Four-Four-Two

Yuki Nakahara is an American, but when the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor, many people don't see it that way.  His family is sent from their farm in California to an internment camp in the Utah desert.  The people are treated like prisoners even though they have done nothing wrong. 

Yuki is eighteen, and he believes the only way to prove he is a true American is to join the army.  His parents don't support his decision, but Yuki and his best friend, Shig, enlist anyway.  They become part of an all Japanese unit, the 442.

No amount of training and preparation could prepare them for the realities of war.  Yuki thought he would be a brave soldier and return with a chest full of medals to honor his family, but the reality of war is a terrifying bloodbath.  Several of the people they trained with die in their first battle, and now Yuki just hopes to survive the war so he can make it home.

As the war continues, and Yuki the soldier does things that would horrify Yuki the kid, he begins to wonder who he will be if he does make it home.

Dean Hughes's newest book shines a light on one of the darkest chapters of American history, the unwarranted imprisonment of innocent citizens.  Hughes's books are not just accessible to the middle school audience, they are very popular with kids who like war books.  The author writes about the realities of war in an honest way that still manages to appropriate for middle school.  In a time of growing international tensions, the message about the horrors of war is timely.  Recommended.