Hiroshima

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Yep, Laurence. 1995. HIROSHIMA. New York, NY: Scholastic, Inc. ISBN 978-0780761186

PLOT SUMMARY
The story opens on the morning of August 6, 1945 on an otherwise ordinary day in Hiroshima. 12 year Sachi walks her sister to school and Sachi reports to her duty at the Hiroshima castle to assist the Japanese Army. All of a sudden a plan flies over the city of Hiroshima and panic ensues until it passes out of view. The citizens began to think the worst is over, but then the Enola Gay flies over and drops the first atomic bomb in history. The city of Hiroshima is destroyed and over 125,000 people lose their lives instantly. Sachi survives the initial attack and later on in life speaks to other about her experience. Along with Sachi's experience, information about WWII and facts regarding the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are woven together in this historical novel.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Yep's novella about the bombing of Hiroshima is descriptive and sometimes lacks feeling due to the attention paid to detail instead of to character's emotions. Although lacking in character development the reader will be intrigued by the details regarding the aftermath of the bombing as well as Sachi's trip to America for surgery. Also, Yep's words to describe the pilot’s feelings after the bomb, “What have we done?” are moving and the pilot's words will remain with reader long afterward. Yep concludes the novella by adding additional information about the world's reaction to the bomb and the end of World War II. Readers will definitely be drawn to learn more about the Hiroshima and the devastating effects of the atomic bomb.

REVIEW EXCERPTS
PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY review: “Yep's account of the bombing of Hiroshima and its devastating aftermath is at once chilling and searing, hushed and thundering. Within a factual framework, the author sets the fictional story of a girl named Sachi, allegedly a composite of several young residents of the bombed city.”
SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL review: “Yep ends with two chapters on the destructive potential of nuclear warfare and on some of the efforts being made toward disarmament. His words are powerful and compelling, and the facts he presents make readers realize the horrors of that day and its impact beyond. As a fictional character, Sachi never becomes much more than a name, but even so, readers will be moved by her tale.”

CONNECTIONS
Readers that are interested in WWII era will enjoy this novella.
*Similar titles regarding the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and WWII include:
Takayuki, Ishii. ONE THOUSAND PAPER CRANES. ISBN 978-0440228431 and
Morimoto, June. MY HIROSHIMA. ISBN 978-0670831814