Publishers Weekly
★ 09/12/2022
This meditative debut, inspired by Huey’s family history, follows one Japanese teen’s experiences living on the brink of WWII in 1941 Linley Island, Wash. Though she believes dreaming only leads to disappointment, high school sophomore Samantha Sakamoto, whose father is a “dirt poor Japanese farmer,” wants to become a photographer. Her best friend and secret crush Beau McClatchy, a wealthy white boy, encourages her to enter a statewide photo contest, insisting that Sam “stop making yourself so... small.” The tension and grief caused by Sam’s mother’s recent death is heightened by her family’s dwindling finances, and the $50 grand prize would be a boon. When Sam meets and develops a crush on her older sister’s classmate, Hiro Tanaka, she struggles to sort through her feelings for him and for Beau. The bombing of Pearl Harbor adds additional stress, bringing federal agents to Linley and escalating threats to the Japanese community. Huey imbues Sam’s narration with familiarity, creating an urgent immediacy that guides this insightful story, whose personal beginnings the author outlines in the creator’s acknowledgments. Ages 12–up. Agent: Caryn Wiseman, Andrea Brown Literary. (Oct.)
From the Publisher
Praise for Beneath the Wide Silk Sky:
* "Huey imbues Sam’s narration with familiarity, creating an urgent immediacy that guides this insightful story, whose personal beginnings the author outlines in the creator’s acknowledgments." — Publishers Weekly, starred review
Kirkus Reviews
2022-08-17
At the height of World War II, a Japanese American girl and her family navigate life on their farm in Washington state.
High schooler Samantha Sakomoto is tending to Clark Gable, the family rooster, when her best friend, Beau, a White boy, enters the barn with a photo contest entry form. The $50 grand prize would do wonders for Sam and her family, who are struggling to keep their farm on fictional Linley Island. Her older brother, Charlie, deferred his college admission after their mother died last year and helps out by earning money at the local brickyard, while older sister Kiki takes on sewing jobs. Sam’s dad put the last of Charlie’s college fund toward the mortgage to avoid losing the farm, a source of tension between father and son. Winning the contest would be Sam’s contribution. When Japan bombs Pearl Harbor, the racism faced by Sam, her family, and others of Japanese descent on the island intensifies—from spitballs in class to implied sexual assault. Though Sam harbors feelings for 16-year-old Beau, she becomes increasingly close to her neighbor Hiro Tanaka while fighting against the injustice and violence faced by the Japanese American community leading up to their incarceration by the U.S. government. This slice-of-life historical fiction debut meanders, ultimately lacking the emotional impact to do full justice to the horrors it addresses.
A quiet snapshot of a teenager discovering the art of protest. (author’s note) (Historical fiction. 12-16)
