Hating the Japanese was simple before she met Sogoji. Pearl Harbor was bombed on Hazel Anderson's birthday and she's been on the lookout for enemies ever since. She scours the skies above Mount Hood with her binoculars, hoping to make some crucial observation, or uncover the hideout of enemy spies. But what she discovers instead is a 15-year-old orphan, hiding out, trying to avoid being sent to an internment camp. Sogoji was born in America. He's eager to help Hazel with the war effort. Is this lonely boy really the enemy?In this thought-provoking story of patriotism, loyalty, and belonging, Hazel must decide what it means to be a true American, and a true friend. "From the Hardcover edition." Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

Gr 5-8 During World War II, 12-year-old Hazel Anderson is caught up in a fantasy world filled with comic-book caricatures of sneaky âÇ£JapsâÇ  defeated by heroic American civilians. Adored neighbor Jed Lanski, en route to the Pacific, has asked Hazel to check on his parents periodically. When she makes the startling discovery that they have hidden a 15-year-old orphaned Japanese-American boy, saving him from an internment camp, she changes her ideas about the enemy and her duties as an American. Hazel's developing friendship with Sogoji is embellished with several subplots, including her older sister's secret engagement to Jed and the new teacher's reason for downplaying his heroic war record. Although there are many novels and nonfiction works dealing with Japanese-American internment camps, there are none that deal specifically with avoiding internment. The premise is an intriguing one, but readers may find Hazel's transformation from a âÇ£Jap-haterâÇ  into someone who can sympathize with Sogoji's plight too sudden to be believable and may wish for a deeper exploration of the protagonist's evolving sensitivities. Ginny Gustin, Sonoma County Library System, Santa Rosa, CA Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

Gr. 5-8. When her older friend and neighbor, Jed, enlists and leaves for the Pacific during World War II, it marks the beginning of many changes for 11-year-old Hazel. At Jed's request, she befriends Sogoji, a lonely Japanese American orphan boy who lives and works in secret on Jed's parents' Oregon farm. As her rural community's hatred of the Japanese grows, Hazel feels it too, though she dissociates the enemy she fears from the boy who has become increasingly dear to her. She cannot count on neighbors to do the same. Throughout the book, Hazel slips easily from one reality to another, but when unexpected events jolt her quiet community, she finally, firmly takes a stand. Written in first person, this novel offers quiet but finely tuned portrayal of the stresses that changed life on the home front and one child's attempts to cope with it all. CarolynPhelan. From: Syndetics Solutions, Inc. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

1 Doing Our Part	1
2 Hawk's Nest	12
3 The Riddle in the Brush	21
4 Our Own War Hero	31
5 Enemy Territory	40
6 An Invitation to Tea	49
7 To Save the Nation	59
8 The House of Mitsumi	68
9 What to Do About "Charlie"	78
10 Friendly Fritters	86
11 The Team	95
12 The Tower	106
13 Tengu-Kakushi	117
14 The Honor of the Emperor	126
15 A White Dove	137
16 What Are Friends For?	148
17 The Big Night	157
18 A Midnight Clear	169
19 Fire in the Sky	179
20 The Tuesday Patrol	188
21 The Yanks Are Coming	198
22 The Right Thing	207
23 Western Union	215
24 In the Rain	224
25 The Game's Up	233
26 When the Worst Happens	243
27 The Mountain Is Forever	253

Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.