Japanese and American Indians

What I read:  Sumiko and her family arrive at a camp in Poston, Arizona.  This is an internment camp for Japanese and Japanese American families during world war II.  It's called the Colorado River Relocation Center, but really it's more like a living prison for the people who are stuck there.



When Sumiko arrives, she is surprised because she hasn't experienced this much heat. She is originally from California and this is her first time in the Arizona desert. She can't believe how hot it is.



She meets an American Indian boy called Frank soon after she arrives. Frank lives right next to the camp, but outside of it.  Sumiko and Frank are about the same age.  At first, Frank acts like he knows the camp and the area around the camp better than Sumiko does. Because of this, he acts a little condescending towards Sumiko.  Also, when Frank talks to his friends, it's clear that they have a lot of stereotypes against Japanese people and a lot of wrong ideas.





At the same time, there are a lot of people in the camp who have negative stereotypes of the American Indians who live around the camp.  So this prejudice goes both ways.

Later on, Frank and Sumiko learn more about each other's differences and they become more friendly.



What I thought about: I thought a lot about the prejudice parts of this book.  It makes me think about the racism between two different cultures and the hatred they have towards each other in the story.  In the story, the time is the 1940s.  It might seem like it makes sense to have fear and hatred when there is a war going on, like there is in the book. But this is not really true since today there is a still a lot of fear, hatred, prejudice, and misunderstanding between groups, even if there is no war happening currently.  

One group that I think about a lot is Muslim people.  Right now in the United States, and especially with the election happening between Clinton and Trump, there is a lot of prejudice against Muslim people.  Some Americans feel like it's okay for them to have this prejudice.  They even think that all Muslim people are terrorist.  I think that this is terrible and that it shows that we still have a long ways to go to make thins better.

What I conclude: I think that by the end of the book, Sumiko and Frank will become amazing friends. They come from different cultures and racial groups and this means that they have more bridges to cross to make a friendship between them.  I think they will, though.  I'm excited to see if I'm right and how they might live their lives after the war is over.