This Light Between Us

November 1, 2019
Friends separated by an ocean experience the traumas of World War II. For Japanese American Alex Maki, the world in 1935 mostly consists of reading and drawing comics. By mistake he is assigned to be the pen pal of Charlie Lévy, a Jewish girl living in Paris whom his teacher believes to be a boy. The two become devoted friends, and their correspondence proves comforting when World War II brings anti-Japanese sentiment to Alex's home of Bainbridge Island, Washington, and Charlie's parents argue over whether to leave Paris following the Nazi occupation. After Alex's father is taken by the FBI, under suspicion of being a spy, the rest of the family is sent to the Manzanar internment camp. The story, punctuated by Alex's and Charlie's letters, overall belongs to Alex. As the war in Europe interferes with mail delivery to and from France, Alex decides to enlist in exchange for his father's release and, secretly, in hopes of finding Charlie. Assigned to the legendary all-Japanese American 442nd regiment, Alex confronts the ravages of war, haunted by his fears for Charlie's safety. Fukuda (The Trap, 2013, etc.) artfully conveys Alex's inner turmoil and paints visceral combat scenes. Alex grows over time, battling internalized racism, which is partially expressed in his negative reaction to the recruits from Hawaii whose portrayal could have been developed with more nuance and context. An intriguing premise and fascinating tale. (author's note, bibliography) (Historical fiction. 13-18)

COPYRIGHT(2019) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

November 25, 2019
When Alex Maki of Bainbridge Island, Wash., and Charlie Lévy of Paris, France, are assigned to be pen pals in 1935, Alex is initially disappointed to learn that Charlie is a girl, and neither expects to still be writing in 1941. As they’ve grown closer, the world has darkened: in Paris, discrimination against Charlie’s Jewish family gets worse; after Pearl Harbor, Alex’s Japanese-American family is interned far from their home. In an author’s note, Fukuda (the Hunt Trilogy) says that he was inspired to write the novel after learning that Anne Frank had an American pen pal and that a subcamp of Dachau was liberated by an all-Japanese-American battalion. Drawing on these facts, the author creates a compelling juxtaposition in Charlie’s and Alex’s
situations. Letters between the two (and Alex’s drawings) mix with a third-person account of Alex’s time at the Manzanar internment camp and fighting in Europe with the segregated 442nd Regiment. Blending realistic details of life in battle and occupied Paris with Alex’s desperation-fueled visions of Charlie, the book offers a believable hero in shy but determined Alex and introduces new chapters into history that readers may think they know. Ages 13–up.

December 1, 2019

Gr 7 Up-It is 1935 and Alex Maki is excited to start writing to his new French pen pal, Charlie Lévy, until he finds out Charlie is a girl. But the assignments have already been made, and so Alex and Charlie are stuck with each other. Six years later, they're still writing, though so much has changed. Japan has bombed Pearl Harbor, and suddenly everyone in Alex's close-knit community in Washington State distrusts his Japanese American family, even though he and his brother have never set foot in Japan. Charlie, meanwhile, is still in Paris, but it's a Paris no longer friendly to Jews. Then Alex and his family are taken away to a camp and Charlie stops responding to his letters. While this is a story about Alex and his friendship with Charlie, it transcends the two to tackle larger questions of racism and state-sponsored violence. Though there are numerous novels of World War II, Alex's is a fresh story of the internment of Japanese Americans and the Japanese American experience broadly. While occasionally melodramatic, the novel is grounded in meticulous historical research and deals with both internment and life on the war front. VERDICT Recommended where historical novels are popular; this one adds an important perspective to World War II fiction.-Zoë McLaughlin, Michigan State University, East Lansing

Copyright 2019 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.