After the Japanese
bomb Pearl Harbor Tetsu’s father is taken away by the FBI. Not long after
that he, his mother, and his sister, Kimi, are taken to an internment camp.
They have to leave their home and dog in California, taking only a few
belongings with them to the barracks in Arizona. The hot desert
climate is only one of the many difficult things to adjust to about their new
life. Tetsu worries about his father and is concerned that there isn’t a way to
get in touch with him because his father cannot read or write English. Their
living conditions involve a lot of sweeping, bad bathroom conditions, and lots of
new people. School couldn't be more different from the way it was before coming
to the camp, but luckily there's a volunteer who helps to teach the children.
Tetsu misses baseball and wants to play again. When the opportunity arises to
help build and create a baseball field on the land outside the barracks, Tetsu
jumps at the chance. He can't wait for everything to be cleared out and ready
so he can play, but when that day comes his sister needs him, and he becomes
frustrated. He leaves her and goes to play some baseball for the first time in
ages. What should have been a great day, changes when he learns that his sister
is missing. When she can't be found anywhere later that day or night, Tetsu
becomes frantic. Will they be able to find Kimi? Will Tetsu and his father ever
be reunited? How long will they have to stay at the internment camp? Take this
trip through history to find out what life was like for some of the Japanese who
were relocated to internment camps.
A Diamond in the Desert by Kathryn Fitzmaurice appealed to me because
I enjoy historical fiction. It's one of my favorite ways to learn more
about what's happened in the past; the characters help the setting and
situation come alive for me. Each chapter was very short, which made this a fast read. I could relate to Tetsu and felt so sorry for him and all the
other people who were at the camp. It makes the reader realize that it's not
fair to treat people badly simply because other people who look like them or
come from the same place they came from are bad. I especially
enjoyed reading the author’s note at the end and finding out about the research
she did to write this book. It was interesting to know that she interviewed
people who really were at the camp and who played baseball there. I
had no idea baseball was such a big part of the camps, but I can see how
it gave people hope and something else to think about. I recommend this book to
kids in third grade and up. Adults will also enjoy learning more about this
time in history. I look forward to reading more books by this author.
Has anyone else read A Diamond in the Desert? Or have you
read another book by Kathryn
Fitzmaurice? We’d love to hear your thoughts!
Happy Reading!
~L
