House of the Red Fish by Graham SalisburyWritten by Adrian Keller-MillerHouse of the Red Fish, the sequel to Under the Blood Red Sun, continues the story of Tomi Nakaji’s struggles after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Tomi’s family immigrated to the United States from Japan, and now that Pearl Harbor has been attacked, there are a lot more people in Hawaii that dislike Japanese. Tomi is now a 15 year old boy, and is living with his Mom, younger sister, and grandfather who recently returned home after having a stroke. His father’s location is unknown to them, but their best guess is that he is being held somewhere in Texas. The book is a work of historical fiction that was written in 2006. It is part of the Prisoners of the Empire series.This story is focused on Tomi’s efforts to try and raise his father’s fishing boat from the canal where it was sunk by the U.S. Navy. The boat was sunk because the Navy feared that Japanese fishing boats working in the Hawaiian waters were actually being used to take fuel out to Japanese submarines. Tomi, with the help of friends, is able to make progress bit by bit to salvage the boat. However, his efforts are continually challenged by a boy named Keet Wilson and his friends who are all part of the junior Business Men Military Training Corps (BMMTC). It’s tough for Tomi to deal with the bullying from Keet because his Tomi’s Mom cleans the house of the Wilson family, and his family lives on the Wilson’s property. The story leaves you hanging at the end, and knowing that the next book in the Prisoners of the Empire series switches points of view, the conclusion to Tomi’s story and what happens to his father may never be known.I think the author did a good job of telling the story and keeping the readers in suspense. I would recommend reading Under the Blood Red Sun before reading this book in order to understand it better.
this book helped understand a bit the hardships that the bombing of pearl harbor brought. The coincidence about reading this for the book club i attended this year at my school was that towards the end of the curriculum we started studying WWII and i was able to contribute a lot to our discussions and debates. The boy also made me understand even more racial issues and the tolls it takes on us. the continuation of this book "under the blood red sun" if im not mistaken is a good read so i've been told. The book was very well-written and written from the heart
What do You think about House Of The Red Fish (2008)?
Just as riveting as the first book about Tomi, this story continues with the theme of polar opposites--unfounded hatred and intense loyalty. The integrity of Tomi and his family garners many good people to rally around his goal of raising his father's fishing boat from the canal where it was sunk. At the same time Keet Wilson becomes more desperate to destroy Tomi and his family. While the book alludes to Keet's personal problems it never identifies a clear motive for his anger and one-man vendetta against Tomi and his family.
—Leeann
