Warriors in the Crossfire

April 12, 2010
Flood’s (Sand to Stone and Back Again
) first novel recounts a story of a forbidden friendship on the Japanese island of Saipan during WWII. Thirteen-year-old cousins Kento and Joseph have been friends forever, but are divided by class when the war intensifies. Kento is half Japanese, while Joseph is one of the natives, who are suspected of being spies for the Americans. Restrictions and curfews multiply for the islanders, but the boys figure out a way to remain friends in secret, as Joseph shares survival skills with Kento, who teaches him kanji in return. “The Japanese may have taken our stores, our schools, even our lands, but they could not take this,” Joseph affirms. When the Americans invade, Joseph’s father tasks him with keeping his mother, sister, and nephew safe, and Joseph wonders if he has risked his family’s safety by trusting Kento. Drawing from true events in Saipan’s tragic history, Flood’s concise and passionate fictionalized account raises myriad complicated questions about friendship, family, and honor. Through Joseph’s eyes, readers experience the pain of war and loss firsthand. Ages 11–14.

May 1, 2010
Gr 5-9-This taut, poetic story of Saipan, set before and during the U.S. invasion of the island in spring 1944, is narrated by the 13-year-old son of a local village chief. To the Japanese, who have occupied the island since 1922, controlling schools and stores, restricting movement, and enforcing curfews with violence, Joseph's people are "gai-jin" ("barbaric outsiders"). Still, he and Kento, son of Joseph's aunt and a Japanese administrator, have grown up as friends. Though Kento wants to be a samurai, he also longs to be an island warrior like Joseph, able to live off the land and protect his mother and sister. As war comes closer, the two trade lessons in island survival for lessons in Japanese characters. But their loyalties are tested. Before he leaves with the other village men to clear airfields, Joseph's father shows him the secret cave where his people have waited out generations of invasionsand when U.S. troops arrive, Joseph must lead his family there to survive the brutal crossfire. Short, well-paced chapters reveal the rich cultural life of the villagers and lead to a dramatic end that includes the shocking suicide march of Japanese citizens off the island cliffs. Joseph is an engaging and three-dimensional character. Compelling relationships form the heart of the story and aid his growth as he learns what it really means to be a warrior. A useful endnote separates fact from fiction. A unique and important addition to World War II fiction."Riva Pollard, Prospect Sierra Middle School, El Cerrito, CA"

Copyright 2010 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from April 15, 2010
Grades 6-9 *Starred Review* The novel opens with friends Joseph and Kento fending off a shark attack while spearfishing in the middle of the night, a gripping scene that isnt even close to the books most intense sequence. Set on the island of Saipan at the end of WWII, this is the story of natives who were caught between the ruthlessness of the Japanese and American armies. Joseph is the son of a chief, while Kentos father is one of the occupying Japanese. Go ahead, Japanese and Americans, greedy bullies, battle it out and leave so we can have our island back, Joseph thinks, but when the fighting does finally arrive the consequences are well beyond anything he could have dreaded. Conflicted yet determined, Joseph is an ideal mix for a story of heroismhe wants to be a warrior like his ancestors, but in these horrific circumstances that means persevering through, not facing death and destruction head on. Saving his family comes down to finding a bit of fresh water while in hiding or being lucky enough not to catch a stray bullet. An afterword describes the real-life account of what happened on Siapan, where almost all of the Japanese soldiers were killed, and duty-bound Japanese civilians were rounded up to take their own lives by jumping off what is now known as Suicide Cliff. Intense and powerful reading that avoids bleakness by celebrating family, culture, and a longing for peace.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)