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49 reviews for:
The Fences Between Us: The Diary of Piper Davis, Seattle, Washington, 1941
Kirby Larson
3.94 AVERAGE
49 reviews for:
The Fences Between Us: The Diary of Piper Davis, Seattle, Washington, 1941
Kirby Larson
3.94 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
reflective
sad
medium-paced
I just loved this book! In my opinion, writing from the perspective of a middle schooler was perfect. It gives a different insight to what these kids went through during a time of confusion and fear. Piper really grows through this book, and it was great to read about. It is such a sad time in history, but I think the author did a great job in writing this book!
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
If I’m rating this story on how interesting it was — it’s a solid 5. I don’t know as much about internment camps as I should as an American adult. The writing was good and captured her young voice. Some negative reviews say there was too much childish whining, but I like that Dear America books try to capture the voice of the character in each word.
It’s not a five 5 because a white person (or any “ally perspective”) is just not going to do the work of a direct account. Also that age gap was weird so I had to pretend she was older in my brain.
It’s not a five 5 because a white person (or any “ally perspective”) is just not going to do the work of a direct account. Also that age gap was weird so I had to pretend she was older in my brain.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Xenophobia, War
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Adult/minor relationship
Reading all the Dear Americas and Royal Diaries (35/63)
Is this the last WWII book? I don't know. There's certainly a lot to talk about with it and I'm glad this book talks about a lesser known part. I do wish it had come from a Japanese-American perspective - someone actually in the camps - but I appreciate that it exists and Piper's story is based on precedent of a pastor following his congregation to Minidoka. I was all prepared to hate on it, but I ended up feeling pretty invested and immersed. There were some details I was disappointed didn't make it into the narrative, but they were mentioned in the historical note briefly. The author is a Seattle local and seems to have done her research. Ultimately, I do think Piper is a character most girls could relate to and this is a great entry in the series.
Other books to add more context: Displaced by Kiku Hughes and They Called Us Enemy by George Takei
Is this the last WWII book? I don't know. There's certainly a lot to talk about with it and I'm glad this book talks about a lesser known part. I do wish it had come from a Japanese-American perspective - someone actually in the camps - but I appreciate that it exists and Piper's story is based on precedent of a pastor following his congregation to Minidoka. I was all prepared to hate on it, but I ended up feeling pretty invested and immersed. There were some details I was disappointed didn't make it into the narrative, but they were mentioned in the historical note briefly. The author is a Seattle local and seems to have done her research. Ultimately, I do think Piper is a character most girls could relate to and this is a great entry in the series.
Other books to add more context: Displaced by Kiku Hughes and They Called Us Enemy by George Takei
The protagonist's father is a preacher in a Japanese church. He and his daughter follow them as they are moved to two different internment camps. She develops strong relationships with the "colonists" and her experiences really change her outlook. An interesting look into a dark period in our nation's history.
This book was enjoyable and informative, but I have to agree with several other reviews I read: this would have been much more enjoyable and informative if it weighs have been told from the perspective of Betty, the Japanese girl sent to the internment camp. I think there's a lesson to take about being an ally for people who need an advocate, but focusing not on the white girl could have accomplished that too.
What an incredible work of historical fiction. The characters were very memorable and the author did a fantastic job of educating the reader about the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II
adventurous
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
sad
I read a lot of Dear America books during my childhood, so I was excited to learn that they were being brought back in print, and even more excited when the first new volume turned out to be about the internment of Japanese Americans during WWII. So when my bookstore got an ARC of this, I snagged it. And it's pretty good: It does the trick that made the Dear America series so absorbing when I was ten, of inserting the reader into the time of its setting and making one feel the past living and breathing. On the other hand, though: did this story have to be from the perspective of a white girl?
I can see the arguments for choosing to tell this particular story: it's a different perspective (we already have Farewell to Manzanar, right?), and viewing the internment through the eyes of an outsider brings home the role of other Americans in letting the internment happen, the danger of group-think, etc. But given that this is likely to be the only volume in the series with this setting, and that there really aren't many books for children--or for anyone--about this topic, I can't help but wish that the choice had been made to give a Japanese American girl a voice.
Edit, years later: I haven't reread this book, but I should note that over time I've grown much angrier about the whole business. I think back on my childhood (as the granddaughter of Japanese Americans who were interned), how few representations of any Asian Americans (much less Japanese Americans) I encountered in books and how those few (such as Allen Say's picture books) mattered, and I think about the scars internment left on my family, and I find the underlying logic of this decision - that to make the internment relevant or interesting to the rest of America we have to tell its story through a white character; that doing so is more important than considering the perspectives of the people this actually happened to - deeply troubling.
I can see the arguments for choosing to tell this particular story: it's a different perspective (we already have Farewell to Manzanar, right?), and viewing the internment through the eyes of an outsider brings home the role of other Americans in letting the internment happen, the danger of group-think, etc. But given that this is likely to be the only volume in the series with this setting, and that there really aren't many books for children--or for anyone--about this topic, I can't help but wish that the choice had been made to give a Japanese American girl a voice.
Edit, years later: I haven't reread this book, but I should note that over time I've grown much angrier about the whole business. I think back on my childhood (as the granddaughter of Japanese Americans who were interned), how few representations of any Asian Americans (much less Japanese Americans) I encountered in books and how those few (such as Allen Say's picture books) mattered, and I think about the scars internment left on my family, and I find the underlying logic of this decision - that to make the internment relevant or interesting to the rest of America we have to tell its story through a white character; that doing so is more important than considering the perspectives of the people this actually happened to - deeply troubling.