Barry Denenberg

This historical fiction book is told in the form of a journal. William Thomas Emerson is a 11 year old boy recounting the daily happenings of his life in Boston leading up to the Revolutionary War. It has large text and short journal entries which makes this story great for late elementary students. It is in the "Dear America" series. This book would be a good gateway into the genre of historical fiction for young readers. There is some derogatory language that is authentic to the period in time that the story takes place.… (more)

After reading [b:The Fences Between Us: The Diary of Piper Davis, Seattle, Washington, 1941|7886561|The Fences Between Us The Diary of Piper Davis, Seattle, Washington, 1941 (Dear America)|Kirby Larson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1328837952l/7886561._SX50_.jpg|11103189], I wanted something raw and more angry... and it exists, published eleven years prior in the "My Name is America" boy diary equivalents. While also not an #ownvoices book, Barry Denenberg at least recognizes that the story of Japanese American incarceration should be told through the eyes of those forcibly removed from their homes- not a bystander. Ben Uchida is a salty, sarcastic 12 year old who is upset with the situation but also feels powerless (in gallows humor, mentioning that they might never leave). With the perspective of a Japanese American kid, we see his father get taken without any word where he is or when they'll hear from him. We see them have to sell/find what to do with their belongings over a week's notice. We get the annoyance and frustration over every part of this. I shouldn't keep comparing the two, but Kirby Larson's Piper just doesn't capture the feelings around this because frankly, Piper doesn't really care as much because it doesn't directly affect her.

Per the epilogue- why is Naomi's future husband Caucasian? There's no in-text hints for that so it seems out of nowhere (unless like Kirby's Betty Sato we're making [a:Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston|86883|Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1216938312p2/86883.jpg] proxies). And, it only makes me speculate more about Ben.

The historical section does a broad look at Asian American discrimination, including the Chinese Exclusion Act (and thus why Japanese labor was needed but also why they could bring families) and additional legislation re: the 1924 Asian exclusion act and later legislation on quotas per country. This would be a good intro for children to broader Asian American history, along with [b:Journal of Wong Ming-Chung: A Chinese Miner, California, 1852|25263|Journal of Wong Ming-Chung A Chinese Miner, California, 1852 (My Name is America)|Laurence Yep|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1389824883l/25263._SX50_.jpg|2894578].… (more)