular point in American history isn't really talked about, but it should. It's a point of shame for an entire race of humans who peacefully lived in the United States only to be discriminated and hated against because of their ethnic background. Like, it's sad when Drunk History covers this part of United States history, but you don't hear about it in the classroom.
This Light Between Us follows Alex Maki, a young Japanese American boy living off the coast of Washington state on Bainbridge Island. For all intents and purposes, he's your average teenage boy with a love for comic books and reading. He also has a pen pal since he was 13 years old named Charlie Levy. Charlie is a young French Jewish girl living in Paris and as their friendship grows over the years, the turmoil during World War 2 deepens. On the day the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor, Alex, his family, and the small Japanese community on Bainbridge Island are immediately met with discrimination. And as the Japanese community is forced off the island and sent to the Manzanar internment camps, Alex shares this all with his pen pal. However, as turmoil in Europe progresses, letters from Charlie come less frequently causing Alex not only to worry about his family but also about his friend.
When American military arrive at the camp, Alex makes the decision to join the army in hopes of freeing his father in prison and finding his best friend in the chaos of war. He joins the 442nd military unit, a regime of all Japanese-American soldiers segregated from other troops because of their race. But as Alex spends years training and fighting, his search for Charlie continues only to find out the truth when the war finally ends.
I have to hand it to Andrew Fukuda. He expertly incorporated two of the major moments in Japanese American history into one book. First is the Japanese internment camps set up after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. I loved how Andrew Fukuda captured this moment in history. When the radio announces what happened at Pearl Harbor, the first thing Alex's family experiences is just utter hatred. They were no longer the friendly neighbors who cared about their community, but a threat and an enemy. It was so stark that people would hate them so easily and that really broke my heart. And when they were shipped off to the internment camps, I was so surprised that the conditions there were similar to the ones many immigrants experienced in cages on the border of Mexico and the United States. Talk about watching history repeat itself.
But what I found interesting is how the Japanese spent their time in the camps. For many, it was just trying to get back to a normal routine, but for others it was a slap in the face by the country they were so loyal to. I loved the depictions of how most Japanese tried to make the best of the situation but how others grouped together to revolt. But then it couldn't get worse when the US military came calling to the camps looking for recruits into the US army.
The second was the 442nd military unit which was completely comprised of Japanese-Americans and completely segregated from the rest of the military. They were sent to the front lines of Europe to essentially die, but the 442nd isn't just a group of men willing to lie down for the cause. Instead, they were the hardest fighting unit losing the most men, liberating a concentration camp in Germany, and being awarded the most medals than any other American military unit at the time. Sadly, history doesn't remember it this way.
The flow of this story and the usage of American history is really what I applaud Andrew Fukuda for. He expertly connects a Japanese American to the two distinct moments in their history in America and it really made sense. Although I was skeptic that Alex, the introverted book worm, would join the military, I can understand his reasoning and he didn't run into the situation like some hard-headed teenager. The scenes of war were well described with several losses for Alex making it feel more real. I honestly felt like I was reading the story of someone's grandfather.
However, the book wasn't perfect and I felt the story between Charlie and Alex was secondary to the historical aspects of the story. I loved the letters passed between these two friends and I loved how they conveyed not only their friendship but also what's happening around them. It was definitely difficult for me to read Charlie's letters without the inevitable happening. But during the years Alex was working in the military and deployed to Europe, there wasn't much from Charlie. Instead, Andrew Fukuda uses a small amount of magical realism to portray Charlie as immaterial being that visits Alex while he's in the military. I honestly could have done without that, but it did provide a little bit of a romantic feeling to the story.
But the ending was phenomenal. I'm not happy about what happens because it is tragic and sad, but I like the fact Andrew Fukuda stayed realistic with his storytelling and the ending reflected that.
Overall, great story and if you're already a die-hard fan of historical fiction, then definitely add this one to your list. Read this one if you don't know about Japanese internment camps or the 442nd as well. It's a part of American history that we don't discuss and honestly reflects the world that we live in today.
I received a copy of this book from Tor Teen for free in exchange for an honest review. My opinions have not been influenced by the publisher or the author.
This Light Between Us follows Alex Maki, a young Japanese American boy living off the coast of Washington state on Bainbridge Island. For all intents and purposes, he's your average teenage boy with a love for comic books and reading. He also has a pen pal since he was 13 years old named Charlie Levy. Charlie is a young French Jewish girl living in Paris and as their friendship grows over the years, the turmoil during World War 2 deepens. On the day the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor, Alex, his family, and the small Japanese community on Bainbridge Island are immediately met with discrimination. And as the Japanese community is forced off the island and sent to the Manzanar internment camps, Alex shares this all with his pen pal. However, as turmoil in Europe progresses, letters from Charlie come less frequently causing Alex not only to worry about his family but also about his friend.
When American military arrive at the camp, Alex makes the decision to join the army in hopes of freeing his father in prison and finding his best friend in the chaos of war. He joins the 442nd military unit, a regime of all Japanese-American soldiers segregated from other troops because of their race. But as Alex spends years training and fighting, his search for Charlie continues only to find out the truth when the war finally ends.
I have to hand it to Andrew Fukuda. He expertly incorporated two of the major moments in Japanese American history into one book. First is the Japanese internment camps set up after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. I loved how Andrew Fukuda captured this moment in history. When the radio announces what happened at Pearl Harbor, the first thing Alex's family experiences is just utter hatred. They were no longer the friendly neighbors who cared about their community, but a threat and an enemy. It was so stark that people would hate them so easily and that really broke my heart. And when they were shipped off to the internment camps, I was so surprised that the conditions there were similar to the ones many immigrants experienced in cages on the border of Mexico and the United States. Talk about watching history repeat itself.
But what I found interesting is how the Japanese spent their time in the camps. For many, it was just trying to get back to a normal routine, but for others it was a slap in the face by the country they were so loyal to. I loved the depictions of how most Japanese tried to make the best of the situation but how others grouped together to revolt. But then it couldn't get worse when the US military came calling to the camps looking for recruits into the US army.
The second was the 442nd military unit which was completely comprised of Japanese-Americans and completely segregated from the rest of the military. They were sent to the front lines of Europe to essentially die, but the 442nd isn't just a group of men willing to lie down for the cause. Instead, they were the hardest fighting unit losing the most men, liberating a concentration camp in Germany, and being awarded the most medals than any other American military unit at the time. Sadly, history doesn't remember it this way.
The flow of this story and the usage of American history is really what I applaud Andrew Fukuda for. He expertly connects a Japanese American to the two distinct moments in their history in America and it really made sense. Although I was skeptic that Alex, the introverted book worm, would join the military, I can understand his reasoning and he didn't run into the situation like some hard-headed teenager. The scenes of war were well described with several losses for Alex making it feel more real. I honestly felt like I was reading the story of someone's grandfather.
However, the book wasn't perfect and I felt the story between Charlie and Alex was secondary to the historical aspects of the story. I loved the letters passed between these two friends and I loved how they conveyed not only their friendship but also what's happening around them. It was definitely difficult for me to read Charlie's letters without the inevitable happening. But during the years Alex was working in the military and deployed to Europe, there wasn't much from Charlie. Instead, Andrew Fukuda uses a small amount of magical realism to portray Charlie as immaterial being that visits Alex while he's in the military. I honestly could have done without that, but it did provide a little bit of a romantic feeling to the story.
But the ending was phenomenal. I'm not happy about what happens because it is tragic and sad, but I like the fact Andrew Fukuda stayed realistic with his storytelling and the ending reflected that.
Overall, great story and if you're already a die-hard fan of historical fiction, then definitely add this one to your list. Read this one if you don't know about Japanese internment camps or the 442nd as well. It's a part of American history that we don't discuss and honestly reflects the world that we live in today.
I received a copy of this book from Tor Teen for free in exchange for an honest review. My opinions have not been influenced by the publisher or the author.
purplejumping's review against another edition
5.0
What an enchanting novel. I could not put down this book. Some parts were a bit cheesy, but considering it is written for a YA audience, I was able to get past it.
As an Asian-American, I think this book is extremely poignant and moving. There should be more written about the 442nd regiment.
As an Asian-American, I think this book is extremely poignant and moving. There should be more written about the 442nd regiment.
someonetookit's review against another edition
5.0
This novel was amazing. So much so that its midnight and I am frantically tapping out this review in the dark in a corner of my bedroom so as to not wake up the other inhabitants of my house - thank you to whoever invented backlit and quiet keyboards. It took me on an emotional rollercoaster that despite being extremely bumpy, I didn't want to leave until the ride was done. Even then I sat here like that cat Mittens in the meme where he has lost his toy under the fridge, staring at my ereader wondering whether I should eternally hate it or caress it gently for bringing me one of my favourite reads of the year.
The story starts out with Alex and his older brother Frank living their relatively easy life on Bainbridge Island, a settlement mostly populated by Japanese immigrants and the Nisei children. Alex has a pen pal in Paris named Charlie with whom he as been corresponding on a regular basis despite his initial disgust at finding out Charlie is in fact a she. Life is good until the bombing of Pearl Harbour, the catastrophic event that set into motion the segregation and evacuation of all Japanese/Japanese-American occupants to internment camps across the country. Meanwhile Charlie, being Jewish and living in Paris during the German occupation is attempting to avoid detection and removal to an internment camp in Europe simply for existing.
Being an Australian and despite this tale being mostly fiction (as confirmed in the final pages of the novel by Fukuda himself) some character were utilised that were historically accurate; I found myself undergoing an education as to the plight of the Japanese in the US during WWII. While not completely oblivious to America’s treatment of their citizens, I was not aware of the scale of these atrocities. Fukuda describes in great detail the discrimination borne by the residents of the Manzanar camp and invokes a renewed feeling of disgust with every event that unfolds. I found myself on multiple occasions needing to take mental health breaks from this gripping narrative as my heart slowly but surely shattered into a thousand pieces with each death and despicable act.
Alex and Charlie’s story is told through correspondence between the two as well as being narrated in the third person for the most part. In the beginning these letters are frequent and flippant, the children discuss the view from their window and their disdain for certain persons in their life. As the two mature so does their letters content, discussing crushes and their own friendship that crosses oceans, before finally turning to their plight in the war. Eventually the letters stop completely once the war hits its peak devastation and the third person narration takes the forefront. Honestly, at first, I thought this would become tedious but the skill with which Fukuda has intertwined this pairs fates feels effortless and extremely well thought out.
Also, I will give you a heads up. The ending was not what I predicted, and it absolutely, positively killed me. By the final chapters, I was reading this novel through tears (thanks Science for my waterproof e-reader) and was left with a distinct feeling of emptiness which I will now have to fill with something upbeat otherwise I will definitely end up in a slump. This book is so emotionally charged that I will warn anyone who takes the plunge – and you should DEFINITELY take the plunge – expect to feel deflated and emotionally raw, but in a way that provides reflection rather than internalised destruction of your soul.
So as to keep this short, what you really need to know is this. This Light Between Us will take your emotions, tear them out, stomp on them, spit on the remains, rinse and repeat. Rarely have I found a work of literature that has affected me so profoundly as Andrew Fukuda’s latest masterpiece. While starting out sweet and cute, it quickly becomes fraught with danger and rebellion, only to progress to a point where the protagonist Alex will do anything to save bring his family together and attempt to find his lost pen pal. It’s a heart wrenching masterpiece that is not only educational but also ingenious in its mixing of media.
The story starts out with Alex and his older brother Frank living their relatively easy life on Bainbridge Island, a settlement mostly populated by Japanese immigrants and the Nisei children. Alex has a pen pal in Paris named Charlie with whom he as been corresponding on a regular basis despite his initial disgust at finding out Charlie is in fact a she. Life is good until the bombing of Pearl Harbour, the catastrophic event that set into motion the segregation and evacuation of all Japanese/Japanese-American occupants to internment camps across the country. Meanwhile Charlie, being Jewish and living in Paris during the German occupation is attempting to avoid detection and removal to an internment camp in Europe simply for existing.
Being an Australian and despite this tale being mostly fiction (as confirmed in the final pages of the novel by Fukuda himself) some character were utilised that were historically accurate; I found myself undergoing an education as to the plight of the Japanese in the US during WWII. While not completely oblivious to America’s treatment of their citizens, I was not aware of the scale of these atrocities. Fukuda describes in great detail the discrimination borne by the residents of the Manzanar camp and invokes a renewed feeling of disgust with every event that unfolds. I found myself on multiple occasions needing to take mental health breaks from this gripping narrative as my heart slowly but surely shattered into a thousand pieces with each death and despicable act.
Alex and Charlie’s story is told through correspondence between the two as well as being narrated in the third person for the most part. In the beginning these letters are frequent and flippant, the children discuss the view from their window and their disdain for certain persons in their life. As the two mature so does their letters content, discussing crushes and their own friendship that crosses oceans, before finally turning to their plight in the war. Eventually the letters stop completely once the war hits its peak devastation and the third person narration takes the forefront. Honestly, at first, I thought this would become tedious but the skill with which Fukuda has intertwined this pairs fates feels effortless and extremely well thought out.
Also, I will give you a heads up. The ending was not what I predicted, and it absolutely, positively killed me. By the final chapters, I was reading this novel through tears (thanks Science for my waterproof e-reader) and was left with a distinct feeling of emptiness which I will now have to fill with something upbeat otherwise I will definitely end up in a slump. This book is so emotionally charged that I will warn anyone who takes the plunge – and you should DEFINITELY take the plunge – expect to feel deflated and emotionally raw, but in a way that provides reflection rather than internalised destruction of your soul.
So as to keep this short, what you really need to know is this. This Light Between Us will take your emotions, tear them out, stomp on them, spit on the remains, rinse and repeat. Rarely have I found a work of literature that has affected me so profoundly as Andrew Fukuda’s latest masterpiece. While starting out sweet and cute, it quickly becomes fraught with danger and rebellion, only to progress to a point where the protagonist Alex will do anything to save bring his family together and attempt to find his lost pen pal. It’s a heart wrenching masterpiece that is not only educational but also ingenious in its mixing of media.
erwink54's review against another edition
5.0
Wow. A WWII story from a very unique perspective....I absolutely loved it. If you like WWII fiction, I highly recommend it..
cwalsh's review against another edition
2.0
If I never read another YA HF WWII novel again, it'd still be too soon.