We are Not Free

 1. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Chee, Traci. 2020. We are not free. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 

ISBN 9780358131434

2. PLOT SUMMARY

After the attack on Pearl Harbor, fourteen Japanese American teens’ lives have changed.  They deal with unfair treatment, fear, and uncertainty.  Then one by one, different parts of their neighborhood are forced to evacuate.  They will soon see what life will be like in their new homes, incarceration camps.  

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Told in the point of view of fourteen Japanese American teens, this is an emotional and very real account of what life was like for a Japanese American after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. The complexity of each character is developed very well and the reader can sympathize with the teens’s emotions.  “We’re throwing punches, we’re getting bloody” shows Frankie and Shig’s need to get their anger out. Their anger and frustration is understandable as their lives are turned upside down.  They face cruel treatment as white people jump them because of the way they look,  buy most of their belongings for pennies on the dollar, or call them “Jap'' or “Nip.”  

While it is interesting to see each of the fourteen lives of these teenagers, it can be hard to keep up with all of these characters.  However, each chapter builds on the last.  For example chapter four, Hiromi-Bette, ends with Frankie helping Bette up out of the mud and taking her back to the dance.  While the reader is familiar with Frankie, the next chapter capitalizes on this and begins with Frankie’s life in the incarceration camps.  The book is put together very methodically which makes it easier to read.  

As the reader sees the unimaginable hardships the Japanese Americans face, the book will leave you with strong messages of perseverance.  “Gaman” as the Japanese call it.  

The author’s note gives her reasoning behind telling the story.  She mentions “...this story has always been personal for me…” because this is what happened to her family. She interviewed many relatives and their personal experiences inspired parts of her book and even the title.  Although these are real historical events, she tells the reader “...I have occasionally bent the details…” to make the story more interesting.  The author’s dedication in telling this story, her research, and interviews bring this historical event to life.  

4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

Michael L. Printz Honor Award

Walter Dean Myers Honor Award

Finalist, National Book Awards 2020 for Young People's Literature

Yalsa’s Best Fiction for Young Adults

Booklist, STARRED REVIEW: "Chee is a master storyteller…. Here, she uses her own San Francisco–based Japanese American family's history to inform a blazing and timely indictment of the incarceration of Japanese Americans during WWII. Her passion and personal involvement combine with her storytelling talents to create a remarkable and deeply moving account of the incarceration…. [We Are Not Free] should become required curriculum reading on a shameful and relevant chapter in U.S. history."

Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW: "A compelling and transformative story of a tragic period in American history....Each voice is powerful, evoking raw emotions of fear, anger, resentment, uncertainty, grief, pride, and love....An unforgettable must-read.​"

Publisher’s Weekly STARRED REVIEW:  "Inspired by Chee’s family history, the book powerfully depicts, as an author’s note states, “a mere fraction of what this generation went through.” This is an essential contribution to the understanding of the wide-ranging experiences impacting people of Japanese ancestry in the U.S. during WWII."

School Library Journal, STARRED REVIEW: "The novel may be fiction, but it will be hard for readers not to fall deep into the harsh realities these teens face. The writing is engaging and emotionally charged, allowing the readers to connect with each character...Chee’s words are a lot to take in, but necessary and beautiful all the same.”

5. CONNECTIONS

Other books with similar themes: 

Diaz, Natasha. Color me in         ISBN 9780525578239

Stone, Nic.       Dear Martin        ISBN 9781101939499

To learn more about this subject, students could do an inquiry research project. 

Students could create a timeline with pictures to depict the history in this book. 

Students could compare/contrast Japanese internment camps to Nazi Concentration Camps