Booktalk: Anybody here thinking seriously about joining the military someday? Eddie Okubo has been thinking about it--so much so that at age 16 he lies about his age and joins the Army. But after he enlists, Japan bombs Pearl Harbor. Now Eddie and his friends--all of whom have Japanese parents--are no longer viewed as loyal American soldiers. Now everyone--even the Army--sees them as the enemy. In fact, Eddie and his friends are chosen to be part of a secret government project because they are Japanese. The project? The American government was convinced that Japanese people have a certain smell and that dogs could be trained to recognize this smell and attack soldiers from Japan. And what were Eddie and his friends supposed to do in the secret project? That's right: they played the parts of the Japanese soldiers that the dogs were trained to attack. Eddie thinks the whole idea is ridiculous. He hates the way the dogs are being treated during the training and worse, he hates the way he and his friends are treated like second-class citizens. But Eddie does his job because that's what the Army has asked him to do. And most of all because he's got something to prove to his country: that he too is a loyal American.

Eyes of the Emperor by Graham Salisbury is the novelized version of WWII dog test trials that used young Japanese men as "bait", believing that the Japanese exuded a different scent than Americans. These trials were authorized by President Roosevelt. Although this book was a YA adult book (I read in less than 3 hours), it was interesting enough to keep me glued to the pages! ( )

Japanese-American Eddy Okubo lies about his age to join the U.S. army. Shortly after he enlists, Pearl Harbor is attacked and the loyalty of Japanese-American is under suspicion, even by the army. He and twenty-five other soldiers of Japanese descent are then sent to an isolated island in Mississippi. Their top-secret task? Be the bait for training scout and attack dogs since it is believed that Japanese have a certain scent that the dogs can detect. With his loyalty and patriotism in doubt and having to be seen as the ‘enemy’ by the dogs, Eddy Okubo’s war is challenging him in ways he never expected. This historical fiction book is based on the true experiences of Japanese-American soldiers in World War II and the K-9 training on Cat Island really happened. The author treats the subject respectfully and explains some of his decisions and inspirations in a short author’s note and interview. The book also includes questions for discussion suitable for either a classroom or a book discussion. The events depicted in this book are part of America’s shameful treatment of Japanese-Americans during World War II and this book is a way to introduce teenagers to the discrimination and hardships faced by those of Japanese descent in that time period. The book is best suited for high school students. ( )

Japanese-American Eddy lies about his age and joins the US Army right before Pearl Harbor. He is sent on an experimental mission to train K-9 units to hunt the Japanese.

"Eyes of the Emperor" recounts a little-known period of American military history as narrated by Eddy Okubo, a young Japanese American who lives in Honolulu. In 1941, he is sixteen, and enlists in the U.S. army by lying about his age. Less than two months after that, the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor. Japanese Americans are now viewed suspiciously by a lot of their fellow Americans, including some in the American army who doubt the loyalty of Japanese American soldiers like Eddy. As a result, Eddy and the other Japanese American soldiers are not sent for advanced training in preparation for combat. Instead, they are first sent to spend five months guarding a beach in Hawai'i from a possible Japanese landing. Then, they are sent to an army camp in Wisconsin where they go through basic training again. There, they see an internment camp where Japanese Americans are being held, just because of their ancestry.

Finally, Eddy and twenty-five other soldiers are sent to an island off the coast of Mississippi. They learn about the very demeaning job they were brought there to do. Despite the initial shock, they are soldiers, and soldiers obey orders, so they take their mission at heart. Their minds, bodies and beliefs are tried in the course of long and dangerous training exercises on the island. On Cat Island, patriotism, duty and courage are put to the test. But in the end, Eddy and his fellow soldiers will finally be viewed as the legitimate and deserving U.S. soldiers that they always were.

This is an excellent novel that successfully takes us in the hearts and minds of a small group of Japanese American soldiers who feel betrayed by their country, but want to prove their loyalty to it all the more. We see the prejudice they are faced with, the cruel training they are subjected to, but also the saving camaraderie among them. The writing is powerful, and the reader gets sucked into the experience of the characters. Knowing that it is based on actual events, I was so infuriated at times by what these soldiers had to go through that I had to put the book down. It is a book that deserves to be read not only for its gripping account of the events it recounts, but also because it is important to learn about what those soldiers endured. It is interesting to know that the author met with and interviewed eight of the twenty-six "Cat Island men".

I definitely recommend this book for purchase in a high school library. It is an easy read that can appeal to reluctant readers, and the compelling story should be of interest to Gr. 9-12 students, even those who do not like history. In addition, this book ties into the 11th grade social studies standards.

This book was an "ALA Best Book for Young Adults" (2006), an "ALA Notable Book" (2006), and it was selected by the New York Public Library in its "Best Books for the Teen Age" in 2006. ( )