Within These Lines by Stephanie Morrill

Book Synopsis:

Evalina Cassano’s life in an Italian-American family in 1941 is everything it “should be” until she falls in love with Taichi Hamasaki, the son of Japanese immigrants. Despite the scandal it would cause and that inter-racial marriage is illegal in California, Evalina and Taichi vow they will find a way to be together. But anti-Japanese feelings erupt across the country after the attack on Pearl Harbor, and Taichi and his family are forced to give up their farm and move to an internment camp.

Degrading treatment make life at Manzanar Relocation Center difficult. Taichi’s only connection to the outside world are treasured letters from Evalina. Feeling that the only action she can take to help Taichi is to speak out on behalf of all Japanese Americans, Evalina becomes increasingly vocal at school and at home. Meanwhile, inside Manzanar, fighting between different Japanese-American factions arises. Taichi begins to doubt he will ever leave the camp alive.

With tensions running high and their freedom on the line, Evalina and Taichi must hold true to their values and believe in their love to make a way back to each other against unbelievable odds.

My Review:

5/5 stars. This review is hard to write. I loved the book, but I also don't know what to say about it because I didn't have many notes with thoughts as I read. I was just immersed in it too much to have outsider thoughts. Right away, I already loved the concept of it -- the forbidden love because society won't let them be together. This concept was executed very well throughout the novel.

I loved the two main characters. They both had very distinct personalities that made me understand their actions. Taichi frustrated me for a good portion of the story, but I understood why he did what he did. I also liked the side characters, like Aiko and Diego.

Speaking of frustration, this book made me feel a lot of emotions. Lots of it made my heart hurt, like the racism and the conditions of the camps. Other parts made me angry, like how Evalina's political science professor treated her. But this was good anger. Readers were supposed to be angry along with the character, and I definitely was.

Content:

Language: "Japs" used in a derogatory way

Sexual Content: Kisses, not described much

Violence/Gore: Killings and beatings, horrible conditions at the camps, depictions of people being sick

Drugs/Alcohol: None