Based on true events, Sandra Dallas tells a remarkable tale of a small farm town in Colorado that now contains an internment camp for Japanese Americans during WW2. While some townsfolk offered the newcomers jobs and treated them like anyone else, others were afraid and did not take too kindly to the long term visitors..
The difficult thing with reading about our nation’s history (and the history of the world) is that a lot of it isn’t great. America, like all countries, has had some dark events in her past. One of those being that, while our troops were off fighting Germany, Japan and Italy in the second World War, Americans of those same descents were being herded to “internment camps” on American soil. These brave souls, after renouncing citizenship of their countries of origin, moved to the land of the free and the home of the brave only to be accused of being spies. This story, focusing on one Japanese internment camp (it would be interesting to know if any books were written about internment camps that housed German Americans and/or Italian Americans) was, at times, infuriating to read.
It was a riveting portrayal of the racism and small minded thinking that used to plague this country. To think that entire ethnic groups could be judged by the actions of a few? Thankfully, white Americans did come to their senses, especially after many Japanese Americans enlisted to fight for America against their former countrymen. They were now Americans and they wanted to serve their country.
There is no denying that America has some dark spots in its history. However, America has also triumphed over evil multiple times. Our ancestors defeated the evils of tyranny, slavery, segregation and much more. No matter what certain people try to lead us to believe, America has more freedoms than any other country. This is why there are so many people who have immigrated here; they know they will have a better life. Unfortunately, there are some people who try and take advantage of the freedoms of America, but there are many (like the Japanese Americans who fought for us in WW2) who consider America their home country even if they were born in a different one.
Lots to think about after reading this novel and left me wanting to read more historical fiction.