Peace Is a Chain Reaction

August 15, 2022
Groups of people on different sides of the globe find themselves linked by World War II. Succinct narration interspersed with photographs, notes, and quotes explains the events leading to the attack on Pearl Harbor and the United States entering World War II. Stone takes great pains to convey the blatant discrimination against people of Japanese descent, who were stripped of their rights and imprisoned in camps. Yuzuru Takeshita, born and raised in California and who also lived in Japan for some time, struggled with the injustice of being unlawfully imprisoned. Meanwhile, in Japan, thousands of high school girls, including Toshiko Inoue, were tasked with a secret mission; they endured long hours and harsh conditions to make balloon bombs designed to attack the United States. Though many balloons made it to American soil, for the most part, they did limited damage; however, six civilians were killed, including children. Years after the war, a chance meeting between Takeshita and Inoue eventually led to correspondence between the U.S. victims' families and several balloon workers. Stone artfully weaves these stories together as several of the workers and the American families eventually meet to explore their collective trauma and forgiveness. An extraordinary story that brings a new perspective to the human toll of war and the capacity for healing. (author's note, source notes, bibliography, reading list, image credits, index) (Nonfiction. 10-14)

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September 1, 2022
When the United States entered World War II and Japanese Americans were forcibly relocated to various incarceration camps, the Takeshita family was sent first to Topaz, Utah, and then -- because they were deemed to be "disloyal" -- to Tule Lake, California. Readers are introduced to Yuzuru Takeshita at age fourteen; born in California, he had spent a good chunk of his childhood in Japan and had been struggling to re-acclimate. The narrative then shifts back to Japan to focus on a secretive large-scale effort to create balloon bombs that would be carried by wind currents across the Pacific and explode in the United States, causing havoc, panic, and fear. The bombs largely fail, but one does land, killing six people in a small Oregon town. Stone then segues many years into the future for the third section. Takeshita is an old man and has brought together some of the women who had made the bombs (then high-school girls) with the surviving family members from the Oregon bombing. It's a healing and cathartic process for all parties. This complicated story includes a large cast of characters, multiple settings, and several shifts in time. It's a credit to Stone that she fashions them into a cohesive, compelling narrative. Black-and-white captioned photographs appear throughout, while author's notes, source notes, a bibliography, and an index are appended. Jonathan Hunt

(Copyright 2022 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

Starred review from November 4, 2022

Gr 4-6-When Japan struck Pearl Harbor in 1941, it sparked a devastating war in the Pacific. The United States reacted by forcing all Japanese Americans into internment camps. In this narrative nonfiction book, three stories about the events surrounding the war in the Pacific are expertly woven together. When the United States dropped bombs over Japan, the Japanese retaliated by creating giant balloon bombs, 33 feet in diameter. These balloons carried three bombs each all the way across the Pacific to the United States (over 9,000 were launched). The bombs were manufactured in secret facilities by teenage schoolgirls. Only 300 bombs were found in North America (one as recently as 2019): one had devastating consequences. Six civilians were on their way to a picnic in Oregon and discovered one of the bombs and inadvertently set it off, killing everyone in the immediate area. This book describes events from the perspective of the victims and survivors of the balloon bomb in Oregon, the schoolgirls who made the bombs in Japan, and a young Japanese American's experience in an internment camp. These stories are intertwined and show how people's perspectives change through time. There are occasional points of interest throughout each chapter, as well as many historical photographs of the balloons, and life in the internment camps. The author also provides extensive notes and an expansive bibliography. Back and front matter contain a table of contents and an index. VERDICT A wonderful selection for nonfiction shelves, this is a compelling narrative of peace and war-but most importantly, redemption.-Kristin J. Anderson

Copyright 2022 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from August 1, 2022
Grades 5-8 *Starred Review* This nuanced account of major events in the war between the U.S. and Japan during WWII is one of the few offerings that covers the period from beginning to end. The main focus is on the balloon bombs launched by Japan toward the west coast of North America. Readers learn about personal experiences involving both sides: teenage Japanese girls who suffered terrible conditions as they created the delicate paper balloons that, when launched, carried bombs across the ocean, and the people of the small town of Bly, Oregon, where six people (including five young teens) died when a balloon bomb exploded. Accessible chapters fill in other aspects of the war: Pearl Harbor, Japanese imprisonment camps, Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the end of hostilities. But then the story continues, documenting the sorrow and remorse felt on both sides. Reconciliation efforts began, including a peace offering of 1,000 origami cranes made for the people of Bly by former parachute makers. The final chapters describe two-way apologies, closure, and commitments to peace. In addition to numerous photos, back matter includes an author's note, recommended readings, an extensive bibliography, and chapter notes. This full-circle account is applicable across content areas and should be of interest for most collections.

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July 1, 2022
When the United States entered World War II and Japanese Americans were forcibly relocated to various incarceration camps, the Takeshita family was sent first to Topaz, Utah, and then -- because they were deemed to be "disloyal" -- to Tule Lake, California. Readers are introduced to Yuzuru Takeshita at age fourteen; born in California, he had spent a good chunk of his childhood in Japan and had been struggling to re-acclimate. The narrative then shifts back to Japan to focus on a secretive large-scale effort to create balloon bombs that would be carried by wind currents across the Pacific and explode in the United States, causing havoc, panic, and fear. The bombs largely fail, but one does land, killing six people in a small Oregon town. Stone then segues many years into the future for the third section. Takeshita is an old man and has brought together some of the women who had made the bombs (then high-school girls) with the surviving family members from the Oregon bombing. It's a healing and cathartic process for all parties. This complicated story includes a large cast of characters, multiple settings, and several shifts in time. It's a credit to Stone that she fashions them into a cohesive, compelling narrative. Black-and-white captioned photographs appear throughout, while author's notes, source notes, a bibliography, and an index are appended.

(Copyright 2022 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)