Four-Four-Two

The book's title refers to the 100th/442nd Regimental Combat Team, which was composed entirely of Issei and Nisei (first-generation Japanese immigrants and their children, respectively) who served in WWII, and which earned the name Purple Heart Battalion because so many of its soldiers were either wounded or killed in battle. In December 1941, Hughes's protagonist, Berkeley high-schooler Yuki Nakahara, watches helplessly as FBI agents arrest his father as a spy and unceremoniously haul him away. Less than six months later, Yuki and his siblings, all American citizens, are deported with their mother to the Topaz internment camp in Utah. Yet Yuki decides to join the army because he believes it's the only way he'll "ever be respected in this country." Readers follow him through basic training; the agonies of battle, loss, and injury; and his return home. Events, characters, and dialogue create an indelible sense of time and place. When Yuki's mother protests her husband's arrest, an FBI agent spits out: "That's enough, lady. Your husband's a sneaky little slant-eyed Jap. That's all we need to know." A Denver barber refuses to "cut Jap hair" even though Yuki is wearing his Silver Star and Purple Heart. Yuki's wish to put it all behind him realistically characterizes so many of "the greatest generation"; his father's lack of physical affection is a cultural marker; and the sweet, naive romance with the girl back home reflects the times. A predictable story arc lessens the novel's tension; still, Yuki emerges as a true hero during a dark period of American history. betty carter

In 1942, Yuki and his siblings, all American citizens, are deported with their mother to the Topaz internment camp. Yet Yuki joins the army because he believes it's the only way he’ll "ever be respected in this country." Events, characters, and dialogue create an indelible sense of time and place. Yuki emerges as a true hero during a dark period of American history.