The Moon Bridge

World War II becomes all-too real for Ruthie Fox when her best friend, Mitzi Fujimoto, and her family are sent to an Arkansas internment camp, in a novel that introduces young readers to the racism of Japanese-American internment.

Grade 3-6-- Fifth-grade Ruthie befriends fourth-grade Mitzi in San Francisco just as America enters World War II. Anti-Japanese feeling runs high, and both girls must struggle against blind prejudice (Mitzi is Japanese-American). Though loving detail of both time and place firmly anchor this novel in history, it is basically the story of a friendship that grows through adversity. At first a bit reluctantly, later with increasing courage, Ruthie defends Mitzi when she is taunted by bigoted and belligerent classmates. She loses her best friend, Shirl, in the process, but there are also a few pleasant surprises: a strict, disliked teacher turns out to have more moral fiber than a suave, adored one, and Ruthie's taciturn father proves an unexpected ally. Her wrestling with many principles is realistically portrayed with all the stops and starts of an 11-year-old, as she struggles with her own feelings of right and wrong, indignation and guilt, hope and impotence. Savin's style is graceful and her dialogue highly believable, as is her psychological acuity in character development. Mitzi and her family's internment is devastating for both girls. Yoshiko Uchida's Journey to Topaz (Creative Arts, 1985) and Journey Home (Aladdin, 1982) tell of this blot on American history from the viewpoint of one of its victims. Savin gives us the standpoint of the friends of conscience who endeavor to maintain the friendship despite the overwhelming forces of society. As such, it makes a fine complement to Uchida's classics. --John Philbrook, San Francisco Public Library
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Savin sets her first children's novel in San Francisco during 1942-1945 when Japanese-Americans were forced into internment camps to deflect possible espionage activity. Ruthie, a fifth-grader, is shocked when her best friend taunts new student Mitzi Fujimoto. After Ruthie defends the girl, she is ostracized as well and inwardly blames Mitzi for her troubles. But Ruthie and Mitzi eventually forge a meaningful alliance, until the Fujimotos are dispatched to an internment center. The girls correspond, but lose touch when Mitzi and her family are transferred to a camp in Arkansas. After the war, the two friends reunite and, though both are changed by their experiences, discover that their mutual affection remains. While the author's writing style is not particularly distinctive--and occasionally awkward phraseology disrupts the narrative flow--her book commendably depicts a shameful period in America's history. An afterword providing historical perspective may spark discussion among curious readers. Ages 8-12.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.