Twelve-year-old Rosie is fiercely proud to be an American, and has a happy life with her family in their comfortable home in sunny Honolulu, Hawaii.
Then, on the morning of December 7, 1941, Pearl Harbor is bombed and everything changes.
Rosie's parents, both of German descent -- but American citizens who have lived in Hawaii nearly all their lives -- are immediately rounded up by the military. Though they've done nothing wrong, they are interrogated as German spies and imprisoned, and all the family's possessions are seized. Within days, Rosie and her brother are abandoned and homeless. A relative begrudgingly takes them in until their beloved aunt (who was also rounded up, but released) comes for them. Even then, the children's once-idyllic lives are filled with darkness and discrimination as they can only wait -- and hope -- for their parents' safe return.
Based on true events, Different Days tells the story of a little-known aspect of World War II: the Internment of German Americans.
"Readers will love meeting Rosie, a spunky, resilient girl who faces prejudice, ignorance, and fear with surprising courage and grace."
Yona Zeldis McDonough, author of The Bicycle Spy
"Different Days grabs you from the very first page... Erwin does a masterful job showing the confusion, uncertainty, and fear of those who lived outside of the military bases in the days following the [Pearl Harbor] attack. This one belongs on the must read stack."
Dave Richardson, Blue Marble Books
"Erwin's novel about a young girl hoping to be reunited with her parents is an important one. . . Recommend this to fans of Lois Sepahban's Paper Wishes or Kirby Larson's Dash."
