American Dreams

The book starts off in southern California in September, and with two young girls going to a movie. One is Japanese-American. There's a newsreel first before the movie. At the time, there was no TV, so newsreels were an important way for people to see what was going on in the world.

It turns out Amy's friend, Jeannie, has a father who dislikes Japanese. Amy's mother makes clothes for a famous actress, so she and her mother stay at the actress' home. The actress also has a Japanese gardener.

Amy is made fun of at school because of her Japanese heritage, but children of German or Italian heritage are not made fun of.

Once news of Pearl Harbor is received, all of the Japanese people working at the actress' house are fired by the actress' boss. Later, Amy and her relatives are sent to an internment camp.

The book also includes a section going over the facts of the internment process.



Main Index
Japan main page
Japanese-American Internment Camps index page
Japan and World War II index page