About this book

Amy is a thirteen-year-old Japanese-American girl who lives in Hawaii. When her great-grandmother falls ill, Amy travels to visit family in Hiroshima for the first time. But this is 1941. When the Japanese navy attacks Pearl Harbor, it becomes impossible for Amy to return to Hawaii. Conscripted into translating English radio transmissions for the Japanese army, Amy struggles with questions of loyalty and fears about her family amidst rumors of internment camps in America -- even as she makes a new best friend and, over the years, Japan starts to feel something like home. Torn between two countries at war, Amy must figure out where her loyalties lie and, in the face of unthinkable tragedy, find hope in the rubble of a changed world.

Reviews

Praise for Pearl:

Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection

★ "The titular pearl is a beautifully executed symbol of hope, survival, and life that also reflects Amy’s struggles with her identity as Japanese and American. By turns devastating and uplifting, a powerful testament to the human will to survive -- and thrive." -- Kirkus Reviews, starred review

★ "A thing of great beauty and wonder growing as a response to friction and injury, a pearl is an inspired, indelible metaphor for this luminous, poignant coming-of-age tale set against harrowing, heart-wrenching real life events." -- Booklist, starred review

"A truly beautiful story, artfully told." -- School Library Journal's Good Comics for Kids Blog

"A deft and affecting historical graphic novel collaboration about a Japanese American teen's complex experiences of World War II in Japan." -- Shelf Awareness