Hunt for the Bamboo Rat

Reviewed by: Karen Sandlin Silverman - Scarborough High School, Scarborough, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: January 12, 2015

Review

Based on a true story, this historical novel is set in the Pacific during World War II. Zenji Watanabe is only 17 when he is recruited to join the United States army as a spy (code name: The Bamboo Rat). Zenji, born in Honolulu to Japanese parents, is the perfect recruit as he speaks fluent English and Japanese and was an excellent junior ROTC student in high school. He is sent to the Philippines just before the attack on Pearl Harbor, is captured by the Japanese, and escapes into the jungle. Includes a glossary of Hawaiian, Ibaloi, and Japanese terms, a bibliography, and a map. Latest installment in the Prisoners of the Empire series.

Cream of the Crop nominee

Overall Book Score: excellent