I finally had the chance to read this book (a whole year later from when I was given it) and I absolutely loved it. The poetry-like prose, the hard-hitting stories of each character, and the story this book was telling, in general. It's an important for every young adult across America and I hope that generations get to grow up with this in curriculum somehow.

Such an inspirational and realistic setting that takes readers back to world war 2 and the struggles Asian-Americans faced!!! A raw vulnerability was found that made me wish for for as I got to the last page!

Thoughts and Themes: I had been meaning to read this book for a while but I knew I had to listen to it on audio otherwise I wouldn’t be able to keep up with the story. Some books are like that for me and listening to audio makes it easier to follow along. I’m glad that I finally got the chance to listen to this one though because it is a well-told story.

I had heard about the history of Japanese internment camps briefly during my high school years but it was something mentioned and then never discussed. I had found young adult historical fiction to be a great way to learn more about historical events that I otherwise would not know about. This book was beautifully written and has so many moments that I had to pause to really take in the story that is being told.

Something that I liked about this book is that it is focused on their lives in the internment camps but also shows their struggles as teenagers. You get to see these characters rebelling against their parents, figuring out who they are, and falling in love. I like that each of the characters are asking themselves similar questions and how they are all questioning what “free” really means. I also like the commentary that this book makes about the way Americans were treating Japanese people in this time and how these teenagers were struggling with how they were viewed. Many times the characters point out that they are treated as criminals and being insistent to themselves that this is not what or who they are.

Characters: There are several characters included throughout this book as you are slowly introduced to each of them through the 14 perspectives given. In each section, you get introduced to the main character of that chapter but also to the others that this character interacts with. I think the multiple character was a part that was complicated for me. I really wanted to learn more about each of the characters but as the chapter ended and you feel like okay I know them a little, you suddenly were in a different character’s world. While each of these characters is living in the same places, with similar events happening around them, they each have their own take on these events.

Something that I really enjoyed about each of these characters was the friendships that they had with each other. I liked how you saw their friendships begin during their time in San Francisco and how that friendship only grows stronger when they are taken from their homes. I liked seeing how they relied on each other for strength and support while they live in the internment camps, and how they never lose sight of each other.

Writing Style: This story is told from the perspective of 14 different teenagers who are living in the Japanese internment camps. At times the story is told in the first person, the third person, and occasionally it goes into the second person. I really liked the shift in different persons and felt that this really added to the way you see each of the characters.

When I first started this book I was worried that I would get confused with all the different perspectives that are shared throughout this book. I was even more worried as I was listening to it on audio and trying to follow along with the e-book. I was glad to have all the different perspectives though and thought the way it transitions between each character was well-done.

This story also includes newsletter clippings or other fliers that were passing through that time. What I loved about the audiobook is that it would read these pieces to you, it was hard for me to read them on e-book because of the small font so I was glad to have them read to me. I think that these pieces also add to the story because through each perspective you are seeing their daily lives but these pieces move the story to the next character. These clips add to the transition between each of the characters and allow the reader to connect each of the stories.

This book was so amazing! I had a lot of fun handselling it over the winter holidays. Great historical fiction and I can't wait to see what Traci Chee writes next. She is an author to watch.

I loved this novel and can not wait to adapt to my curriculum for next year! I am excited for the students to see new voices and stories in literature.

TW: Racism, violence, descriptions of war

So it’s been a few been a few hours since I finished this book and my heart is still weeping. I have been emotionally sucker punched and I have no idea what to do now. How do you get over a book like this?

We are not free.

But we are not alone

– WE ARE NOT FREE BY TRACI CHEE
So basically this is the story of 14 Japanese American teens whose lives are altered when they and their families are forced out of their homes and the routine of their lives, to live in incarceration camps by the U.S. government during World War 2.

This book examines the timeline of the pre-incarceration to the after the closing of the last incarceration camp through 14 different POV’s. That’s right, 14!

That may sound daunting but let me tell you that it was the easiest multiple point of view’s book I have ever read in my life. Each character’s voice is so inherently different from one another in the way they view the world and their interests as well as their storylines. I never confused one voice for another because of how different the voices and how their stories were told. It was breathtaking.

We breathe at last.
It was also completely heartbreaking to read such raw emotions – pain, anger, sadness, happiness, fear and a plethora of so much more. To read about their experiences and to know that these are based on real life stories that actually happened is so surreal.

To read about the racism, dismissal because of their race, the mistreatment made me feel so angry and I think that was the point of this book. To tell a story not just evoke emotions in readers but also to educate readers on history so we are not doomed to repeat them. Cliche but absolutely true.

I also like the media that are included between chapter breaks. It makes the book so immersive and it gives the book some real background story for those who may need it as there are many international readers who may know about this tragic time in history.

See, we don’t got liberty, we don’t got property, but you better believe we’ve got the Great American Right to die for a country that doesn’t want us.
The parts which invoked visceral emotions in me was the fact that against the background of such a tumultuous time, these teens were able to go through such beautiful teens things – romance, sports, maintaining friendships and the platonic love, things that we take for granted but these kids grasped on to. It makes you think.

The writing was so good. It was easy to follow and wasn’t flowery. Cause even though English was my first language, there are idioms and imagery that I can’t keep up with but it wasn’t the case with this book. There was a chapter with a bit of flowery imagery but it was easy to follow, and help distinguish the chapter’s owner’s voice.

Overall, I loved this book and I am going to get a physical copy for myself to read this again and annotate the heck out of it. It is obvious that the author put a lot of love into this story and it shows in the writing. I recommend this book for everyone to read but also head the trigger warnings. If you are able to, please read this book.

We Are Not Free follows a group of Japanese-American friends as their world is turned upside down after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.  This book captures, through multiple perspectives a part of American history that is shameful and has been hidden.  A must read for young adults and adults alike.

Well done Knocked my socks off. Terrific writing sucked me into the story. The internment camps and the citizens of the United States were so compelling, and I shudder to think this happened less than 80 years ago

We Are Not Free by Traci Chee is an emotional story about a group of second generation Japanese-American teens from San Francisco and how their lives are upended by WWII and the forced incarceration of Japanese-Americans following the attack on Pearl Harbor.  This book follows the group through each teen's own points of view throughout making for an interesting and emotionally impactful style of reading.  After we leave one teen's point of view and another one is introduced, we are still able to follow the group through their various connections and letters.  

While some may find the shifting view points and narration styles a little difficult to adjust to, for me personally, it really intensified my emotional connection to the characters to see and read about each of them through so many varying points of view.  It also made for a unique format due to the various types of narrators as some read as straight narration, some are in verse, some include letters, and there are also pictures showing some of the places mentioned in the book.  I think the format will draw in reluctant readers and make the 400+ page book seem not as intimidating for those readers.  This book is an important ones for teens to read as it shows a part of US history that is mainly "glossed" over in classrooms.  When I was in school (20 years ago) I remember only briefly learning about the incarceration of Japanese-Americans with many of the issues they faced being completely left out.  After reading this book and George Takei's They Called Us Enemy I can see how important not just for our history these stories are but also for things going on in the United States as it is today.  This book will not only help readers better understand this time in history but how those effects are still felt today.  It will spark a lot of discussion and important conversations for not just teens, but also adult readers as well.  I would recommend this book to those who enjoyed George Takei's book or those with an interest in historical fiction, though the writing style feels more contemporary so it will appeal to many types of fiction readers as well.

I normally don't read historical fiction, but this one seemed so interesting and got so much buzz! I was lucky enough to win it during YALLWest's online festival, and finally got around to reading it last weekend. The story is moving, and the characters are all super accessible for it to be historical. It's a fascinating novel for sure!

I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect when I went into this book since this is Traci Chee’s first work of historical fiction and her previous work was epic fantasy. Mostly I was just expecting it to be stellar, and indeed it was.

One of the things I praised The Reader for was innovative storytelling techniques, and that strength of Chee’s carries over into We Are Not Free. Juggling fourteen different points of view is no small task, and Chee executes this with grace and creativity. The story spans about three years total and chronologically follows a different character for each chapter/section of the book as various events and developments occur, from the initial order to leave San Francisco to the homecoming. While most chapters utilize first person narration, there is one chapter that deviates and uses second person, as well as another chapter that is not from one perspective but rather the combined perspectives of all of the characters.

Although all but one of the points of view are written in first person, they don’t blend together or get repetitive. Each viewpoint is constructed in a way that highlights the distinctive qualities of every character. Each chapter builds on the previous ones and adds a layer to the painting, deepening the portrayals of all of the characters, not just the one who’s speaking. Every character has a different reaction to the experience of incarceration and their thoughts and feelings and the personalities that inform them are built into the narration. Some are written like journal entries, others styled as letters to another character, and one even takes the form of poetry/verse. These stylistic shifts serve to disorient and reorient the readers like a turning kaleidoscope.

What makes this story so great is the expansive and diverse emotional landscapes painted in these fourteen points of view, individually and taken together. They are complex and dynamic, ranging from optimism, to resolve, to resentment, to fury, to numbness, and beyond. The writing deftly conveys the rawness of the injustice and trauma these young people are facing.

Dark as the circumstances may be, this story does not succumb to nihilism. The characters work to establish a new normal and support network in the face of immense upheaval. Their deep love for one another and their families comprises the core of this book. As Yum-Yum says, “We are not free. But we are not alone.” Against the odds, they carve out a space for resistance, hope, and even joy–together, as a community.

Interspersed throughout the chapters are photos, illustrations, correspondences, news articles, and so on–some drawing from real archival sources, others fabricated for the purpose of the book–documenting Japanese American incarceration through a visual medium that helps further immerse readers in the time period. I personally love when books are crafted to enrich the reader experience beyond the prose; the added texture brings another dimension to the story.

If I had to pick favorites among the viewpoint characters, it would be Frankie and Minnow. Frankie spends most of his chapter blazing in incandescent rage at his situation, with no outlet for catharsis. This resonated with my memories of my own teen years. Of course, I was not subjected to the violence of incarceration, but I did feel the weight of racism and mistreatment from society, and I definitely lashed out in anger because I didn’t know how to process my emotions constructively. These similarities between us made Frankie’s character all the more real and compelling for me.

Then there’s Minnow, who has the special status of narrating two chapters, the first and the last, whose perspective bookends the story. He is one of the youngest of the group, forced to grow up too much, too soon, and his sensitivity and artist’s eye imbue the story with a delicate, aching sentimentality that lingers even after you’ve turned the last page.

The TL;DR version: We Are Not Free is a gorgeously written masterpiece of fiction that makes a painful but still relevant history accessible to young people.

Content/trigger warnings: racism (including anti-Japanese slurs), physical assault, torture, war, death, grief

Absolutely impressive, nuanced account of America's concentration camps during the period around Japanese internment during WW2. The use of multiple perspectives in an interconnected group of teenaged friends and their siblings, while at time is a touch difficult to follow (I could have used a slightly more descriptive character list at the beginning), I found this exactly this historical fiction that will not only help teens empathize as they see themselves in the characters who are both enduring persecution and also just living life as teens, but also gain a greater understanding of why Asian people have become the "model minority" as a survival strategy.

In this National Book Award finalist, tells the story of fourteen Japanese Nisei teens who have grown up in San Francisco’s Japantown during their incarceration during World War II. Well-written and researched, this book makes clear what happened. So many Japanese are reticent to talk about their time in the camps, I am glad Chee wrote this book.

This was a fantastic but difficult read. I did struggle to find a sense of cohesion and continuity, and I wish that we got to see more of certain characters. The book's structure tended to make me care for a character, and then rip them away for a new POV, which was clearly the point, but made it difficult for me to stay engaged at times.
Nevertheless, I think this is a great and important read, and I will be recommending it.

This was an incredible story that needs to be read by everyone. Internment was a horrible thing that happened to Japanese American and we need those stories to be told.

It’s 1942 and fourteen teens from Japantown in the Bay Area each narrate a chapter describing their forced removal, incarceration in detention centers, and eventual release.  Each narrator moves the story ahead in time and together their voices fill in the detail life for those who stayed in the camps until release, those who left earlier but were not allowed to return to the west coast, those who left to fight with the 442nd, and those who chose to be repatriated to Japan.  All the voices are strong and distinct, book-ended by one of the youngest, Minnow, who sets the story in motion as he tries to keep up with his two older brothers and their friends, then used art to keep everyone’s memories alive.  An essential read.  National Book Award finalist.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

I was glued to this book. This story is one I've only heard about fairly recently (from George Takei, whose family was interned) and it deserves to be more well-known, especially in light of recent political events. Chee's writing is vibrant and lyrical, and she switches between the different viewpoints effortlessly. It's both heartbreaking and somehow uplifting, and I loved it.

Many thanks to Netgalley and to the publisher for providing me with a free e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Emotionally this book pushed me to the edge. I am sitting here feeling something that I don’t even know how to describe because mere words can’t do it justice. 

This beautiful, historical fiction story about Japanese-American internment camps starts three months after the attack on Pearl Harbor. This story is told from the perspective of fourteen different teens. I must admit initially I thought reading a story with that many perspectives was going to be overwhelming and too difficult to follow. But I was wrong it was done in such a way that each story flows into the next making it very easy to follow. 

Fourteen Japanese-American teenagers who had grown up together in Japantown, San Francisco had their world turned upside down when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor. Anyone of Japanese ethnicity had become enemy number one in the United States. Japantown was cleared out and the residents were thrown into internment camps. The adversity that they faced was unimaginable but they didn’t give up. Yet, even after they are "freed," they have to deal with a country that is extremely racist towards them. Their communities and even families are scattered. Some left the camps earlier by pledging their allegiance to the U.S. by fighting overseas, some in high-security camps, some repatriated. Although they kept their heads held high what was taken from them can never be forgotten or replaced.

I didn’t learn about Japanese internment camps until my late thirties. Ever since I have tried to learn as much as possible about that terrible time in history. Therefore, I have read several books on the subject. None have had the impact of this book.  The emotions are so real and so raw and so incredibly powerful and absolutely necessary, especially right now. Maybe it is because of everything that is going on in the world today such as the detention centers at our borders. History can repeat if we don’t learn from our past failures. This book should be a part of every high school curriculum. Highly recommended.

I won this book as part of a contest and delivery method was NetGalley. Book was not provided with intention of needing review but I am happy to post one. This is an amazing book that everyone should read.. It has 14 different character POV’s during WWII and what it was like for Japanese Americans put in interment camps as our government like they were a threat to our country.. This part of history does not get as much attention but it is so important. A wonderful, powerful, and very emotionally heavy read. There is a lot to process and I think this book will stick with me for a long time.

This novel is a historical fiction that starts three months since the attack on pearl harbor. Readers will be taken through a heartbreaking and yet beautiful journey of the 14 Japanese American who were ripped from their neighborhood in San Francisco and were forced to live off in incarceration camps during WWII.

We Are Not Free is one of the best books I’ve read this year, maybe in my whole life! After being engrossed by Kiku Hughes graphic novel, Displacement, which was also a story about the Japanese American internment, I was easily sucked in by Traci Chee’s stunning and powerful writing. We Are Not Free is written in 14, yes you read that right, 14 different POV’s with characters of different age groups. It sounds intimidating but it surprisingly worked so well for me. In fact, it was one of the many reasons why I couldn’t stop reading the book. The way Traci Chee wrote each chapter was incredible as you can really feel the individuality and difference of each characters. You can also notice how detailed and yet poetic the writing was. Each chapter, each POV really brought an emotion out of me. It’s amazing how readable and impacting this book is.

As I’ve mentioned above, the story started few months after the bombing of Pearl Harbor and we saw how ordinary the lives of young teens were. I really liked how the timeline was done in this story and that even though the book has 14 POV’s, it was written chronologically. This way, the book made it easy for us to follow their stories. I really wouldn’t want to elaborate the whole plot even more here in my review as I wanted for you to experience it yourself. It’s devastating and absolutely riveting, I had to put the book down at some point just so I can process what was happening in the novel. The injustice, how they were mistreated and the racial fear they had to go through. Probably one of the saddest part of reading this novel is realizing that what they went through is still happening in the present time, just in different ways.

I don’t think I’ll forget this book anytime soon. It will always be at the tip of my tongue when someone will ask for a book recommendation. It is a necessary and incredible book. By reading this book, you may feel the pain, racism, and fear but this will also bring you joy, laughter, and will make you realize the power of friendship. Truly, a masterpiece!