Review Detail

Pearl is a graphic novel that follows Amy, a thirteen-year-old Japanese American girl, who lives in Hawaii. Her great-grandmother has fallen ill so Amy travels to Hiroshima for the first time to see her, yet when the Japanese navy attacks Pearl Harbor, Amy is unable to return to Hawaii. Amy is now translating English radio transmissions for the Japanese army. Amy is struggling with questions about loyalty and is worried about her family when hearing about rumors of internment camps happening in America. Amy is torn between the two countries and has to figure out where her loyalty lies and find hope in the changing world.

What I liked: I have learned a bit about the internment camps for the Japanese and the Pearl Harbor attacks yet not so much in detail. I appreciate how the author approaches the topic and provides more perspective on what it was like for Japanese American individuals.

The images in this story are all in various shades of blue which ensures that there is a gloomy and mournful feeling throughout the book. The colors in the book allow you to follow along with the feelings that Amy was going through, especially as she tried to make her way back to her family.

While a lot of the book is low-spirited and heartbreaking, I did love getting a chance to see the relationship between Amy and her family members in Japan. I appreciated how the author showed how Amy’s feelings have changed as she spends more time with her family and begins to understand the language. I love seeing how important her great-grandmother is to her and the rest of her family as things seem very down.

Final Verdict: Pearl is an informative graphic novel about being a Japanese American during 1941 as the US was putting Japanese individuals in internment camps. This book is a great coming-of-age novel that shows some of the challenges young adults face and how that doesn’t change regardless of the time period. People ages 10 and up will enjoy reading this book that teaches them about historical events while also being able to relate to some of the struggles of being apart from their family.