Barry Denenberg

In her diary, twelve-year-old Amber describes moving to Hawaii in 1941 and experiencing the horror of the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

The Pearl Harbor Diary of Amber Billows

Early Sunday Morning

Meredith Rose

Feeling very conflicted by this book! On one hand, I really appreciate that it is written in true, diary-style (driven by description rather than dialogue). Not many Dear Americas that I've read have accomplished this realistic style, so I appreciate the thought and time author Barry Denenberg put into telling the story this way. 

On the other hand, some of the characters don't feel real to me. I didn't realize this until I finished reading, but Denenberg also wrote One Eye Laughing, the Other Eye Weeping, my least favorite book thus far in the Dear America series. 

In both books, Denenberg struggles to capture the complex thought processes and emotions of his young female characters. Sometimes they focus on, write about, and think things you wouldn't expect from young girls. Other times they quickly dismiss a topic that would likely be of utmost importance to a young girl. 

Despite some flaws, the book is well researched. It taught me some things about the attacks on Pearl Harbor and response from the U.S. that I didn't know (blackout regulations, government-issued gas masks, grocery shortages, etc.) These were interesting things to read about within the context of World War II, given that we've recently experienced similar restrictions and regulations during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Overall, it's not an awful read, even though the characters are a little lacking.

Early Sunday Morning The Pearl Harbor Diary of Amber Billows

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