Yep, Laurence. 1995. HIROSHIMA: A NOVELLA. New York: Scholastic. ISBN: 0590208322
Plot Summary
HIROSHIMA: A NOVELLA takes place on August 6, 1945, the day the United States was forced to drop the atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima. The book describes the experiences of the crew of the Enola Gay as well as the experience of 12-year-old Sachi who lives in Hiroshima with her sister Riko. This book discusses the repercussions the atomic bomb had on the two sisters and the other people in Hiroshima, Japan.
Critical Analysis
This historical fiction novel is told in the third person by author Laurence Yep. He narrates it in the present tense switching back and forth from the crew of the Enola Gay and 12-year-old Sachi who lives in Hiroshima. The book begins during the morning of August 6, 1945 with the crew of the Enola Gay searching for the best place to drop the atom bomb. People in Hiroshima see the U.S. plane named the Straight Flush fly over and then leave, so they resume their day thinking they are safe, but a little while later the Enola Gay flies over and drops the bomb. A detailed description of how the bomb works and detonates is given. Details of the destruction the bomb causes are also given. For example, "Out of 76,327 buildings, over 50,000 are destroyed." Minutes later, Sachi awakes to view the panic and destruction. Sachi is badly burned on her face and arm, and her sister Riko is killed. Throughout the year, Sachi sees many people die due to radiation exposure caused from the bomb, and she also learns of her father's death in combat on an island in the Pacific. Sachi knows more people are going to continue to die from the radiation. For three years, Sachi hides in her home to avoid teasing from the other children about her scars, but fortunately Sachi is chosen as one of "the Hiroshima Maidens." In 1955, along with 24 other women, Sachi is flown to America to receive a series of surgeries to repair her face and arm. While in America, Sachi has new experiences such as learning English and making new friends. After 18 months, it is time for Sachi to return home to Japan, but she is going home with hope and a new found trust. Her suffering has made her understand the suffering of others, and she wants to help the victims at home.
Yep goes on to describe the great fear the atom bomb has instilled in people all over the world, but despite this fear, several countries develop their own atomic bombs. He discusses the cost of the atomic bombs and newer weapons being developed. He mentions how in 1987 the United States and the Soviet Union come to an agreement to destroy all of their medium-range missiles. He describes to readers in great detail the devastating toll all of this weaponry could possibly have on our planet. In the afterword, Yep tells readers, "Sachi is a composite of several children who were in Hiroshima when the bomb dropped who later came to the United States." He wants readers to draw lessons from their suffering and their courage. Laurence Yep used 21 different sources and consulted with specialists at the National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution and the National Atomic Museum to assist him with accuracy of the historical facts within his novel. Readers will be moved by Sachi's story and will also learn many details concerning the atom bomb and the toll it took on the city of Hiroshima.
Review Excerpt(s)
BOOKLIST review: "In quiet, simple prose, Yep tells what happens when the atomic bomb is dropped on Hiroshima in 1945. He tells it in short chapters in the present tense, switching from crewmen on the Enola Gay to children in a Hiroshima classroom; then he describes the attack, the mushroom cloud, and the destruction of the city; finally, he talks about the aftermath, immediate and long term, including the arms race and the movement for peace. One chapter explains the physics of the explosion and of radiation. The facts are so dramatic and told with such controlled intensity that we barely need the spare fictionalization about a young Hiroshima child who is there when the bomb falls and who later comes to the U.S. for treatment (Yep says in an afterword that she's a composite of several children). The account is fair, nonhectoring, and totally devastating. Though accessible to middle-grade readers, this will also interest older readers, who will find nothing condescending in content or format. Fifty years later, the event is still the focus of furious controversy (even the numbers are in dispute), and this novella will start classroom discussion across the curriculum. There's a bibliography for further reading."
SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL review: "Through a stacatto, present-tense narration that moves back and forth between the experiences of a 12-year-old girl and the men on the Enola Gay, Yep's novella tells the events of the day the first atomic bomb was dropped and its aftermath. Sachi survives but is badly burned; her sister dies and her soldier father is killed in action. For three years the girl spends most of her time indoors, as newcomers to the city fear the scarred survivors. Then she travels to America for plastic surgery, which enables her to take part in her society again. She returns to Japan, hoping to help other victims. Yep ends with two chapters on the destructive potential of nuclear warfare and on some of the efforts being made toward disarmament. His words are powerful and compelling, and the facts he presents make readers realize the horrors of that day and its impact beyond. As a fictional character, Sachi never becomes much more than a name, but even so, readers will be moved by her tale. Hiroshima has a more adult format than Junko Morimoto's more personal My Hiroshima (Viking, 1990) or Toshi Maruki's Hiroshima No Pika (Lothrop, 1982), both of which tell the story in pictures as well as in words."
Connections
- This book could prompt a discussion about World War II and the atom bomb.
- This book could prompt students to want to learn more about Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and Pearl Harbor.
- Kids could learn how to fold paper cranes like the girls did in this bok. This would introduce them to origami.
Other books by Laurence Yep:
- Yep, Laurence. 2008. THE DRAGON'S CHILD: A STORY OF ANGEL ISLAND. New York: Harper Collins Publishers. ISBN: 9780060276928
- Yep, Laurence. 2006. THE EARTH DRAGON AWAKES: THE SAN FRANCISCO EARTHQUAKE OF 1906. New York: Harper Collins Publishers. ISBN: 9780060275242
- Yep, Laurence. 2000. THE JOURNAL OF WONG MING-CHUNG: A CHINESE MINER. New York: Scholastic. ISBN: 9780590386074
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