In this intense and powerful new biography, readers follow the Yoneda family -- Elaine, Karl, and Tommy -- as they experience the executive order of the internment of the Japanese population in the United States beginning in 1942. Elaine, the daughter of Russian Jewish immigrants, and Karl, Japanese-American and about to enlist in the Army, are reunited in Manzanar even though Elaine technically does not fall under the executive order, and the Yonedas continue their labor and antifascist activities even in the camp itself. Powerful, moving, and packed with incredible details, documents, and images, readers will absolutely love this detailed and immersive biography about an incredible family whose strength and bravery are absolutely astounding. The depth of information and details really bring the challenges of the internment camps and the complex racial and ideological politics to life in some powerful ways, and Slater has organized this book in such a way that readers from all backgrounds will understand and appreciate it. The historical research and documents really shine, and the analysis is very strong, and Slater does not shy away from the challenges and difficulties of this moving history. Immersive, powerful, and totally fascinating, readers will not be able to put down or forget this must-read World War II biography.

Over on my booktube channel (Hannah's Books), I shared this book in my description of exciting books forthcoming in early July. Link to the particular discussion: https://youtu.be/PkB94Of64TI?si=bNuCU2OUAzQ6wD1k&t=650

This Nonfiction by @good_shufu is about a Japanese Jewish American family who end up in Manzanar, a Japanese interment camp started shortly after Pearl Harbour, when the US declared war on Japan and saw the need to imprison all Japanese people in America, even, in the case of the Yoneda family, toddlers who are only half-Japanese and born in America. The author is clearly very well researched and gives an extremely detailed description of every aspect of the family's story. She even went back into the ancestors of each of the parents in the family, their upbringing and how that impacted the future of the people described in this book. There were areas relevant to the story but somewhat less obviously related which were carefully examined and explained for readers, making this an extremely comprehensive source of information for anyone wanting to know more about everything from the construction of Manzanar to the deportation orders to views on interracial marriages at the time of WWII in the US. This book is perfect for non-fiction readers who want to know more about this time period and life in internment camps in the US. Thanks to @netgalley and the publisher @chireviewpress for giving me the chance to read and review this book!

The blurb: "On a late March morning in the spring of 1942, Elaine Yoneda awoke to a series of terrible choices: between her family and freedom, her country and conscience, and her son and daughter.
Elaine was the child of Russian Jewish immigrants and the wife of a Japanese American man. She was also a mother desperate to keep her young mixed-race son from being sent to a US concentration camp."

This was an in-depth account of a couple with a young child whose father was taken to a concentration camp. The government wanted to take the child too, three years old and chronically ill, without his mother, but she fought to stay with him and was also put into the concentration camp in Manzanar. She made the gut-wrenching decision to leave her older teenage daughter (from her first marriage to an Anglo) with her grandparents, which had dire consequences.

Since both Elaine and Karl had been social activists in their community, they continued their work for their rights, which often put them at odds with everyone. The author's knowledge and research must have been meticulous, given the amount of detail provided. It's an absorbing story, and it contains a wealth of information I had not encountered in other stories about the incarceration of Japanese Americans in Manzanar, although I had read two books on the subject before this one. It's an eye-opener of a book for fiction and non-fiction readers alike.

Together in Manzanar fills a very specific niche, but a very valuable one. I have never before read about the non-Japanese family members who were imprisoned alongside their Japanese family during WWII. The Yonedas were a particularly interesting family to read about because of their extensive history of activism prior to the war. Tracy Slater did a great job weaving in their story with the social and historical context. She made the book both informative and readable. I also appreciate that she wrote about them without glorifying them or some of their decisions, some of which they too questioned later in life. The big elephant in the room with this book though, was the story of Joyce, the white daughter that Elaine left behind. There are plenty of hints that Joyce led a troubled life, but not much beyond that. I assume Slater was respecting the family's wishes in not delving into it further, but I was still left very curious!

This isn't the first book I've read on the incarceration of the Japanese in America, but it is certainly a very personal and unique one. As a Jewish woman myself with two half Japanese children, I realized that had I been living in California during that period of history, I would have been faced with the same choice that Elaine had to make. That's sobering right there.
This is the story of a couple that is deeply in love and deeply committed to the labor movement and the idea that one must work hard to improve the world. Was it to the detriment of their children? The reader will have doubts and concerns, but given the situation it would have been hard to do otherwise.
The description of early days at Manzanar are telling. The management of Manzanar, cover ups, racism, and illness all play a part here. The effect of the incarceration on her children cannot be understated. It's a story of choices where none of the choices are particularly good ones and outcomes are unknown.
What must be said is that if you are looking for a story with religious aspects or impact, this is not it. The Judaism in this story is all about prejudice and the belittling of the Jews. This was a time when assimilation was the name of the game for those who wanted to be "American." And finally, it is a cautionary tale lest we ever catch our government heading this way again.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book. I found it very interesting.