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1943,
one year after the end of Under the
Blood-Red Sun, Tomi’s Papa and Grandpa
are still under arrest, and the paradise of
Hawaii now lives in fear—waiting for another
attack, while trying to recover from Pearl
Harbor. As a Japanese American, Tomi and his
family have new enemies everywhere,
vigilantes who suspect all Japanese. Tomi
finds hope in his goal of raising Papa’s
fishing boat, sunk in the canal by the Army
on the day of the attack. To Tomi, raising
Papa’s boat is a sign of faith that Papa and
Grandpa will return. It’s an impossible
task, but Tomi is determined. For just as he
now has new enemies, his struggle to raise
the boat brings unexpected allies and
friends.
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REVIEWS:
"The advantage to having never read a work by an author like Graham Salisbury is that his talents have a tendency whop you upside the head and leave you wanting more. “House of the Red Fish” is everything an author would want out of a title. Consider this puppy a contender."
--FuseNumber8 Blogspot
"While
set in 1943, this is clearly a tale for our time.
The twin tensions in the novel are both bathed in
fear—fear of the “other,” people who don’t look or
talk exactly like we do, and the very real fear of a
vicious attack from a foreign country. A young boy
is victimized and outcast simply because of his
race. His father and grandfather are imprisoned for
being Japanese citizens. The bullies are uninformed
and act violently out of their own fears. And yet,
people of all races, ethnicities, and walks of life
come together to help Tomi do the impossible, raise
the sampan out of the water, raise hope and create
community. House of the Red Fish may be set
in 1943 Hawaii, but a similar story could be set in
2003 New York. Graham Salisbury has given teenagers
a thought-provoking historical novel that touches
them today."
--Reviewed by
Ilene S. Goldman, The Edge of
the Forest
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