Submitted by CCCL_Kellin
Read Contra Costa, opens a new window officially kicks off this month! You're invited to take part in the Library's countywide read of We Are Not Free by Traci Chee by reserving your copy today at ccclib.org, opens a new window. Mark your calendar now for our fall line-up of virtual events inspired by the award-winning novel.
A work of historical fiction, We Are Not Free follows the lives of a tight-knit group of second-generation Japanese Americans who are also known as Nisei. Their lives are upended following the Pearl Harbor bombing. The federal government forces the group and their families to abandon their homes in San Francisco's Japantown. Sent to incarceration camps, their story represents the more than 100,000 people of Japanese ancestry incarcerated in the U.S. during World War II.
Traci Chee will join a virtual presentation via Zoom on Tuesday, November 9 at 6:30 p.m. Other virtual events include a talk about the art created by Japanese Americans in incarceration camps presented by Delphine Hirasuna, author The Art of Gaman. We'll also explore the history of Japanese American-owned greenhouses in the Bay Area and hold book discussions for teens and adults. Dates, times, and full descriptions of each event are available here or by visiting ccclib.org, opens a new window.
Among its many accolades, We Are Not Free is National Book Award Finalist, 2021 Printz Honor Book, and 2021 WNDB Award Honoree. Chee is also the author The Reader trilogy and the forthcoming book A Thousand Steps Into Night, which is a Japanese-influenced young adult fantasy.
Copies of We Are Not Free are available as an eBook or eAudiobook in OverDrive or with the Libby App. Regular print copies are also available for checkout. If you would like to read similar titles, check out the book and media lists created by staff.
