Fall Down Seven by C. E. Edmonson is the story of Emiko Arrington, a young teen-aged girl of Japanese and American ancestry. The Arringtons live on the island of Oahu, above Pearl Harbor, where Emiko's father, Lieutenant Commander Charles Arrington is a pilot and flight instructor. The title of the book refers to a something Charles has always said to Emiko: that if you fall down seven times you should get up eight times. He and his wife, Akira, have planned for Emiko to be able to go to college and fulfill her dreams, something many young women at that time were not able to do. Everything changes in a moment when the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor, which the horrified family watches from their home. Emiko's father rushes off to the base and is soon involved in fighting the war. He arranges for Akira, Emiko and her brother, Charlie, to travel to Connecticut, his home state, and stay with his sister, Aunt Ellen. Emiko and her family are stunned by the anger and hatred directed at them on the trip, in the town, and at their school. Each day brings more challenges, and that motto of her father's is beginning to represent a hopeless task.

C.E. Edmonson's young adult, historical novel, Fall Down Seven, captures an aspect of World War II history that many Americans are not familiar with, unless they are living on the West Coast, or are of Japanese descent. Edmonson treats this episode in history in a compelling manner that never preaches or lectures. Emiko and her brother are strong main characters, whose mom, Aunt Ellen, and Uncle Ralph help them learn how to cope with the stresses at school. There's also baseball which Charlie loves, and track at which Emiko is a whiz. There's a lot to like about this book. It has a sober side to be sure, but it's also a very enjoyable read.

In 1941, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor; this incident changed the lives of many Americans. But the Arrington family experienced more change than any other Americans because they were Japanese-Americans. To avoid being thrown into Japanese internment camps, Emiko, along with her brother and mother, traveled to Gardner, Connecticut to their Aunt Ellen’s house. While Lieutenant Commander Charles Arrington was off to the war to fight for his country’s freedom, his family was also fighting a war of their own. Emiko and the Whizz were taunted and shunned because of their ancestry. The church, where they thought they would get refuge, was one of the institutions that made their lives a little harder. But this family kept their heads high and asserted their rights as Americans. Fall Down Seven by C.E. Edmonson is a testament that if you fall down seven times, you get up eight.

I think I have a new favorite book. This book is wonderful. I know that wars are inevitable, especially when standing up for something that you really believe in, like freedom and independence. I haven’t lived first hand in a place where there is war going on, but Fall Down Seven gave me a clear picture of what war really brings, not only to the soldiers but also to their families and their community. This book is fictional but I can’t feel but be proud of Emiko, the Whizz and the rest of their family, as if they were real and I was a part of their lives. They were helpless but they showed the world that they were not weak. I loved C.E. Edmonson’s writing and I love this book.

Fall Down Seven by C. E. Edmonson starts on a perfect Sunday morning in Hawaii December 7th 1941 a day that everyone remembers. On that day Emiko Arrington who is 13 years old is looking through a window at the cloud of smoke that is coming up from Pearl Harbor the dark cloud that is black then gray and black again before going out to sea. The planes that pour down the valley before turning into the harbor, bombs falling and causing the hell on earth that became that day. It only took hours for Emiko and her family to no longer be Japanese-Americans, suddenly they were only see as "the enemy."

C. E. Edmonson has created a rich and fulfilling book with the story of Emiko and her family. Pearl Harbor will always evoke a strong reaction and Edmonson has done a beautiful job of honoring those feelings in the context of a compelling story. I enjoyed this rare viewpoint and consequently the story touched me in many ways. I genuinely felt for Emilo and her family, and it also made me think back to the stories my Great Grandmother told me about World War II, that it brought out the best and worst in people. Reading stories like this which are so elegantly done will help us remember the entirety of Pearl Harbor.