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Paper Wishes
A moving debut novel about a girl whose family is relocated to a Japanese internment camp during World War II—and the dog she has to leave behind.
Ten-year-old Manami did not realize how peaceful her family's life on Bainbridge Island was until the day it all changed. It's 1942, after the attack on Pearl Harbor, and Manami and her family are Japanese American, which means that the government says they must leave their home by the sea and join other Japanese Americans at a prison camp in the desert. Manami is sad to go, but even worse is that they are going to have to give her dog, Yujiin, to a neighbor to take care of. Manami decides to sneak Yujiin under her coat, but she is caught and forced to abandon him. She is devastated but clings to the hope that somehow Yujiin will find his way to the camp and make her family whole again. It isn't until she finds a way to let go of her guilt that Manami can accept all that has happened to her family.
Ten-year-old Manami did not realize how peaceful her family's life on Bainbridge Island was until the day it all changed. It's 1942, after the attack on Pearl Harbor, and Manami and her family are Japanese American, which means that the government says they must leave their home by the sea and join other Japanese Americans at a prison camp in the desert. Manami is sad to go, but even worse is that they are going to have to give her dog, Yujiin, to a neighbor to take care of. Manami decides to sneak Yujiin under her coat, but she is caught and forced to abandon him. She is devastated but clings to the hope that somehow Yujiin will find his way to the camp and make her family whole again. It isn't until she finds a way to let go of her guilt that Manami can accept all that has happened to her family.
192 pages, Hardcover
First published January 5, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 819 reviews
December 27, 2020
I've been hesitant to tackle the topic of the Japanese internment camps with my daughters, but I wanted the Western portion of our American reading project to involve as many Asian-American writers as possible, and it was tough to avoid this topic.
My girls are Chinese-American, not Japanese, but it was difficult for all of us to read about the blatant racism that had plagued the Japanese in America for many decades before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.
This debut novel, Paper Wishes, doesn't go into too much of the name calling or the restrictive laws set against the Japanese in America, but the author, Lois Sepahban, is extremely effective in showing what happens to one girl, Manami Tanaka, when her family is forced to evacuate their home in Bainbridge Island, Washington to the Manzanar internment camp in the California desert.
Ms. Sepahban uses a narrative that stays in the first person, and the present tense. This is typically a technique that is a “deal-breaker” for me as a reader, but she manages to make it work well here. You feel that you are with Manami on this traumatic experience.
The author was also clever enough to know that middle grades readers may not understand the full ramifications of an internment camp, but they don't need to work too hard to imagine the pain experienced by a soldier grabbing your only dog out of your arms.
The suffering is kept at a preteen level, and both of my girls found it relatable.
We all learned quite a bit here, and my daughters were fascinated by the lantern festival of Obon. They think it's perfectly reasonable that we could watch a few videos on how to make our own lanterns, perhaps right after I watch yet another video on how to perfect my Peking Duck this year, at the Lunar New Year.
I can hardly wait to get started.
My girls are Chinese-American, not Japanese, but it was difficult for all of us to read about the blatant racism that had plagued the Japanese in America for many decades before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.
This debut novel, Paper Wishes, doesn't go into too much of the name calling or the restrictive laws set against the Japanese in America, but the author, Lois Sepahban, is extremely effective in showing what happens to one girl, Manami Tanaka, when her family is forced to evacuate their home in Bainbridge Island, Washington to the Manzanar internment camp in the California desert.
Ms. Sepahban uses a narrative that stays in the first person, and the present tense. This is typically a technique that is a “deal-breaker” for me as a reader, but she manages to make it work well here. You feel that you are with Manami on this traumatic experience.
The author was also clever enough to know that middle grades readers may not understand the full ramifications of an internment camp, but they don't need to work too hard to imagine the pain experienced by a soldier grabbing your only dog out of your arms.
The suffering is kept at a preteen level, and both of my girls found it relatable.
We all learned quite a bit here, and my daughters were fascinated by the lantern festival of Obon. They think it's perfectly reasonable that we could watch a few videos on how to make our own lanterns, perhaps right after I watch yet another video on how to perfect my Peking Duck this year, at the Lunar New Year.
I can hardly wait to get started.
December 13, 2019
Read it awhile ago but remember loving the story. Good YA on treatment of Japanese-Americans in CA during and after WWII.
February 25, 2016
"Strong words. Brave words."
Gently, insistently, Sepahban's spare, lyrical prose draws you in deep. This story of a Japanese-American family herded off to an internment camp during WWII, and their struggle with loss, their strength and their survival, is centered upon the character of the youngest family member: 10-year-old Manami.
Manami's parents and grandfather are loving and supportive but traditional. They do not share their fears or discuss the war, the hateful policy of internment, or its deep negative effects with Manami. Within the family there is silence, and without there is the silence of the looming, spreading desert where the camp lies. But the silence that weighs the most upon Manami is the missing voice of Yujiin, the beloved dog she was forced to leave behind when they were "evacuated".
Manami knows she is deeply cared for, but how can she bear so much silence without it becoming a part of herself?
And if that silence becomes a part of her, can she ever go free?
I was deeply struck by Sepahban's insight, her luminous writing, and the wonder to be found in this wise, rich story.
Read this wonderful book. You'll be so glad you did.
Gently, insistently, Sepahban's spare, lyrical prose draws you in deep. This story of a Japanese-American family herded off to an internment camp during WWII, and their struggle with loss, their strength and their survival, is centered upon the character of the youngest family member: 10-year-old Manami.
Manami's parents and grandfather are loving and supportive but traditional. They do not share their fears or discuss the war, the hateful policy of internment, or its deep negative effects with Manami. Within the family there is silence, and without there is the silence of the looming, spreading desert where the camp lies. But the silence that weighs the most upon Manami is the missing voice of Yujiin, the beloved dog she was forced to leave behind when they were "evacuated".
Manami knows she is deeply cared for, but how can she bear so much silence without it becoming a part of herself?
And if that silence becomes a part of her, can she ever go free?
I was deeply struck by Sepahban's insight, her luminous writing, and the wonder to be found in this wise, rich story.
Read this wonderful book. You'll be so glad you did.
September 17, 2015
Wow! What an incredible read! I knew very little about this period in American history, but this story showed me the fascinating and often painful truth of WWII's Japanese internment camps.
Manami is a girl whose family is relocated to one of these camps because they are Japanese. She is in truth American, having been born on her home island, but that identity is thrown into flux when soldiers arrive and force her to leave--and abandon her little dog Yujiin in the process.
Manami's new life at the camp is strange and often bewildering. Her family makes the best of such an unbelievably bleak situation, but Manami's loss of Yujiin is so unbearable that she loses the ability to speak as well. Her heart and her throat are clotted with the relentless red dust of her new home, a place where there seems to be so little hope.
But Manami's love for her family keeps her going. Despite her struggles, she takes care of those around her. She keeps looking for solutions. And she shows us that hope can be found, even in the worst of situations.
Written in stunning heartfelt prose, PAPER WISHES is a story that sticks with you. You will find yourself re-reading these words. Saying them aloud. There is power in their simple beauty, and in the honest depiction of such a difficult time in our past.
Don't miss this one.
Manami is a girl whose family is relocated to one of these camps because they are Japanese. She is in truth American, having been born on her home island, but that identity is thrown into flux when soldiers arrive and force her to leave--and abandon her little dog Yujiin in the process.
Manami's new life at the camp is strange and often bewildering. Her family makes the best of such an unbelievably bleak situation, but Manami's loss of Yujiin is so unbearable that she loses the ability to speak as well. Her heart and her throat are clotted with the relentless red dust of her new home, a place where there seems to be so little hope.
But Manami's love for her family keeps her going. Despite her struggles, she takes care of those around her. She keeps looking for solutions. And she shows us that hope can be found, even in the worst of situations.
Written in stunning heartfelt prose, PAPER WISHES is a story that sticks with you. You will find yourself re-reading these words. Saying them aloud. There is power in their simple beauty, and in the honest depiction of such a difficult time in our past.
Don't miss this one.
October 10, 2015
I had the good fortune to read an advance copy of PAPER WISHES in exchange for an honest review.
Everything about this gorgeous, lyrical, heartbreaking story is a work of art -- starting with the spare yet evocative cover. Like the main character Manami, Lois Sepahban draws a moving picture of grief, resilience, and ultimately strength.
As Manami's family is grieving the loss of her grandmother, a small white dog appears as they are walking on the beach one day. Little Yujiin becomes a member of their family, offering Manami and her grandfather comfort and hope.
But when the family is forced to leave their home and go to a relocation camp, in a fit of desperation, Manami clings to Yujiin. As she is powerless to prevent Yujiin from being ripped away from her, she loses that comfort and hope -- along with her voice.
PAPER WISHES is a close-up portrait of Manami and her family, at the same time a big picture of the wider Japanese American community during World War II. With sparse, beautiful language and meaningful detail, the author allows us to experience layers of emotion in small moments of beauty like a quiet tea ceremony, as well as long struggles of resilience such as the family's ongoing commitment to tending a garden in the desert.
As with any evocative piece of art, PAPER WISHES is one you can't spend enough time with, inspires you to think, and widens your world. Book groups and classrooms will find endless ways to discuss this gorgeous story. Highly recommend.
Everything about this gorgeous, lyrical, heartbreaking story is a work of art -- starting with the spare yet evocative cover. Like the main character Manami, Lois Sepahban draws a moving picture of grief, resilience, and ultimately strength.
As Manami's family is grieving the loss of her grandmother, a small white dog appears as they are walking on the beach one day. Little Yujiin becomes a member of their family, offering Manami and her grandfather comfort and hope.
But when the family is forced to leave their home and go to a relocation camp, in a fit of desperation, Manami clings to Yujiin. As she is powerless to prevent Yujiin from being ripped away from her, she loses that comfort and hope -- along with her voice.
PAPER WISHES is a close-up portrait of Manami and her family, at the same time a big picture of the wider Japanese American community during World War II. With sparse, beautiful language and meaningful detail, the author allows us to experience layers of emotion in small moments of beauty like a quiet tea ceremony, as well as long struggles of resilience such as the family's ongoing commitment to tending a garden in the desert.
As with any evocative piece of art, PAPER WISHES is one you can't spend enough time with, inspires you to think, and widens your world. Book groups and classrooms will find endless ways to discuss this gorgeous story. Highly recommend.
January 7, 2016
This book is simply beautiful, poetically written and it reaches for your heart and touches your soul. The author has a simple story telling style that draws you in. Her prose are beautifully done and have a strong emotional impact. To see the Japanese encampments through a child's eyes brings another layer to our horrible history. The author does such a great job of expressing a child's fears, concerns and confusion on a level other children Manami’s age will be able relate too. She also tells the story in such a simple way, that children will be able to understand the historical relevance and injustice experienced in our past. This needs to me on every middle school reading list.
January 21, 2016
This is a beautiful book. With all the praise already circulating for PAPER WISHES, I had high expectations. My expectations were exceeded. Manami's story is painful, but it is impeccably executed. The author masterfully employs imagery, metaphor, and word manipulation and repetition to great effect. She immerses the reader in a strong first person narrative, thereby disallowing objective detachment from the realities of our history of Japanese internment. The result is deeply affecting.
In my view, the greatest triumph here is that the story is appropriate and accessible to the age group for which it is targeted. Before reading, I questioned whether this was a book I would hand my children. It is. In fact, while sad and difficult, the book is an invitation to a young reader to consider our history from a personal lens. Making history personal is one way we help ensure it does not repeat.
In my view, the greatest triumph here is that the story is appropriate and accessible to the age group for which it is targeted. Before reading, I questioned whether this was a book I would hand my children. It is. In fact, while sad and difficult, the book is an invitation to a young reader to consider our history from a personal lens. Making history personal is one way we help ensure it does not repeat.
January 4, 2016
I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This book is a real treasure. It illuminates one of the worst chapters of our modern American history--one that has sadly often gone overlooked. The internment of Japanese Americans during World War II was a horror, but it's one that Lois Sepahban portrays beautifully. The writing is gorgeous, lyrical and emotional. Manami is a protagonist to cherish, a little girl who is so fragile but so resilient at the same time. It's a story of hope struggling to survive in the saddest of circumstances, and the loss--and reclaiming--of one's voice. I can't recommend it highly enough.
This should become a staple of children's libraries, for the excellence of the writing, the beauty of the characters, and the depiction of a shameful time in our history that we should never be allowed to forget.
This book is a real treasure. It illuminates one of the worst chapters of our modern American history--one that has sadly often gone overlooked. The internment of Japanese Americans during World War II was a horror, but it's one that Lois Sepahban portrays beautifully. The writing is gorgeous, lyrical and emotional. Manami is a protagonist to cherish, a little girl who is so fragile but so resilient at the same time. It's a story of hope struggling to survive in the saddest of circumstances, and the loss--and reclaiming--of one's voice. I can't recommend it highly enough.
This should become a staple of children's libraries, for the excellence of the writing, the beauty of the characters, and the depiction of a shameful time in our history that we should never be allowed to forget.
February 1, 2016
This book is so beautifully written and although it's premise spotlights such a sad time in history, it's focus on Manami and her family makes it hopeful as well.
I can't even explain what it was that kept me diving back in each time I sat down, it was just a story that had to be read and Manami was a character I wanted to get to know. There is also a lot of insight into what it was like in these camps and what life became for the families who were there. A great read that could definitely be used as part of a Social Studies unit in schools.
I can't even explain what it was that kept me diving back in each time I sat down, it was just a story that had to be read and Manami was a character I wanted to get to know. There is also a lot of insight into what it was like in these camps and what life became for the families who were there. A great read that could definitely be used as part of a Social Studies unit in schools.
September 8, 2015
I had a chance to read an ARC of PAPER WISHES, and I found it to be absolutely stunning from beginning to end.
It's a beautifully told story that is both heartbreaking and hopeful, dealing with one of the most shameful periods of U.S. history in a careful, thoughtful, well-researched manner. It's also a story about a family--loving, complicated, and so very real--trying to do everything they can to continue to survive in country that is treating them so poorly, and a young girl searching for ways to understand a world that has been turned upside down. The writing is wonderful, sometimes stark, sometimes poetic, always clear and beautiful.
Very highly recommended!
It's a beautifully told story that is both heartbreaking and hopeful, dealing with one of the most shameful periods of U.S. history in a careful, thoughtful, well-researched manner. It's also a story about a family--loving, complicated, and so very real--trying to do everything they can to continue to survive in country that is treating them so poorly, and a young girl searching for ways to understand a world that has been turned upside down. The writing is wonderful, sometimes stark, sometimes poetic, always clear and beautiful.
Very highly recommended!
January 31, 2016
This book is so important in a time when politicians speak about walls, internment camps, and "aliens." I love that the figurative language was not edited out of this middle grade book. The simplicity of Sepahban's poetic language makes the message even stronger. My father's partner was nisei and was in a west coast camp as a child. I'm so glad that children in 2016 can read about what her experience must have been like. Thank you Lois.
January 9, 2016
I had the opportunity to read an ARC of Lois Sepahban's PAPER WISHES. I'm so glad I did because this book is both beautiful and important. I absolutely loved it.
I will tell you that I have such a soft spot for any book that has any kind of dog in it, so I was especially excited for Lois' debut novel. And what I found in PAPER WISHES was a stunning story about hardship and hope and the power of love.
Manami is a ten-year-old girl who has a wonderful life that includes walks on the beach with her grandfather and their little dog, Yujiin. All this changes when soldiers arrive and force Manami and her family to leave their island and travel to a prison camp. Manami tries to smuggle Yujiin along but soldiers find him and force her to leave him.
Manami is a wonderful artist and decides to send up paper wishes, hoping to bring Yujiin, hope, and peace back to her family.
PAPER WISHES explores the very dark time in American history when Japanese Americans were taken from their homes and forced into internment camps. It is clear that Sepahban has researched this time period extensively as evidenced by the story itself and the author's note that follows. After finishing, I think young readers will search out other books that further explore this time.
I think this book should be in every classroom and school library. I plan on recommending this book to everyone I know. Lois Sepahban is an author to watch.
I will tell you that I have such a soft spot for any book that has any kind of dog in it, so I was especially excited for Lois' debut novel. And what I found in PAPER WISHES was a stunning story about hardship and hope and the power of love.
Manami is a ten-year-old girl who has a wonderful life that includes walks on the beach with her grandfather and their little dog, Yujiin. All this changes when soldiers arrive and force Manami and her family to leave their island and travel to a prison camp. Manami tries to smuggle Yujiin along but soldiers find him and force her to leave him.
Manami is a wonderful artist and decides to send up paper wishes, hoping to bring Yujiin, hope, and peace back to her family.
PAPER WISHES explores the very dark time in American history when Japanese Americans were taken from their homes and forced into internment camps. It is clear that Sepahban has researched this time period extensively as evidenced by the story itself and the author's note that follows. After finishing, I think young readers will search out other books that further explore this time.
I think this book should be in every classroom and school library. I plan on recommending this book to everyone I know. Lois Sepahban is an author to watch.
January 15, 2016
How could you possibly handle the subject of the relocation camps that imprisoned thousands of Japanese-Americans during World War II in a way that children can understand, without it become bleak or hopeless?
Yet Sepahban manages it with quiet grace, giving us the story of Manami, a 10-year-old girl who is imprisoned with her family in the California desert. Traumatized by the experience and fiercely missing the dog she was forced to leave behind, Manami refuses to speak, grieving even as her family members find a place in the society of the camp. Sepahan doesn't focus on politics or wars - the only details of that are in her concise and informative author's note - but Manami's narration, so lithe and lyrical that it stops just short of verse, places the reader in the camp beside her, offering a visceral sense of place and time that all the facts in the world could not convey.
This is a beautiful book that sheds light on a shameful part of America's past.
Yet Sepahban manages it with quiet grace, giving us the story of Manami, a 10-year-old girl who is imprisoned with her family in the California desert. Traumatized by the experience and fiercely missing the dog she was forced to leave behind, Manami refuses to speak, grieving even as her family members find a place in the society of the camp. Sepahan doesn't focus on politics or wars - the only details of that are in her concise and informative author's note - but Manami's narration, so lithe and lyrical that it stops just short of verse, places the reader in the camp beside her, offering a visceral sense of place and time that all the facts in the world could not convey.
This is a beautiful book that sheds light on a shameful part of America's past.
December 12, 2015
I knew that going into Paper Wishes, that the book would likely hit me deeply. While I'm not Japanese American, my family had very similar experiences during WWII. Moreover, I had several classmates whose grandparents lived through Manzanar, and was deeply moved when they chose to share their stories with us.
Manami is a ten-year-old living on Bainbridge Island in 1942, when life changes forever. Thanks to an order signed by the President, Manami, her parents and her grandfather, along with all of their Japanese-American friends, are required to locate to a camp.
Though Manami tries to bring Yujiin, the family dog along, she's quickly caught and forced to give him up. With the loss of Yujiin and realization that life at their new camp won't be easy, Manami loses her voice. It's a long journey to bring her voice back, as she works to adjust to her new circumstances...
While Sepahban deliberately chooses to use very simple language to tell Manami's story, the impact is a profound one. Through Manami's thought process and interactions with those around her, we see just how jarring this loss of innocence is for someone so young. There's literally no explanation for why any of this is happening, and why Manami can't even be allowed to bring the family dog to her new "prison-village". It's a startling reminder of the injustices of the world, and how they can alter even the youngest and most innocent amongst us.
But as bleak as Manami's initial circumstances may be, Sepahban is also careful to emphasize the idea that small acts of goodness do exist, and can often help reinvigorate an individual's faith in humanity. Miss Rosalie's decision to gift Manami with paper and pencils is a reminder that there are those who won't necessarily cede to popular opinion, and will go against the grain to do what they believe to be right.
Moreover, Manami's drawings are a reminder on the importance of finding healthy, emotional outlets to work through a person's feelings. Sepahban carefully shows readers how Manami is able to use her drawings to process her desire to be reunited with Yujiin, and also as a connection tool in lieu of her voice. It's art that helps Manami reconnect with her parents and her grandfather, and helps them work through their own individual challenges with their new lives.
Outside of Manami's personal journey, Sepahban also gently reinforces the role of tradition and community in retaining normalcy throughout the course of the novel. Manami's family's commitment to things like the tea ceremony to celebrate positive change, and their continued loyalty to friends from the island - e.g. there are repeated instances of friends coming and working together - absolutely stresses the idea that it's the retention of the positive aspects of one's life, which helps make each of them stronger in the end.
Consequently, though the book concludes with Manami and her family headed off to an uncertain future, readers are left with the certainty that it's a future that they will face with the strength and support of friends and family. Though Manami and individuals like herself should never have faced with such an injustice as this, Sepahban's story is ultimately a reminder of what it means to triumph, and also a poignant reminder for now and the future.
Final verdict:
As heart-wrenching as Paper Wishes was to read at some points, Lois Sepahban has written that I'm very, very grateful for.
Manami's journey is not an easy one; it's full of obstacles, emotions and situations that are a challenge to those who are far older than her. However, through Sepahban's careful guidance, Manami and her family's journey ultimately becomes testaments to the strength of the human spirit, and a reminder to the future.
I highly recommend Paper Wishes for MG fans, both young and old. I also strongly recommend this book for educators and parents who are looking for historical fiction that can help begin to educate readers on the not-so-often told stories of WWII.
Manami is a ten-year-old living on Bainbridge Island in 1942, when life changes forever. Thanks to an order signed by the President, Manami, her parents and her grandfather, along with all of their Japanese-American friends, are required to locate to a camp.
Though Manami tries to bring Yujiin, the family dog along, she's quickly caught and forced to give him up. With the loss of Yujiin and realization that life at their new camp won't be easy, Manami loses her voice. It's a long journey to bring her voice back, as she works to adjust to her new circumstances...
While Sepahban deliberately chooses to use very simple language to tell Manami's story, the impact is a profound one. Through Manami's thought process and interactions with those around her, we see just how jarring this loss of innocence is for someone so young. There's literally no explanation for why any of this is happening, and why Manami can't even be allowed to bring the family dog to her new "prison-village". It's a startling reminder of the injustices of the world, and how they can alter even the youngest and most innocent amongst us.
But as bleak as Manami's initial circumstances may be, Sepahban is also careful to emphasize the idea that small acts of goodness do exist, and can often help reinvigorate an individual's faith in humanity. Miss Rosalie's decision to gift Manami with paper and pencils is a reminder that there are those who won't necessarily cede to popular opinion, and will go against the grain to do what they believe to be right.
Moreover, Manami's drawings are a reminder on the importance of finding healthy, emotional outlets to work through a person's feelings. Sepahban carefully shows readers how Manami is able to use her drawings to process her desire to be reunited with Yujiin, and also as a connection tool in lieu of her voice. It's art that helps Manami reconnect with her parents and her grandfather, and helps them work through their own individual challenges with their new lives.
Outside of Manami's personal journey, Sepahban also gently reinforces the role of tradition and community in retaining normalcy throughout the course of the novel. Manami's family's commitment to things like the tea ceremony to celebrate positive change, and their continued loyalty to friends from the island - e.g. there are repeated instances of friends coming and working together - absolutely stresses the idea that it's the retention of the positive aspects of one's life, which helps make each of them stronger in the end.
Consequently, though the book concludes with Manami and her family headed off to an uncertain future, readers are left with the certainty that it's a future that they will face with the strength and support of friends and family. Though Manami and individuals like herself should never have faced with such an injustice as this, Sepahban's story is ultimately a reminder of what it means to triumph, and also a poignant reminder for now and the future.
Final verdict:
As heart-wrenching as Paper Wishes was to read at some points, Lois Sepahban has written that I'm very, very grateful for.
Manami's journey is not an easy one; it's full of obstacles, emotions and situations that are a challenge to those who are far older than her. However, through Sepahban's careful guidance, Manami and her family's journey ultimately becomes testaments to the strength of the human spirit, and a reminder to the future.
I highly recommend Paper Wishes for MG fans, both young and old. I also strongly recommend this book for educators and parents who are looking for historical fiction that can help begin to educate readers on the not-so-often told stories of WWII.
January 10, 2016
I was given an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
When I'm listening to a good song, my body can't help but function in a rhythm that matches the beat of the music. It's like every cell wants to sway in time with the sound coming through the speakers. Every now and then, I'll come across a book that is written so lyrically, so stunningly gorgeous, that it creates that exact same effect for me.
Lois Sepahban's book, Paper Wishes, is one of those books. There's a cadence to her writing that is wonderfully poetic. I swear someone could probably conduct a symphony with it. And layered throughout all of that prose is a story that's as honest as it is heart wrenching. We're introduced to Manami on the day her family is being sent to an internment camp. Everything she knows is stripped away from her. Her house. The beach. Her neighbors. Even her dog, Yujiin. Manami's story is certainly one of survival in this horrible new place, but Lois pairs that up with themes of family and friends, letting the message of hope float across the page like Manami's own paper wishes float through the air.
I want to hug this book. I just can't recommend enough. If you're a teacher, buy this now for your classroom. If you're a librarian, buy this now for your library. If you're a parent, buy this now for your entire family. If you're a human being who simply loves a good contemporary story, buy this now for your heart. It'll thank you, I promise.
When I'm listening to a good song, my body can't help but function in a rhythm that matches the beat of the music. It's like every cell wants to sway in time with the sound coming through the speakers. Every now and then, I'll come across a book that is written so lyrically, so stunningly gorgeous, that it creates that exact same effect for me.
Lois Sepahban's book, Paper Wishes, is one of those books. There's a cadence to her writing that is wonderfully poetic. I swear someone could probably conduct a symphony with it. And layered throughout all of that prose is a story that's as honest as it is heart wrenching. We're introduced to Manami on the day her family is being sent to an internment camp. Everything she knows is stripped away from her. Her house. The beach. Her neighbors. Even her dog, Yujiin. Manami's story is certainly one of survival in this horrible new place, but Lois pairs that up with themes of family and friends, letting the message of hope float across the page like Manami's own paper wishes float through the air.
I want to hug this book. I just can't recommend enough. If you're a teacher, buy this now for your classroom. If you're a librarian, buy this now for your library. If you're a parent, buy this now for your entire family. If you're a human being who simply loves a good contemporary story, buy this now for your heart. It'll thank you, I promise.
April 3, 2016
Oh, my heart. This book.
Quiet, beautiful, and full of grace, PAPER WISHES is written in lovingly spare prose leaving pure emotion on the page. I was a mess by the end of the first chapter. The story focuses on ten-year-old Manami and her family who are moved to a Japanese internment camp during WWII. Caught trying to sneak in her dog, Yujiin, Manami is forced to abandon him before they reach the camp.
A story of heartbreak and loss, family and resilience – this was a book that will stay with me for a long time. Like all great historical fiction, as long as I was between those pages, it was like I was living in that time. Emotional and affecting, this is a must read for any age.
Quiet, beautiful, and full of grace, PAPER WISHES is written in lovingly spare prose leaving pure emotion on the page. I was a mess by the end of the first chapter. The story focuses on ten-year-old Manami and her family who are moved to a Japanese internment camp during WWII. Caught trying to sneak in her dog, Yujiin, Manami is forced to abandon him before they reach the camp.
A story of heartbreak and loss, family and resilience – this was a book that will stay with me for a long time. Like all great historical fiction, as long as I was between those pages, it was like I was living in that time. Emotional and affecting, this is a must read for any age.
June 5, 2019
”Every day, I draw Yujiin. Some days it is one picture. Some days it is more.
Yujiin running on the sand.
Yujiin sleeping under Grandfather’s chair.
Yujiin watching seabirds dip and bob.
Yujiin waiting by the door.
Each morning, I make a wish for Yujiin to come and I send new promises in the air.”
Living with her family on Bainbridge Island in Washington, Manami lives a relatively happy and peaceful life with her parents and grandfather. Her life is made all the more joyful when she’s with her beloved dog Yujiin. He keeps her grandfather company and follows Manami everywhere she goes. Until one day, he can’t follow her anymore. The year is 1942, and after the attack on Pearl Harbor all Japanese-Americans are rounded up and taken to internment camps. Unable to face the prospect of losing her beloved Yujiin, Manami tries to sneak him under her coat, but fails when US soldiers discover the dog and take him away. Depressed in the internment camp and lost without her beloved Yujiin, Manami becomes selectively mute and desperate to be reunited with him. As a way to cope, she sends paper pictures (wishes) into the sky in the hopes that Yujiin will receive them and know she’s OK. But will Manami find the inner strength that both her and her family need to survive?
This was a beautiful, tender story about a not-so-tender time in a way that children will both understand and identify with. The plot of a child and their dog is so universal and relevant that kids (and adults) will resonate with both Manami and her situation. When the novel starts out, she is blissfully and naively unaware of the situation around her, as a child normally would be. The world seems so simple; all people are different, but shouldn’t be treated as such, and that’s how it should be. So when the internment orders are given, it’s hard for her to comprehend what’s happening. Through Lois Sepahban’s heartbreaking dialogue, we come to feel the betrayal and devastating realization that she must feel when she comes to comprehend that it doesn’t matter if you’re American, if you don’t look American, you must not be American.
If I had one complaint about this gem of a book, it would be that I thought some plotlines were completely irrelevant. Manami’s teacher inside of the interment camp brought her out of her shell, but the romance between her and Manami’s brother felt out of place and a forced plot point for the novel. The message of overcoming prejudice and hatred is done well enough without the inclusion of a seemingly forced romance. And despite the mention of the dog, poor little Yujiin kind of gets forgotten at some parts of the novel, even though the book is seemingly centered around him. I don’t know if I quite agree with the message , but I can see what the author was trying to do.
Especially in these political turbulent times, we need to remind children that they’re only not alone, but others before them have gone through it too. And we need these books to remind them as well that there is some good in the world, and finding their inner voice, no matter how scary it may be, is bravery in of itself.
And when Manami does eventually find her voice, it’s as sweet as a puppies’ kiss.
Yujiin running on the sand.
Yujiin sleeping under Grandfather’s chair.
Yujiin watching seabirds dip and bob.
Yujiin waiting by the door.
Each morning, I make a wish for Yujiin to come and I send new promises in the air.”
Living with her family on Bainbridge Island in Washington, Manami lives a relatively happy and peaceful life with her parents and grandfather. Her life is made all the more joyful when she’s with her beloved dog Yujiin. He keeps her grandfather company and follows Manami everywhere she goes. Until one day, he can’t follow her anymore. The year is 1942, and after the attack on Pearl Harbor all Japanese-Americans are rounded up and taken to internment camps. Unable to face the prospect of losing her beloved Yujiin, Manami tries to sneak him under her coat, but fails when US soldiers discover the dog and take him away. Depressed in the internment camp and lost without her beloved Yujiin, Manami becomes selectively mute and desperate to be reunited with him. As a way to cope, she sends paper pictures (wishes) into the sky in the hopes that Yujiin will receive them and know she’s OK. But will Manami find the inner strength that both her and her family need to survive?
This was a beautiful, tender story about a not-so-tender time in a way that children will both understand and identify with. The plot of a child and their dog is so universal and relevant that kids (and adults) will resonate with both Manami and her situation. When the novel starts out, she is blissfully and naively unaware of the situation around her, as a child normally would be. The world seems so simple; all people are different, but shouldn’t be treated as such, and that’s how it should be. So when the internment orders are given, it’s hard for her to comprehend what’s happening. Through Lois Sepahban’s heartbreaking dialogue, we come to feel the betrayal and devastating realization that she must feel when she comes to comprehend that it doesn’t matter if you’re American, if you don’t look American, you must not be American.
”’When I see the soldiers, I am scared,’ I say.Even though she’s unaware in the start of the book, her internment with her family clearly changes her.Manami has a quiet fierceness about her that shines thorough in the writing, even though she hardly speaks. The authors shows the reader that words aren’t always the expected action when it comes to being brave, and finding your voice to tell of injustice can come in the most unusual circumstances.
‘When the soldiers see you, they are scared too,’ Grandfather says.
‘Me?’ I ask. I do not think I look scary.
‘You. Me. All of us. They think: Maybe these people with Japanese faces and Japanese names will betray us,’ Grandfather says.
‘But only my face and my name are Japanese,’ I say. ‘The rest of me is American.’
‘That is so.’”
If I had one complaint about this gem of a book, it would be that I thought some plotlines were completely irrelevant. Manami’s teacher inside of the interment camp brought her out of her shell, but the romance between her and Manami’s brother felt out of place and a forced plot point for the novel. The message of overcoming prejudice and hatred is done well enough without the inclusion of a seemingly forced romance. And despite the mention of the dog, poor little Yujiin kind of gets forgotten at some parts of the novel, even though the book is seemingly centered around him. I don’t know if I quite agree with the message , but I can see what the author was trying to do.
Especially in these political turbulent times, we need to remind children that they’re only not alone, but others before them have gone through it too. And we need these books to remind them as well that there is some good in the world, and finding their inner voice, no matter how scary it may be, is bravery in of itself.
And when Manami does eventually find her voice, it’s as sweet as a puppies’ kiss.
January 7, 2016
As a 9-12 year old, I couldn't read enough historical fiction set during World War II. I'm not sure what it was about that era, or if maybe there was just a ton of historical fiction output during my formative years set during WWII, but it became a time period that fascinated me, as heartbreaking and challenging as it must have been for so many at the time. Publishing moves through cycles and it seems that historical fiction is not so trendy these days, as I feel like I see fewer and fewer historical fiction books in the New Books section at the bookstore. It's a shame because these books are so necessary if we wish to learn from history. They help us better understand where we came from, and how those events have shaped today.
PAPER WISHES begins with a girl and her dog Yujiin and her grandfather. Born on Bainbridge Island off the coast of Washington state, Manami knows only her peaceful, rural, seaside home, where she lives with her parents and grandfather, her two older siblings off to college in the Midwest. But everything changes one day at school. Whispered rumors. And returning home to learn from her parents, with little explanation, that she and her family have no choice but to leave. Along with all of the other Japanese-Americans, they are sent to the mainland and then further inland, to an internment camp, where they are housed in barracks, regarded with suspicion. In the process, Manami is forcibly parted with Yujiin, who she was supposed to leave behind, but who she sneaks along for the journey. The other parting is Manami's choice. In the moment and the days that follow, she loses her voice.
Sepahban's spare, poetic, and economical prose is perfectly suited to this story and this age group. Chapter breaks mark each month as time marches on in the internment camp, where everything is parched and Manami, quieted. Her heartbreak over the loss of Yujiin is palpable, and will move many readers, child and adult alike, but its her eventual recovery that got the tears to spill over for me.
PAPER WISHES couldn't be more timely or necessary, with a current presidential candidate with a unforgivable and deep misunderstanding of Executive Order 9066. My nephew, himself Japanese-American and close in age to Manami, was asking me the other day about good guys and bad guys, asking for confirmation that "bad guys" aren't real . . . they're just in the movies. I didn't know how to answer -- the question was so big and I'm not his parent -- but I told him, "real bad guys usually don't look like the ones in the movies."
PAPER WISHES, already the recipient of three starred reviews, has been lauded with so much love, but I have to give it a little more. You can't say this about every book, and of course, it depends a bit on the reader, but this book is *important*. I can't think of a better choice for classroom read-alouds. Many, many children will learn and experience so much from this book, without ever feeling like they are being taught.
PAPER WISHES begins with a girl and her dog Yujiin and her grandfather. Born on Bainbridge Island off the coast of Washington state, Manami knows only her peaceful, rural, seaside home, where she lives with her parents and grandfather, her two older siblings off to college in the Midwest. But everything changes one day at school. Whispered rumors. And returning home to learn from her parents, with little explanation, that she and her family have no choice but to leave. Along with all of the other Japanese-Americans, they are sent to the mainland and then further inland, to an internment camp, where they are housed in barracks, regarded with suspicion. In the process, Manami is forcibly parted with Yujiin, who she was supposed to leave behind, but who she sneaks along for the journey. The other parting is Manami's choice. In the moment and the days that follow, she loses her voice.
Sepahban's spare, poetic, and economical prose is perfectly suited to this story and this age group. Chapter breaks mark each month as time marches on in the internment camp, where everything is parched and Manami, quieted. Her heartbreak over the loss of Yujiin is palpable, and will move many readers, child and adult alike, but its her eventual recovery that got the tears to spill over for me.
PAPER WISHES couldn't be more timely or necessary, with a current presidential candidate with a unforgivable and deep misunderstanding of Executive Order 9066. My nephew, himself Japanese-American and close in age to Manami, was asking me the other day about good guys and bad guys, asking for confirmation that "bad guys" aren't real . . . they're just in the movies. I didn't know how to answer -- the question was so big and I'm not his parent -- but I told him, "real bad guys usually don't look like the ones in the movies."
PAPER WISHES, already the recipient of three starred reviews, has been lauded with so much love, but I have to give it a little more. You can't say this about every book, and of course, it depends a bit on the reader, but this book is *important*. I can't think of a better choice for classroom read-alouds. Many, many children will learn and experience so much from this book, without ever feeling like they are being taught.
November 29, 2015
Huge thank you to Raincoast for this ARC!
I seem to be a magnet for books about young girls and their dogs. Authors who write these kinds of books and I always seem to connect instantly, and Lois Sepahban's book is not exception. Mind you, this book also focuses on the Japanese internment camps, something I admit, I knew about, but didn't entirely understand the lengths of.
This book is simple, if beautiful written. It looks at the story of a girl who is whisked away from her normal life and thrown into an internment camp due to the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Many Japanese families are forced into these camps under levels of suspicion, but when our heroine Manami is torn away from Yujiin her dog, let's just say I bawled.
Then when other dogs started to hang about the camp, yet Manami was still dreaming of Yujiin, I bawled again.
Manami's simple narrative carries the reader through this rough historical period in a way that is very honest and quite blunt. You get a sense that her innocence has been completely lost, and all she has now to gain is experience. She's so young to have her innocence taken from her due to the threats of war, but you understand (as she does) that there is more than meets the eye in her current situation.
This book beautifully illustrates family, companionship between a girl and her dog, friendship, and it does it all in a way that is both easy, yet powerful to read. This book is so short, yet it packs such a large, hard hitting punch. It makes you come to terms with how history has a way of displacing people and making them feel like even if they are innocent of a crime, the world doesn't necessarily see it that way. I felt for Manami and her family, but mostly I spent a lot of the book just wishing and hoping that Manami and Yujiin would be reunited.
Paper Wishes is a beautiful and melancholy novel. It doesn't ask a lot of the reader, but it wants to paint the picture of displacement in a way that many can understand. I highly recommend this book if you love learning about Japanese history or you want a touching middle grade tale.
I seem to be a magnet for books about young girls and their dogs. Authors who write these kinds of books and I always seem to connect instantly, and Lois Sepahban's book is not exception. Mind you, this book also focuses on the Japanese internment camps, something I admit, I knew about, but didn't entirely understand the lengths of.
This book is simple, if beautiful written. It looks at the story of a girl who is whisked away from her normal life and thrown into an internment camp due to the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Many Japanese families are forced into these camps under levels of suspicion, but when our heroine Manami is torn away from Yujiin her dog, let's just say I bawled.
Then when other dogs started to hang about the camp, yet Manami was still dreaming of Yujiin, I bawled again.
Manami's simple narrative carries the reader through this rough historical period in a way that is very honest and quite blunt. You get a sense that her innocence has been completely lost, and all she has now to gain is experience. She's so young to have her innocence taken from her due to the threats of war, but you understand (as she does) that there is more than meets the eye in her current situation.
This book beautifully illustrates family, companionship between a girl and her dog, friendship, and it does it all in a way that is both easy, yet powerful to read. This book is so short, yet it packs such a large, hard hitting punch. It makes you come to terms with how history has a way of displacing people and making them feel like even if they are innocent of a crime, the world doesn't necessarily see it that way. I felt for Manami and her family, but mostly I spent a lot of the book just wishing and hoping that Manami and Yujiin would be reunited.
Paper Wishes is a beautiful and melancholy novel. It doesn't ask a lot of the reader, but it wants to paint the picture of displacement in a way that many can understand. I highly recommend this book if you love learning about Japanese history or you want a touching middle grade tale.
May 20, 2016
The personal anguish of being uprooted and sent to a prison-like internment camp are captured in the character of a young Japanese girl in Lois Sepahban's debut novel. Manami is forced from her home in Bainbridge Island, Washington with other Japanese during World War II. She has no idea what is going on when they leave and sneaks her dog with her under her coat. When soldiers force her to abandon the dog and she arrives at the internment camp, she is traumatized by the event and becomes mute losing her dog, her voice, and her home.
The author targets young readers and simplifies the story focusing on Manami and her internal turmoil. The subplots regarding the forbidden romance between two teachers, the riot at the camp, and residents and not developed or elaborated much. Manami doesn't know why she is at the camp and seems oblivious to the war which didn't ring true. The author shows that Manami's parents don't tell her anything, but wouldn't she hear about it at school? As a 10-year-old she would at least know about the Pearl Harbor attack by the Japanese. She arrives at the camp as an incredibly clueless person. The short choppy sentences reflect a younger person and also one that is from a bilingual home, although this is never stated in the story. I found the story somewhat slow with little character development, but I think students will like the thrust of a girl's grief over losing her pet and home.
The author targets young readers and simplifies the story focusing on Manami and her internal turmoil. The subplots regarding the forbidden romance between two teachers, the riot at the camp, and residents and not developed or elaborated much. Manami doesn't know why she is at the camp and seems oblivious to the war which didn't ring true. The author shows that Manami's parents don't tell her anything, but wouldn't she hear about it at school? As a 10-year-old she would at least know about the Pearl Harbor attack by the Japanese. She arrives at the camp as an incredibly clueless person. The short choppy sentences reflect a younger person and also one that is from a bilingual home, although this is never stated in the story. I found the story somewhat slow with little character development, but I think students will like the thrust of a girl's grief over losing her pet and home.
Read
February 23, 2016Ten-year-old Manami lived happily on Bainbridge Island with her parents, her grandfather, and her dog Yujiin. But in March 1942, her family is given orders to vacate the island and move to a relocation camp in Manzanar, California. Manami hides Yujiin in her coat, but an officer sees her dog and demands she give it up. She kicks and shouts and screams, but her dog is taken away from her anyway. This is the last time Manami speaks for nearly a year. Readers then follow Manami on her journey to the relocation camp. There we watch as she struggles to keep her mother’s garden alive, as she accepts paper and pencil from the teacher at the camp, and as she searches for Yujiin who she is convinced is somewhere in the camp with her. Author Lois Sepahban’s debut does a commendable job connecting readers to the history of Japanese relocation camps during World War II, but most of all, she honors the pain and loss of Japanese-Americans who lived during that time. A must read for middle grade readers and beyond. — Karina Glaser
from The Best Books We Read In January: http://bookriot.com/2016/02/01/riot-r...
from The Best Books We Read In January: http://bookriot.com/2016/02/01/riot-r...
February 5, 2016
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“Why have the soldiers come?” I ask.
“War,” grandfather says. “It means soldiers everywhere.”
“When I see the soldiers, I am scared,” I say.
“When the soldiers see you, they are scared, too,” Grandfather says.
“Me?” I ask. I do not think I look scary.
“You. Me. All of us. They think: Maybe these people with Japanese faces and Japanese names will betray us,” Grandfather says.
“But only my face and my name are Japanese,” I say. “The rest of me is American.”
“That is so,” Grandfather says.
From the mysterious posters – “Evacuate!” – to her family’s stolen glances and whispered secrets, Ten-year-old Manami Tanaka is beginning to suspect that something is very wrong in the quaint, seaside community of Bainbridge Island, Washington. Then, the soldiers arrive. When Manami and her family are informed that they must relocate to an interment camp for American residents of Japanese ancestry in the stark and arid desert landscape of the Sierra Nevada, Manami is understandably confused and unsettled at the idea of leaving behind the only home she has ever known. Nothing upsets her more, however, than the prospect of saying goodbye to her loyal and beloved dog, Yujiin. Forced to reduce their lives to what can be packed within the confines of a single suitcase, Manami is left with no choice but to leave Yujiin behind in a heart-wrenching separation that renders her mute. In the days, weeks, and months that follow she and her family will be forced to navigate an increasingly difficult and uncertain reality in confinement as Manami continues to search for Yujiin, as well as her voice.
We step off the train and board the waiting buses. The buses will drive us to our destination.
As we get closer, I see bits and pieces through my window.
Fence.
Barbed wire.
Guard tower.
Buildings covered with black paper.
Red dirt.
I read the sign: Manzanar.
It is ugly.
…
“It is a prison,” she says.
“The soldiers say it will be a village,” Father says. “We will make it a village.”
A powerful and unforgettable story of loss, hope and the resilience of the human spirit, Lois Sepahban’s 2016 middle grade debut proves that there is no age limit on an exceptional story. As many politicians attempt to institute fear, prejudice and racism as a matter of public policy, it seems there is no better nor a more relevant or important time for this novel, both for our children as well as ourselves. Paper Wishes explores one of the darkest and most shameful periods in American history when, in the wake of Pearl Harbor, over 100,000 Japanese Americans, the majority of whom were United States citizens, were forcibly relocated into interment camps simply because of their heritage. Debut author Lois Sepahban explores this difficult subject matter with sensitivity and grace in a novel that speaks volumes despite its relative brevity.
If I stand tall with my feet bare, I can pretend the dirt feels like sand here.
But when I open my mouth to speak, the dirt no longer feels like sand. It sticks to my lips and tongue like red mud. It coats my throat so that I cannot speak.
I think this is what has happened to me.
I wish the dirt would cloud my eyes, too, so that I would not see this place that is and is not my home without Yujiin.
At the very core of this novel beats the heart of a vulnerable, sensitive, creative, compassionate, thoughtful, generous little girl. Ten-year-old Manami Tanaka is a character whose innate innocence and quiet forbearance are sure to capture even the most hardened reader’s heart. Traumatized by her family’s forced relocation and the loss of her beloved dog, Yujiin, Manami becomes mute and is left without a voice to express the depth of fear, guilt, resentment and loss she has experienced. Instead, along with the help of her family and her kind teacher, Miss Rosalie, Manami turns to other outlets in order to explore and convey these feelings. She draws pictures from memory, invoking places or moments in her past which bring her joy and comfort. She also becomes engrossed in tending her mother’s garden, nurturing the few seeds they were able to salvage from home and encouraging the roots to grow strong and deep, much like the fortitude and spirit of resistance that begins to blossom within the camp. Finally, convinced that Yujiin will one day return to them, Manami begins to make the eponymous ‘paper wishes’, writing down her deepest hopes and dreams before relinquishing them into the wind. While Sepahban describes the difficult conditions within the prison camp and the lives and feelings of those held within it, touching upon important issues like civil rights and interracial relationships, Paper Wishes is ultimately rooted in Manami’s personal story. Her immense grief and guilt over losing Yujiin and her quiet desperation to get him back creates a taught, powerful narrative that will steal readers’ breath as well as their heart. Sepahban’s rendering of Manami’s emotional journey is poignant and true, capturing the sense of hopelessness and futility so many of us experience when battling against forces largely outside of our control. Perhaps most importantly, Manami’s journey is universal. While her individual circumstances are unimaginable in their cruelty and injustice, the larger issues the author explores – coping with grief and finding one’s voice – are ones sure to resonate with audiences of every age, gender, race, and background.
I think I have never seen so many people in one place before.
Miss Rosalie told us that there are now almost ten thousand people living in this prison-village.
Ten thousand people with hair and skin like mine.
Ten thousand people with Japanese names like mine.
At a mere 192 pages, readers might mistakenly assume that Paper Wishes is a superficial story, one quickly read and even more rapidly forgotten. Thankfully, this could not be further from the truth. The novel is written with delicate subtlety and grace in sparse, beautiful prose that holds a melody all its own. Sepahban draws a vivid portrait of the period while still allowing the narrative to remain informative and accessible, even for reluctant readers. It is a testament to Sepahban’s immense talent that Manami’s silences speak louder than any dialogue or overwrought soliloquy. In fact, it is often in these moments of stillness, of quiet introspection, in which the novel shines brightest, as the author trusts the reader to draw their own conclusions about the nature of the imprisonment in which Manami and thousands of others unjustly found themselves. Paper Wishes can be a difficult novel to read, but never unfairly so. Though brutality and injustice are inherent in Manami’s reality, Sepahban’s debut is a powerful reminder that love, and hope, can often be found in the most unexpected of places. We see it in Grandfather’s silent understanding. In Kimmi’s unconditional friendship. In Miss Rosalie’s patient kindness. Again and again the author reminds us of the resilience and the triumph of the human spirit against unimaginable odds and the immense strength it must have taken for prisoners like Manami and her family to retain their culture and their humanity in the face of a system that seemed determined to strip them of it.
I sit in the garden and look at what’s left of it.
Mounds with onions and garlic buried inside, hibernating through winter’s freeze.
Mounds with herbs at the end of their life cycle, growing flowers so that there will be herbs for next spring.
Mounds that sit empty, waiting for new seeds to grow into plants.
Strong plants.
Plants with deep roots.
Plants that survive.
Impeccably researched, beautifully written and undeniably moving, Paper Wishes would make an invaluable addition to any classroom, library, or personal collection. Lois Sepahban’s 2016 middle grade debut has solidified the author’s position as One To Watch, creating within it a story rich in emotional authenticity and resonance, which educates and enriches without ever becoming pedantic or inaccessible. If I could release one paper wish into the world, it would be that the publishing world continue to embrace and share stories like this one. Stories that give a voice to the voiceless. Stories that inform. Stories that challenge. Stories that inspire. To be better. To do better. Paper Wishes is the book I have often wished for.
“Why have the soldiers come?” I ask.
“War,” grandfather says. “It means soldiers everywhere.”
“When I see the soldiers, I am scared,” I say.
“When the soldiers see you, they are scared, too,” Grandfather says.
“Me?” I ask. I do not think I look scary.
“You. Me. All of us. They think: Maybe these people with Japanese faces and Japanese names will betray us,” Grandfather says.
“But only my face and my name are Japanese,” I say. “The rest of me is American.”
“That is so,” Grandfather says.
From the mysterious posters – “Evacuate!” – to her family’s stolen glances and whispered secrets, Ten-year-old Manami Tanaka is beginning to suspect that something is very wrong in the quaint, seaside community of Bainbridge Island, Washington. Then, the soldiers arrive. When Manami and her family are informed that they must relocate to an interment camp for American residents of Japanese ancestry in the stark and arid desert landscape of the Sierra Nevada, Manami is understandably confused and unsettled at the idea of leaving behind the only home she has ever known. Nothing upsets her more, however, than the prospect of saying goodbye to her loyal and beloved dog, Yujiin. Forced to reduce their lives to what can be packed within the confines of a single suitcase, Manami is left with no choice but to leave Yujiin behind in a heart-wrenching separation that renders her mute. In the days, weeks, and months that follow she and her family will be forced to navigate an increasingly difficult and uncertain reality in confinement as Manami continues to search for Yujiin, as well as her voice.
We step off the train and board the waiting buses. The buses will drive us to our destination.
As we get closer, I see bits and pieces through my window.
Fence.
Barbed wire.
Guard tower.
Buildings covered with black paper.
Red dirt.
I read the sign: Manzanar.
It is ugly.
…
“It is a prison,” she says.
“The soldiers say it will be a village,” Father says. “We will make it a village.”
A powerful and unforgettable story of loss, hope and the resilience of the human spirit, Lois Sepahban’s 2016 middle grade debut proves that there is no age limit on an exceptional story. As many politicians attempt to institute fear, prejudice and racism as a matter of public policy, it seems there is no better nor a more relevant or important time for this novel, both for our children as well as ourselves. Paper Wishes explores one of the darkest and most shameful periods in American history when, in the wake of Pearl Harbor, over 100,000 Japanese Americans, the majority of whom were United States citizens, were forcibly relocated into interment camps simply because of their heritage. Debut author Lois Sepahban explores this difficult subject matter with sensitivity and grace in a novel that speaks volumes despite its relative brevity.
If I stand tall with my feet bare, I can pretend the dirt feels like sand here.
But when I open my mouth to speak, the dirt no longer feels like sand. It sticks to my lips and tongue like red mud. It coats my throat so that I cannot speak.
I think this is what has happened to me.
I wish the dirt would cloud my eyes, too, so that I would not see this place that is and is not my home without Yujiin.
At the very core of this novel beats the heart of a vulnerable, sensitive, creative, compassionate, thoughtful, generous little girl. Ten-year-old Manami Tanaka is a character whose innate innocence and quiet forbearance are sure to capture even the most hardened reader’s heart. Traumatized by her family’s forced relocation and the loss of her beloved dog, Yujiin, Manami becomes mute and is left without a voice to express the depth of fear, guilt, resentment and loss she has experienced. Instead, along with the help of her family and her kind teacher, Miss Rosalie, Manami turns to other outlets in order to explore and convey these feelings. She draws pictures from memory, invoking places or moments in her past which bring her joy and comfort. She also becomes engrossed in tending her mother’s garden, nurturing the few seeds they were able to salvage from home and encouraging the roots to grow strong and deep, much like the fortitude and spirit of resistance that begins to blossom within the camp. Finally, convinced that Yujiin will one day return to them, Manami begins to make the eponymous ‘paper wishes’, writing down her deepest hopes and dreams before relinquishing them into the wind. While Sepahban describes the difficult conditions within the prison camp and the lives and feelings of those held within it, touching upon important issues like civil rights and interracial relationships, Paper Wishes is ultimately rooted in Manami’s personal story. Her immense grief and guilt over losing Yujiin and her quiet desperation to get him back creates a taught, powerful narrative that will steal readers’ breath as well as their heart. Sepahban’s rendering of Manami’s emotional journey is poignant and true, capturing the sense of hopelessness and futility so many of us experience when battling against forces largely outside of our control. Perhaps most importantly, Manami’s journey is universal. While her individual circumstances are unimaginable in their cruelty and injustice, the larger issues the author explores – coping with grief and finding one’s voice – are ones sure to resonate with audiences of every age, gender, race, and background.
I think I have never seen so many people in one place before.
Miss Rosalie told us that there are now almost ten thousand people living in this prison-village.
Ten thousand people with hair and skin like mine.
Ten thousand people with Japanese names like mine.
At a mere 192 pages, readers might mistakenly assume that Paper Wishes is a superficial story, one quickly read and even more rapidly forgotten. Thankfully, this could not be further from the truth. The novel is written with delicate subtlety and grace in sparse, beautiful prose that holds a melody all its own. Sepahban draws a vivid portrait of the period while still allowing the narrative to remain informative and accessible, even for reluctant readers. It is a testament to Sepahban’s immense talent that Manami’s silences speak louder than any dialogue or overwrought soliloquy. In fact, it is often in these moments of stillness, of quiet introspection, in which the novel shines brightest, as the author trusts the reader to draw their own conclusions about the nature of the imprisonment in which Manami and thousands of others unjustly found themselves. Paper Wishes can be a difficult novel to read, but never unfairly so. Though brutality and injustice are inherent in Manami’s reality, Sepahban’s debut is a powerful reminder that love, and hope, can often be found in the most unexpected of places. We see it in Grandfather’s silent understanding. In Kimmi’s unconditional friendship. In Miss Rosalie’s patient kindness. Again and again the author reminds us of the resilience and the triumph of the human spirit against unimaginable odds and the immense strength it must have taken for prisoners like Manami and her family to retain their culture and their humanity in the face of a system that seemed determined to strip them of it.
I sit in the garden and look at what’s left of it.
Mounds with onions and garlic buried inside, hibernating through winter’s freeze.
Mounds with herbs at the end of their life cycle, growing flowers so that there will be herbs for next spring.
Mounds that sit empty, waiting for new seeds to grow into plants.
Strong plants.
Plants with deep roots.
Plants that survive.
Impeccably researched, beautifully written and undeniably moving, Paper Wishes would make an invaluable addition to any classroom, library, or personal collection. Lois Sepahban’s 2016 middle grade debut has solidified the author’s position as One To Watch, creating within it a story rich in emotional authenticity and resonance, which educates and enriches without ever becoming pedantic or inaccessible. If I could release one paper wish into the world, it would be that the publishing world continue to embrace and share stories like this one. Stories that give a voice to the voiceless. Stories that inform. Stories that challenge. Stories that inspire. To be better. To do better. Paper Wishes is the book I have often wished for.
August 30, 2017
I am a great fan of Sepahban's writing. This book hasn't disappointed either. At first I was a bit skeptical after seeing the irregular narrative. It seemed like the little girl wrote a short sentence in her diary,then stopped to think for a while,then remembered another sentence and wrote it down. Then I realized that this is very natural because this is exactly how little kids write. The writer didn't only portray the little girl's emotional state excellently but also gave a deep insight to a child's nature.
The story revolves around Japanese-American immigrants whose lives get shattered during World War when they have to leave their home and come to a prison-like desert to start everything anew. Manami,the little girl who also has to leave everything-her home,her school,her pet dog- has a very hard time accepting the drastic change in their lives. Specially the losing of her dog yujiin destroys her emotionally and Manami finds that she can't talk anymore. It's like her vocal cord has dried up. She keeps on hearing the yapping of the dog only to find that there's no yujiin in the area surrounded by barbed wire. She draws pictures of yujiin on paper and writes messages after messages in the hope that yujiin will find these and return to her. Moreover,the struggle of the family to start their life like their past lives in the island is another phase that haunts Manami. She tries to accept everything but it takes a toll on her.
Overall,I must say that it's a brilliant book. The writer shows the terrible impact of the war through a little girl's eyes in such a way that it touches our heart. Truely deserves a 5 star.
The story revolves around Japanese-American immigrants whose lives get shattered during World War when they have to leave their home and come to a prison-like desert to start everything anew. Manami,the little girl who also has to leave everything-her home,her school,her pet dog- has a very hard time accepting the drastic change in their lives. Specially the losing of her dog yujiin destroys her emotionally and Manami finds that she can't talk anymore. It's like her vocal cord has dried up. She keeps on hearing the yapping of the dog only to find that there's no yujiin in the area surrounded by barbed wire. She draws pictures of yujiin on paper and writes messages after messages in the hope that yujiin will find these and return to her. Moreover,the struggle of the family to start their life like their past lives in the island is another phase that haunts Manami. She tries to accept everything but it takes a toll on her.
Overall,I must say that it's a brilliant book. The writer shows the terrible impact of the war through a little girl's eyes in such a way that it touches our heart. Truely deserves a 5 star.
December 7, 2015
Lois Sepahban's "Paper Wishes" is a sweet story relating a serious issue, the Japanese Internment camps of the 1940's. The story is about a young girl, Manami, and her family who are removed from their island home during this period. I enjoyed reading it, and even found myself teary-eyed a couple times.
I did learn quite a bit while reading this book, as I researched a lot of the events and locations mentioned in this book online. Since this is something most history classes skim over, I did not know many details regarding what had transpired during this time frame. Hopefully this book encourages other readers to do the same.
Lois Sepahban is a good writer and I would not hesitate to read her works again in the future. I received an advance reader's edition from Farrar Straus Giroux and I appreciate the opportunity to read and review this book.
I did learn quite a bit while reading this book, as I researched a lot of the events and locations mentioned in this book online. Since this is something most history classes skim over, I did not know many details regarding what had transpired during this time frame. Hopefully this book encourages other readers to do the same.
Lois Sepahban is a good writer and I would not hesitate to read her works again in the future. I received an advance reader's edition from Farrar Straus Giroux and I appreciate the opportunity to read and review this book.
December 26, 2015
I love this book! Set in 1942, this story deals with the Japanese American internment camps in a way that will be accessible for upper elementary students. Themes running through the story include loss (on so many levels), prejudice, and the importance of family and traditions. But more importantly, this book provides an expanding world view of an event students will (hopefully) never have to experience.
This story takes place in California, but there were thirteen internment camps, including one in Colorado (Amache).
This book will be a definite contender for our 4th grade 2017 Mock Newbery Book Club!
This story takes place in California, but there were thirteen internment camps, including one in Colorado (Amache).
This book will be a definite contender for our 4th grade 2017 Mock Newbery Book Club!
November 20, 2015
I don't review books, but I do blog about them
Read my post about PAPER WISHES here:
http://authoramok.blogspot.com/2015/1...
Read my post about PAPER WISHES here:
http://authoramok.blogspot.com/2015/1...
January 27, 2016
This is a gorgeous book. Spare, lovely prose and a heartbreaking, important, ultimately hopeful story. A perfectly constructed jewel of a story.
March 17, 2016
Do your self a favor and read this book with your kids or by yourself. And find the photos of life in Japanese Internment Camps by Ansel Adams. You won't be sorry.
March 24, 2016
Loved the character. Really well done historical-fiction about this time period for middle grade readers.
March 1, 2020
Sadece şey, meh.
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