No-No Boy By John Okada

Reviewed By Thea

No-No Boy
By John Okada
Published Combined Asian American Resources Project in 1976
Reviewed By Thea, 8th grade
Marshall Alternative Program
Spring, 2008
No-No Boy...oppression, rage, depression, shame, hostility, grief. A varying set of emotions displayed in John Okada’s Pacific Northwest historical fiction novel.
No-no boy is the name Ichiro is assigned when he comes home from two years in prison because he committed the crime of treason. Set place just after World War II he struggles internally with his Japanese self and his American self, which don’t want to coexist. Over the 251 pages, Ichiro, along with the reader, suffers many blows, and continues to deny himself the pleasurable existence, which he believes he doesn’t deserve. Behind the obvious dark emotions lurk hidden feelings. Hope. Freedom. Individuality. This intense, thought-provoking book will keep you wondering about the ideas few people consider.
Originally published by Combined Asian American Resources Project in 1976, this story of a young Japanese-American will draw you back to what some think of as “a simpler time”, but from Ichiro’s perspective, this statement is clearly false. As said many times in the book, time can help heal the wounds, including the internal ones Ichiro suffers from.