Warriors in the Crossfire

by Nancy Bo Flood

Overview

This gripping historical novel is set on the tiny island of Saipan, which the Japanese had long governed, near the end of World War II. Thirteen-year-old Joseph, the son of a local village chief, and his half-Japanese best friend, Kento, have their loyalties tested when U.S. troops arrive and one of the bloodiest battles in the Pacific war is fought. Caught in the crossfire between the Americans and Japanese, the boys learn what it really means to be a warrior. The novel is based on historical facts, and an afterword describes the real-life account of what happened on Saipan—the unimaginable horrors of what is now called Suicide Cliff.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781629795973
Publisher:	Astra Publishing House
Publication date:	11/04/2016
Sold by:	Penguin Random House Publisher Services
Format:	eBook
Pages:	144
File size:	3 MB
Age Range:	6 - 9 Years

About the Author

Nancy Bo Flood is a counselor, teacher, and parent. She has conducted workshops on child abuse, learning disabilities, play therapy, and creative writing. Ms. Flood has lived in Malawi, Hawaii, Japan, and Saipan, where Warriors in the Crossfire takes place. She lives on the Navajo Nation Reservation, near Flagstaff, Arizona.

Editorial Reviews

In World War II, the United States fought Japan for control of the Pacific islands, but what about the people who already lived on those islands? This brief and powerful story will help to keep alive the memory of indigenous families caught in the crossfire between the Japanese and American armies. Kento, son of a Japanese official, and Joseph, a villager, are friends on the island of Saipan in the spring of 1944, and it is their friendship and experiences during the war, related in Joseph's first-person point of view, that will bring history home. The final scene, in which thousands of Japanese men, women and children make suicidal leaps off Bonzai Cliff into the sea-and others are butchered before they ever get to the precipice-is so horrifying that this small tale will long linger. The understated design, which includes Japanese characters in the chapter titles and brief, impressionistic poems as chapter lead-ins, makes this volume stand out. An important and little-known perspective on World War II. (historical note, further reading) (Historical fiction. 11-14)

Kirkus Reviews

Flood’s (Sand to Stone and Back Again) first novel recounts a story of a forbidden friendship on the Japanese island of Saipan during WWII. Thirteen-year-old cousins Kento and Joseph have been friends forever, but are divided by class when the war intensifies. Kento is half Japanese, while Joseph is one of the natives, who are suspected of being spies for the Americans. Restrictions and curfews multiply for the islanders, but the boys figure out a way to remain friends in secret, as Joseph shares survival skills with Kento, who teaches him kanji in return. “The Japanese may have taken our stores, our schools, even our lands, but they could not take this,” Joseph affirms. When the Americans invade, Joseph’s father tasks him with keeping his mother, sister, and nephew safe, and Joseph wonders if he has risked his family’s safety by trusting Kento. Drawing from true events in Saipan’s tragic history, Flood’s concise and passionate fictionalized account raises myriad complicated questions about friendship, family, and honor. Through Joseph’s eyes, readers experience the pain of war and loss firsthand. Ages 11-14. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

"This brief and powerful story will help to keep alive the memory of indigenous families caught in the crossfire between the Japanese and American armies. . . . This volume stand[s] out. (historical note, further reading)" —Kirkus Reviews

* "Intense and powerful reading that avoids bleakness by celebrating family, culture, and a longing for peace." —Booklist, starred review

"Because this is a topic not often covered in young adult literature, this will be an excellent addition to historical fiction collections." —Library Media Connection

"Joseph is an engaging and three-dimensional character. . . . A useful endnote separates fact from fiction. A unique and important addition to World War II fiction." —School Library Journal

From the Publisher

Gr 5–9—This taut, poetic story of Saipan, set before and during the U.S. invasion of the island in spring 1944, is narrated by the 13-year-old son of a local village chief. To the Japanese, who have occupied the island since 1922, controlling schools and stores, restricting movement, and enforcing curfews with violence, Joseph's people are gai-jin ("barbaric outsiders"). Still, he and Kento, son of Joseph's aunt and a Japanese administrator, have grown up as friends. Though Kento wants to be a samurai, he also longs to be an island warrior like Joseph, able to live off the land and protect his mother and sister. As war comes closer, the two trade lessons in island survival for lessons in Japanese characters. But their loyalties are tested. Before he leaves with the other village men to clear airfields, Joseph's father shows him the secret cave where his people have waited out generations of invasions—and when U.S. troops arrive, Joseph must lead his family there to survive the brutal crossfire. Short, well-paced chapters reveal the rich cultural life of the villagers and lead to a dramatic end that includes the shocking suicide march of Japanese citizens off the island cliffs. Joseph is an engaging and three-dimensional character. Compelling relationships form the heart of the story and aid his growth as he learns what it really means to be a warrior. A useful endnote separates fact from fiction. A unique and important addition to World War II fiction.—Riva Pollard, Prospect Sierra Middle School, El Cerrito, CA

School Library Journal