No-No Boy

No-No BoyBy: John Okada The first Japanese American novel: a powerful, radical testament to the experiences of Japanese American draft resisters in the wake of World War II One of The Atlantics Great American Novels of the Past 100 Years A Penguin Classic After their forcible relocation to internment camps during World War II, Japanese Americans were expected to go on with their lives as though nothing had happened, assimilating as well as they could in a

By: John Okada     

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The first Japanese American novel: a powerful, radical testament to the experiences of Japanese American draft resisters in the wake of World War II

One of The Atlantic’s Great American Novels of the Past 100 Years

A Penguin Classic

After their forcible relocation to internment camps during World War II, Japanese Americans were expected to go on with their lives as though nothing had happened, assimilating as well as they could in a changed America. But some men resisted. They became known as "no-no boys," for twice having answered no on a compulsory government survey asking whether they were willing to serve in the U.S. armed forces and to swear allegiance to the United States. No-No Boy tells the story of one such draft resister, Ichiro Yamada, whose refusal to comply with the U.S. government earns him two years in prison and the disapproval of his family and community in Seattle. A touchstone of the immigrant experience in America, it dispels the "model minority" myth and asks pointed questions about assimilation, identity, and loyalty.

Celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month with these three other Penguin Classics:
 
America Is in the Heart by Carlos Bulosan (9780143134039)
East Goes West by Younghill Kang (9780143134305)
The Hanging on Union Square by H. T. Tsiang (9780143134022)