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A review by emmycd
Stealing Home by J. Torres
4.0
3.5 stars
Thank you to J. Torres, Kids Can Press and Netgalley for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
I only recently learned of Japanese internment through George Takei's [b:They Called Us Enemy|42527866|They Called Us Enemy|George Takei|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1541125895l/42527866._SX50_.jpg|66245778] and I didn't know this also happened in Canada! This is something this book taught me.
I think this graphic novel lays out what happened to Japanese-Canadians during World War I clearly, sensitively and in a way that the target age-group will understand. It is told through the eyes of children and does so authentically. I also enjoyed the information at the end of the book which explains the history behind the story.
What lets this novel down, however, is that the book ends rather abruptly. A baseball field is built and baseball starts to be played again properly by people in the camp. It seems such a weird place to stop as we were really halfway through the story. I know what happened afterwards as I've read [b:They Called Us Enemy|42527866|They Called Us Enemy|George Takei|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1541125895l/42527866._SX50_.jpg|66245778], but the children reading this might not know. What happened to the families? Do they still live there? Did it end up like what happened to the Jews in Germany? What happened to their homes? These are all questions they may have, but are never answered and I think that's not a good thing with a topic like this.
Thank you to J. Torres, Kids Can Press and Netgalley for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
I only recently learned of Japanese internment through George Takei's [b:They Called Us Enemy|42527866|They Called Us Enemy|George Takei|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1541125895l/42527866._SX50_.jpg|66245778] and I didn't know this also happened in Canada! This is something this book taught me.
I think this graphic novel lays out what happened to Japanese-Canadians during World War I clearly, sensitively and in a way that the target age-group will understand. It is told through the eyes of children and does so authentically. I also enjoyed the information at the end of the book which explains the history behind the story.
What lets this novel down, however, is that the book ends rather abruptly. A baseball field is built and baseball starts to be played again properly by people in the camp. It seems such a weird place to stop as we were really halfway through the story. I know what happened afterwards as I've read [b:They Called Us Enemy|42527866|They Called Us Enemy|George Takei|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1541125895l/42527866._SX50_.jpg|66245778], but the children reading this might not know. What happened to the families? Do they still live there? Did it end up like what happened to the Jews in Germany? What happened to their homes? These are all questions they may have, but are never answered and I think that's not a good thing with a topic like this.