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ISBN 9780316522694
Published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2019
Genre/Format: Dystopian and Speculative Fiction/ Paperback, Hardcover, eBook, Audiobook
Awards
2020 YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults
Reading Level: Grade 9 and up (Booklist)
Plot Summary: Internment is a dystopian novel about what would happen if Muslims were forced to live in camps like the Japanese did in WW II. Told from the point of view of 17-year old Layla, the story focuses on her personal experiences starting the evening her family was forced to leave their home. This book uses the Muslim policies of the last administration as a jumping off point, but this fictional administration creates more and stricter policies that ultimately lead to the internment camp. We meet Layla defying curfew as she runs to meet her Jewish boyfriend. We learn that the town she lives in is currently holding a bonfire to burn books, and that after her family signed an oath stating that they are Muslim her father lost his job and Layla can no longer attend the public school.
That night they are forced to leave their home with only one bag, and only 10 minutes to pack it. They have no idea where they are going, but they are driven to a train which takes them to the Mobius internment camp, next to the real-life Manzanar, in the hot dry desert of Eastern California. Layla and her parents are processed, including being stamped with an invisible ink tattoo of her personal barcode. They are assigned a FEMA trailer which is set in a "neighborhood" of other Muslims with the same race and ethnicity.
As Layla contends with this new reality, we are with her as she makes new friends, as well as enemies, and what the day to day life is like in the internment camp. Immediately, Layla tries to figure out how to break out of camp while her parents passively wait, hoping that the U.S. will do the right thing and release them. Although Layla has some. Although it seems impossible that she will succeed given all the camera, drones, barbed wire, and violence used against them, Layla has some Katniss vibes about her, through her bravery and call to action, which propel the story forward.
Author Background: Samira Ahmed's previous books are Love, Hate, & Other Filters and Mad, Bad, & Dangerous to Know. She has worked as an educator and in the non-profit sector securing grants for schools. Ahmed was born in India but raised outside of Chicago, IL (Ahmed).
Critical Evaluation: Although internment for Muslims hasn't occurred in the U.S. many of the policies of the last administration were similar to the initial steps that led to the internment of the Japanese in WWII and of Jews in Nazi Germany. This story hit really close to home: having just lived through Trump's administration which riled up his base against Muslims, it was very easy to see that the next step would be the signing of an oath, as Ahmed mentions in Chapter 1. Internment serves as a warning for how easy it is to turn a blind eye and let the unthinkable happen.
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Speed-Round Book Talk: Imagine if, during the Trump administration, Muslims weren't just banned from entering the country, but they were asked to sign an oath declaring who they are? What would the step after that be? And the next one?
Library Program: This book would fit in perfectly in a week dedicated to learning about past internment policies in the U.S. However, a more fun activity would be an escape room for teens. The setting would be an internment camp and they would have to figure out, using the guidelines of the game, how to escape or end the internment for everyone.
Potential Challenges: Layla and her friends operate very independently of their parents, which some might find objectionable though it is very realistic. There is also a lot of violence but it is not gruesome, nor is it gratuitous. There is a lot of profanity used, but it's also used realistically. There are many other books in the library that are more violent, have as much, if not more, profanity, and have more rebellious teenagers, so there is no reason not to keep this book on the shelf.
Reason for Inclusion: As previously mentioned, Internment offers an entirely realistic account of what it takes to place a group of people into internment camps. The U.S. already has a history of this and it is supposed to be a black stain on our country. But recent policies suggest that we could go down this road again with our treatment of Muslims and, indeed, started down this road already with their treatment of amnesty-seekers at our southern border.
References
Adams, A. Entrance to Manzanar. https://www.nps.gov/npgallery/GetAsset/C9D6AB22-155D-
Ahmed, S. Samira Ahmed{writer}. Samiraahmed.com. https://samiraahmed.com
PBS, & Burns, K. (Producers), & Sherman, R. (Director). (2009). Untold Stories | Manzanar:
"Never Again". [Video/DVD] Florentine Films. https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=XgmY2P-xT_Y
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