Hiroshima
By Laurence Yep
Published by Scholastic Inc.
copyright 1995
52 Pages
Children's Historical Fiction

Hiroshima is a book that goes through the day that the atomic bomb was dropped on the city of Hiroshima. It focuses on two sisters named Sachi and Riko. When the bomb is dropped, Riko who is working at the army headquarters, is killed, and Sachi is badly burned. So many people died that day but the number is unknown. Because it was an atomic bomb, those closes to the explosion just evaperated, leaving their shadow scorched on the pavement. Years after the bomb, many people died from the radiation. There are still people dying today because of it. Later after the U.s. and Japan became friendly towards each other, Japan allowed twenty girls affected by the bomb to go to the U.S. and have surgeries performed on them. They were called the Hiroshima Maidens and Sachi was one of them. The surgeries are succesful and Sachi returns home unashamed of how she looks now.
The book was very informational. It was like reading a non-fiction. It helped me understand more about the atomic bomb and how it affects people. I had no idea it was that bad.
I would recomend this book, but to an older child who loves history because it was a little gruesome.
The only problem i see is when they talk about the dead and how many the bomb killed.