Pearl
By: Sherri L. Smith, Christine Norrie (Illustrator)
Genre: Graphic Novel, Historical Fiction
Number of Pages: 146
Published: August 20, 2024
Publisher: Graphix
Dates Read: September 9, 2024
Format: eBook

Amy is a thirteen-years-old Japanese-American living in Hawaii. In the summer of 1941, Amy travels to visit family outside of Hiroshima when word of her great-grandmother falling ill is sent. When the Japanese navy attacks Pearl Harbor in December, it becomes impossible for Amy to return to Hawaii. Conscripted into translating english radio transmissions for the Japanese army, Amy struggles with where her loyalty really lies. In Japan, she’s American, but in America, with the rumors on internment camps, she would be Japanese. Torn between two countries at war, Amy must figure out where her loyalties lie and, in the face of the unthinkable, find hope amidst the rubble.

I’ve read a lot of various World War II novels but I actually hadn’t read one from an American’s perspective while overseas. I appreciate seeing the torn loyalties that Amy feels throughout the story – what America did to those of Japanese descent was ridiculous, even now, 80+ years later, the wording used to describe these camps varies depending on what website you use…
This would be a great addition to middle grade historical fiction as Pearl showed the struggles of what people went through during the war. It’s a bit simplified, yes, but the art of this graphic novel does a lot of “the talking” as well – even with the blue, black, and white color palette.