This chapter of American history has always bothered me. I've read about it in several fictional works like Snow Falling on Cedar and The Buddha in the Attic, but this is the first time I've read a nonfiction personal recounting. It's not just about the camps but about the Japanese culture at that time and how unvalued a woman was - no picnic to be a Japanese woman in that period. And then to have your life taken away and be imprisioned in an inhospitable environment. The author's narrative coupled by her emotion artwork will be appreciated by anyone interested in this era. Unjustly imprisioned, they were equally unjustly released with nothing, having had everything stripped away, and no home to return to. My husband and I visited Manzanar a couple years ago. It's unimaginable and a blight on our country's record.

The period of time during which America shamefully interred citizens of Japanese heritage in prison camps is explored in this accessible autobiography. Covering the period of the author's late childhood and early adolescence, author Yuriko Nakai talks about the bare and often uncomfortable conditions of living in Amache, a Southern Colorado camp, and attempting to continue on with life. The author does not sugar coat her existence in the camp, but she does convey that under dire circumstances, Japanese people created a network of schools, adult ed, and a social life under the watchful eye of American guards. More than other books on the subject, this account will be accessible too elementary and middle school students and it is never too early to explore the inhumanity and bigotry of wartime America despite the fact that a war was being fought against the genocide on other continents. Living in close proximity with her mother, Yuriko learns about her mother's early life in Japan, her "picture bride" marriage to a taciturn husband, and her unfulfilled aspirations. Yuriko's mother is a fully fleshed out character who actually seems to thrive while practicing the Buddhist philosophies of forbearance and kharma. Yuriko, a hyperactive "monkey girl," may strain at the limits of her life but also adapts in unexpected ways. It is Yuriko's father who does the most poorly, joining other Japanese men in an attempt to move inland where they could make more money for their families and also escape the restrictions of the camp. This is an important topic, especially if paired with other books about the period, because America was not innocent in its treatment of the Japanese. In response to their imprisonment, many Japanese men fought honorably on the European front, more than proving their loyalty to their adopted land. My only quibble with the book is that it is so personal an account that it does not set the story in relief against the events outside the camp. As an example, the author does not address the fact that the governor of Colorado was a portrait in courage, fighting the government on the internment of citizens and closing Amache at the earliest possible moment. However, this is an excellent introduction to the subject and perfectly suited for ages 10 and up.

A fascinating and personal insight to a time in history often ignored. Havey weaves her story through photographs, paintings, and a collection of memories of her time spent in two Japanese-American internment camps. I recommend this to anyone interested in knowing more about the Japanese-American internment camps, or Japanese-American culture.

Gasa Gasa girl is a memoir of a girl's experience growing up in two Japanese American concentration camps. This book is not your average memoir as the author draws on moments in time, with paintings and photographs to round out the moments that show the overall experience of how it felt to lose everything and end up in the camps. This part of history is not often discussed or taught, and this book is a most welcome addition to the literature about the impact of America's outrageous choice to put people into camps, reducing their lives to small, oft times hopeless ones. I highly recommend this book