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A review by concussedcoffeegeek
Stealing Home by J. Torres
3.0
Thank you to Kids Can Press and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC for an honest review.
Stealing Home is a fictionalized personal story set against the backdrop of the very real historical events of the North American internment camps that many Japanese families were forced into after Pearl Harbor. We follow Sandy Saito, who loves baseball, as he experiences the shock of life in the internment camps.
Beautifully illustrated by David Namisato, the interiors of this book capture the visuals of J. Torres story perfectly. While the setting was compelling and the art was pleasant, the narrative left much to be desired. Just as the story picks up, the book ends abruptly. I had to check that I hadn't skipped pages! It was quite jarring and made me feel like half of the book was still out there.
Comparisons will definitely be made to They Called Us Enemy by George Takei due to the subject matter and perhaps even the artwork, but Stealing Home is a much lighter read. While I do feel that this could have benefitted from having a more satisfying narrative arc, I do believe stories like this are vitally important for educating future generations about the missteps of the past. Stealing Home is worth the read, especially for younger audiences, just don't go in with expectations of a fully fleshed out narrative.
Stealing Home is a fictionalized personal story set against the backdrop of the very real historical events of the North American internment camps that many Japanese families were forced into after Pearl Harbor. We follow Sandy Saito, who loves baseball, as he experiences the shock of life in the internment camps.
Beautifully illustrated by David Namisato, the interiors of this book capture the visuals of J. Torres story perfectly. While the setting was compelling and the art was pleasant, the narrative left much to be desired. Just as the story picks up, the book ends abruptly. I had to check that I hadn't skipped pages! It was quite jarring and made me feel like half of the book was still out there.
Comparisons will definitely be made to They Called Us Enemy by George Takei due to the subject matter and perhaps even the artwork, but Stealing Home is a much lighter read. While I do feel that this could have benefitted from having a more satisfying narrative arc, I do believe stories like this are vitally important for educating future generations about the missteps of the past. Stealing Home is worth the read, especially for younger audiences, just don't go in with expectations of a fully fleshed out narrative.