Book Review: The Moved-Outers

The Moved-Outers by Florence Crannell Means tells the fictional story of a Japanese family living on the Californian coast. After World War II breaks out with the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the Oharas along with all the Japanese in the area are relocated to internment camps. This story is about Sue (Sumiko) Ohara who is seventeen when the war starts. The story takes her from her nice suburban home to Santa Anita (which is a race track where the evacuees lived temporarily in horse stalls) to Amache (a more permanent camp in the desert of Colorado). Throughout this displacement, Sue struggles to come to terms with her love for her country and how she is treated by that country.

This period of time is a dark and disappointing one in our great nation's history. Men, women, children, and elderly were rounded and sent to interment camps based only on their ancestry. Yes, we Americans treated our evacuees much, MUCH better than the Nazis did theirs, but the injustice is enough to turn my stomach, and I hope yours, too. Why don't we hear more about this time? Because, as my high school history teach told us, the victors write the history books. But I digress.

I found this book very informative, as I didn't know much about this time period. Because it is written for children (it is a Newberry Honor book), it is a quick read, but the story is compelling. While I love my country, I am not naive enough to think that her history is all roses and flowers. I recommend this book to you if you are looking for some relatively light reading on one of our darker times.