My Never Ending List

“The government took away our names, our houses, and most importantly, our dignity.”

I liked the idea that this book was written in verse.  Writing in verse in difficult for some individuals but for others it is easy as the sentence structure is emotional, it flows and its structure can be short or long.   Since this book is narrated by thirteen year-old Mina Tagawa, I liked to think that her emotions were driving her to write and thence, the words flowed out onto the page with true emotion.  Mina’s life would change suddenly as Pearl Harbor and the war became reality.  Mina and her family’s mundane life were shattered.  Being Japanese- American’s they were now being ridiculed and humiliated. Driven from Seattle, the family and other Japanese-American families arrive at a camp which reminds Mina of the concentration camps that Mina read about in school.  You feel the desperation and the confusion that Mina senses as she tries to understand why this is happening. She is an American, why should not be treated?  This is not fair. This is not the American way.  This novel is short but it drives a hard punch at the life of the many Japanese-Americans who were isolated and cast-aside.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me a copy of this book.