Thursday, December 7, 2-4 PM: Gordon Nagai, author of “Two Faces”: Meet and Greet, Book Talk, Signing

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Two Faces is the inspiring tale of two friends who live through the dark days of World War II.

The story of fifth graders Nina and Gordon begins in rural California, as the clouds of war with Japan threaten the nation.

Nina's mother is a teacher in a local elementary school. Her father is a county social worker. Following the bombing of Pearl Harbor, her father enlists in the US Army Air Corps and is sent to training camps across the country before being stationed in England.

Nina's story is typical of the disrupted life visited upon millions of families because of the war. The measures her mother and grandparents take keep the family together and safe. When her father departs for England, she and her mother return home to live out the war with Nina's Grandpop.

Gordon's parents are established farmers in the area. His father, a Japanese immigrant, is married to an American-born daughter of Japanese parents. Following Pearl Harbor, his family is forcibly evacuated and imprisoned in an internment camp in Colorado. His story encompasses the upheaval caused by the evacuation, the humiliation of being identified as enemy aliens, and the weight of life surrounded by barbed-wire fences and guard towers.

Nina and Gordon's story is ultimately about friendship, with each standing up for the other during hard times. They remain close through letter writing and reunite near the end of the war.

But just as Gordon begins to thrive in school, Nina suffers a life-changing upheaval of her own.