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Four-Four-Two by Hughes Dean
Yuki Nakahara is American. He was born in America and has grown up there, but that doesn't matter. It is the beginning of World War II, and the rest of America views Japanese Americans as the enemy. Yuki and his family are put in an internment camp in the Utah desert. Unwilling to just sit back and accept this injustice, and to prove his loyalty to the country he loves, he enlists in the army to fight for the Allies. He and his friend Shig join the “Four-Four-Two” regiment of Japanese American soldiers, where the prejudice and danger only intensify.
Review from School Library Journal:
Yuki Nakahara is American. He was born in California, wears jeans, and has never even visited another country—but at the start of World War II he becomes aware that other Americans see him as a foreign enemy. His family is one of the thousands of Japanese American citizens arrested and forcibly transferred to internment camps in the rural desert. Although depressed about their situation, Yuki and friend Shig decide to join the army to fight for their country and to prove once and for all that they are loyal to the United States. As the war wages on, however, Yuki realizes that he must respect himself and where he came from, and that neither war nor changing others' minds is as easy as he had imagined. Although this is a work of historical fiction, the author's thorough research about the boys of the 100th/442nd Regimental Combat Team and his meticulous descriptions of battle scenes bring the story to life without boring readers familiar or unfamiliar with the military lifestyle. The strong emotions evoked by the vivid details of battle and the other realities of war make this work sometimes difficult to read, but the excitement and compassion will keep even the most hesitant readers turning the pages. Those who follow the news will find connections between Yuki's plight and current events.
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