   | Full Text Reviews: Booklist - 09/01/2016 *Starred Review* As Fat Man hurled toward the city of Nagasaki on August 9, 1945, Sachiko Yasui, 6, was playing house. She ducked for cover, awaking hours later just “half a mile from the bomb’s hypocenter,” buried beneath mountains of debris, her mouth clogged with ash. Stelson first heard Sachiko speak in August 2005. From 2010–15, Stelson traveled to and from Nagasaki, conducting a series of five interviews with the singular Sachiko. The result is a story of staggering hardship and extraordinary resolve. In it Stelson outlines the plight of Sachiko, her family, and other hibakusha (“explosion-affected people”), from the Yasuis’ lengthy trek to safety in nearby Shimbara and decimating radiation sickness, to the grueling restoration of a barren city. The narrative is further supplemented by two-page educational tidbits interspersed throughout. Here Stelson addresses the Japanese government, Emperor Hirohito, and prime minister Hideki Tojo; internment camps; the U.S.’ stifling occupation of Japan; and the “long-term effects of radiation.” With Sachiko forever in the foreground, readers learn of her grievous loss, devotion to education, regard for peace (and its devotees: Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., Helen Keller), and her fairly recent decision to give voice to her experiences. Sachiko and her story, much like the resilient Nagasaki camphor trees she so admires, are an indelible force. Luminous, enduring, utterly necessary. - Copyright 2016 Booklist. Loading...
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