"We Are Not Free" follows a recent spate of books that treat the Japanese incarceration camps as their central topic. I'm happy to see this moment in US history gaining traction in fiction, necessary now more than ever.

Following fifteen different teen narrators (you heard me right), this book illustrates almost every facet of life heading into, life inside, and life following the internment camps. Each teen deals with the typical teenage trouble -- family drama, school stress, first relationships. But each also much deal with the added pressure of being Japanese during WWII, citizen or not. Each person navigates this journey in their own unique way, from hopeful optimism, to debilitating pessimism, from violent action, to infuriating inaction.

While I appreciated and even enjoyed some of the stories in this book, the number of narrators is dizzying. For much of the book, I struggled to figure out who was related to whom, and the individual narrative of each character. As a result, the character development fell flat. The central conflict was too broad for me as well -- having read a number of pieces of fiction (and a handful of nonfiction) about this time in history, I was bored at another book where the central conflict is just the situation of navigating racist America and living in the internment camps. I'm not in any way saying that this isn't worthy of being the central conflict, but for me, I had a hard time staying engaged with the plot and characters (which is probably why it took me two weeks to read). The parts that were most engaging for me were the events that I don't see covered often in fiction such as the decisions people had to make about going to war, supporting their country, and toeing the line to avoid unwarranted discipline.

This book would be best suited for younger readers, or those who are unfamiliar with these events.

Disclaimer: I received an e-arc of this book from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: We Are Not Free

Author: Traci Cee

Book Series: Standalone

Rating: 5/5

Diversity: Japanese MCs and side characters

Recommended For...: history buffs

Publication Date: September 1, 2020

Genre: YA Historical Fiction

Recommended Age: 14+ (war mention, racism, calling out an author for being racist (Dr. Suess), POWs, romance, and slight sexual content, violence)

Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers

Pages: 400

Synopsis: From New York Times best-selling and acclaimed author Traci Chee comes We Are Not Free, the collective account of a tight-knit group of young Nisei, second-generation Japanese American citizens, whose lives are irrevocably changed by the mass U.S. incarcerations of World War II.

Fourteen teens who have grown up together in Japantown, San Francisco.

Fourteen teens who form a community and a family, as interconnected as they are conflicted.

Fourteen teens whose lives are turned upside down when over 100,000 people of Japanese ancestry are removed from their homes and forced into desolate incarceration camps.

In a world that seems determined to hate them, these young Nisei must rally together as racism and injustice threaten to pull them apart.

Review: For the most part I thought this was an excellent book! I loved the multiple (14) povs and the story of these kids. The book did well to convey the horror of the real life situation Japanese people went through. The book also gave me information that I didn't have due to the poor American education system. I highly urge people to read this. We should know about the horrors we inflicted on our own people.

The only issue I had with the book is that the POV switches can be weird. You start really liking a character then have to go to a new one.

Verdict: Highly recommend and required reading!

Moving and powerful, Traci Chee’s We Are Not Free is one of the best books I have read so far in 2020. It is a collective account of fourteen second-generation Japanese American teens who are rooted overnight from their homes, along with their families and forced into incarceration camps during World War II by the United States government.
Overnight, the “American” is dropped from their identities. Because they look different.
Chee poignantly conveys the injustice of their imprisonment without any trial or charges. Their fear, anger, hopes, and shattered dreams – all are laid bare in front of us. Chee does not mince any words when the characters lay out their emotions. Take it or leave it. There is no sugar coating.

Through comic-book vivid descriptions, Chee describes every character in sharp detail and brings forth each one of them to life. We Are Not Free is not simply a story of their wrongful imprisonment but also a story of their growing up, finding themselves, and losing each other. Teenage crushes, living up to parents’ expectations, first kisses, first rebellion – everything finds a place in this book without any of this feeling inorganic.

This is a powerfully evocative read. I seldom get emotional while reading a book. However, I shed tears twice, first at 73% when Keiko is saying goodbye to her love, Twitchy, followed by another painful blow at 80%. This time, I could not control my tears for a long time. I had to stop reading for an hour or two. I could not (did not want to) believe what happened. That was the extent to which I was invested in the characters. All the injustice the teens faced hit me with a force. Moreover, throughout the book, first-person POV dominates the narrative until the catastrophe mentioned brings them all together and changes it into a “We”, thus providing a third-person perspective into everyone’s feelings.

Tracy Chee’s We Are Not Free is deeply captivating, powerful, and fast-paced. I am going to remember this story for years to come.
Read this book. Period.

We Are Not Free is a critical, necessary read for everyone of all ages. It follows 14 Japanese-American teenagers perspectives on their thoughts and journey through the times of WWII, particularly the internment camps. Though this is a work of fiction based of real historical events, Chee deftly captures thought-provoking emotions and is woven into a story of understandable teenage obstacles, along with family issues and harsh truths given to them about the country they were raised in. I adored the dynamic the characters had which isn't exactly found family since they practically already are, but their bond in how sticking together meant so much. They give off a vibe similar to "The Outsiders" dynamic. Not going to lie, but 14 different povs was a lot, since each chapter had their own story and own issues that they're were going through. It was difficult to keep track as it wasn't one flowing story with povs from 3 characters or less, and not to mention switched settings as well. Think of it as each chapter is it's own story but they're all connected and following a timeline. Every main character was so lovable and first person perspective was the right choice hearing inner thoughts along with talking about past lives. Chee's writing ability to provide so much to the table with the inner conflict and the depth of what they all felt individually was mesmerizing. This a definite read that should be everyone's priority, I am very much looking forward to other works by Traci Chee in the future!

Review based on a digital ARC received via Netgalley.

4.5 stars

This novel will stay with me for a long time. While the story is fictionalized, it takes inspiration from the author’s own family’s history during World War II, lending the story an immediacy and passion that is definitely felt by the reader. The incarceration of Japanese Americans following the attack on Pearl Harbor is a subject that has been getting more attention, but it is books like this one that will help to bring the events of that time into stark relief. Through the well-drawn characters that Chee creates, the reader is brought into their world – their feelings, inner thoughts, hopes, dreams, happiness and heartbreak. Each character has his or her own moment in the spotlight, with each chapter centering on one person placed in chronological order from before the forced removal from their homes to the incarceration camps to the hopeful ending. While each chapter is concerned with a single character, it is told in such a way as to continually strengthen the relationships between the characters and their families. Chee does an outstanding job illuminating the hardships faced in the camps, as well as the family and interpersonal dynamics felt between different groups within the camps. On one hand, the people were being asked to toe the loyalty line, while on the other; they were constantly being treated as if they lacked that very loyalty. Chee is adept at showing how people can be happy in an individual way in an individual moment, trying to make the best out of a bad situation, while also demonstrating that these circumstances were not in any way fair to a “free” people and could not in any way be interpreted as such. She does not shy away from the outright hatred and prejudice shown towards the Japanese Americans of the time, while revealing the real consequences that these actions had on her characters. Her characters were teenagers, trying to make the best of their high school years, falling in love, making lasting friendships, and yet they were thrown into a situation that both tore them apart and brought them closer together. The backbone of the story was the relationship between a group of teen boys, and I wish that there were a little more concentration on the girls in their group. I didn’t feel quite the connection to the girls that I did to the boys, but that might just be me. The inclusion of the Japanese Americans joining the fight in World War II and the consequences of that choice were powerful, as the repercussions were felt throughout the lives of everyone involved in the story, and in their community at large. Overall, this book is heartfelt and important – in an increasingly divisive time in the United States, it would behoove everyone to read books such as this one. Highly recommended.

This book was so good. I have read a decent amount about the Japanese Americans who were forced into concentration camps during World War II (both fiction and nonfiction). However, this YA fiction takes on the perspective of several teens and their experiences at the camps, fighting in the war, and after. This 1st person POV really makes the story powerful. It was a bit hard to keep all of the characters straight, but I still highly recommend this book.

This is a book about Japanese-American incarceration camps, told in 14 (!) different teen perspectives, from 1942-1945. 14 different perspectives sounds overwhelming, but they're all in the same loose group of friends (and siblings) who were living in Japantown in San Francisco before their forced removal. It's also told completely chronologically, so each perspective hands off to the next, which makes it easy to follow (even if I did keep track of some characters better than others). This group is a kind of found family, made up of boys and girls, different ages, and very different perspectives. There's the scrappy kid sister who wants to tag along to everything, the shy younger brother who sits in a corner and draws, the model citizen older brother trying to keep everyone in line--and always-looking-for-a-fight Frankie, optimistic and lofty Bette, and more. Each chapter has its own arc, while the story as a whole is more of an exploration of Japanese-American incarceration camps.

Note: I'm going to discuss some of the broad events of the book, which is history, and not a spoiler. I'm not spoiling any of the particular plot points or anything that happens to a particular character.

This book made me realize how little I know about this period of history. I read A Child in Prison Camp by Shizuye Takashima as a kid, which is about Japanese-Canadian incarceration camps--and yes, it happened in Canada, too, and Japanese-Canadians weren’t all free to be on the BC coast until 1949, which is years after the US stopped! That book left a big impression on me as a kid, but I didn't follow it up as an adult. We are Not Free really shows how recent this was, and what a huge impact it had. Chee weaves in details from her own family's history, and she explains in the afterword how personal this story is.

One of the strengths of this book is the chilling details: "storm-colored flowers rising from the rooftops, dispersing ash like seeds on the wind" as people in Japantown burn anything that might make them appear to be "loyal" to Japan, including family heirlooms. A group of Chinese-Americans wearing "I am Chinese" pins so they would stop getting targeted for harassment. A uniformed First World War veteran being arrested. Japanese-Americans having to sell everything they couldn't fit into a suitcase or two, with bargain hunters crowing about buying an entire life's work for almost nothing, including whole businesses, equipment and all. The humiliation and trauma of that alone.

I realized that I was more familiar with the temporary detention centers converted from horse stalls, where they lived for weeks. I didn't grasp the huge time span of living in the incarceration camps (where they were then sent) for years. The feeling is surreal: they go to school and even have school dances, all while surrounded by barbed wire fences and guards. In some moments, it almost seems normal--but it never is. It's an imitation of a home, with shoddy infrastructure, no running water, food shortages, and humiliation and harassment (and possible murder) by guards.

Each narrator deals with this their own way. They are all teenagers, or barely out of their teens, and we see them rebelling against their parents, experimenting with their identities, and having teen romances. But they also are struggling with how to survive and retain their humanity while imprisoned. There are no good answers, only choices. Shig struggles with the concept of "gaman." Mas tries to be perfect, making him brittle. Amy wants to rebel from who she was before. Bette imagines herself as a (white) celebrity. Frankie wants to fist-fight the world and tear everything down. Kiyoshi, already traumatized, is frozen in fear.

One choice they all have to make is their answer to the "loyalty questionnaire," which forces Japanese-Americans in incarceration camps to answer yes or no to renouncing their loyalty to the emperor (which assumes they have that allegiance), pledge allegiance to the U.S., and agree to serve if conscripted. Their community is divided into Yes-Yeses and No-Nos: some still loyal to the U.S., some loyal to Japan, and most caught between--angry at their treatment and not wanting to fight in U.S. wars, but also wanting to stay. The older boys also have to decide whether to volunteer to go into battle for a country who has wrongfully imprisoned them and "prove" their loyalty, also hoping to end the war keeping their families and communities imprisoned.

Even after they are "free," they have to deal with a country just as--if not more--racist towards them than before they were imprisoned, and fighting to start over. Their communities and even families are scattered--some able to leave the camps earlier by pledging their allegiance to the U.S., some fighting overseas, some in high-security camps, some repatriated.

As much as this is historical fiction, Chee points out in the afterword that much of it is still relevant today. Not just in the legacy of these incarceration camps, but in similar policies being enacted right now. (Like the detention camps at the U.S. border.) I was also struck by the white apathy and fragility we see. (There are also moments in the book where we see how Black soldiers are treated, and the ongoing segregation in the "free" U.S.) Guards exercise power and violence with impunity, terrorizing innocent people or protesters in the camps--another image that felt eerily familiar.

This was an educational and chilling read, skillfully told. I highly, highly recommend it, and it belongs in every high school library.

[This title will also be covered on the Sept 1st All the Books podcast]

14 teenagers who knew each other in a Japanese-American neighborhood in San Francisco are sent to internment camps. Some opted to move away from the West Coast (an option I never realized existed!). An embittered few, with their parents, said they would return to Japan if given the opportunity. Others joined the military (front lines in the worst battles). Through it all they stay in touch. This is an excellent novel to pair with the many YA nonfiction books on the subject.

“Outside is the camp, the barbed wire, the guard towers, the city, the country that hates us. But in here, we are together.
We are not free.
But we are not alone.”

This book was everything I expected and hoped for and yet so much more. Traci Chee's We Are Not Free is the gorgeously written, humorous-one-moment-heartbreaking-the-next account of 14 teens' lives against the backdrop of the incarceration of Japanese Americans during WWII. While the size of the cast of characters felt a bit unwieldy at the beginning, as the story develops, you gain a clearer grasp on each individual's personality and their relationships, and by the novel's end you feel as though you truly know each and every character as their own person. We Are Not Free is not a pretty story. It's not an easy one to read. But there are moments of light and laughter and beauty even amidst all the horror. It's a story about community, family, the bonds between those who aren't but are like family, the danger of seeing others as less than human, and the strength it takes to continue on in the face of blatant disrespect and discrimination. My heart goes out to everyone who was forced to leave everything they'd known behind, the ones who fought on behalf of a country that wouldn't recognize their own parents as citizens or their people as people, and those still suffering similar fates because we refuse to learn from our shameful history.

“This happened. This happened to us. This happened to kids like her. This can happen again.
We cannot allow it to happen again.”

A huge thanks to HMHTeen and YALLSTAYHOME for the free arc of this beautiful, important book :) (I never win things!)

This was absolutely, 100% one of the best books I have read this year. The structure, the storytelling, the characters, everything came together so perfectly to capture a time in history that isn't frequently discussed and often overlooked. I think this is a necessary read for schools and I think it would stimulate a very thoughtful discussion among teen readers.

A hands-down, absolute must have for every YA collection and would be an excellent choice for teen (and adult!) book clubs. I cannot recommend this title enough.

Wow. I'm still processing. We Are Not Free is immediate and personal and visceral and so good. Above all, it honors not just the Japanese American experience, but so many of the feelings and sentiments that went with the incarceration of our Issei and Nisei during WWII. It's written with care and attention to cultural detail that makes it extra satisfying as a JA reader. (And I have to admit, there were details, I learned, too, even as a 4th generation Japanese American).

When you hear it's told from 14 points of view, that will sound wild. But a large ensemble cast from one neighborhood in San Francisco, allows the exploration of the depth and breadth of experiences people had around the incarceration.

I'm actually amazed by how much of the history Traci Chee was able to incorporate into the story, even if some of it is more in passing mention (e.g. Korematsu v. US). It's an extremely rich platform for discussion about the history, but also about racism, propaganda, and the villainization of immigrants and their American born children.

Easily one of the best hist fics I've read about a subject that's largely ignored in our teaching of US History.

My Shelf Awareness review and interview are here: https://www.shelf-awareness.com/max-issue.html?issue=389#m822

Both review and interview are cross-posted to my Smithsonian BookDragon blog:
http://smithsonianapa.org/bookdragon/we-are-not-free-by-traci-chee-in-shelf-awareness/
http://smithsonianapa.org/bookdragon/author-interview-traci-chee-in-shelf-awareness/

Wow, I wish I could give this book 10 stars! It's an amazing book.

My parents and their families were incarcerated. I never asked them about it, and when they talked about "camp" it was always about their friends, and very few negatives. It's a book I wish I had read when I was younger and my parents were still alive. I feel like I gained some new understanding into what shaped them, and how I was raised. I really don't know how to review this book because it felt so personal. All I can say is pre-order it now. You won't regret it.

Thank you Tracy Chee for giving me some insight into the realities. Thank you Netgalley and HMH Books for Young Readers for allowing me to read this ARC.

I enjoyed Chee's Sea of Ink and Gold trilogy, but was not prepared for how beautiful and well-crafted her move into historical fiction would be! I loved the depth and breadth with which she discussed the Japanese-American experience before and after, but especially during, WWII: the narrative includes moments of joy and friendship and beauty, but doesn't whitewash or shy away from the terrible and often very specifically related realities of the history. The way Chee makes all of the choices by various characters, even when they should be in opposition to each other, so emotionally comprehensible was impressive. The characters also felt so believably like one friend group whose lives were interwoven, and it felt particularly realistic that many of them were also struggling with unrelated issues like domestic violence/related trauma or sexuality, even while in a terrible situation.

Although I did enjoy each character's perspective and thought that they often brought something to the particular events or themes discussed (e.g. Bette and her optimism were an interesting match to the early days of internment) I also found that the POV-hopping made it a little difficult to keep the characters straight, and somewhat prevented feeling a deep attachment to many of them - they felt extremely well-sketched, but perhaps not fully drawn? - and their stories. This felt especially true for some of the earlier characters; by the time later chapters came along, I think I had a bit of a better handle on who everyone was, but it meant that the "moment" with certain characters had already passed. Also - and this isn't a criticism! - I'd love to hear more from the author about her choice to include two fairly stylized perspectives (second person, and story-in-verse) along with the others and what about that sort of writing spoke to her in terms of those particular characters.

Certainly possible to pair with recent, award-winning nonfiction like George Takei's graphic memoir The Called Us Enemy, or Enemy Child by Andrea Warren, but perhaps also recommend to those who have also appreciated historical fiction like Tanita S. Davis's Mare's War or Lovely War by Julie Berry, or who enjoy novels where multiple perspectives are key, such as A.S. King's Dig.

This might now be my favorite book of the year. I'm going to have to read everything written by Traci Chee.

This YA novel is about the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II. The story is told through multiple perspectives, a group of teenagers who lived in the same neighborhood in San Francisco. I appreciate that they each have individual voices - I never lost track of who's perspective I was reading. Just the fact that there were so many - 14 different character perspectives - that is worthy of high praise. But not just that, each character was written with so much emotion and personality. They each had a unique perspective to bring to the story.

I felt so immersed in their stories, I laughed, I cried, I raged with them at the injustices they suffered. This book was phenomenal and important reading and I can't recommend it enough.

Wow. This is one of the most moving, impactful books I’ve read in awhile. Chee takes a history that is terrible in and of itself and makes it personal and heartbreaking through her wide cast of characters. The constantly shifting perspectives, 14 in total, did take some time to get used to, and it made some of the characters hard to keep track of. However, by the end, I was absolutely invested in them all.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/49934666-we-are-not-free

Absolutely love this book. Being such a clear picture of what life was for Japanese Americans at this time. Easy to empathize with characters – who are all very defined and likable. Really well written, interesting book.

A story everyone needs to read. It’s not an easy one to read but it’s a history I never really knew, and I hate that. I did struggle a bit with the POV changes and choppy timeline. Still, worth the read.

This book—this BOOK—is a stunning historical fiction about fourteen teens, whose lives become interconnected during World War II, but this is not your normal war story. For one, these teens are Japanese and facing a bleak future as the country they were born and raised in has decided to label them the enemy and forced them into an incarceration camp. Told from multiple perspectives from 1942-1945, this book is absolutely gutwrenching as it explores Japanese identity, familial loyalty, and the harsh reality for Japanese-Americans during WWII.

"We Are Not Free" starts by focusing on three brothers: Minnow is the youngest and an artist while Shig is carefree and then there's Mas, who is hardworking and smart. The story starts with Minnow as he walks home and gets attacked by a group of white guys. It is clear that after Pearl Harbor, the average American became distrustful of the Japanese-Americans, who became further ostracized from society. Eventually, the family receives the Civilian Exclusion Order No. 41 to leave behind their home, sell all their possessions, and travel to Tanforan Assembly Center. As the story progresses, it grows to encompass their brothers and their close friends, who become family as they navigate the incarceration camps.

Earlier this year, I read George Takei's "They Called Us Enemy" and was incredibly moved by how difficult it must be and still is for Japanese-Americans to forge their identity, especially in a time when the country they live in incarcerates them as foreign enemies. The stigma of the perpetual foreigner stereotype is manifested in the incarceration camps and Chee does a wonderful job of exploring how it fractures and affects her characters' identities in different ways; some want to prove themselves as true Americans, others want to accept their new label, and others are indifferent. This is a must-read to understand how America has alienated and segregated its minority citizens in the past and its consequences on the future.

All I can say is thank you, Traci Chee, for preserving and writing this story and for sharing your family's experiences in this wonderful book.

It had everything. A captivating plot the whole way through. A wonderful cast of characters that were well-developed and diverse. A message that is both educating and timely. And own voices. This needs to be on the list.