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This Light Between Us: A Novel of World War II

Andrew Fukuda

4.31 · Rating details · 677 ratings · 176 reviews

A story of World War II about the unlikeliest of pen pals--a Japanese American boy and a French Jewish girl--as they fight to maintain hope in a time of war.

In 1935, ten-year-old Alex Maki from Bainbridge Island, Washington is disgusted when he's forced to become pen pals with Charlie Levy of Paris, France--a girl. He thought she was a boy. In spite of Alex's reluctance, t ...more

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Hardcover, 382 pages

Published January 7th 2020 by Tor Teen

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Jan 05, 2020 Carole (Carole's Random Life in Books) rated it really liked it

Shelves: historical-fiction, own-print-arc, direct-from-publisher, ya, 2020, reviewed, arcs-to-review

This review can also be found at Carole's Random Life in Books.

This was a wonderful book. I happened on this book quite by chance but decided to give it a try and I am so glad that I did. I have read quite a few books set during World War II over the years and usually find them heartbreaking and powerful. This was a really unique story that really did grab me. I am so glad that I had the opportunity to read this powerful novel.

Alex and Charlie become pen pals when they are only 10 years old. Cha This review can also be found at Carole's Random Life in Books.

This was a wonderful book. I happened on this book quite by chance but decided to give it a try and I am so glad that I did. I have read quite a few books set during World War II over the years and usually find them heartbreaking and powerful. This was a really unique story that really did grab me. I am so glad that I had the opportunity to read this powerful novel.

Alex and Charlie become pen pals when they are only 10 years old. Charlie is a Jewish girl living in Paris with her family. Alex is a Japanese American boy at a time when being of Japanese descent is more than just a little difficult. We get to know Charlie and Alex through the letters that they write to each other and we get to see how things are changing in both of their worlds.

Charlie does play a part in this book but I really feel like this was Alex's story. We see Charlie through her letters but we get to see Alex during the challenges he faced. I hate to admit that I don't know as much as I should about internment camps that the United States put into place after the attack on Pearl Harbor but what I learned in this book made me sad and angry at the same time. The descriptions of what Alex and his family went through were heartbreaking.

Alex's decision to join the military in the hopes of helping his father really demonstrated the strength of his character. The descriptions of the battles that Alex's unit faced were incredibly vivid. I felt like I was right there with Alex, Mutt, Teddy, and the rest of their unit as they faced nearly impossible odds. Alex played a very important part in his unit and was under a lot of pressure but he handled it like a pro. He never stopped thinking about his family or Charlie even when things were at their worst.

I would highly recommend this book to others. I had a hard time putting this book down once I got started with it. It was an emotional read and beautiful at the same time. I feel like I have been on quite the journey with Alex and Charlie in this powerful book. I wouldn't hesitate to read more of Andrew Fukuda's work.

I received an advanced review copy of this book from Tor Teen. ...more

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Mar 08, 2020 Emma☀️ rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: r-historical-fiction, read-2020, r-young-adult, 4-stars-great, r-poc-rep, arcs

4.5 stars!
This Light Between Us is a beautiful, heart-wrenching tale of friendship and loss. I sobbed and I laughed. This book has left a mark on me and will be on my mind for a very long time.

The friendship between Alex and Charlie was so sweet and touching. They were each other’s rocks and comfort. Both characters were very well written and complex. You can’t help but root for them to meet. I really enjoyed the letters between them and watching their friendship blossom over the course of the y ...more

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Dec 15, 2019 Jessica | Booked J rated it it was amazing

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As always, a copy of this book was provided by the publisher or author in exchange for my honest review and/or participation in the blog tour. This does not effect my opinion in any way. This does not effect my opinion in any way. Review also found here at Booked J.

How do you describe This Light Between Us? It's nearly impossible. I paused at my screen many times as I tried to bring forth the words to describe how reading this made me feel. Here's what I know: it ...more

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Jun 13, 2020 Morgan rated it liked it

3-1/2*
This book is intended to attract a YA audience and I highly recommend it for that age group.
It is written with a YA reader in mind but I enjoyed it as well.

1935 – Ten year old Japanese American Alex Maki and Charlie Lévy a French Jewish girl living in Paris become pen-pals.
Their friendship grows over the years through the many, many letters exchanged each expressing deep private thoughts and feelings. Their letters are endearing and funny and full of the hopes and dreams of youth.

1941 – ...more

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Jul 29, 2020 Leah rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: read-2020, listened-on-audio, wwii, young-adult, historical

THE DETAILS●●●
● 4¼ STARS
● UNLIKELY PENPALS
● A JAPANESE AMERICAN BOY --ALEX MAKI
● A FRENCH JEWISH GIRL --CHARLIE LEVY
● WWII BACKDROP --LOTS OF WAR SCENES
● INTERNMENT CAMP FOR JAPANESE AMERICANS
● JEWISH CONCENTRATION CAMPS
● LENGTH OF AUDIO - 10 HOURS, 40 MINUTES
● I LISTENED ON LIBBY THROUGH MY LIBRARY

MY THOUGHTS●●●

If you like stories based on WWII then you should really read/listen to this...it gave me some Between Shades of Gray vibes...although it didn't quite deliver the feels that BSOG did ...more

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Jan 07, 2020 Michelle Kenneth - PerfectionistWannabe.com rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Excellent.

For those who love reading historical fiction especially from the WWII era, I highly recommend this book. Fukuda approaches this genre very differently. This story begins with two young children. One in Bainbridge Island, Washington and the other in Paris, France. As a school assignment, these two become pen pals. Alex Maki is disheartened to learn that his pen pal, Charlie Levy, is actually a girl. But for some reason, he decides to stick to his correspondence years later, even after Excellent.

For those who love reading historical fiction especially from the WWII era, I highly recommend this book. Fukuda approaches this genre very differently. This story begins with two young children. One in Bainbridge Island, Washington and the other in Paris, France. As a school assignment, these two become pen pals. Alex Maki is disheartened to learn that his pen pal, Charlie Levy, is actually a girl. But for some reason, he decides to stick to his correspondence years later, even after his school assignment no longer requires that they write.

Alex is a bit of a loner and doesn't have any friends. Charlie, in essence, becomes his only friend.

What makes this story unique is that Alex is a Japanese American. Charlie is a French Jew. They become friends right before the war. So this correspondence makes this story even more special since we know what happens when the war begins.

Alex and Charlie continue to write after the Japanese are sent to internment camps. A friend of the family delivers the letters to Charlie in Paris. Charlie's family remains in Paris longer than they should have.

When Alex's letters are returned, he still continues to write, even though there are no more letters from Charlie.

This story is about a friendship between two people that have never met but are bound to each other through these letters. It is like the quote from Jane Eyre: "I have a strange feeling with regard to you. As if I had a string somewhere under my left ribs, tightly knotted to a similar string in you. And if you were to leave I'm afraid the cord of communion would snap."

There is a light between them that binds them, and Alex will do what he can to find Charlie.

I can't tell you how much my heart hurt for these two. The story is told through Alex's eyes. We see the despair around him while they are in the Japanese internment camps. We watch as members of the 442nd are killed around him as they storm Suicide Hill to save the Lost Battalion. And then we see glimpses of Auschwitz and Dachau when the American troops arrive.

Alex never gave up looking for her.

I cried at the end. I really cried. This was just wonderfully done. I really liked that he chose to link this string under the ribs of a Japanese American boy and a French Jewish girl, a symbol of two groups that were victimized by the war. That is what made this story even more special. ...more

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Jan 08, 2020 Simone rated it really liked it

Shelves: ya-novels, 2020, poc-authors

It's been quite some time since I've read a historical fiction novel, but it's also been a long time since I've read one based in World War 2. Because there are so many WW2 novels I stopped reading them all together. When I was offered to read a book that covers the war, but also the Japanese internment camps and the all Japanese-American military unit called the 442nd (also known as the most decorated military unit of the United States with the most losses). This particular point in American hi It's been quite some time since I've read a historical fiction novel, but it's also been a long time since I've read one based in World War 2. Because there are so many WW2 novels I stopped reading them all together. When I was offered to read a book that covers the war, but also the Japanese internment camps and the all Japanese-American military unit called the 442nd (also known as the most decorated military unit of the United States with the most losses). This particular point in American history isn't really talked about, but it should. It's a point of shame for an entire race of humans who peacefully lived in the United States only to be discriminated and hated against because of their ethnic background. Like, it's sad when Drunk History covers this part of United States history, but you don't hear about it in the classroom.

This Light Between Us follows Alex Maki, a young Japanese American boy living off the coast of Washington state on Bainbridge Island. For all intents and purposes, he's your average teenage boy with a love for comic books and reading. He also has a pen pal since he was 13 years old named Charlie Levy. Charlie is a young French Jewish girl living in Paris and as their friendship grows over the years, the turmoil during World War 2 deepens. On the day the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor, Alex, his family, and the small Japanese community on Bainbridge Island are immediately met with discrimination. And as the Japanese community is forced off the island and sent to the Manzanar internment camps, Alex shares this all with his pen pal. However, as turmoil in Europe progresses, letters from Charlie come less frequently causing Alex not only to worry about his family but also about his friend.

When American military arrive at the camp, Alex makes the decision to join the army in hopes of freeing his father in prison and finding his best friend in the chaos of war. He joins the 442nd military unit, a regime of all Japanese-American soldiers segregated from other troops because of their race. But as Alex spends years training and fighting, his search for Charlie continues only to find out the truth when the war finally ends.

I have to hand it to Andrew Fukuda. He expertly incorporated two of the major moments in Japanese American history into one book. First is the Japanese internment camps set up after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. I loved how Andrew Fukuda captured this moment in history. When the radio announces what happened at Pearl Harbor, the first thing Alex's family experiences is just utter hatred. They were no longer the friendly neighbors who cared about their community, but a threat and an enemy. It was so stark that people would hate them so easily and that really broke my heart. And when they were shipped off to the internment camps, I was so surprised that the conditions there were similar to the ones many immigrants experienced in cages on the border of Mexico and the United States. Talk about watching history repeat itself.

But what I found interesting is how the Japanese spent their time in the camps. For many, it was just trying to get back to a normal routine, but for others it was a slap in the face by the country they were so loyal to. I loved the depictions of how most Japanese tried to make the best of the situation but how others grouped together to revolt. But then it couldn't get worse when the US military came calling to the camps looking for recruits into the US army.

The second was the 442nd military unit which was completely comprised of Japanese-Americans and completely segregated from the rest of the military. They were sent to the front lines of Europe to essentially die, but the 442nd isn't just a group of men willing to lie down for the cause. Instead, they were the hardest fighting unit losing the most men, liberating a concentration camp in Germany, and being awarded the most medals than any other American military unit at the time. Sadly, history doesn't remember it this way.

The flow of this story and the usage of American history is really what I applaud Andrew Fukuda for. He expertly connects a Japanese American to the two distinct moments in their history in America and it really made sense. Although I was skeptic that Alex, the introverted book worm, would join the military, I can understand his reasoning and he didn't run into the situation like some hard-headed teenager. The scenes of war were well described with several losses for Alex making it feel more real. I honestly felt like I was reading the story of someone's grandfather.

However, the book wasn't perfect and I felt the story between Charlie and Alex was secondary to the historical aspects of the story. I loved the letters passed between these two friends and I loved how they conveyed not only their friendship but also what's happening around them. It was definitely difficult for me to read Charlie's letters without the inevitable happening. But during the years Alex was working in the military and deployed to Europe, there wasn't much from Charlie. Instead, Andrew Fukuda uses a small amount of magical realism to portray Charlie as immaterial being that visits Alex while he's in the military. I honestly could have done without that, but it did provide a little bit of a romantic feeling to the story.

But the ending was phenomenal. I'm not happy about what happens because it is tragic and sad, but I like the fact Andrew Fukuda stayed realistic with his storytelling and the ending reflected that.

Overall, great story and if you're already a die-hard fan of historical fiction, then definitely add this one to your list. Read this one if you don't know about Japanese internment camps or the 442nd as well. It's a part of American history that we don't discuss and honestly reflects the world that we live in today.

I received a copy of this book from Tor Teen for free in exchange for an honest review. My opinions have not been influenced by the publisher or the author. ...more

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Dec 30, 2019 Vicki (MyArmchairAdventures) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Look for this gem to come out in January 2020 if you are a historical fiction fan. Though published by Tor Teen, THIS LIGHT BETWEEN US doesn’t read like a teen or YA book.

Though the WWII historical fiction genre seems over saturated, the unique slant in THIS LIGHT BETWEEN US kept me engaged. The start of the book dragged a bit but I think it was necessary to flush out the growing friendship between Japanese American Alex Maki, living on Brainbridge Island in Washington and his French pen pal Cha ...more

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Sep 15, 2019 Hannah Z rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 5-stars

WOW.

This is one of the books that everybody, especially Americans, should read at least once in their lifetime. I honestly wish that I could've read "This Light Between Us" during the time that I was reading "The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak. In my opinion, that would have been the perfect reading combination.

I don't usually read historical fiction, but as soon as I saw the cover and read the description, I knew that I had to read this book. The internment of Japanese Americans in the United Stat ...more

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Mar 31, 2020 Rebecca Grace ✨ rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

What 👏a 👏book👏

This could be my favorite book I've read this year. It deserves so much more attention because it is so well done and absolutely beautiful!

This Light Between Us is a story of Alex Maki, a Japanese American boy, as he navigates World War II. The book begins as he becomes pen pals with Charlie Levy, a Jewish girl living in France. Despite Alex's grumblings about sending letters to a girl, they quickly hit it off and become close friends. Their friendship is something that they lean ...more

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Jan 16, 2020 Brooke rated it it was amazing

Japanese American boy Alex Maki, and French Jewish girl Charlie Levy become best friends through their many years of writing pen-pal letters to one another. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, they fight to maintain hope during World War 2 as Alex and his family are placed in an internment camp and Charlie hides from the Nazi invaders. From the horrors of Auschwitz to the desolation of the internment camp to the European battlefields, nothing can dispel this light between them.

Obviously I’ve Japanese American boy Alex Maki, and French Jewish girl Charlie Levy become best friends through their many years of writing pen-pal letters to one another. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, they fight to maintain hope during World War 2 as Alex and his family are placed in an internment camp and Charlie hides from the Nazi invaders. From the horrors of Auschwitz to the desolation of the internment camp to the European battlefields, nothing can dispel this light between them.

Obviously I’ve known about the Holocaust my whole life and have read many books and watched many movies about it over the years. But I’m ashamed to admit I’ve never heard of the Japanese-American internment camps. I don’t know why. Was the overwhelming atrocities of the concentration camps capturing all of my focus? Do books and movies about internment camps exist and I just missed them? Is this information excluded or minimized in textbooks? Either way, I’m trying to learn more about them now. I understand the fear the American government had after the Pearl Harbor attack, but the incarceration of anyone with Japanese ancestry (most of whom were American citizens) was such a horrible attack on civil rights and completely unconstitutional. While America was not the only country to do this, we need to make sure we are well educated so history does not repeat itself.

For the book itself, Fukuda’s writing was truly captivating and very well researched from what I could tell. While it’s the story of these two friends, its told only from the view of Alex, and we’re offered no point of view from Charlie aside from her letters. Despite this, Fukuda still manages to capture the heartbreaking feelings and brutality of those suffering directly from the Nazis. I loved seeing this war through the eyes of Alex, and his internal struggles with his country. The book is basically told in 3 sections: the first follows young Alex and Charlie as they communicate, the second is Alex’s time in the camp, and the third is his time in the military fighting in Europe.

World War 2 and the holocaust is one of those topics that rips my soul apart, and this story was no different. I don’t believe I’ve ever cried so hard while reading a book, and even now writing this review I struggle to hold back tears. This is a book that stays with you for years, and leaves your heart aching every time you remember it. It was one of the most emotional and eye opening stories I’ve read, and I highly recommend it to EVERYONE.
...more

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Jan 05, 2020 Jeanette rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I read many stories about WW11, but have never read one involving pen pals - Alex and Charlie. A wonderful story which was very well written. It was an emotional story and one that i will not forget any time soon. Recommended. I hope to read more by books by Andrew Fukuda.

My thanks to Netgalley and the Publishers for my copy. This is my honest review, which i have voluntarily given.

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Dec 30, 2019 LianaReads blog rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I don’t usually read WW2 books but this one caught my attention and had to read it.
I can only tell you that it’s a great book with a beautiful story and heartbreaking at the same time.
Forced to become pen pals, a lifetime friendship develops between Alex and Charlie who is girl mischief to Alex’s dismay.
I loved how the author tells the story about what went before and after the Pearl Harbour incident and how we get a bit of insight into people’s lives having to go through those horrible situa ...more

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Aug 31, 2019 Toni rated it really liked it

Shelves: net-galley, fiction, ya-children, history, 2019-read, war-conflict

A beautiful story that manages to be both earnest and tough without getting overly sentimental. The story opens with Alex, a young Japanese-American boy living in Bainbridge Island in the 1930/40's, getting slightly miffed when he finds out that his assigned penpal, Charlie, is not in-fact a boy, but a young Jewish girl living in Paris. Although reluctant at first, Alex and Charlie begin a correspondence that lasts years. This part of the book was so affecting as Fukuda really captured the youth ...more

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Jul 29, 2020 Niki (nikilovestoread) rated it liked it

Shelves: world-war-ii, holocaust, historical-fiction, american-history

When I'm reading historical fiction, I expect a realistic story set in history. I thought that was what I was getting with This Light Between Us. There was so much attention to detail and a really good story that deserves to be told more often. But, and it's a big but, I hate it when authors unexpectedly throw in some magical realism. I wish it was clear in the description of the book that elements like that are included. To come across them suddenly when I think I'm reading historical fiction p ...more

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Aug 17, 2019 Sarah rated it it was amazing

This was a spellbinding, heart wrenching book. Alex and Charlie are wonderful and unique characters that I loved. I felt like I was right there beside them the whole time, laughing at their letters and then crying as theirs lives plummeted into hell. The setting of this book, during WWII, was unique due to the fact it was not just about the act of fighting. While much of Charlie’s story was left to the imagination you still feel the anguish and pain you know she faced every day. The author wove ...more

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Dec 03, 2019 Sarah rated it really liked it

Shelves: giveaways-arc

I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

So, what did I think?

This book starts off a little slow for me, but the author does it in order to establish the relationship between Alex and Charlie, Alex and his brother Frank, Alex and his father, Alex...well, you get the picture. The majority of the relationships are established at the beginning as well as the feeling of life before Pearl Harbor.

In order to establish the relationship between Alex and Charlie, the author st ...more

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Dec 08, 2019 Tasha Leigh rated it it was amazing

Shelves: ebook, arc

This novel was amazing. So much so that its midnight and I am frantically tapping out this review in the dark in a corner of my bedroom so as to not wake up the other inhabitants of my house - thank you to whoever invented backlit and quiet keyboards. It took me on an emotional rollercoaster that despite being extremely bumpy, I didn't want to leave until the ride was done. Even then I sat here like that cat Mittens in the meme where he has lost his toy under the fridge, staring at my ereader wo This novel was amazing. So much so that its midnight and I am frantically tapping out this review in the dark in a corner of my bedroom so as to not wake up the other inhabitants of my house - thank you to whoever invented backlit and quiet keyboards. It took me on an emotional rollercoaster that despite being extremely bumpy, I didn't want to leave until the ride was done. Even then I sat here like that cat Mittens in the meme where he has lost his toy under the fridge, staring at my ereader wondering whether I should eternally hate it or caress it gently for bringing me one of my favourite reads of the year.

The story starts out with Alex and his older brother Frank living their relatively easy life on Bainbridge Island, a settlement mostly populated by Japanese immigrants and the Nisei children. Alex has a pen pal in Paris named Charlie with whom he as been corresponding on a regular basis despite his initial disgust at finding out Charlie is in fact a she. Life is good until the bombing of Pearl Harbour, the catastrophic event that set into motion the segregation and evacuation of all Japanese/Japanese-American occupants to internment camps across the country. Meanwhile Charlie, being Jewish and living in Paris during the German occupation is attempting to avoid detection and removal to an internment camp in Europe simply for existing.

Being an Australian and despite this tale being mostly fiction (as confirmed in the final pages of the novel by Fukuda himself) some character were utilised that were historically accurate; I found myself undergoing an education as to the plight of the Japanese in the US during WWII. While not completely oblivious to America’s treatment of their citizens, I was not aware of the scale of these atrocities. Fukuda describes in great detail the discrimination borne by the residents of the Manzanar camp and invokes a renewed feeling of disgust with every event that unfolds. I found myself on multiple occasions needing to take mental health breaks from this gripping narrative as my heart slowly but surely shattered into a thousand pieces with each death and despicable act.

Alex and Charlie’s story is told through correspondence between the two as well as being narrated in the third person for the most part. In the beginning these letters are frequent and flippant, the children discuss the view from their window and their disdain for certain persons in their life. As the two mature so does their letters content, discussing crushes and their own friendship that crosses oceans, before finally turning to their plight in the war. Eventually the letters stop completely once the war hits its peak devastation and the third person narration takes the forefront. Honestly, at first, I thought this would become tedious but the skill with which Fukuda has intertwined this pairs fates feels effortless and extremely well thought out.

Also, I will give you a heads up. The ending was not what I predicted, and it absolutely, positively killed me. By the final chapters, I was reading this novel through tears (thanks Science for my waterproof e-reader) and was left with a distinct feeling of emptiness which I will now have to fill with something upbeat otherwise I will definitely end up in a slump. This book is so emotionally charged that I will warn anyone who takes the plunge – and you should DEFINITELY take the plunge – expect to feel deflated and emotionally raw, but in a way that provides reflection rather than internalised destruction of your soul.

So as to keep this short, what you really need to know is this. This Light Between Us will take your emotions, tear them out, stomp on them, spit on the remains, rinse and repeat. Rarely have I found a work of literature that has affected me so profoundly as Andrew Fukuda’s latest masterpiece. While starting out sweet and cute, it quickly becomes fraught with danger and rebellion, only to progress to a point where the protagonist Alex will do anything to save bring his family together and attempt to find his lost pen pal. It’s a heart wrenching masterpiece that is not only educational but also ingenious in its mixing of media. ...more

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Jun 17, 2020 Amy rated it liked it

As part of a school assignment, a Japanese American boy becomes pen pals with a French Jewish girl.. Over the years, they become friends through their letters and eventually fall in love, but their dreams of meeting are put on hold by the war.

I had to read it because it's a WWII story, partly set in France. And it was fine. But I never got really invested in the characters.

I did appreciate the perspective of a Japanese American youth who was forced to leave his home for an internment camp. It ...more

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Dec 25, 2019 Mindy rated it it was amazing

I absolutely loved this book. I've read others from this author so I went in to this thinking that I knew what level of enjoyment and engagement to expect. Instead, I was blown away. You can tell that this was a passion project from the author. At the end of the book he explains how it came into being and it made my enjoyment of the book increase. The research that went into it was extensive, as historical fiction should be, but it wasn't thrown in there just to tell stories. Each part built upo ...more

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Dec 18, 2019 Danielle Zimmerman rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: for-hypable, wwi-wwii, historical-fiction

THIS LIGHT BETWEEN US is a devastatingly beautiful and incredibly rich novel that captivated me from the moment I cracked it open. Centered upon two young people, one a French Jew and the other a Japanese American, as they come of age during a time of great turmoil. And where they’re seen as the enemy by those they considered their fellow countrymen and women. As World War II descends on their communities, they rely on each other for comfort and friendship through flurries of letters back and fo ...more

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Dec 16, 2019 Tiffany rated it it was amazing

Shelves: paris, historical-fiction, wwii, ya

I really enjoyed this book. The author gives us two characters that are pen pals from Paris and Washington State. Charlie is a young Jewish girl, Alex a Japanese-American. As the story unfolds during WWII, we see how their lives change drastically and sometimes in shockingly similar ways. I have read books about the Japanese internment camps before. This one really painted a painful picture about what the US did to those who should not have been persecuted. While we mostly follow Alex, I feel th ...more

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Dec 09, 2019 Carli rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Thanks to Macmillan and Netgalley for the advance Kindle copy of this book. All opinions are my own.
•
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 for this 1.7.20 release. Alex Maki, a Japanese American in Washington, and Charlie Levy, a Jewish girl from Paris, become pen pals when they are ten years old. They keep up communication into their teen years. When Alex’s family is taken into an internment camp, Charlie is fleeing for her life from the Nazis. Alex gets the chance to enlist in the war, and sets out with the hope of fi ...more

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Aug 29, 2019 Meghan rated it it was amazing

Shelves: library

This book was received as an ARC from Macmillan-Tor/Forge - Tor Teen in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

Surprisingly I really enjoyed this book and the message it sent throughout. For the YFiction category, this book has a very different vibe compared to other historical fiction novels. I loved the language used by Fukuda keeping the characters in teenage years using teenage language especially the conversation between Alex and ...more

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Sep 04, 2019 Jennifer Shanahan rated it it was amazing

Shelves: my-total-faves, arc-giveaways

This book was SO absolutely amazing that I could not put it down once I started it. Truly an epic story, one that will be with me for a long time. Alex is a Japanese American living in Washington state in 1935 when, at the age of 10, he is assigned a pen pal in Paris who turns out to be a Jewish French girl named Charley. Initially he is not thrilled that she is a girl but eventually, they get used to each other and write constantly, for many years. Alex and Charley get very close, best friends ...more

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Aug 28, 2019 Kim Fox rated it it was amazing

I have read numerous books about WWII, but this is the first one that included the Japanese-Americans that were placed in internment camps in this country. I was totally blown away by this authors ability to grab my heart and wring out every emotion possible. You see, I knew what America did to our own countrymen,but Mr.Fukada told this story in such a way that I felt shame, sadness, embarrassment, anger and bewilderment. The story of Charlie and Alix moved me so much that I would laugh and cry ...more

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Oct 20, 2019 Alma rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I absolutely LOVED this amazingly well researched book, and couldn’t put it down. The author did an excellent job in his descriptions of what it was like for Japanese American citizens to be interned for no crime other than for their ancestry, and in describing the battles endured by the 442nd. He brilliantly fused together the prejudice experienced by both Parisian Jews and Japanese Americans and, I will have to say, I cried at the end. To read more of why this book deserved a 5 star rating, pl ...more

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Feb 01, 2020 Janna rated it liked it · review of another edition

I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really wanted to love this book, and there are some things I did love about it. However, overall, it felt rough and Charlie's character seemed more like a stereotypical girly girl rather than a fully developed unique character.

It's an important story to tell, but this one could have used a little more fine-tuning. ...more

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Feb 16, 2020 Blodeuedd Finland rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction, audiobook

I knew it would come a time when this would turn sad, and I kept on hoping that there would be light at the end of that tunnel.

Two 10 year olds become penpals. A world apart, and they will come to mean everything to each other. Alex is Japanese-American, who grows up on a strawberry farm. Charlie is Jewish and lives in Paris.

They keep on writing and the years go by. Charlie sees how people change, soon there are Germans in the streets, but nothing bad could ever happen, right?

For Alex is happens ...more

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Jan 10, 2020 Kay C rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This is not normally the type of book I would pick up.
As soon as I started reading this I couldn't put it down and stayed up way later than I should have trying to finish it.
This was such a compelling emotional story about Alex and Charlie becoming pen pals when they are only 10 years old. Charlie is a Jewish girl living in Paris with her family. Alex is a Japanese American boy at a time when being of Japanese descent is more than just a little difficult. We get to know Charlie and Alex through ...more

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About Andrew Fukuda

Andrew Fukuda

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Born in Manhattan and raised in Hong Kong, Andrew Fukuda is half-Chinese, half-Japanese. After earning a bachelor's degree in history from Cornell University, Fukuda worked in Manhattan's Chinatown with the immigrant teen community. That experience led to the writing of Crossing, his debut novel that was selected by ALA Booklist as an Editor's Choice, Top Ten First Novel, and Top Ten Crime Novel i ...more