Internment

So. I’m surprised at the amount of negative reviews this book has gotten. Seems like the only thing readers got out of the story is a 17-year-old girl obsessed with her boyfriend and not fit to lead a revolution. That makes me kind of sad, to tell you the truth, and super disappointed.The expectations people have these days…unreasonable. They strip down a really important story into tiny details that, honestly, are not important to the overall plot.Yes, Layla was obsessed with finding a way to get in touch with her boyfriend. Yes, she was rebellious and risked getting herself and her family in trouble, and she acknowledges that and is constantly terrified of that. Her fear was tangible, it felt real. But I also believe that it is completely normal for a 17-year-old girl to WANT to see her boyfriend, the guy that she is in love with and at that age, we all believe this is the guy we’re going to love for the rest of our lives, so hey…cut her some slack, yeah?But was she obsessed with David – the boyfriend – throughout the book? No! She wasn’t! Once they’re transported to a camp that is right next to an area called Manzanar, it becomes more than just “seeing” or “speaking” to her boyfriend. Sure, at first, she still does some stupid things in an effort to speak to him, but then it becomes more than that. It becomes about getting in touch with someone from the OUTSIDE world to help them inside. To get their messages and stories and struggles outside. Hence the blogposts, hence the media outcry, hence the interviews! David becomes Layla’s tool to get news out to the world. That’s how she leads the revolution. That’s how she becomes the face of this revolution. And she succeeds! So it really frustrates me that there are reviews out there who are referring to Layla as an unsympathetic protagonist, or who only focus on her initial obsession with David, or who are annoyed that she shows her inner turmoil and rage by “clenching her fists” or “punching her thigh”…what do you expect her to do? She’s scared. She’s angry, but she’s also scared. She wants to help, but she’s helpless. And yet, that doesn’t stop her. Eventually that fist clench and thigh punch becomes so much more. She gets beaten and imprisoned and spat on and almost gets her parents executed, all in an effort to make a change, to stand for their cause. Again…she’s 17! And yes…a 17-year-old can and should lead the revolution. The youth are our only hope to make a change.And how relevant is this story? Think about current events…think about past events…it’s depressing, but hell, it’s extremely plausible these days!A reviewer put it best when she said:“It's a future that is not only happening to some portions of people living here, but could happen to other marginalized communities of American citizens, people who have been deemed Other because their skin color, religion, citizenship status or sexuality/gender orientation didn't match the ~American Ideal.~Hmm. That sounds weirdly like another point in history.Oh.Where you thinking the Nazis?Because I was thinking something a little closer to home.Slavery. Jim Crow. Literally everything that happened to the indigenous peoples of North America.9/11. Guantanamo Bay. The PATRIOT Act. ICE and the detainment of illegal immigrants and people who don't "look" American (because apparently being American has a look? Who knew!). The Muslim Ban. Any Trump rally. General Islamophobia. #BlackLivesMatter. And on and on and on.”Muslim-Americans are being hunted with this new wave of Islamophobia, and at first it might start with the little things, and as the hate increases, shootings start, at schools and mosques and communities, and then before we know it, we could end up in the same environment as Layla. Their rights are taken away from them, living on curfews, losing jobs, and suddenly they’re being transported to a camp in the middle of nowhere. Being told it’s temporary, but knowing in their hearts, that this is it, that they will live the rest of their lives and die there. Unless someone does something about it. Layla steps in.Is there some drama involved? Of course. It’s a Young Adult book! I loved Jake, I didn’t quite know or understand why he singled her out, but I loved him. I think he saw something in her that he respected from their very first meeting on the train. The Director, who was the villain, and reminded me a lot of Snow from the Hunger Games, was a psychotic sociopath. Again, it might have been over the top, but holy hell, why not?All of that aside, this is a really important book to read. The messages, the reality that it conveys is a reality we should start thinking and worrying and planning against. Please give it a chance. Please don’t let the negative reviewers put you off it.

I had no naive ideas that this book would not be a hard read. I knew what I was getting into, literally a quarter of my bookcases are full of non-fiction or historical fictions that take place during the Holocaust or WWI/WWII. Even then I had to close the book sometimes because it all seemed too real.Layla, her parents, and thousands of other Muslims are sent to an internment camp called Mobius, the fact that it was close to the Japanese internment camp Manzanar was not lost on me either. The cause of such a drastic move? Islamophia. Does it sound familiar? This book is placed in what seems like a few years from now, in this presidency, under this current political climate and that made this book all the more urgent.The scenes that take place in the book are appalling not because they are violent, but because we see actions like this committed every day. A hijab being ripped off a woman's head, a man being shot just because he is Muslim, a woman being silenced because she has no right to speak. How did they end up here? The census, that one that keeps track of our religions, ages, nationalities, and livelihoods that we report to the government every now and then. That flimsy piece of paper, if you checked Islam you are at Mobius.The president has declared Muslims an enemy of the state, so they rounded them up just like they did to Japanese-Americans in the past. Layla had learned of this history in school and it was her only reference to what was happening to her, it made her scared and at times selfish but determined. She refused to live the rest of her life there. So she decided to make a start much like Sophie Scholl did during the time of Nazi propaganda. This was scary because let's remember that Sophie was executed. She knew it was a risk but to be honest she could have died just as easy by just being within those gates, anyone who made false moves were taken away never to be seen again.I won't ruin the story by elaborating on the allies that she finds or those that learn of her plans and join her in the revolution, because that is honestly the best part of the story. The teenagers in this book used their place of "Privilege" as minors to get ahead. They couldn't be treated like the others, they couldn't just simply be disappeared without a trace. So they stood tall and spoke for those who couldn't. That is the point of the book. It is to educate the younger generation, allow them space to reflect, and show them that just because their young does not mean they are powerless. A small voice is better than no voice and this book does its best to bring that home.Despite all its harsh reminders, it also gives us a sense of hope. Not everyone in the country agrees with what is going on, kind of like now. Those people fought for them when they learned of the injustices, even some that allowed it to happen realized it was a big mistake and joined the cause. It is the kind of situation where you won't really know how to react until it's happening and I am glad the book provides a space for both.Rating 5/5 ❤❤❤❤❤My rating is a #unpopular opinion with many readers of this book, I will give some examples of the complaints below and my reasoning behind why it shouldn't matter. You can make your decision on this and read it for yourself as we all know books are perceived differently by different readers.The book is too obvious, it doesn't give us space to make our own conclusions said by most people over the age of 21- The book wasn't made for them, it was made for younger readers who need books that tell a compelling story quickly and with all the consequences and backstory because attention spans for reading these days is short. I mean come on, I get annoyed when a commercial interrupts my anything and its only 30 seconds.Layla is selfish it looks like all she wants is her boyfriend- Her mom and dad are in the camp with her, so the only person on the outside she can really want is her boyfriend, but that scene where she begs to call him is not about David. It's about everyone's loved ones outside those gates. Everyone has to beg for a phone call, get it approved, and still be careful because they are being listened to. For Layla that was David but for others, that was a husband, a son, or a daughter.Layla is too informed about previous internment camps in history- I learned about the Holocaust and Japanese internment camps when I was in tenth grade, two years younger than Layla, and was taught by an amazing student teacher, who really ingrained in us the importance of studying situations like this and learning from them. I have continued to educate myself and read about those moments in history ever since then. So yes, she could have been that educated about the topic at 17.David is annoying- Indeed he is, I honestly am still trying to comprehend if he could have been written in a different way where he didn't seem so clueless and unaware of what was going on around him. I know he was trying his best and did play a role in it but he just seemed out of place a bit.The Director of the Internment camp is cartoonish- yes he is, but what matters is not his reactions but his power. Time and time through the book he shows that he can get away with literally anything. He gives an air of desperation to Layla's resistance. The fact that his actions have no consequences is what matters. Because it means that at Mobius there were no respites, no way out, no one to protect them. They were no one. He got angry like a child sometimes and turned blue in the face because of her actions, but let's not pretend that there weren't people in internment camps who died just because a guard was in a bad mood.The book was too raw, too crass it felt like it was throwing its beliefs at me- It is raw at times and in your face but if you were inside the internment camp it would be in your face, you would be in the middle of the violence, you would feel the oppression, this book is not about beliefs its about right and wrong. The book makes you feel like you are there like there is no place to go. That is the point, they had nowhere to go.Now that you have been informed about the chief complaints of the book, I hope that you give it a chance and make your own opinion on the matter. This is such an important book for young adults to have a discussion about these days, and for adults to read and share with others.

It's rare that I take the time to write a review, since I'd rather be reading more books. However, as a librarian, a teacher, and a human being, I feel that this is an important book worth the time.It's set seemingly now, under an administration that runs on fear and hate. Hm. While it focuses on Muslim-American internment, the parallels are there to the treatment of migrants and refugees in countries around the world. The book focuses on the story of one teen girl who is brave enough to try and speak out, to try and fight back.Some smooching, some swear words, but mostly a powerful YA novel that makes us question how we treat and think about others, and think about the power of one person against a seemingly greater force. We need more contemporary novels like this one.

No review can summarise why every signee person needs to read this book.Don’t put it in your TBR pile. Stop what your reading and pick this up.Unbelievable read from start to finish.

One of the best books I've read in a long time.

Amazing, thought-provoking, terrifying. Great read for our adult book club.