| Brief Description: | Based on a true story of events during World War II in Los Angeles China City, a 12-year-old Chinese American girl named Mei Ling Lee loses her best friend Yayeko Akiyama when she and her family are interned in the Manzanar War Relocation Center. By writing letters to each other, both young girls recount their painful separation and their lives in China City and Manzanar. The vivid watercolor paintings warmly portray the real scenes of the forgotten China City in Los Angeles and Manzanar. This unprecedented children's book depicts the hardships and cross-cultural experiences of Americans of Chinese and Japanese ancestry during the war years. Close to 50 never-before-published paintings and historical photographs of China City are presented for the first time. |
