In the midst of World War II, the unimaginable is happening to Mitsi Kashino, as the fear of Japanese-Americans takes over. It starts at school, and causes trouble with Mitsi's friends... and then suddenly, her family is being uprooted and sent to a internment camp.

Her life in the camp, honestly, seemed pretty bright compared to what I would have imagined on my own. Of course, the author wanted to make the story nice enough that children will enjoy it, and mostly think happy thoughts about Dash. Still... don't know whether to believe that dessert comes with every supper served, that there was a canteen where you could buy treats anytime you wanted... and other fun stuff.

There were other elements that I hadn't thought of before about the internment camps that I find more believable. Such as meeting at the fence to do jobs on the inside for people on the outside, and vice versa. (Still I was surprised at Mitsi earning so much money, so quickly.) And also I hadn't thought about before how they could mail out money to their relatives to buy special items to be send to families in the camp.

The parts of the plot about Dash are pretty cute. Well, except that Mitsi had to leave him behind when her family moved. But the letters back and forth between Mitsi and Dash? What a darling idea. I can get behind that one, I guess because I'd secretly love to write pretend letters to my dog.

Overall? This book is alright. Not a favorite book though, and generally I like most children's historical fiction. It's more of a fluffy view of the war, and not a gritty view. Still, it's nice for young readers (probably 3rd to 5th graders).

Amazing story of a girl and her dog. A heartbreaking story of a girl who must leave everything she knows and loses her friends and home because of her heritage. She's Japanese/American and must relocate with her family to an internment camp. Her beloved dog Dash can't come with her and so she has to leave him behind. Luckily, an older neighbor is willing to watch the dog and sends letters to the camp from the dog.