Courageous Footsteps: A WWII Novel

Courageous Footsteps Trilogy #1

by Diane Dettmann

Fifteen-year-old Yasu Sakamoto loves living in Glenville, California. Whether she’s sharing a hot fudge sundae with her friend Ruth at Floyd’s Burgers or visiting with her father at their family’s store, Yasu enjoys sharing her hopes and dreams. The news of Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 turns her optimistic dreams into a devastating nightmare. At school, anti-Japanese threats appear everywhere—on Yasu’s locker, in classrooms and painted across buildings.

Yasu’s life unravels quickly when President Roosevelt orders the internment of all people of Japanese descent living along the West Coast. Her family and the other Japanese residents in Glenville are transported to a desolate area in eastern California. Surrounded by barbwire fences and under the constant watch of armed guards, Yasu and her brother, Haro, struggle to accept the overcrowded living conditions and hardships they’re forced to endure. As time passes, the constant confinement and strict camp regulations push them into situations that require courageous choices that will change their lives forever.

Genres: Young Adult

326 pages, Paperback

First published June 24, 2015

About the author

Diane Dettmann is the ward-winning author of Courageous Footsteps A WWII Novel. Her debut novel was awarded Medalist Winner in the 2016 New Apple E-Book Awards and first place in the 2015 Pacific Rim Book Festival in the YA Category. The sequel, Yasu's Quest: A Tale of Triumph, was released in July 2016. Positive feedback from readers inspired Diane to write the third book, On Liberty's Wings: A Post-WWII Novel. Her award -winning series appeals to teens and adults.

Diane's grief memoir, Twenty-Eight Snow Angels: A Widow's Story of Love, Loss and Renewal, is an honest account of the heart-breaking death of her husband and the process of rebuilding her life. The book offers hope to others facing the loss of a loved one. She is also the co-author of Miriam Daughter of Finnish Immigrants, a story about her grandparents raising seven children in northern Minnesota during the Great Depression.

Diane has written articles for the national Women’s Voices for Change organization in New York City and the Open to Hope Grief Foundation in California. Dettmann's writing has also appeared in various national publications.

Reviews

[Narita · Rating 5 out of 5]

The internment of Japanese Americans during WWII is a period of history which I was not familiar with. I had read magazine articles but they only touched the surface. Ms. Dettmann’s book is a real eye opener! I had no clue what my fellow Japanese Americans faced and the atrocities they lived through! While this book is a historical fiction novel, I had to continually remind myself of just that. The author’s extraordinary writing skills made it read like a true story. The characters and their experiences seemed so real.
After the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Japanese were rounded up and arrested like common criminals. They were forced in to camps against their will and remained there until the end of the war. The reader follows the painful journey the Sakomoto family through the eyes of their teenage daughter Yasu. They were law-abiding American citizens in 1941. They owned a small business in Glenville, California. Being a close knit family, they had a deep love for one another and their country. The quiet, peaceful life they had known changed quickly after the bombing. Persecution from fellow townspeople and even friends was immediate and harsh. Their lives became endangered in the very area and by the people that had been a part of their happiness.
My heart broke for young Yasu. Being a teenager is hard enough, but to face adolescence with such rejection and hostility was excruciating. Her sweet family continued to trust their country and government right up to their arrests. The gentle humble spirits of the Japanese were a great contrast as to how most Americans would have responded to this extreme discrimination.
I had no clue the camp conditions were so degrading and horrific. My first thought was about the concentration camps of the Jews. These camps were not as severe as Hitler’s, but they were shocking. There was filth, crowding, squalid living conditions, poor food, such as I would never have dreamed could take place in America. The author took me into the camp, to walk daily with the Sakamotos, living their experiences and allowing my heart of feel their emotions.
Though each era had different details, I saw a common thread running through history in the injustice toward other groups: the slavery of African Americans, the Chinese in the early 1900’s, the Jews, and the Japanese. People that had done no wrong but were victims of fear and misunderstanding.
I do disagree with this being labeled as a “young adult fiction”. This book is for teens and adults too! A must read for all! Watch for a sequel!
I received this book free from the author. I was not required to write a positive review. All the opinions I expressed were my own.

[Mary Jo Wiseman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed Courageous Footstetps. I knew historically about what took place in various parts of the country after the bombing of Pearl Harbor as it related to Japanese-American citizens, but to read about it in such a personal context with characters that you got to know so well through Diane's writing, gave me a totally different perspective. She brought it to life through her words. I felt so many emotions as I read the story and the struggles of Yasu and her family. Diane has a way of writing that made me feel like I was right there. I could actually visualize what the characters looked like, what they were wearing, how they were feeling, what their surroundings looked like but could only imagine what they had to endure. The unexpected ending of this book, made it easy to jump right into the next book, Yasu's Quest.

[Cherie Kephart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Diane Dettman captures the innocence and devastation of two young siblings forced into an internment camp in Eastern California following the attack on Pearl Harbor. What Dettman does with such grace and heart is bring us a tale of the war at home. As a California native, I felt each courageous footstep these young Japanese Americans were forced to make. An eye-opening account of America's truth during such a tumultuous time; a bold and loving story of both the dark and light of our nation.

[Tessa · Rating 1 out of 5]

1.5 stars

Though this book starts out with a fascinating premise and subject matter, it fails to deliver. The characters are flat and emotionless and the writing is a lot of telling instead of showing. It was a bit of a chore to read.

[Ken Wagner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Being Japanese

I read the second of this series first. I found reading the second first helped me with this story. For those who wonder how how and what it was like for a Japanese person during WWII, this is an important read.