Karen Hesse,
Aleutian Sparrow
Simon & Schuster, 2004.
ISBN: 0 689 83776 3

This haungtingly beautiful verse novel describes the experiences of the Aleutian people who were evacuated from their island during the Second World War and made to live in camps on the mainland. The teenage narrator describes the difficulties of being in a totally alien environment far removed from her way of life: 'abandoned in the dark suffocation of the forest ... we cannot, from any corner of the camp, catch a glimpse of open water.' Many Aleutians fell sick or died, and almost all were unhappy, unable to earn their livelihood, deprived of their culture, and unpopular with the 'white' people. Karen Hesse tells her tale sympathetically and realistically without resorting to sentimentality. Her language is simple, but the imagery of her loose verse is rich, and enhances the description of the islanders' stoicism, patience and courage.

RA 12+/IL 15+
Reviewed by Audrey Baker
Spring 2004