These were the key aspects of the book which I particularly loved: The long-distance love and friendship between Alex and Charlie But nothing can dispel the light between them.Īs Andrew Fukuda explains in the Author’s Note of the book, this story was inspired by two key historical facts: that Anne Frank had an American pen pal, and that part of the concentration camp which the American military liberated was by the segregated Japanese-American unit.

From the desolation of an internment camp on the plains of Manzanar to the horrors of Auschwitz and the devastation of European battlefields, the only thing they can hold onto are the memories of their letters. Until the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the growing Nazi persecution of Jews force both young people to confront the darkest aspects of human nature. In spite of Alex’s reluctance, their letters continue to fly across the Atlantic, along with the shared hopes and dreams of friendship. In 1935, ten-year-old Alex Maki, from Bainbridge Island, Washington, is disgusted when he’s forced to become pen pals with Charlie Lévy of Paris, France-a girl. Hopefully this book delivers.”-Andrew Fukuda I remember how much I wanted to write a story that did right by them. But nothing can dispel the light between them.“I remember visiting Manzanar and standing in the windswept plains where over ten thousand internees were once imprisoned, their voices cut off. Until the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the growing Nazi persecution of Jews force them to confront the darkest aspects of human nature.įrom the desolation of an internment camp on the plains of Manzanar to the horrors of Auschwitz and the devastation of European battlefields, the only thing they can hold onto are the memories of their letters. In spite of Alex's reluctance, their letters continue to fly across the Atlantic-and along with them, the shared hopes and dreams of friendship. In 1935, ten-year-old Alex Maki from Bainbridge Island, Washington is disgusted when he's forced to become pen pals with Charlie Lévy of Paris, France-a girl. Hopefully this book delivers.'-Andrew Fukuda 'I remember visiting Manzanar and standing in the windswept plains where over ten thousand internees were once imprisoned, their voices cut off.

For fans of The Librarian Of Auschwitz, This Light Between Us is a powerfully affecting story of World War II about the unlikeliest of pen pals-a Japanese American boy and a French Jewish girl-as they fight to maintain hope in a time of war.

This light between us andrew fukuda