Book Review #4

Aleutian Sparrow by Karen Hesse, Publisher: Simon & Schuster, 2005, 156pp.,
$5.99, Historical/Fiction,
ISBN: 9781416903277



“Our Japanese visitors expected always an amiable Aleut welcome. But when the hand of friendship was withdrawn, They took their measurements and made their calculations anyway.”

Can you imagine the despair, devastation, aguish and hardship you would face, if forced to leave your home and worldly possessions at the drop of a dime in the heat of a war? This book illustrates just that through the eyes of a teenage, half Aleut young lady by the name of Vera. Vera narrates this story using lines of poetry and a profound description of characters and their culture during World War II.

The story starts when Vera has the opportunity live with an elderly couple in a nearby village to further her education. In the summer of 1942, she returns home to visit her mother and friends only to encounter the Japanese launching an air attack on parts of the Aleutian Islands right off the coast of Alaska. In order, to protect its citizens the US government forces an immediate evacuation of not only her village but four others to an internment camp in Southeastern Alaska. These families are relocated to an inland forested area for which they are unprepared. They are now treated worst then prisoners of war, faced with hints of racism, extremely limited housing, almost no food, no medical care or supplies, and limited contact with the outside world. In order, to survive their inhumane camp conditions these families must now rely on their Aleutian traditions. After three long years these families are able to return to their villages which are found in ruins. “And as Aleuts have always done, We find the will to begin again.”

Teachers can incorporate this book as a brief overview of American history, family, friendship, suffering and World War II. The age range for readers of this book would be 10 to 15. Hesse includes a brief glossary which is located at the end of the book. This glossary lists several Aleut terms which may be difficult to understand throughout the story. She does a fine job using poetry to describe inhumane conditions, violence, war, homelessness, famine and scarcity all of which are discussed throughout the storyline. Hesse intertwines Aleut tradition and words well giving the reader a better sense of understanding their actual experiences only on a lighter note with her use of poetry. This author places each reader in an inhumane environment with no hope of escape. The only hope is that of tradition and storytelling. Hesse made me think of the struggle many ethnic groups have faced and their only weapons of mass destruction are their traditions. It is those traditions which have allowed them the faith and hope to survive their imprisonment.

Readers who are interested in a non-western setting would also enjoy these two books as well.
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson and Cast Two Shadows: The American Revolution in the South by Ann Rinaldi