Book Review: This Light Between Us / Andrew Fukuda

There are some times that I wonder why a book hasn't been written, or why people just don't talk about certain correlations.

In This Light Between Us, Alex and Charlie begin writing to each other through a school penpal program (even after Alex learns that Charlie is a girl.) They keep up the correspondence even after their classmates have stopped. And as they write, and deepen their friendship - war blooms in our world. The Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor, the Nazis begin their incidious work of "cleansing" the world of "undesirable" people. New laws come about that limit freedoms. People are transported to "camps." And Alex's experiences as a Japanese American and Charlie's experiences of a Parisian Jew overlap. The war continues. Alex is sent to fight the Germans, but his mind is never far from his friend Charlie. 

This is a book and a conversation that I have been waiting for. I am so glad that Fukuda wrote this story and drew connecting lines between these two experiences. 

This is a Flume nominee for the 2021/22 school year. You can find it (soon) on the shelves at South or an audio version is available through Libby at the Nashua Public Library.

 

Book Review: We Are Not From Here / Jenny Torres Sanchez

Sometimes I read a book because I don't want to live the experience, but want / need to know... This is one of those books.

Pulga (15 years old), Chico (13), and Pequeña (17) live in a barrio in Guatemala, a place where children are shot in their driveways, people are forced into gangs, parents are shot if a teen takes a wrong step. Pequeña finds herself pregnant after Rey forces himself into her life. Pulga and Chico are coerced to work for Rey's gang after witnessing a shooting in which Rey is involved. Their dreams are slowly destroyed by the impossibility of their situation.

But Pulga has been planning. He has a notebook tucked under his mattress with directions on how to make the trip to the United States, on La Bestia. It is filled with danger and uncertainty, but what are their options? 

The three leave their barrio without a word to anyone. They begin their journey North - and this novel is that story.

If you are looking for a happy book - turn around and walk away. This is a terrible story filled with impossible choices. But it is a story well told and one that needs to be read.

This is a Flume nominee for the 2021/22 school year. You will find it on the shelves at South and at Nashua Public Library. NPL also offers it in an audio format on Hoopla, and both audio and ebook via Libby.