Four starred reviews! “Evocative prose and illustrations bring to life…[the] heart-wrenching decisions and considerations that Japanese Americans had to face…[and] their endurance,sacrificesand resilience.” —Susan H. Kameiauthor of When Can We Go Back to America? Told in a brilliant blend of prose and graphic novelthis “magnificentessential” (Bookliststarred review) middle grade story about a Japanese American family during World War II is written and illustrated by Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature winner Matt Faulkner. Manzanar is nothing like home. Yet the relocation center is where Mari and her family have to livenow that the government has decided that Japanese Americans aren’t American enough. Determined to prove them wrongMari’s brother Mak has joined the army and is heading off to war. In protestMari has stopped talking for the duration of the war. Or at least until Mak comes home safe. StillMari has no trouble expressing herself through her drawings. Maktooexpresses himself in his letters homefirst from training camp and later from the front lines of World War IIwhere he is fighting with the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. But while his letters are reassuringreality is not: Mak is facing danger at every turnfrom racism within the army to violence on the battlefield. In turns humorous and heartbreakingMari and Mak’s story will stick with readers long after the last page.