Within These Lines by Stephanie Morrill

Thanks to the publisher for sending me a free copy of the book.

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

Evalina Cassano’s life in an Italian-American family in 1941 is everything it “should be” until she falls in love with Taichi Hamasaki, the son of Japanese immigrants. Despite the scandal it would cause and that inter-racial marriage is illegal in California, Evalina and Taichi vow they will find a way to be together. But anti-Japanese feelings erupt across the country after the attack on Pearl Harbor, and Taichi and his family are forced to give up their farm and move to an internment camp.

Degrading treatment make life at Manzanar Relocation Center difficult. Taichi’s only connection to the outside world are treasured letters from Evalina. Feeling that the only action she can take to help Taichi is to speak out on behalf of all Japanese Americans, Evalina becomes increasingly vocal at school and at home. Meanwhile, inside Manzanar, fighting between different Japanese-American factions arises. Taichi begins to doubt he will ever leave the camp alive.

With tensions running high and their freedom on the line, Evalina and Taichi must hold true to their values and believe in their love to make a way back to each other against unbelievable odds. 

Review:

I always appreciate an author who does their research, especially when it comes to historical fiction. And I love learning from the historical fiction that I read. Morrill’s new book Within These Lines hit both marks for me, and I’m very excited to be able to recommend it to readers.

The Japanese internment camps of WWII are a part of our history that I’m only vaguely familiar with. I could walk you through a general, very sketchy outline of what happened, but that’s where my knowledge ends. Partly because I don’t believe I ever learned about them in history classes, and partly because the majority of WWII fiction I read takes place in other countries. So having the opportunity to learn about them in such an engaging and palatable way really helped me to absorb what I was learning. And like I said, I don’t have much knowledge of this part of our history, but as a reader, Morrill’s content felt legitimate and thoroughly researched. She described the setting and layout in a way that put me right there in the camp with Taichi and his family, experiencing all of the sights, sounds, smells, and textures. That type of authenticity is, in my opinion, very important in writing a believable and worthy story of historical fiction.

I also really appreciated the characters in this book. I loved that we were presented with a cast that expressed a range of attitudes toward the situation of the times. Evalina and Aiko (Taichi’s sister) were strong, outspoken, sometimes snarky and sarcastic (Aiko), strong female characters who had me shaking my fist in solidarity. Taichi was the considerate, soft spoken character who was continually putting others ahead of himself and never wanted to risk unpleasantries on the behalf of anyone close to him. Obviously there are many more characters in this book, but these three stuck with me the longest.

And finally, I really enjoyed the love story that unfolded between Evalina and Taichi. I’m a sucker for an “against the odds” relationship, especially in this type of a setting. It adds a dash of hope to a story that can feel so horribly overwhelming. And I’ll admit that my heart was in my throat as I read these pages, cheering them on and hoping they’d come out on the other side stronger and with a promising future. (Don’t ask, because I’m not going to tell. You have to read it to find out. You’re welcome.)

From a teen’s perspective (because technically, that’s the intended audience), I think this book is going to hold a lot of appeal. The history lesson is palatable, told in a way that isn’t overwhelming or too dry or technical that would turn readers off. And the love story between Evalina and Taichi is realistic and engaging. Despite living in a different era, they’re relatable and real.

Highly recommend. ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Author stats: Website – Facebook – Twitter

Book stats: Hardcover, 352 pages, Blink, March 5, 2019

Thanks to TLC Book Tours for organizing this tour. Follow the rest of the tour stops Here.