Book Review: Nothing to Regret

BOOK DESCRIPTION:

Ken Sugihara was a student at Berkeley at the time of Pearl Harbor. He is shocked to hear about the attack, but even more shocked when he discovers that all people of Japanese ancestry in the United States, especially those living on the West Coast, are now considered suspects in the attack. He and his parents are taken from their home and sent to a relocation center in the Utah Desert.

While living in Topaz, Ken's old friend Colonel Beaumont comes to see him, and asks him if he will go on a mission of espionage to Japan to hunt down information on Japanese aircraft. Ken is reluctant at first to serve the country that wrongfully imprisoned him, but realizes that he has a chance to make a difference, and agrees to go. The experiences he has change his life forever. (Description taken from review by Jennifer Leffler)



Santa brought me a copy of Tristi Pinkston's Nothing to Regret, and I finally had a chance to sit down and read it through the other day. As a country still living in the wake of 9/11 this historical novel is an important reminder of the mistakes of our Country's past. An online friend of mine mentioned a few weeks ago standing in a help-u-mail type store to mail a package, and the person waiting on her was also training a new employee. The trainer explained that certain precautions are taken with the mail due to 9/11, but "in this case it wouldn't be necessary." And then, glancing at my friend said, "You aren't Muslim, are you?" Expressions of prejudice like this are mild in comparison to what Pinkston describes Japanese Americans experiencing in the wake of the attacks on Pearl Harbor. This book serves as an important reminder that if we are not careful, we may fall prey to the basest levels of human nature, even the same actions we abhor when taken by other countries whether in times of peace or of war. I first heard about Topaz when I was in 5th grade, as an extremely brief part of a Utah History unit and later because it was the focus of a fellow student's History Fair project. However, since that time while I have read many books and seen many movies about the effects of the Holocaust on the Jews, little is ever said about the interment of Japanese Americans during World War II., so I read Nothing to Regret with interest.

Another facet Pinkston delves into is the effects of the Atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, sharing accounts of what it was like to experience the bombing and the effects on innocent civilians who paid a tremendous price-collateral damage-in ending a horrific war. Pinkston brings a sense of humanity and cognizance to the deeply negative aspects of warfare. Written as an LDS focused historical fiction, Nothing to Regret is less violent and graphic than many historical books on World War II and is appropriate for an adolescent audience.

If you liked Nothing to Regret you may also like some of my other favorite books:

Night by Elie Wiesel
Life & Death in Shanghai by Nien Cheng
The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom

And movies:

Schindler's List directed by Steven Spielberg
Swing Kids directed by Thomas Carter
Life is Beautiful directed by Roberto Benigni