
This Light Between US: a Novel of World War II
Tor/Forge · Paperback · March 9, 2021
Winner of the American Library Association's Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature For readers of The Librarian Of Auschwitz, This Light Between Us is a powerfully affecting story of World War II about the unlikeliest of pen pals—a Japanese American boy and a French Jewish girl—as they fight to maintain hope in a time of war. “I remember visiting Manzanar and standing in the windswept plains where over ten thousand internees were once imprisoned, their voices cut off.
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- Who it’s for
- An epistolary friendship offers a close, affecting way into World War II’s human costs.
- Genres
- Holocaust Stories for Teens, War & Military YA, Prejudice & Racism for Teens
- Published
- Tor/Forge, March 9, 2021
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Winner of the American Library Association's Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature For readers of The Librarian Of Auschwitz, This Light Between Us is a powerfully affecting story of World War II about the unlikeliest of pen pals—a Japanese American boy and a French Jewish girl—as they fight to maintain hope in a time of war. “I remember visiting Manzanar and standing in the windswept plains where over ten thousand internees were once imprisoned, their voices cut off.
Continue reading
I remember how much I wanted to write a story that did right by them. Hopefully this book delivers.”—Andrew Fukuda In 1935, ten-year-old Alex Maki from Bainbridge Island, Washington is disgusted when he’s forced to become pen pals with Charlie Lévy of Paris, France—a girl. He thought she was a boy. In spite of Alex’s reluctance, their letters continue to fly across the Atlantic—and along with them, the shared hopes and dreams of friendship. Until the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the growing Nazi persecution of Jews force them to confront the darkest aspects of human nature. From the desolation of an internment camp on the plains of Manzanar to the horrors of Auschwitz and the devastation of European battlefields, the only thing they can hold onto are the memories of their letters. But nothing can dispel the light between them.
Across the Distance
An epistolary friendship offers a close, affecting way into World War II’s human costs.
Come here for
- Letters that carry friendship across wartime distance
- A young-adult World War II story shaped by persecution and hope
Expect
- Emotional stakes grounded in Japanese American incarceration and Nazi persecution
- A sustained story of connection under pressure
Where it sits
| Holocaust Stories for Teens | 81% |
|---|---|
| War & Military YA | 73% |
| Prejudice & Racism for Teens | 40% |
Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.
Publisher categories
- Holocaust Stories for Teens
- War & Military YA
- Prejudice & Racism for Teens
- Authors
- Andrew Fukuda
- Publisher
- Tor/Forge
- Published
- March 9, 2021
- Format
- Paperback
- Reading lane
- Holocaust Stories for Teens