Running from the Sun - Book Review
Running From the SunBy David Conlin McLeod Wordclay, Bloomington, IN USA Print ISBN 13: X-00000031741Copyright: APRIL 2008$27.95 Trade paperback, softcover, 616 pagesTeen Fiction – Historical – World War II – Japanese-American
Reviewed by Kristin Johnson for Poet Warrior Project
Yukiko “Yuki” Yashida is a lively, intelligent first-generation Japanese-American girl who straddles the world of Coca-Cola and sticky rice balls, rock and roll and shamisen, hanging out with her friends and working in strawberry fields in 1940s pre-WWII Bainbridge Island, Washington State. The past both terrifies her and intrigues her as she sets about learning who she is. Her hard-working sympathetic parents (her father is quiet and philosophical, her mother a secret spitfire who rages about the “morons” who are waging war between the Allies and Axis powers) struggle to create a good life in a country where they feel both alienated and welcomed. It’s a delicate balance, especially for second-generation Japanese American children such as Yukiko and her friends.
Then Pearl Harbor upsets the delicate balance and turns the world topsy-turvy. Just as Yukiko becomes aware in dreamy pre-WWII days of prejudice from people who call her “Jap girl” and “yellow-eyes,” the ferocity of war and the American outrage following the Pearl Harbor bombing create one of the worst chapters in American history, namely the large-scale resettlement and internment of Japanese in America. Yukiko and her family must adjust to life in the Manzanar War Relocation Center in Lone Pine, California as well as, later, in the Minidoka War Relocation Center near (ironically) Eden, Idaho.
Asian Studies/History/Social Sciences major David Conlin Mcleod pens the tale of Yukiko, her family and friends with painstaking research and detail, capturing a world that only exists in pictures and in reminders such as the Manzanar and Minidoka National Historical Sites. McLeod normally spins tales of vampires and girls who love dancing (ballet and Japanese dance play a role in RUNNING FROM THE SUN). Yet those horror stories pale in comparison to the real-life privations and alienation and sacrifice suffered by the thousands of Japanese Americans on whom RUNNING FROM THE SUN is based. McLeod has a talent for creating child heroines who show extraordinary resilience in the face of extreme hardships and challenges. Yukiko comes of age, falls in love, and tries to outrun history like a flight from the sun, as the title echoes. She seeks a place of safety, of belonging and of love.
The characters are realistic and sympathetic. They thoroughly debate the justice of their situation but try to carry on and be brave despite it. I was particularly struck by McLeod’s exploration of the debates and tensions between different groups of Japanese Americans, such as the sons who have been educated in Japan, their parents from Japan, and the younger generation of Japanese Americans, some of whom :”go along to get along” and don’t make trouble. Then there are those who, like Yuki and her friends Makato Sato (Yuki’s first love) and the Tanaka siblings, resent the internment but debate amongst themselves whether to oppose the injustices they see, such as soldiers shooting at orphan Kumiko, who tries to retrieve her ball at the perimeter of the camp at Manzanar. Also, McLeod sends Makato and the other Japanese American teenagers in the internment camp off to war in the “Go for Broke” Battalion.
I was also pleased to notice the treatment of white Americans, including the soldiers in the camp. McLeod includes prejudiced shopkeepers, teenagers and some hardened soldiers as well as an unpleasant customer at the Yashidas’ produce stand who, pre-Manzanar, calls Yuki “Jap girl”. However, a principled newspaper publisher, several Bainbridge neighbors, kind sergeants and sympathetic soldiers balance out the climate of fear and prejudice and hostility. McLeod treats his characters as people rather than as caricatures, which is the best way to portray history, especially for a teenage audience.
I recommend this book as an introduction to the best and worst that America was in a turbulent time, as a view into another culture through the eyes of a young person, and as a family drama that reaffirms the power of faith, hope, love and courage.
David’s Blog, Interview With a Vampire Writer: http://vampiegram.blogspot.com
Order the Book: http://www.wordclay.com/BookStore/BookStoreBookDetails.aspx?bookid=24719
Reviewed by Kristin Johnson for Poet Warrior Project
Yukiko “Yuki” Yashida is a lively, intelligent first-generation Japanese-American girl who straddles the world of Coca-Cola and sticky rice balls, rock and roll and shamisen, hanging out with her friends and working in strawberry fields in 1940s pre-WWII Bainbridge Island, Washington State. The past both terrifies her and intrigues her as she sets about learning who she is. Her hard-working sympathetic parents (her father is quiet and philosophical, her mother a secret spitfire who rages about the “morons” who are waging war between the Allies and Axis powers) struggle to create a good life in a country where they feel both alienated and welcomed. It’s a delicate balance, especially for second-generation Japanese American children such as Yukiko and her friends.
Then Pearl Harbor upsets the delicate balance and turns the world topsy-turvy. Just as Yukiko becomes aware in dreamy pre-WWII days of prejudice from people who call her “Jap girl” and “yellow-eyes,” the ferocity of war and the American outrage following the Pearl Harbor bombing create one of the worst chapters in American history, namely the large-scale resettlement and internment of Japanese in America. Yukiko and her family must adjust to life in the Manzanar War Relocation Center in Lone Pine, California as well as, later, in the Minidoka War Relocation Center near (ironically) Eden, Idaho.
Asian Studies/History/Social Sciences major David Conlin Mcleod pens the tale of Yukiko, her family and friends with painstaking research and detail, capturing a world that only exists in pictures and in reminders such as the Manzanar and Minidoka National Historical Sites. McLeod normally spins tales of vampires and girls who love dancing (ballet and Japanese dance play a role in RUNNING FROM THE SUN). Yet those horror stories pale in comparison to the real-life privations and alienation and sacrifice suffered by the thousands of Japanese Americans on whom RUNNING FROM THE SUN is based. McLeod has a talent for creating child heroines who show extraordinary resilience in the face of extreme hardships and challenges. Yukiko comes of age, falls in love, and tries to outrun history like a flight from the sun, as the title echoes. She seeks a place of safety, of belonging and of love.
The characters are realistic and sympathetic. They thoroughly debate the justice of their situation but try to carry on and be brave despite it. I was particularly struck by McLeod’s exploration of the debates and tensions between different groups of Japanese Americans, such as the sons who have been educated in Japan, their parents from Japan, and the younger generation of Japanese Americans, some of whom :”go along to get along” and don’t make trouble. Then there are those who, like Yuki and her friends Makato Sato (Yuki’s first love) and the Tanaka siblings, resent the internment but debate amongst themselves whether to oppose the injustices they see, such as soldiers shooting at orphan Kumiko, who tries to retrieve her ball at the perimeter of the camp at Manzanar. Also, McLeod sends Makato and the other Japanese American teenagers in the internment camp off to war in the “Go for Broke” Battalion.
I was also pleased to notice the treatment of white Americans, including the soldiers in the camp. McLeod includes prejudiced shopkeepers, teenagers and some hardened soldiers as well as an unpleasant customer at the Yashidas’ produce stand who, pre-Manzanar, calls Yuki “Jap girl”. However, a principled newspaper publisher, several Bainbridge neighbors, kind sergeants and sympathetic soldiers balance out the climate of fear and prejudice and hostility. McLeod treats his characters as people rather than as caricatures, which is the best way to portray history, especially for a teenage audience.
I recommend this book as an introduction to the best and worst that America was in a turbulent time, as a view into another culture through the eyes of a young person, and as a family drama that reaffirms the power of faith, hope, love and courage.
David’s Blog, Interview With a Vampire Writer: http://vampiegram.blogspot.com
Order the Book: http://www.wordclay.com/BookStore/BookStoreBookDetails.aspx?bookid=24719
posted by The Vampire, David at 4:07 PM
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