We Are Not Free by Traci Chee

We Are Not Free by Traci Chee a Printz Award Winner is a historical fiction book set at the beginning of World War II in the United States just after the Pearl Harbor bombing. The story follows a group of teenage friends that are first-generation Japanese. They must persevere in the face of racism, loss of home, and incarceration. The theme is about their strength to keep going after continued tragedy and insult to their character and freedom. The point of view is told mostly in the first person and second person through the eyes of each character. Kirkus Review said, “each voice is powerful, evoking raw emotions of fear, anger, resentment, uncertainty, grief, pride, and love.” Readers should be aware the story contains various ethnic slurs and foul language. However, this is an excellent book for students wanting to learn about what Japanese Americans had to endure during World War II (Young, 2020).

Critical Analysis

A message in this story that may be lost on some young adults that read this book is that sometimes life forces you to compromise your beliefs to obtain a need. For example, some of the teenagers are segregated due to answering a questionnaire that forces them to compromise their integrity to be free from the incarceration camp. I liked this part of the story because it is a universal dilemma most people face. This is an excellent topic to have students debate each other about as well as write regarding what they would do in the protagonists’ situations. Similar books include Homeland Elegies: A Novel by Ayad Khtar and Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet: A Novel by Jamie Ford.

Audiobook Details and Other Information

This review is done with the unabridged audiobook using the mobile application software called Audible. The entire audio is over ten hours. There are multiple narrators, female and male, that give distinct voices to the main characters. The different audio voices give authenticity compared to the in-print book, which makes it easier to distinguish which character is speaking. There are no sound effects and the narrators’ voices are at an acceptable level. The author’s note at the end of the audiobook explains that she obtained her ideas from real events that occurred. Similarly, she states the events are based on things that happened to her own mother and other close relatives.

References

Chee, Traci (2020). We Are Not Free (T. Kitagawa, Narr., C. Naoki Lee, Narr., S. Keiji Takeda Narr., R. Potter, Narr., E. Aishii (Narr., A. Kishino, Narr., S. Oda, Narr., K.S. Kanazawa Narr., B. Ishibashi, Narr., A. Fumiko, Narr., G. Rolek, Narr., Dn Woren, Narr.) [Audiobook]. HMH Audio. https://www.audible.com/pd/We-Are-Not-Free-Audiobook/B08YN6YF7B?action_code=ASSGB149080119000H&share_location=pdp&shareTest=TestShare

“Young Japanese Americans tell of life during World War II.” HMH Books. (2020, September 1). We are not free. Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved February 9, 2022, from https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/traci-chee/we-are-not-free/