Kim

Kim Andrews' father died before she was born. She ditches school often and gets bad grades. Her mother and stepfather are away in Chicago for spring break, so Kim (aka Kimi Yogushi) and her half brother, Davey, are staying with an old family friend, Mrs. Mueller. Kim wants to find out who her father was and if he had any family still alive. She is curious about this because her father's parents disowned him when he broke off the marriage that they arranged and married Kim's mother. So, to find out about her family, she plans a trip to Sacramento, California, to find out where her family is, if they're still living. Kim has Davey tell Mrs. Mueller that she is going to spend spring break at her friend, Jav's, house, and she doesn't even tell her parents. When Kim is in Denver, waiting to board her second plane, she calls Davey. She finds out that Davey blabbed to Mrs. Mueller about their plan, and now Mrs. Mueller gets involved. When Kim arrives in Sacramento, a boy named Ernie picks her up, and Kim ends up staying with Mrs. Mueller's friend, Barbara Okamura. Then the search begins. She starts by getting a copy of her father's birth certificate, and looking for a phone number. When she finds the phone number, she also finds an address. When she visits this house, she finds that the Yogushis moved. Then Ernie take Kim to a party, and Ernie tells her that she is Hapa -- half and half. Later, Kim finds out that her family was in a camp during World War II. The camp is called Tule Lake. Kim goes there with a teacher called Mrs. Enomoto. When she gets there, she doesn't really find anything. Later, Kim finds another address, but when she gets to that place, Kim found out that her grandparents moved, her grandfather died, and that her grandmother lives with Kim's aunt, who's name is Nomi. When she finds the address to their house, Mrs. Enomoto sets up a date and time for Kim to visit. When Kim does arrive there, she freaks out and runs off after giving her aunt a picture of her mom and dad. Then, Jav shows up saying that she told Kim's parents the night she left. Mrs. Okamura, Mrs. Enomoto, and Jav maker Kim go back to her aunt and grandmother the next day and tell them the truth. When she is at her aunt's house, Kim's aunt gives her a picture of Kim's father. In the picture, he was dressed in a thick coat, and he was wearing a tag with a number on it, and he was standing in front of an American flag. It is picture that was taken when Kenji Yogushi and his family were in a prison camp during World War II.

I learned that many of the Japanese Americans in WWII were sent to prison camps because of who they were. I learned that one of the prison camps was completely forgotten about, it doesn't even have an address. -Katie

I learned that Japanese people that lived in America were often discriminated because of the way they looked and sometimes even teased about the bombing of Pearl Harbor. I also learned that there were concentration camps for Japanese people because they were unwanted and unloved by everyone. People who wanted to learn more about their families often had lots of trouble because most of the memories were erased because of the bad things it reminded people of. -Kirstin

I really liked this book. I thought that the characters were really well thought out, and that the culture was well portrayed, and I loved the story line. I would suggest this to anyone. -Katie

I thought this book was pretty good at the beginning, but after awhile it just got old.It was always the same thing every chapter, she would set out into California and try to find things about her family which she wouldn't ever find. The ending of the story was pretty good though and I would recommend this book to someone who doesn't mind a boring plot. :) Kirstin