Rating: 
Summary: Farewell to Manzanar
Review: First off, let me state that I read this book for an English class in the 8th grade. Just because I had to read it for a class doesn't mean I hurried through it, nor does it mean I automatically assumed it would be terrible. I did not enjoy the book as much as I could have, but I did not hate it.
I thought that the author, Jeanne Wakatsuke, did not stay on track through out the story. The story would jump around from time to time and completely go off the suject they were previously talking about. Her and her family's story was moving, yet the author could have explained it in a better way. She made even the happiest of her times at Manzanar terribly depressing, but bad times seem not that bad.
I also wished she explained the other characters in more detail. Throughout the book she would talk about characters, and you would not know much about them, and what you did know was vague. Another complaint was that this story ended abruptly, with the last scene was her father buying a car, but the rest of the ending was explained fairly early in the book.
I thought that the story explained the Japanese internemt camps extremely well, and explained an important subject in American History that is not that known about.
Rating: 
Summary: Farewell to Manzanar
Review: Farewell to Manzanar is a book about a young girl, Jeanne, who, when Pearl Harbor is bombed, are sent to an internment camp called 'Manzanar.' This book shows through a personal window the way families were changed during World War II. It shows how some people's life began there, while, at the same time, other's lives ended there.Jeanne's Dad is a good example of someone who's life ended at Manzanar. He had no more hope, he still had pride, but he lost the strength to fight on and persevere. Jeanne, is a person who's life began there. She was only 7 or 8 when sent there, and for her at the time, that was her life. Overall, it was a pretty good book. Had an expanse of different characters, it has examples of round characters and of static. Overall I give this book 4 stars.
Rating:
Summary: A must-read for children and adults
Review: Author Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston has succeeded in writing a book that is readable and worthwhile for any reader -- I would say ages 12 to adult. I wish I had been assigned this in school, for I did not learn about Japanese internment camps until much later, probably my senior year in high school. I'd be willing to venture that even many high school students don't learn much about this part of American history. The author wisely avoids pathos and melodrama, which allows the situation to speak for itself, standing out in stark relief against the backdrop of a "normal" life outside the camp. She manages to show us the dissolution of a family, the struggle to find and maintain an indentity in an artificially created city, populated by law, not by choice. These are bitter, difficult things and Wakatsuki Houston allows the impact to sneak up on the reader. This is no finger-pointing, harshly worded attempt at implicating the reader and forcing an emotional response. Instead, it is a deeply personal account which leaves one to absorb its impact slowly, wanting to learn more, and wanting to know how we can stop this from happening again. We're on the brink of repeating these past mistakes even now, which makes this book a timely and important read.
Rating:
Summary: A well-written story
Review: Farewell to Manzanar is a book for all ages. A true story dealing with the bombing of Pearl Harbor and how life quickly turned upside down for the thousands of Japanese people living in America. A young girls courage and determination, her fears and worries, and her survival. She deals with the fact that since she looks different from the other kids she can't fit in everywhere. It also describes her family life and their closeness to one another and how it helps her survive. A beautifully written story that will captivate your imagination and leave you with a better and deeper understanding of Japanese culture.
Rating: 
Summary: Yawning Through Manzanar
Review: This author's account of her family's internment in Manzanar lacks passion. I was required to teach this book to a Junior level high school class. It was torture for all of us! I couldn't help stiffling yawns throughout. Dreadful. No wonder so many kids hate to read.
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Summary: Life's Not Fair
Review: This is an amazing story that deals with a young woman, and her family living at a japanese internment camp. Soon after Pearl Harbor is bombed, all people of japanese decent were forced to move to camps like Manzanar. The story describes in detail the living space, activities, and everyday hardships that the people had to go through. The book will help you learn new information on the japanese culture, and what the japanese people had to deal with before, during, and after the horrific event of Pearl Harbor. If you like reading about internment camps, and enjoy learning about new cultures, then this book will be perfect for you! I would recommend this book to people of all ages!
Rating: 
Summary: Could be Enjoyable
Review: This book was written by Jeanne Wakatsuki, and has been a good learning experience for me. I learned a lot about the Japanese culture and how the Japanese Americans were treated during World War II, while in internment camps. This book was very informative, but there weren't many suspenseful parts in the book, I was never on the edge of my seat waiting to see what happened next. This book was quite slow for me, compared to books with much action and fighting. That is why I rated this book 3 stars, if you enjoy learning about new cultures then I would recommend this book to you.
Rating:
Summary: Manzanar Internment Camp
Review: Farewell to Manzanar was a good autubiography by a very brave woman. It was unfortunate that the U.S. was so insecure about the people living in their country that they had to resort to internment camps during World War II. These Japanese Americans were treated very unfairly and the seperation of Jeanne's family is a sad story. To tear away their dignity and then release them back into society as if nothing was wrong, with no jobs, homes or lives to go back to was so unfair. Jeanne was a strong child who grew into a strong adult in a place that would have been considered slums in our time. Jeanne eventually goes back to Manzanar to confront her demons and comes out a stronger and more peaceful person. It was sad what her family had to endure and hopefully by her story others will think twice about discrimination. It was good to see after the camp that Jeanne could go on and befriend those that were so quick to betray her. I am glad to see that we have learned from these experiences of past wars and hope that these camps are a thing of the past atleast in our country.
Rating:
Summary: A REALLY GOOD BOOK!
Review: Farewell to Manzanar is an excellent book. It is a true story that takes place in 1942 during the Second World War. The main character Jeanne Wakatuski, also the author, was only seven years old at the time she and her family were taken out of their home and sent to live at Manzanar, an internment camp which seemed to be in the middle of nowhere.
The camp was made up of barracks made into apartments for all of the Japanese-American families-men, women, and children-who were sent there after Pearl Harbor was bombed by Japan. At the time, people in the Western United States were being extremely cautious and felt that nobody knew who they could trust. People felt it would be safer to send the Japanese away where they could be watched. The book tells the story of Jeanne's life before, during, and after her stay at Manzanar. Jeanne and her family struggle to keep their family from separating. At the same time Jeanne is maturing from a child into a young women.
Jeanne is a very good writer. While I was reading the book, I could picture myself as the character living the plot and feeling the emotions. I can definitely relate to Jeanne. I sometimes wonder who I really am, and who I was meant to be. This book was one of only a couple books that I have been actually interested in reading. I finished the book in four days, which is a record for me. I think the ending could have included a little more about Jeanne's family, since they were such a big part of the story and maybe more about her personal life such as her career and interests now. Other then that, the book was wonderful. I would definitely recommend Farewell to Manzanar to others. I think people who are interested in history will really enjoy this book. I am thankful to have gotten the chance to learn about this brave young women's experience.
Rating:
Summary: Overcoming discrimintation
Review: Jeanne Wakatsuki wrote a really good book explaining her life and the behind the scenes of internment camps. She gave a true sense of what it was like for the people at Manzanar, and made me feel really bad. The U.S was wrong for putting innocent people into the camps, and unfortunately Jeanne and her family were some of those people. This book explains how the whole family was torn apart from something they had no control over. She explains everything with good elaboration and some humor, which makes it an enjoyable and educational book to read.
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