Hard to believe that the United States actually had internment camps for Japanese Americans after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, but this story made it more believable and more human. A little boy, his dog, and his family. A very emotional read.

I had mixed feelings about this book, which I received as an advance review copy. Kamada’s novel provides a close look at what life was like for a family in the Japanese internment camps. I wish there were more stories about this, so we could have a better understanding of the terrible things that happened to these families. I liked the very personal nature of this story, which is told from the perspective of a young boy in the Manzanar and Minidoka camps. The author explains that her husband was actually born in a camp but it was many years before he talked with his family about their experience.

However, I struggled with the writing style of this novel, which seemed to be aimed at younger readers and which seemed to frequently downplay the serious nature of what occurred. The book is written in a matter of fact tone that was surprisingly unemotional (until near the end). Fumio, who is about 10 or 11, loses his friends, his beloved dog, and his home, but also has many positive experiences, like learning about Japanese drumming, rock gardening, and mechanics and construction work with his father. While I appreciated his resilience and strong character, I thought the author primarily told us about the poor conditions in the camp (which the residents themselves were largely responsible for addressing) rather than letting us experience it. Kamada could have done a better job showing us the deprivations and the huge impacts on families, both financially and emotionally. Fumio seems largely unaware of what his parents are experiencing. I can appreciate that Fumio, as a child, would have adapted quickly to his new surroundings and made the best of it, maybe being unaware of the stresses on his and the other families. But I think his experience could have been written in a way that reflected these stresses, or maybe having both an adult and child narrator would have been more insightful.

Also, while the camps were in operation for 3-4 years, this story is told over a fairly short period of time and the author did not include anything about the aftermath, when many families lost their homes without any compensation and were even pressured to move to Japan, a country they never lived in. I recommend George Takei’s graphic novel about his experience in the camps, They Called Us Enemy, for a more comprehensive view.

I did appreciate the parts of the story that were set on Bainbridge Island. We see a great contrast between the strawberry farm on the lush climate of the island, and the dry, dusty setting of the two camps. Additionally, we see how fortunate Fumio’s family is in having close friends to look after their property. Kamada suggests (but doesn’t explore directly) that it would have been very difficult, even for friends with the best intentions, to maintain a farm they don’t own for several years. Eventually, the government would have come to take the farm, or it would have fallen into blight and disrepair.

A large portion of the book is told from the perspective of Fumio’s dog. While some parts of this story were quite moving, much of it was too cute for me and didn’t add to the story. I think Kamada could have just as easily expressed through Fumio’s eyes how much he missed his pet, rather than sharing the dog’s perspective.

Kamada tells a moving story about a family’s experience in the camps but keeps the tone of the book fairly positive, which will appeal to some readers but felt a little “light” for me. For example, she focuses on Fumio’s personal growth and his development of positive relationships in the camp, with only limited mention of physical deprivations, loss of schooling, and other negative impacts of incarceration. I very much appreciated the historical detail of this book, particularly with regards to Japanese culture, and it’s worth a read for its important subject matter. But I think the author could have been more clear about whether this is a book aimed at younger readers or adults — it is quite long and complex for younger readers, but often too simplistically written for adults.

Note: I received an advance review copy of this novel from NetGalley and publisher Black Rose Writing. This book was published January 5, 2023.

I enjoyed this read very much. It is the first book I have read about the interment camps in the US during WW2. Although fiction it is based on much research and conversations with those who experienced it. It is very well written and an easy read.

While I have read another book about the internment of Japanese USA citizens after the bombing of Pearl Harbour, I have never read a book which is from a dog's point of view.

Shirley Miller Kamada writes this story of Fumio Miyota and his dog Flyer, tapping into the first hand accounts of her husbands families experiences ....he was born in such a camp, many of which spung up, mostly on the West Coast of the USA.
Detainees were removed from the land, which the rightfully owned and toiled on to make a living. Trained and bused far away, to extremely basic camps, they could only retain scant possessions.

Fumio has to leave his dog companion Flyer behind with the neighbours. He is such a clever dog and does adjust well...learning new skills and being an asset to the Whitlocks. But he misses Fumio so much, he finally sets off on an epic journey across the barren country to find Fumio...carrying his baseball mat in his mouth.

Meanwhile Fumio's family are also learning new skills and doing what they can to survive with just the basics in the camps, moving from California to slightly closer to home Idaho.

Throughout both storylines we meet the best of people. Willing to help in what little way they can in this depressed wartime. Such a sharp contrast to the senseless, naive racism that sent anyone vaguely of Japanese heritage to effectively a prison camp.

This is a sympathetic take on the happenings at the camps....nothing very "bad" happenings, although the rumblings of discontent are eluded too. Such an interesting narrative of a time I am sure many Americans are now embarrassed by.

Thanks to NetGalley, Shirley Miller Kamada and Black Rose Writing for my copy.

Thank you NetGalley for gifting me a copy of No Quiet Water in exchange for an honest review!

What I liked

The history of Japanese interment camps have been popping up on my radar more often these days. We don't learn much about them in school, so my knowledge on this topic is very basic. No Quiet Water provided a window for me to see into the lives of Japanese Americans who experienced incarceration. I am a big fan of historical fiction and always get excited to learn more about history through literature. This book encouraged me to learn more about the two internment camps that are in the book and I even shared what I was reading with my coworkers.

The Miyota family was one of my favorite parts of the book. I loved seeing the relationships between the family members in both good times and bad. The depiction of their farm life on Bainbridge Island was wholesome and provides the reader with a good understanding of their family morals and values. Those qualities tremendously helped the Miyota family during their incarceration.

Another thing that blew my mind was the additional controversial issues that surround the regional area of the camps and the government. Such as the use of dispossessed Native American land and water rights owned by Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. I greatly appreciated the author's acknowledgement at the end detailing her inspiration for writing the book and the list of additional resources.

What I Didn't Like

I was a bit confused by the author's intended audience for the book. While the content is about a terrible time in American history, the way it was depicted seemed to lean more towards the lighter side. The chapters told from the point of Fumio's dog, Flyer, also made the book seem like the book is geared towards a younger middle grade audience.

Flyer's chapters were my least favorite parts of the book. Just when I would get into the groove of reading Fumio's chapters from an omniscient point of view, it was a jolt to have to read from the first person point of view of a dog. Flyer's point of view was hard to accept because realistically a dog wouldn't have all the thoughts and resolutions that Flyer did. I would have much rather have the alternate point of view be from Fumio's best friend, Zachary Whitlock. The Miyota and Whitlock family were neighbors and close friends. Their perspective would have been very interesting.

Final Thoughts

The historical aspect of the story was definitely was the shining light of this book. I learned new things about Japanese American history and was inspired to seek additional resources to learn more. If this book is in fact meant for middle grade, then this would be a wonderful book to introduce young readers to a part of history that often isn't covered in school.

This is one of several historical fiction books about the incarceration of Japanese-Americans that has been published recently. I have to wonder if it’s because those citizens, now in their 80’s and 90’s, are more willing now than before to tell their stories.
“No Quiet Water” is geared toward a middle-grade to Y.A. audience. The story alternates between the viewpoints of young Fumio, whose life is uprooted when he and his family are forced off their strawberry farm into a relocation center, and his dog Flyer, who is left in the care of neighbors. There are themes about having fortitude and patience in troubled times, of true friendship, family bonds and loyalty to country.
Being a dog lover, I was a bit disappointed in the passages told in Flyer’s “voice”; I’m not a fan of narratives told by animals. I would have preferred the author to stick more to the historical fiction about life in the camps. Those passages I thoroughly enjoyed, and learned some things I hadn’t known before.

Rounded to 2.5 stars.

CONTENT WARNING: racism, racist slurs, bullying

Since the American education system (unsurprisingly) glosses over the shameful history of the internment camps, I was intrigued when I received an email offering an ARC of this book. I wanted to learn more about this period of time, and what life was like for Americans of Japanese descent who were uprooted and forced to live in these camps. However, this book wasn’t quite what I was expecting.

I quickly realized that this was geared more towards the younger side of MG readers. It’s written in a very simple style, and there are many chapters told from the POV of Flyer, Fumio’s dog. This surprised me, and while I’m very partial to dogs, Flyer’s chapters didn’t exactly feel realistic.

We get to see life in Bainbridge Island from Fumio’s perspective, where he attends school, helps on his family’s farm, and spends time with his best friend and neighbor, Zachary. He’s a typical American kid, regardless of his Japanese descent. But once Pearl Harbor is bombed, they all come under suspicion. Fortunately, their neighbors are willing to hang onto some of their belongings that might cast doubt onto their American loyalty. When the order comes for the Miyota family to evacuate, their neighbors agree to care for their farm and Flyer.

There are instances of racism and racist slurs seen in the story, as well as unfair treatment of the people interned in the camps, especially during their transit to the camps. However, we don’t really get to see much about how poor the conditions really were in the camps. Yes, we are shown that the houses were shoddily thrown together, the latrines didn’t offer privacy, and the terrain wasn’t very hospitable, but Fumio and his family don’t really seem to struggle as much as I would have expected. He stays busy helping his father and learning new skills, and even learning Japanese drumming, while other boys learn martial arts. He practices gardening, while other people create rock gardens. Everyone seems to have a job, and Fumio’s family receives wages that they can use at a commissary, and can communicate with the outside world.

It kind of felt like there was an opportunity to create an extremely powerful story, but instead it got bogged down in the day to day activities which became repetitive. Fumio wakes up and goes to the mess hall, helps his father, goes to drumming or performs another kind of activity, and then goes to sleep. I was disappointed in how this went, and how suddenly it ended, without the closure I was expecting. After reading all of this, I wondered what happened to Fumio and his family after they were released—whatever happened to their property? None of this is ever resolved, and I was ultimately left with a lot of questions.

This book would probably appeal to younger readers, although it would probably be a bit long and repetitive even for them. I did like learning more about Japanese culture, and how traditional outlooks did help them get through these difficult times, as well as how the community came together to help each other out for the most part. However, I would have appreciated if this book was clearly labeled as MG, since I probably would have skipped it if I knew that this was geared towards an age range that I don’t typically read. On that note, I do think that this is an era that needs to be more well known, and should be written about more widely.

Is about what happened to citizens of Japanese decent in the US after the bombing of Pearl of Harbor. Which is a part of our history that I don't remember learning about in school at any level including college.

The attack on Pearl Harbor sent all of the United States into turmoil. All citizens of Asian heritage were considered probable enemies. The Chinese were allies during the war and therefore exempt from this prejudice.

On Bainbridge Island outside of Seattle, Washington, young Fumio Miyota and his best friend Zachary worked his father’s strawberry fields.

Fumio and his family are transported to Camp Manzanar. Even those families whose sons volunteered to join the armed forces were not spared this indignity. Fumio’s dog Flyer is left on the island with his friend Zachary.

The Miyota family is then transferred from California to Camp Minidoka near Rupert, Idaho. Minidoka was a town that sprung up during the building of the transcontinental railroad and had burned to the ground more than once. The camp was in the middle of the Snake River Plain high desert but the family made the best of this awful situation.

The author writes a very emotive story of the plight of Japanese Americans during WWII. The high desert is inhospitable; the camps are thrown together with green lumber and tar paper. The ever-present desert wind blows fine volcano grit over everything.

An interesting and sympathetic look at a sad period of history—well-written and engaging. 4.5 stars – CE Williams

A rather sweet read that possibly targets younger readers. Having one of the "voices" be a dog is a nice touch and you can't help but be moved by the story. It would make a nice movie.
But wait... this is supposed to be about the horror of the internment camps. Yet all in all, the story seems sweet. I had a little trouble with that dichotomy. Fumio seems to thrive at the camp despite missing home. So, I'm not sure what the author's goal was here.

Injustice reigned in America during the 1942 - 1945 years at the behest of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. World War II struck on multiple planes, one of which was the internment of hundreds of thousands of American-Born Japanese, interned because there might be one spy in the haystack. These mostly law-abiding US citizens, who had nothing in their hearts of the country of Japan's war schemes, were herded in droves to these camps that had been slapped together without proper care; conditions were often primitive.

This historical fiction story, No Quiet Water, traces the wonderful Miyota family and their dog Flyer who also had wonderful neighbors who helped and supported them during their years of incarceration, first in a California "facility," and then one in Idaho. Their grace, endurance and perseverance without bitterness, despite the deplorable conditions, was amazing. Fumio was an amazing half-grown boy who really did the best he could. The dog Flyer adds many tender moments.

The book is based on the author's relatives' account as well as researched sources, some of which you will see listed at book end. Although I have heard of the interments before, this was still an enlightening read. Therefore, I believe all Americans would do well to read this valuable account and learn positive lessons from it.

~Eunice C., Reviewer/Blogger~

October 2022

Disclaimer: This is my honest opinion based on the complimentary review copy sent by NetGalley and the publisher.

5 stars, Tragically sad

NO QUIET WATER
by Shirley Miller Kamada

This story is a unique look at the lives of Japanese Americans during WWII who were wrongfully treated as criminals and placed in internment camps after the fleet at Pearl Harbor was destroyed. I liked how the story followed young Fumio, 10, and his family and also had the narration of Fumio's beloved dog Flyer describing his life and being separated from his young owner.

The author pulled the inspiration for this book from her own family's history, her husband and his brother were both born in one of the internment camps.

I think of how hard it must have been to be uprooted from your home and all you know to be thrust into a prison camp and treated like a criminal when you have done nothing wrong. Tragically sad.

#HighlyRecommend.

I received a complimentary copy of #noquietwater from #blackrosewriting and #netgalley I was under no obligation to post a review. #historicalfiction #WWII #JapaneseInternmentCamps #favoritebooks #bibliophile #reviewer #washingtonState #California #Idaho #dog #sheep #chickens #strawberryfarmers #PearlHarbor #BainbridgeIslandWashington #JapaneseAmericans