The descriptions of the battles that Alex's unit faced were incredibly vivid. The descriptions of what Alex and his family went through were heartbreaking.Īlex's decision to join the military in the hopes of helping his father really demonstrated the strength of his character. I hate to admit that I don't know as much as I should about internment camps that the United States put into place after the attack on Pearl Harbor but what I learned in this book made me sad and angry at the same time. We see Charlie through her letters but we get to see Alex during the challenges he faced. We get to know Charlie and Alex through the letters that they write to each other and we get to see how things are changing in both of their worlds.Ĭharlie does play a part in this book but I really feel like this was Alex's story. Alex is a Japanese American boy at a time when being of Japanese descent is more than just a little difficult. Charlie is a Jewish girl living in Paris with her family. I am so glad that I had the opportunity to read this powerful novel.Īlex and Charlie become pen pals when they are only 10 years old.

This was a really unique story that really did grab me. I have read quite a few books set during World War II over the years and usually find them heartbreaking and powerful. I happened on this book quite by chance but decided to give it a try and I am so glad that I did. But nothing can dispel the light between them.Īt the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.This review can also be found at Carole's Random Life in Books. Until the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the growing Nazi persecution of Jews force them to confront the darkest aspects of human nature.įrom 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. 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. 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. Hopefully this book delivers.'-Andrew Fukuda I remember how much I wanted to write a story that did right by them. 'I remember visiting Manzanar and standing in the windswept plains where over ten thousand internees were once imprisoned, their voices cut off. Winner of the American Library Association's Asi an/Pacific American Award for Literatureįor 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.

This light between us by andrew fukuda