Search This Blog







2025 Cover Lovers Reading Challenge (hosted by Yours Truly)

2025 Literary Escapes Challenge
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California (5)
- Colorado (3)
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Florida (1)
- Georgia (1)
- Hawaii (1)
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa (2)
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine (1)
- Maryland
- Massachusetts (1)
- Michigan (2)
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana (1)
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York (4)
- North Carolina (2)
- North Dakota
- Ohio (1)
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island (1)
- South Carolina (1)
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas (1)
- Utah
- Vermont (3)
- Virginia (2)
- Washington (1)
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin (1)
- Wyoming (1)
- Washington, D.C.* (1)
International:
- Australia (3)
- Canada (2)
- England (5)
- France (1)
- Puerto Rico (1)
- Scotland (1)


2025 POPSUGAR Reading Challenge



2025 Build Your Library Reading Challenge









Wednesday, April 27, 2016
Middle Grade Japanese Internment Camp Novel Teaches Valuable Lessons
10:21 AM
(Image from Barnes & Noble)
Manami Tanaka's life on Bainbridge Island, Washington, is nothing remarkable. The 10-year-old spends her days going to school, walking with her grandfather along the beach, and playing with her dog, Yujiin. It's only when she's forced to leave her home that Manami realizes how much she's lost. Ordered to relocate to an interment camp in California, she must give up not just her freedom, but also the companionship of her beloved dog. It's this sacrifice that breaks her heart and steals her voice.
With around 10,000 residents, Manzanar is bursting at the seams. The camp is like a large village, boasting its own school, hospital, store, baseball diamond, and cemetery. Living in such crowded quarters is bad enough, but the people interred there have to deal with the unrelenting heat, dust, and confinement. Manami feels as if she might go crazy. She needs Yujiin now more than she ever has. If she sends him pictures, will her faithful companion come running? Will her family be happy again? Or will Manami be forever mute, lonely, and sad?
Paper Wishes, Lois Sepahban's fictional debut, paints a vivid, sympathetic picture of the plight of Japanese Americans unfairly interred during World War II. Through young Manami, we get a feel for the fear, anger, and dismay that must have accompanied such an experience. Although short and spare, Paper Wishes teaches some valuable lessons about prejudice, hope, and making the best of bad situations. It's an interesting, poignant story. Its plot is quite thin, however, making the tale drag in places. Because of this, I liked Paper Wishes, I just didn't love it.
(Readalikes: I haven't read any other children's books on this subject. Have you?)
Grade:
If this were a movie, it would be rated:
for violence and scary situations
To the FTC, with love: Another library fine find
Subscribe to:
Posts
(Atom)


Reading
Finlay Donovan Is Killing It by Elle Cosimano

Listening
If Walls Could Talk by Juliet Blackwell


Followin' with Bloglovin'

-
The Lady and the Highwayman40 minutes ago
-
-
-
First Lines Fridays: April 18, 20254 hours ago
-
The Whitechapel Widow by Emily Organ7 hours ago
-
-
-
Sunday Post #56812 hours ago
-
-
Time Travel Thursday13 hours ago
-
#ThrowbackThursday. February 201323 hours ago
-
All About Amazon Book Clubs1 day ago
-
Firsts of 2025-Book Tag1 day ago
-
-
-
40. Once For Yes1 day ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Girl Falling by Hayley Scrivenor6 days ago
-
Books read in March2 weeks ago
-
-
-
February 2025 Reading Wrap Up5 weeks ago
-
-
One Big Happy Family by Susan Mallery1 month ago
-
-
The Music of 2024: Q43 months ago
-
-
I'm Still Reading - This Was My October5 months ago
-
Review: The Duke and I7 months ago
-
Girl Plus Books: On Hiatus8 months ago
-
-
-
What Happened to Summer?1 year ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
Are you looking for Pretty Books?2 years ago
-
-
-
-
-
-

Grab my Button!


Blog Archive
- ► 2021 (159)
- ► 2020 (205)
- ► 2019 (197)
- ► 2018 (223)
- ► 2017 (157)
- ▼ 2016 (157)
- ► 2015 (188)
- ► 2014 (133)
- ► 2013 (183)
- ► 2012 (193)
- ► 2011 (232)
- ► 2010 (257)
- ► 2009 (211)
- ► 2008 (192)


2025 Goodreads Reading Challenge
2024 - Elementary/Middle Grade Nonfiction
2023 - Middle Grade Fiction
2022 - Middle Grade Fiction
2021 - Middle Grade Fiction

2020 - Middle Grade Fiction
