
Within These Lines
post written by Esther Filbrun
Title: Within These Lines
Author: Stephanie Morrill
Major Themes: American History, Japanese, Concentration Camps, World War II
Synopsis: When her best friend is taken away, Evalina must learn to deal with her grief—and figure out how to encourage Taichi to hold on even though he’s in a concentration camp.
Up until a year or two ago, I had heard hardly anything about the American Japanese who were placed in different concentration camps in the US during the Second World War. Then, I came across a book on the topic, was surprised by the history, and listened about half-way through it (I still haven’t finished that book…oops!). Since then, I’ve thought that that piece of history would be something I’d like to explore further, but I had not done anything about it until I read a review of Within These Lines. I’d been wanting to try out Stephanie Morrill’s writings for a while now, ever since I first “met” her on GoTeenWriters.com, so this was the perfect chance!
Evalina has done something she knows her parents wouldn’t approve of, something she knows she could end up suffering for. She’s fallen in love with a Japanese American, and with Pearl Harbor now on everyone’s minds, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to be Japanese in America. Though she’s Italian, she feels the sting keenly when her boyfriend, Taichi, finds out he will be sent off to an unknown location very soon. How can this injustice in human rights be justified? Is there anything she can do to change the sentence? —But no, no one will listen to her. Then comes the hardest question of all: Will Taichi be the same when (and if) he comes back? Will they ever be able to be married and have that family they’ve dreamed of together? For Taichi, the questions are even more difficult. How will his family ever handle having everything stripped from them, and being sent somewhere under guard like a bunch of criminals?
It’s fascinating to see history coming to life in books like Within These Lines. Seeing the struggles people had to go through makes me wonder how I can help those that are struggling today—the situations may be different, but there will still always those who need help. It was also interesting to see the resourcefulness people had—they had a lot to make do with, and they did their best with what they could. After reading books like this, I’m inspired to do my best to help others where they are and encourage them to keep their hopes up. It’s also an interesting perspective on history—though we may think that we are doing the best job possible, sometimes we can run people over in our desire to appear even bigger and better.
I requested a free review copy of this book from NetGalley, and this is my honest opinion of it.
Age Levels:
Reading Independently—Ages 15 and Above, Adults
Links to buy Within These Lines:
Amazon: Paperback | Kindle | Hardcover | Audible Audiobook (unabridged) | Audio CD (unabridged)
AbeBooks: View Choices on AbeBooks.com
Book Depository: Paperback | Hardcover
Keywords: Japanese, Concentration Camps, History, Historical Fiction, Romance, World War II, US History 1900-1950, North America
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