Meg Goes to America: A Middle Grade Review by Guest Blogger, Pearl Burningham

SUMMARY

Meg’s family must leave Japan as World War II approaches. Missionary families are no longer safe there. But Father is told he must stay behind. Can the family make it home to America without him? How will Meg adapt to life in the USA, which feels more foreign to her than Japan ever did? Can she make sense of the religious ideas she was taught as a child, to grow into the person she is meant to be? (From Copperfield Books)

REVIEW

            Meg Goes to America is recommended for elementary to middle grade children, and it is a great book for this age group. The writing is age-appropriate, while still invoking sincere emotions for Meg and her family. Some of the emotional topics it touches on are establishing self-confidence, dealing with grief, and helping her mother through postpartum depression (though not said explicitly). There are also conflicts between Meg and her peers as the war rages on and she is labeled as Japanese. 

            As a highschooler, I struggled connecting with the characters through the writing. However, I imagine that age appropriate children would get more from the book. The plot progressed at a good, slow pace that suited the themes. I felt that the end of the story was a good conclusion to both her dad’s struggles and Meg’s inner conflicts and growth. This is the first book of a series, so you aren’t given a true conclusion to Meg’s family, but you could live with just the first one. 

            Religion played a large theme in this book, as Meg’s father was a Christian missionary preaching to the Japanese. Meg struggled with the idea of God being on the Americans’ side, and developed her own opinions about religion in relation to the war. Additionally, there’s a lot of observations as Meg goes through the culture shock of religion and overall life in a different country. Most of them are rather funny to read as a born-and-raised American citizen. The following excerpt is a favorite:

“The train became Meg’s laboratory to study all things American. Over the next few days, Meg reached several conclusions. First, Americans were loud. They didn’t bow.

They looked each other right in the eye and said whatever they wanted. They chewed gum loudly. They talked about politics loudly, discussing Germany and Hitler and whether America should get into the war.

The passengers on the ship had talked loudly, too, but that was so they could be heard over the drone of the ship’s engines. Here, people talked loudly just because they did. Anyone could talk to anyone about anything, it seemed. Everyone had an opinion and they all expressed their opinions at the same time.”

In Conclusion

Meg Goes to America leaves the reader with a new understanding of the emotional suffering that WWII inflicted upon all those involved, and a different perspective on the process of growing up and gaining your own voice. It doesn’t end in a happily-ever-after, but is rather more realistic with unresolved trauma and clearly seen personal growth. 

For More Information

Check out Katy Hammel’s YA book about Meg, Meg and the Rocks and Jennifer Bohnhoff’s author interview with Katy.

About My Guest Blogger

Pearl Burningham is a sophomore living in North Carolina. She loves all fiction, and can always be seen with at least two books. She’s usually a pretty chill person, until she gets the urge to possess more books. She also paints, writes, and watches crime movies.

Congratulations to Marci Whitehurst who won Adrian So’s debut chapter book, THE GROUNDWORLD HEROES.

For more middle grade book reviews, check out Greg Pattridge’s Marvelous Middle Grade Monday site.