WHEN MY NAME WAS KEOKO
by Linda Sue Park
Dell Yearling
ISBN: 0440419441
Ages 10-up
208 pages

• Read an Excerpt

It's 1940 in Korea, and the Korean and Japanese armies are fighting against each other in World War II. Ten-year-old Sun-hee and her family are proud to be Korean, even though they live under Japanese rule and have to obey very strict laws. The children must write and read Japanese at all times, as well as learn about the culture and history of Japan when they are in school. Another harsh law is that the country flag isn't allowed to be seen until the war is over. Life becomes harder when the Japanese governor coerces all Koreans to take new Japanese names. Sun-hee's new name is Keoko, and Sun-hee's older brother's new name, formerly Tae-yul, is now Nobuo.

As the war rages closer to Korea, preparations for war begin. Soldiers start coming to people's houses and ordering the families to give up all of their supplies, as well as searching them for anything illegal, looking for criminals --- including Sun-hee's uncle, who is accused of being a traitor against the Japanese --- and sending people to fight in the war. One day Tae-yul makes a very important decision: he volunteers to serve in the war with the Imperial Army. Meanwhile, Sun-hee stays at home keeping fatal secrets from her family. Will the war ever end? Will Tae-yul make it home alive?

WHEN MY NAME WAS KEOKO is a powerful and riveting tale. It provides readers with insight into what life was like in Korea during the war, and Tae-yul's time in the military reminded me that I should never take anything in life for granted.

   --- Reviewed by Ashley Hartlaub

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