Let's see… we have racism, discrimination, violence, hatred, imprisonment, riots, and the psychological effects of confinement. There's no denying the fact that Farewell to Manzanar covers some pretty heavy topics. However, Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston handles them with kid's gloves—literally. Much of her story is told from the perspective of her naive seven-year-old self who barely notices the barbed wire fences surrounding the camp or the guard towers looming over the barracks.

Instead, the memories she shares of playing hopscotch, twirling batons, and watching movies while interned at Manzanar add a sliver of sunshine to this story of survival. At times, her descriptions of camp life sound like scenes out of Our Town, complete with baseball, Boy Scouts, and beauty parlors.