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Sometimes a teenager comes face to face with an "other." Sometimes, as in
House of the Red Fish, the "other" is the protagonist himself. Often, as in Haters, the "other"
is someone in your very own high school. This month
The Edge of the Forest reviews books featuring protagonists who must
confront the other head on. Will friends be made, or will the hating continue?
House of the Red Fish
by Graham Salisbury
Reviewed by Ilene S. Goldman, Charlotte's Journey Home
It’s 1943 Hawaii, a year and a half after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Tomi’s father and grandfather were arrested and
interned after the attack because they are Japanese citizens. The Japanese people living in Hawaii are feared and
distrusted. Thirteen-year-old Tomi’s father’s fishing sampan has been sunk in a canal by the army. Tomi lives with his
mother and little sister, goes to school, hangs out with Billy, his white best friend, and struggles at the edge of
adulthood.
Bringing Papa’s boat out of the water becomes Tomi’s quest. He no longer expects to see his father before the end of the
war. But he knows that Papa will need the boat when he returns.
Tomi narrates House of the Red Fish, sharing with the reader not only his determination, but also his fears and
nightmares. We learn through him what it was like to live in post-Pearl Harbor Hawaii, the only part of the United States to
suffer physically during the war:
“When you’ve been inside a war—standing under falling bombs, breathing the smoke,
smelling rubber burning, hearing who has died and seeing the damage all over our
once peaceful island—you can’t shake it off. They could still come back. It could
happen again.” (28)
Like many of today’s teens, Tomi navigates two worlds—his Japanese American home and the larger world. He demonstrates an
uncanny ability to move between these worlds. For instance, he notes that his schoolmates all grew up learning languages
other than English in their homes. He tells us that “because of those different languages we all spoke what was called
pidgin English so we could understand each other. Pidgin was mangled and twisted with strange words and strange
pronunciations...Some of us could turn it off and on like a light switch. Standard English, pidgin English. No problem.” (81)
Tomi has learned firsthand that war turns friends into enemies—his nemesis is Keet Wilson, a haole on whose land Tomi’s
family lives and for whose family Tomi’s mother works. Before the war, Tomi and Keet were friendly. Now, Keet hates Tomi
because he is Japanese. As in any good quest tale, the hero’s enemy strives to prevent him from achieving his goal. Keet
bullies Tomi and his friends, brings larger boys with big sticks to intimidate them, beats them up, and threatens to cost
Tomi’s family their livelihood and home by ratting Tomi out to Mr. Wilson.
Keet’s allies, however, have been lured by the promise of protecting their beloved island from evil-doers. When they learn
that Tomi is simply a boy trying to help his family, they back off. Tomi finds that he has allies everywhere—his haole
neighbors, especially his best friend Billy, his former baseball teammates, and even the soldiers who come to watch and
cheer as Tomi and his pals attempt the impossible.
While set in 1943, this is clearly a tale for our time. The twin tensions in the novel are both bathed in fear—fear of the
“other,” people who don’t look or talk exactly like we do, and the very real fear of a vicious attack from a foreign
country. A young boy is victimized and outcast simply because of his race. His father and grandfather are imprisoned for
being Japanese citizens. The bullies are uninformed and act violently out of their own fears. And yet, people of all races,
ethnicities, and walks of life come together to help Tomi do the impossible, raise the sampan out of the water, raise hope
and create community. House of the Red Fish may be set in 1943 Hawaii, but a similar story could be set in 2003 New York.
Graham Salisbury has given teenagers a thought-provoking historical novel that touches them today.
House of the Red Fish is the follow up to the award-winning Under the Blood-Red Sun.
Haters
by Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez
Reviewed by Liz Burns, A Chair, a Fireplace and a Tea Cozy
A new girl in school. She's a regular kid, thrown into a sea of rich kids. Did I mention she's moved to Orange County,
California? She wants to have friends, a cute boy likes her.
Think you've read this before? Have watched it before?
Yes, it's an old concept, but it's one that teens like; it’s about being new, it's about trying to make your way in a new
place, it's a look into the lives of the rich that most people don't have outside of magazines and TV shows. Haters
takes this old idea of "new kid at a rich school" and makes it fresh. The new girl is Pasquala (Paski) Rumalda Quintana de
Archuleta. She's of Mexican descent; and her new school, which is very, very rich, is also very diverse. So diverse that
it's not even a big deal. What matters to these kids is not the skin color or where parents came from, but how much money
they have. Paski is on one of the lower social rungs, not because she's Hispanic, but because she lives in an apartment
building.
One of the first things Paski does in her new town is to take her mountain bike and attack the streets, sidewalks, hills and
mountains. This isn't Miss Marple sightseeing; this is fast and gutsy and sweaty. Chris, the cute, popular boy notices
Paski not because she's pretty (which she is) but because of her aggressive riding. It gets better—Jessica, the alpha
girl, the Queen B, she who rules the school—is also an athlete. Being athletic and competitive is valued. Jessica Nguyen
isn't just any athlete—she is a champion at motocross. Motocross! How many books have a girl competing at motocross, let
alone have that girl be most popular because of it? Being athletic is also part of Paski's character and the story
resolution involves Paski and a motocross event. It's not just a detail about Paski; it's who she is.
As the title indicates, Haters is about the cliques Paski encounters at her new school. It's not Gossip Girl;
it's about a girl looking in at the Gossip Girl types and wanting to be their friend. Paski, new in school, popular at her
old school, sees the cool kids and wants to go to their parties, hang out with them at school. And, of course, she wants
Chris. She's also hiding something. While she's proud of her heritage, her father, and her biking, she's not so proud of
something she inherited from her grandmother. Paski is a little bit psychic; something Paski tries to ignore, because it's
not exactly something that helps you fit in. She's going to find out it can be dangerous to yourself and others when you
try to hide who you are.
The diversity in this book goes beyond who is at the school—it's also about jobs and careers. Jess is the Paris Hilton of
her school and part of her power is not that she's a teen celebrity because of money, looks, or last name; yes, her
parents are wealthy, but her attention is earned by her own motocross achievements and related endorsements. (Before I go
any further, let me be clear. Jess is also the bad girl. And guess who she is dating? Remember that cute, popular boy who
Paski likes?) Even in my beloved Veronica Mars, the rich African Americans are rich because of either sports or hip hop
music. These stereotypes are avoided in Haters. Take Paski's father, an artist whose comic strip is going to be
turned into a movie (hence the move to the OC). While not many kids will see themselves in Haters because the school is so
ultra rich, they will see that the world is diverse in a way that includes career.
Before any fifth-grade parent gets all excited about this being suitable for their child because it's not a Gossip
Girl book, please note: this isn't for your child. There
is frank talk about sex; Paski is a virgin, but who is having sex is something she and her friends talk about. And did I
mention Chris, the cute, cool boy? Trust me—this is for older kids.
Haters, by Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez. Little, Brown Young Readers, 2006. ISBN: 0-3160-1307-2.
House of the Red Sun, by Graham Salisbury. Wendy Lamb Books, 2006, ISBN: 0-3857-3121-2.
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