Synopses & Reviews
What about what they did to my father?...The Japs killed him!...I shouldn't have said Jap, but Davi knew I didn't mean him. It was the country where his parents were born. If his parents hadn't come to Hawaii, Davi would have been born there too. I lay there looking up into the dark, thinking, yes, it could have been him on one of those planes.
After witnessing the USS Arizona sink in Pearl Harbor -- with his father aboard -- fifteen-year-old Adam Pelko, along with his mother and young sister, moves from Hawaii to California. Without his dad, facing a new school and new surroundings is hard enough, but then Adam's best friend, Davi Mori, writes from Hawaii asking for help in finding his father. Davi and his family are Japanese American, and his father has been arrested and is imprisoned somewhere in the United States.
What is Adam to do? Can he risk traveling to Manzanar, a Japanese internment camp, and asking questions? At a time when the nation is threatened and all foreigners are viewed with suspicion, who can Adam trust?
In this riveting follow-up to his acclaimed book A Boy at War, Harry Mazer explores questions of friendship and loyalty against the backdrop of World War II, a time when boys had to grow up fast.
Synopsis
"WHAT ABOUT WHAT THEY DID TO MY FATHER?...
THE JAPS KILLED HIM "
Adam Pelko witnessed something horrible: the sinking of the USS Arizona during the attack on Pearl Harbor -- with his father aboard. Since then, Adam and his mother and sister have moved to California, where they are trying to rebuild their lives.
But no matter where Adam goes, he can't get away from the effects of the war. His best friend, Davi, has asked for help. Davi is Japanese American, and his father has been arrested, taken to Manzanar, a Japanese internment camp.
Adam isn't sure what to do. If he goes to Manzanar and starts asking questions, he could be risking his own life. But can he simply do nothing and risk losing Davi's friendship forever? Are Davi, his father, and all the other Japanese Americans taken from their homes responsible for what happened at Pearl Harbor?
In this riveting follow-up to his acclaimed book A Boy at War, Harry Mazer explores questions of friendship and loyalty against the backdrop of World War II, a time when boys had to grow up fast.
Synopsis
"WHAT ABOUT WHAT THEY DID TO MY FATHER?... andlt;BRandgt; THE JAPS KILLED HIM!" andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt; Adam Pelko witnessed something horrible: the sinking of the USS andlt;iandgt;Arizonaandlt;/iandgt; during the attack on Pearl Harbor -- with his father aboard. Since then, Adam and his mother and sister have moved to California, where they are trying to rebuild their lives. andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt; But no matter where Adam goes, he can't get away from the effects of the war. His best friend, Davi, has asked for help. Davi is Japanese American, and his father has been arrested, taken to Manzanar, a Japanese internment camp. andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt; Adam isn't sure what to do. If he goes to Manzanar and starts asking questions, he could be risking his own life. But can he simply do nothing and risk losing Davi's friendship forever? Are Davi, his father, and all the other Japanese Americans taken from their homes responsible for what happened at Pearl Harbor? andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt; In this riveting follow-up to his acclaimed book andlt;iandgt;A Boy at War,andlt;/iandgt; Harry Mazer explores questions of friendship and loyalty against the backdrop of World War II, a time when boys had to grow up fast.
About the Author
Harry Mazer is the author of many books for young readers, including
A Boy at War and
A Boy No More, which introduced Adam Pelko;
The Wild Kid; and
Snow Bound. His books have won numerous honors, including the
Horn Book Honor List and the ALA Best Books for Young Adults citations. He is the recipient of the ALAN Award. Harry Mazer lives in New York City and Montpelier, Vermont.
Harry Mazer says, "After I finished A Boy at War, I wanted to write about Adam Pelko again, but what was the story to be? It wasn't until after the tragedies of September eleventh that I found the focus I needed to continue his story.
"Periods of war and national emergency have never been kind to personal liberties. In the aftermath of September eleventh many Arab and Muslim Americans find themselves under suspicion and their rights jeopardized. In some ways this is what happened after Pearl Harbor, when Japanese Americans were demonized and their rights were trampled. I know that history never simply repeats itself, but I hope that through Adam and Davi's story readers will recognize the parallels -- and the perils."