Wonderful, wonderful---it's a book for the times we are living through now. I am overwhelmed with the variety of topics Hyde covers in the scope of her many, many novels. The emotions of the characters ---how does she manage to give voice to so many of them? I have never been disappointed with any of her books---it's a joy to pick up every new one!!!! ( )

Author Catherine Ryan Hyde has an uncanny ability to compelling depict the struggles of adolescents and teenagers with compassion, empathy, and credibility. A number of her books are coming-of-age stories and her latest, Boy Underground, is among them.

The story opens in the fall of 1941, and focuses on Steven Katz, age fourteen, who is growing up on his family's farm in the vast agricultural wasteland situated between Fresno, California and the Sierra Nevada mountains. His family's farm is large and employs many recent immigrants. A lot of his father's farmhands are the parents of kids with whom Steven attends school. His mother, in particular, is very concerned that the family maintain what she deems appropriate relationships and their standing within the community. So Steven's friendships with Nick, Ollie, and especially Suki, do not meet with her approval. She says, "If your family owns land and other families work that land. It makes them different from us." For Steven, her message is clear. But he recognizes that he is incapable of living his life in accordance with her standards.

That's not the only reason Steven feels disconnected from his family. He has discovered something about himself that he knows he cannot share with anyone, especially his parents. It caused him to distance himself from his old group of friends. Their free use of epithets targeting boys like him became too much to bear.

He announces that he wants to go camping with his new friends -- Suki, Ollie, and Nick -- and elicits his parents' grudging permission. His father overrides his mother's concerns about winter approaching the rough mountainous country into which they plan to hike, noting that Steven has not experienced much hardship in his young life and prophetically declaring, "It'll make a man out of him."

The four boys depart early on December 6, 1941, on a trip that cements Steven's burgeoning feelings for Nick. Other life-altering events take place while they are away. In the moving first-person retrospective narrative Hyde employs to convey Steven's story, he wonders about the timing. They return from the camping trip to a changed world, puzzled when a Japanese man warns Suki to be careful. They observe a handmade sign on the window of the tavern Nick's father frequents: "Japs Keep Walking." At that point, Steven recalls, he realized they "had reached out new era of darkness."

The next morning, Steven's mother tells him about the December 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor. The day after that he learns that Nick's mother left the family years earlier and his father has been arrested for severely beating another tavern patron who was rendered comatose. He initially confessed, but recanted the next morning. Worse, he claims he only lied to protect Nick and can produce a witness -- who Steven inadvertently discovers has a vested interest in lying for Nick's father.

The world is at war and before long, the friends are separated. Ollie enlists and immediately after completing basic training, he boards a supply ship transporting troops and equipment to the Pacific theater. Suki and his family are forced by the U.S. government to leave everything behind, including his grandmother's beloved rat terrier, Akira. And Nick, facing charges for a crime he did not commit, decides he must go on the run.

Steven theorizes that a vacant root cellar on his family's property will make a perfect temporary hiding place for Nick. It's cold, dark, and damp, but he cannot bear the thought of losing Nick, maybe forever. He convinces Nick to hide in the cellar because he knows Nick is a true friend and dares to hope that he feels the same way Steven does. Neither boy can envision Nick having to live underground indefinitely, joined by Akira, with Steven delivering him food, books, and sneaking out of his bed to visit the root cellar in the wee small hours. As he conceals Nick from the authorities -- as well as his parents -- Steven is determined to find a way to convince the police that Nick is innocent since the boys' initial statements were insufficient to keep the police from making Nick a suspect.

Hyde compassionately depicts the trajectory of Steven and Nick's relationship, as Steven serves as Nick's lifeline and protector, especially when Nick's health is jeopardized by his living conditions. Steven innocently and naively believes that his future lies with Nick, and his inner dialogue about himself, his feelings about Nick, as well as his family, and the current state of the world is relatable, resonant and, at times, heartbreaking. As time passes, Steven knows that he must find his own place in the world -- a place where he can be who he really is and be accepted. Will Nick be part of his future in the way he longs for? Or at all?

Hyde's well-researched story line takes readers into Manzanar War Relocation Camp, one of ten sites where both Japanese immigrants (who were legally prohibited from seeking U.S. citizenship) and Japanese-Americans were interred during World War II, injecting details about life in the camp, and what Suki and his family endure. She also credibly portrays Steven's confusion and outrage about the treatment to which Suki and his family are subjected, as well as his guilelessness and wonder about the world as he gradually realizes the extent to which others will go in order protect themselves and their own interests. At the outset, Steven has led a life of relative privilege, but understands what it is like to be different as a result of the behavior of and verbiage employed by the group of friends from whom he distanced himself and his family. He has always felt like an outsider, even in his relationship with his parents and older brother. At the age of fourteen, nearing adulthood, Steven is becoming increasingly confident about his identity, as well as the fact that he will not be accepted by society or the people who claim to care for him if he reveals himself. Ryan illustrates Steven's observations about and reactions to others who are also deemed different by society, most notably Suki and his family. He is faced with choosing to be like his mother, concerned about the opinions and judgment of others, or follow his heart and behave a manner that he inherently perceives to be right. And accepts that his choice might carry consequences such as being branded a "race traitor" and called other ugly names, and the necessity to sever ties with his family, acknowledging that because of who he is, he will never be able to earn his father's approval.

Boy Underground is a beautifully crafted tale about acceptance and tolerance -- of oneself and others -- and learning to draw strength from within rather than without. Once again, Hyde's signature style elevates the story with her creation of memorable, fully developed characters and illustration of their journey to discovering and embracing strength and resilience they have no idea they possess until life boxes them in and demands that they confront uncomfortable truths. Those characters, especially Steven and Luke, are sympathetic and Hyde's fondness for them is evident on every page. Through his experiences with Luke and Suki, Steven learns not just about himself, but about romantic relationships, friendship, and that being labeled different by society does not equate with being less than.

Boy Underground is a must-read selection for fans of World War II-era historical fiction, as well as readers who enjoy life-affirming coming-of-age stories populated by unforgettable characters. It is easy to see why Hyde considers it one of her favorite books. It is sure to be one of her readers' favorites, too.

Thanks to NetGalley for an Advance Reader's Copy of the book. ( )