Journey to Topaz

I homeschool my 12 y.o. son, and we read this book for a historical fiction book group. It is a beautifully written story of the tragic internment of Japanese Americans during WWII. It brings to life both the physical realities and the emotional burdens that were imposed by tearing people from their homes and sending them to dismal war camps. I highly recommend this book as an accompaniment to non-fiction reading about the internments, because it provides such a vivid picture of this sad chapter in American history.

I am in 5th grade. I have read this book once and it is great for all readers especially for people who love stories about war problems. This is about world war two when a Japanese family had to go away for a while and the mom, brother and sister have to live in a camp. It is a great piece of work. I recommend it to anybody and any age.

Yuki is a Japanese-American girl, who lives a normal life in Berkeley, California. Suddenly, a war transforms her life into a long trip of misery and pain. Her father is torn away from the family, and her friends are seperated. In her school, kids sneer at her and call Yuki a "Jap". The bombing of Pearl Harbor causes Yuki to move from one place to another... cramped concentration camps and horsestall homes. Friendships bud and families reunite, giving Yuki hope of having a home with her family once again.

I chose Journey to Topaz as my book to do a presentation on in my Reading in the Middle Grades class because it is well written and on a level that can be understood by most students. This account, as told by Yuki, is a sad reminder of days past when people were judged by their heritage and not their newfound loyality. This book is an eye opener for those who lived during this era and those who can only read about this era. My compliments to Ms. Uchida on a job well done. I look forward to reading her other books.