This Light Between Us: A Novel of World War II

This Light Between Us is a beautiful novel that takes place during World War II. It tells the story of Alex and Charlie building a bond through letters. Alex is a Japanese-American teen who lives on the California coast. Charlie is a Jewish girl who lives in France.

The heartbreaking story begins when Alex’s teacher assigns foreign penpals to his class. It turns out, after a while, that Alex and Charlie are the only ones still corresponding. Soon, deeply unfortunate events happen. In France, Nazis blast propaganda and start searching people’s homes, while in California, Pearl Harbor is attacked. Prejudice bites at both characters.

Alex’s father gets taken away by the government and they have to get rid of any Japanese heritage remaining. They have to hide a part of themselves.He hates the fact that the “America” that’s supposed to be welcoming makes them hide a part of who they are to keep safe and takes their family away. Later on, Alex learns that Charlie has to hide from the Nazis and eventually gets taken to a concentration camp. Around the same time, Alex’s family gets taken to a camp in the desert.

This book was a work of art. I did take me a while to get through, though. It’s a YA novel and has vivid imagery. However, it tells an important story. Like a lot of books about this time in history, the Holocaust, and the oppression of Japanese-American people, it is quite emotional. This is a unique book told through the eyes of two penpals, and I think it would be an excellent read for ages 13 and up.