We Are Not Free by Traci Chee

Following the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered over 100,000 people of Japanese descent into incarceration camps. This book goes through the stories of fourteen teens who grew up together in Japantown, San Francisco, who were forced relocate into those camps. Each chapter is a unique perspective from a different person in the group.

I’ve read a couple of books on Japanese internment, but never from the perspective of teenagers. Some of whom just want to live normal lives – going to dances, finding love and finishing their studies while others are understandably frustrated and angry with the situation and are having a hard time keeping their emotions in check. I really enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it, not only as a well put together book, but as an opportunity to learn about the Japanese incarceration of the 1940s.

Traci Chee is a best-selling author of novels for young adults. She is a fourth-generation Japanese America and while We Are Not Free is a fiction book, the stories are based off lives of her relatives who were forced into incarceration camps. Traci has a Master’s degree in Arts from the San Francisco State University and lives in California, where she spends her free time gardening and hosting games nights for family and friends.

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