The War Outside

by Monica Hesse

Overview

From the bestselling and award-winning author of Girl in the Blue Coat, comes an extraordinary novel of conviction, friendship, and betrayal, when two teenage girls meet in an American internment camp during WWII. 

It's 1944, and World War II is raging across Europe and the Pacific. The war seemed far away from Margot in Iowa and Haruko in Colorado—until they were uprooted to dusty Texas, all because of the places their parents once called home: Germany and Japan.

Margot and Haruko meet at the high school in Crystal City, a "family internment camp" for those accused of colluding with the enemy. The teens discover that they are polar opposites in so many ways, except for one that seems to override all the others: the camp is changing them, day by day and piece by piece. Haruko finds herself consumed by fear for her soldier brother and distrust of her father, who she knows is keeping something from her. And Margot is doing everything she can to keep her family whole as her mother's health deteriorates and her rational, patriotic father becomes a man who distrusts America and fraternizes with Nazis.

With everything around them falling apart, Haruko and Margot find solace in their growing, secret friendship. But in a prison the government has deemed full of spies, can they trust anyone—even each other?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316316712
Publisher:	Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	10/01/2019
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	352
Sales rank:	177,843
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.10(h) x 1.10(d)
Age Range:	12 - 18 Years

About the Author

Monica Hesse is the bestselling author of Girl in the Blue Coat and American Fire, as well as a journalist with The Washington Post. She lives outside Washington, D.C. with her husband and their dog.

Editorial Reviews

…a tightly plotted exploration of the consequences of fear.

The New York Times Book Review - Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

★ 07/09/2018
In 1944, 17-year-old Japanese-American Haruko, from Colorado, and German-American Margot, from Iowa, are imprisoned with their families in a Department of Justice–run internment camp for “enemy aliens” suspected by the U.S. government of being spies. (The camp differs from WWII War Relocation Authority–run camps to which West Coast Japanese residents were relocated en masse, an author’s note explains.) Although the two groups in the Texas camp rarely mix, the young women are immediately drawn to each other. Both are experiencing family problems: Haruko worries about her brother, who is serving in the U.S. Army’s Japanese division, and wonders what her father had to do with her family’s relocation; Margot’s father finds himself courted by Nazi idealists as their situation worsens, and her pregnant mother fears yet another miscarriage. Camp life, with its daily indignities and occasional tragedies, grows tense, and the two girls find their friendship intensifying. Hesse (The Girl in the Blue Coat) draws Margot and Haruko realistically and sympathetically, bolstered by research into WWII internment camps, in a moving book that successfully describes an unjust aspect of U.S. history. Ages 12–up. Agent: Ginger Clark, Curtis Brown. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

Praise for The War Outside:

A Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2018
A 2019 YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults Pick
A 2018 BCCB Bulletin Blue Ribbon Title
A 2019 Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People

"Once again, Monica Hesse delivers an incredibly compelling and beautifully researched novel. The War Outside vividly brings readers into an underrepresented and dark period of American history. A must-read for fans of historical fiction."—Ruta Sepetys, #1 New York Times bestselling author

* "...superb....A satisfying and bittersweet novel, perfect for those who enjoyed Markus Zusak's The Book Thief."—SLJ, starred review

* "...an extraordinary novel of injustice and xenophobia based on real history."—Booklist, starred review

* "...a moving book that successfully describes an unjust aspect of U.S. History"—Publishers Weekly, starred review

* "Keeps readers guessing through the final pages."
—BCCB, starred review

* "Teens and adults interested in WWII books, especially situations that haven't been written about extensively,will want to experience this story."—SLC, starred review

"Monica Hesse takes a setting we think we understand and shifts it in an important way...a tightly plotted exploration of the consequences of fear."—The New York Times Book Review

"Monica Hesse's The War Outside pierces the heart with its exceptional story of family, friends and country...Riveting and meticulously researched, this story reverberates with authentic voices as it explores adolescent growth under dreadful circumstances."—BookPage

"timely...[Hesse] again uses a well-researched historical backdrop to tell a powerful coming-of-age story."—The Washington Post

"Hesse's books are like time machines-vehicles that help us explore our past."—Mashable

"I did not expect this book to knock me off my feet with its lyrical brilliance, vivid storyline, and heart wrenching ending. Let's just say, if all historical fiction was like this book, it'd be my most-read genre."
—Book Riot

Praise for Girl in the Blue Coat:
The Edgar Award Winner for Best Young Adult Mystery Novel 2017
A New York Public Library Best Book for Teens of 2016
An Entertainment Weekly Best YA Book of 2016
A Booklist Best Young Adult Book of 2016
A Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People Selection 2017
A 2017 Indies Choice Awards Finalist for Best Young Adult Book
A YALSA 2017 Best Book for Young Adults
A 2017 Bank Street College of Education Best Children's Book of the Year
A 2017 Wyoming Soaring Eagle Book Award Nominee
A 2017 Washington, D.C. Capitol Choices List recommended title
A 2018 Connecticut Nutmeg Book Award Nominee
2018 All Iowa Young Adults Read


"Girl in the Blue Coat is a powerful, compelling coming-of-age story set against the dark and dangerous backdrop of World War II. It's an important and page-turning look at the choices all of us—including young adults—have to make in wartime. A beautiful combination of heartbreak, loss, young love, and hope."—Kristin Hannah, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Nightingale

"A tapestry of guilt and acceptance, growing responsibility, and reluctant heroism, Hanneke's coming-of-age under heartbreaking circumstances is a jarring reminder of how war consumes and transforms the passions of ordinary life. Every devastating moment of this beautiful novel is both poignant and powerful, and every word feels true."—Elizabeth Wein, New York Times bestselling author of Black Dove, White Raven; Rose Under Fire; and the Printz Honor-winning Code Name Verity

"In an occupied city, a young woman's daring transforms into true courage when she confronts a mystifying disappearance. From page one, I couldn't turn the pages fast enough. Enthralling."—Judy Blundell, New York Times bestselling author of Strings Attached and the National Book Award-winning What I Saw and How I Lied

"It's no small feat to bring the past to life, especially a history as dark and desperate as World War II. Monica Hesse does just this with Hanneke's story. Brace yourself, dear reader, to have your heart bruised—and possibly even broken—in the most meaningful of ways."—Ryan Graudin, author of The Walled City and Wolf by Wolf

"Taut and intelligent... the historical setting is rendered the way only an expert can do it."—The Washington Post

* "[An] affecting novel...that skillfully combines reality with fiction. Her characters come alive, and...Hesse's pacing infuses her story with thriller suspense, enriching the narrative with dramatic surprises both small and large."—Booklist (starred review)

* "Riveting... a gripping historical mystery."—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

* "This fast-paced story is alternately touching, heart-pounding and wrenching—but always gripping...a heartrending, moving story."—VOYA (starred review)

* "A poignant, wonderfully crafted story of love and loss, courage and redemption."—Shelf Awareness (starred review)

"[An] intelligent and humane historical mystery."—The Wall Street Journal

"The themes of love, betrayal, heroism, social responsibility, and atonement are beautifully intertwined with well-developed characters and a compelling story line. Thoroughly researched, this work brings history alive in a clear and concise way that rings true. A must-read for fans of historical fiction, especially stories set during World War II."—School Library Journal

"Rich in content and emotion, this is a first-rate companion to the historical tales of the onderduikers, the hidden Jews of Holland, and a compelling read."—Kirkus Reviews

"This heartbreaking story of terror and loss sweeps you into a time-is-running-out mystery that delivers plot twists and a shocking final punch that'll haunt you for days."—Justine Magazine

From the Publisher

★ 07/01/2018
Gr 9 Up—Crystal City, TX, 1944. Haruko and her family are reunited with her father at an internment camp. Crystal City is unique for having both German and Japanese families. While trying to adjust to her new home, Haruko is drawn to Margot, the only German girl attending her high school. Despite their many differences, they are united by one shared experience: the camp is ruining both of their families. Haruko worries about her soldier brother and distrusts her father. Margot is concerned about her mother's ailing health and her father's growing alliance with Nazi supporters. As their secret friendship becomes more intense and tension rises among the camp prisoners, they must determine if they can trust anyone—even each other. The author of Girl in the Blue Coat returns with another superb historical fiction novel for YA collections. Hesse deftly balances actual events from Crystal City with a resonating fictional story of forbidden friendship and love. By switching between Haruko's and Margot's narratives, and even including brief flash-forwards from both characters, Hesse weaves an engaging mystery. VERDICT A satisfying and bittersweet novel, perfect for those who enjoyed Markus Zusak's The Book Thief or Sherri L. Smith's Flygirl.—Kaetlyn Phillips, Yorkton, Sask.

School Library Journal

Narrators Allison Hiroto and Christie Moreau bring pathos to their portrayals of Margot and Toshiko. This novel is an account of two girls who meet in Crystal City, Texas, an internment camp for families suspected of collusion with the Japanese in 1944. Hiroto and Moreau project the emotions of the girls as they form a friendship that transcends the feelings of the adults in the camp. The narrators also capture their families as Toshiko’s family worries about her brother, who is in the war, and Margot’s family begins to turn against the country that has put them behind barbed wire. Listeners will enjoy the author’s note about her research and the inspiration for this title. E.J.F. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine

NOVEMBER 2018 - AudioFile

2018-06-24
Interned in a Texas camp during World War II, Japanese-American Haruko and German-American Margot watch their families fall apart and are driven to depend on each other, even if they should not.In 1944, teenagers Haruko Tanaka and Margot Krukow are imprisoned with their families in Crystal City, a Department of Justice family internment camp for Japanese- and German-born prisoners of war. Different from the War Relocation Authority internment camps, these are specifically meant for enemy aliens, with the possibility of repatriation to their birth countries. Haruko, fearing for her brother, Ken, serving in the 442nd division of the U.S. Army, and resenting her secretive father for their situation, starts pulling away from her family. Margot tries to keep her small family together as her pregnant mother sickens and her father is pushed by frustration and persecution into Nazi ideology. Though vastly different, the two girls find themselves attracted to each other in more ways than one. Hesse (American Fire, 2017, etc.) painstakingly researched accounts from various archival records to convey the rich and complex emotions surrounding a shameful episode of injustice in American history, during which human beings were involuntarily and irrevocably changed through the choices of others.An exploration of lesser-known aspects of Japanese-American and German-American internment during World War II. (map, historical notes) (Historical fiction. 12-18)

Kirkus Reviews