03 Mar / Naomi’s Road by Joy Kogawa [in What Do I Read Next? Multicultural Literature]
Naomi is just a little girl when World War II scatters her Japanese Canadian family. Separated from their parents, Naomi and her older brother Stephen are relocated far from their home in the care of a maternal aunt. In spite of bleak wartime circumstances, Naomi manages to find hope in everyday events.
This young adult work is based on Kogawa’s adult novel, Obasan. It is the first Canadian novel for young readers to deal with the Japanese Canadian wartime experience. In comparison to the U.S., the Canadian government was far more unjust to their citizens of Japanese ancestry. The Nakane family was completely torn apart, with parents disappearing without a trace, children left to be raised by other relatives, grandparents shipped away to die, and other family members separated for decades.
Review: “Asian American Titles,” What Do I Read Next? Multicultural Literature, Gale Research, 1997
Readers: Middle Grade, Young Adult
Published: 1986