Reviews

Aleutian Sparrow by Karen Hesse, Kim McGillivray, Evon Zerbetz

fozlandgirl's review against another edition

dark reflective sad fast-paced

4.0

iffer's review against another edition

3.0

Although I didn't love the poetry in this book, I do feel that simplicity and clarity of voice necessitated by using verse helped convey the starkness of the Aleutian refugee experience through the eyes of a child. Hesse touches upon the tip of the iceberg that is the Aleutian WWII refugee experience, and the tip of the larger iceberg that is comprised of history's forgotten and glossed over stories.

I'm glad that Aleutian Sparrow introduced me to the fighting in the Aleutian Islands and the effects upon the Aleutian people, and I wish to learn more about it. I think that this book would be a great springboard for discussing a plethora of complex historical and multicultural ideas with younger readers.

tullyndmom's review against another edition

4.0

This was a quick and interesting read. The story is a firsthand fictionalized account of the relocation of the inhabitants of the Aleutian Islands during World War II, told in vignettes.

The invasion and subsequent bombing of the Aleutian Islands in Alaska was an aspect of World War II I had not been aware of, despite being a bit of a history buff. This slim book tells the story of the Aleuts who were relocated by the US government to protect them from becoming collateral damage from the American and Canadian efforts to retake the islands. Unfortunately, the conditions in the camps the Aleuts were relocated to resulted in many of them becoming collateral damage in other ways. (Although the inhabitants of Attu island who were relocated to camps in Japan had an even worse situation.)

Read my full review on my blog: https://wordpress.com/view/readingmyway.blog
I am reading my way across the USA - 3-5 books set in each state, with an emphasis on finding that sense of place where the setting is essential to the story.

cheryl6of8's review against another edition

4.0

This is a young adult novel in short free verse poems -- an unusual style, but a beautiful story and by a Newbery Winning author. It tells a story I knew nothing about -- the evacuation of the Aleutian Islanders to Ketchikan because of the attempted Japanese invasion. The natives paid a heavy price of isolation, loss of 1/4 of the people evacuated to pneumonia and TB and alcoholism, while the Japanese quickly were replaced by US forces, some of whom destroyed the homes and villages on the islands out of sheer boredom. It is a beautiful story with bittersweet notes, the struggle to maintain traditional ways in an alien environment, the punishment imposed for being different by "their own" country, and the attempt to build a good and happy life instead of just passing the time.

One of the early passages captures a lot of my reaction to the work as a whole:

PRISONERS OF WAR

Somewhere nearby, we hear, is a camp for German prisoners of war.
They are well fed, we hear.
They have cots and blankets, every last one. They have room to stretch their long legs. And good sanitation and an infirmary.
They are provided a clean, safe place to live, a variety of foods and recreation. They are not expected to contribute in any way to their keep.

We are citizens of the United States, taken from our homes. We did nothing wrong, and yet we get little to eat and no doctoring, and our toilet is an open trough washing into the creek.
No seats.
Just a run of water flowing in at one end, flushing waste out the other.
The German prisoners and the flies think our government has devised a very good system.

twistinthetale's review against another edition

4.0

This is exceptional writing- each word carefully chosen, expressive and emotive, powerfully capturing feeling and thought. Hesse is a true wordsmith. Loved the subject of the book - the Aleutian evacuation during WW2, which I knew nothing about. An added bonus in the audio version is the oral history provided by one if the evacuees.

ainiali's review

5.0

4.5 stars

There is a group of indigenous people who live in a string of islands where it sits on, according to Wikipedia, both the US and Russian territory, called Aleutian. The story presented by Ms Hesse is something that happened to them during WW2 in 1942-1945. It follows Vera, an Aleutian teenager in the time where hers & 4 other village were relocated into a forest. The reason was to ensure the safety of the people from Japanese attacks.

Just imagine, a group of people that grew up & live their entire life at the shore, with the sea & its creature was 'force' for 'safety' to a dense forest. They had to survive starting from zero knowledge of the environment, without proper facility & prejudice of the neighboring village. There were kind souls who helped but they only could give, they couldn't promise survival. And even after the war ended, they still need to get permission to go back to their own home. What's left of their village was devastating...

"Our very culture stolen or destroyed, not by the enemy, but by our own countrymen."

"Worldwide

Our government spends large sums of money to place lives back together.

No money is spent here.

War leaves ugly scars."

The story is a fiction based on a true events. Told in verses makes it a quick read. I was surprised that this book has not win any award at all with the message that it trying to tell.

mslibrarynerd's review against another edition

5.0

I was hesitant to start this book, worried that the short poems might be boring or that it would fail to tell the story. But I loved it, read the whole thing in a day and have such strong emotional attachments to the story and the characters, including the places they loved. This is a piece of history I had never heard about and am so glad that this book exists to try to tell a little bit about how the American government interred people during WWII.

mon_ique's review against another edition

I'm one of the Americans who's never heard of these events.
Displacement, grief, neglect, racism. The horrific effects of war and human domination are elegantly (albeit a bit impersonally) expressed through the lense of a fictional young girl.

thatbookishwriter's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective medium-paced

4.25

karschmidtholloway's review against another edition

5.0

A stark contrast between the poetry of the writing and the ugliness of the topic. I was a fan of Karen Hesse from reading Phoenix Rising in high school. It's definitely a different kind of writing, but surprisingly the tone still felt familiar even though Phoenix Rising isn't about war.