I have been reading this book with my eight year old son, and although it's not specifically written for a boy his age he appears to enjoy it very much. Set in Honolulu, Hawaii--where we live--it follows two young boys, the Hawaiian-born Japanese Tomi and his Caucasian friend Billy, during the days preceding and following the attack by Japanese planes on Pearl Harbor. The dramatic event that drags America into World War II changes the boys' lives.

Books, such as these, are a wonderful instrument to bring history and historic events to an impressionable young mind. Salisbury writes in an easy going manner, painting the world of those days in simple strokes, and bringing to life memorable characters during tumultuous times.

Rudolf Helder

I think that Under the Blood-Red Sun is a very egicational book for children who don't know that much about World War II. All-thow it is for children older then I am, I still understand most of it. The book is about a Japanese boy named Tomi, and his family who live on Oahu at the time of World War II. In the book lots of exciting , scarry, and mysterius hings happen to them.

Kaeo Helder

From Booklist , 10/15/94:
Gr. 5-9. Salisbury captures the dilemma of the Japanese who lived in Hawaii during World War II through the narrator, Tomi, born in Hawaii, and his Japanese parents, who had escaped the poverty of Japan, only to find themselves enmeshed in a war they are unprepared to fight. As tensions between Japan and the U.S. mount, eighth-grader Tomi finds himself more and more the target of his classmates' and neighbors' suspicions. Well aware of the increasing tension between native islanders and Japanese immigrants, Tomi desperately tries to tone down his grandfather's displays of nationalistic and family pride, a job the boy finds distasteful (he, too, loves the stories of his ancestors), yet horrifyingly necessary. Neither his grandfather nor the rest of the family can ignore the seriousness of the situation after the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor. On a baseball field when the first planes fly over, Tomi and his best friend, Billy, climb a nearby tree to escape the strafing and to see what is happening. Salisbury spares few details--the fear, the horror, the sounds, the smells all envelop the reader as they do the characters. And so do the grief and shame. The Japanese embarrassment is palatable, and, of course, life is never the same again. Tomi's father is eventually deported to a U.S. prison camp; his mother loses her job; and his little sister is so traumatized that she refuses to leave the house. The action-packed novel focuses on the Japanese American perspective during World War II; yet, there are few real villains here. The author subtly reveals the natural suspicions of the Americans and the equally natural bewilderment of the Japanese immigrants when they suddenly become the personification of the enemy. It is a tribute to the writer's craft that, though there are no easy answers in the story, there is empathy for both cultures. For an equally impressive view of the Japanese American experience during the war, see Stanley, below.
Copyright© 1994, American Library Association. All rights reserved

From Kirkus Reviews , 10/15/94:
Salisbury (Blue Skin of the Sea, 1992) traces the life of Tomikazu Nakaji, a Japanese-American boy in Hawaii, from just before the bombing of Pearl Harbor to immediately following it. The change is, of course, dramatic--from a carefree, if poor, 12-year-old schoolboy, Tomi becomes an enemy in the eyes of his neighbors. His gentle, fisherman father is imprisoned, his boat sunk. Tomi's grandfather, a harmless old man, is taken away. Alone with his mother and five-year-old sister, Tomi must become the man of the family, despite his own fear. In addition to his daily worries, he must reconcile the disgrace he suffers from the surprise bombing with the pride he has in his heritage, a pride that he feels more keenly now that his father and grandfather are no longer there to preserve it for him. Although many non-Japanese are cruel to Tomi and his family, the characters who stand out are the ones who are generous and understanding: a Hawaiian friend of Tomi's grandfather, a wealthy haole (white) neighbor, and Tomi's friends of all races, who stick by him through everything and struggle to understand his plight. Salisbury evokes historical time and place effortlessly so that the true message of the story--the value of friendship--shines through. (Fiction. 10+) -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

From Horn Book :
For Tomikazu Nakaji, growing up on Oahu, Hawaii, means fishing, playing baseball, and going to school. When the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor, though, his world is shattered. Papa and Grandpa are arrested, and Tomi and his mother must struggle to preserve the dignity of the Nakaji name. Rich in historical detail, the book achieves moments of striking clarity as it explores issues of responsibility, blame, and identity. -- Copyright © 1995 The Horn Book, Inc. All rights reserved.

The author, Graham Salisbury (GrahamSal@aol.com) , 11/22/96:
1995 Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction
I had to write this book twice, from two different points of view, before it started singing for me. Spending time with these boys was an enormous pleasure. Under the Blood-Red Sun won the 1995 Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction, an honor I absolutely treasure, because Scott O'Dell's Island of the Blue Dolphins was THE young-reader book that got me interested in writing for that group of readers. Funny how things work out. Life is good. --This text refers to the paperback (reprint) edition of this title.

Amazon.com: How did you begin writing? Did you intend to become an author, or do you have a specific reason or reasons for writing each book?

G.S.: Out of high school I wanted to be a rock and roll star. I was a crummy student, flunked English in college ... twice. Then, after quitting college and having spent seven years in the music business (I was in a group called "The Millennium" on Columbia Records), I decided to get serious about my life. I went back to college, graduated with honors (including English), and ended up (years later) writing books for young readers. I love young people, love writing about them, love writing for them.

Amazon.com: What authors do you like to read? What book or books have had a strong influence on you or your writing? G.S.:

The book that had the greatest influence on my entire life is Alex Haley's ROOTS. When my first son, Miles, was born, I would give him his bottle late at night. For some odd reason I picked up ROOTS and started to read (to that point in my life I had not been a reader). That book hooked me hard, sucked me in. I was Chicken George, I was Kunta Kinte, I was in love with the experience of reading. Since that time I have read every day of my life. Today I read everything of quality that I can find.

Amazon.com: Could you describe the mundane details of writing: How many hours a day do you devote to writing? Do you write a draft on paper or at a keyboard (typewriter or computer)? Do you have a favorite location or time of day (or night) for writing? What do you do to avoid--or seek!--distractions?

G.S.: I do not seek distractions. I learned early on that if I wanted to be a writer, then I must write. I cannot work at home (I'd feel too guilty, that I should be helping Robyn, my wife, with our two little squirts, Keenan and Zachary). I get up at five in the morning and am in my downtown (Portland, Oregon) office by six-fifteen. I work at my computer until eleven or so. I love my computer. I use a Mac, loaded up with lots of memory and Microsoft Word.

Amazon.com: Do you meet your readers at book signings, conventions, or similar events? Do you interact with your readers electronically through e-mail or other online forums?

G.S.: I mostly interact with my readers in middle schools, which I visit often. I have been all over the country doing this. I meet hundreds of teachers and librarians at their various conventions. I love teachers and librarians! They are a very committed lot. And I love that I can talk books with them. I try to answer all fan mail, e-mail or snail mail.

Amazon.com: When and how did you get started on the Net? Do you read any newsgroups such as rec.arts.books and rec.arts.sf.written, mailing lists, or other on-line forums? Do you use the Net for research--or is it just another time sink? Are you able to communicate with other writers or people you work with over the Net?

G.S.: I am fairly new to the internet. I use e-mail a lot, and LOVE book-shopping at Amazon.com. I want very much to use this medium (the net) for research, but have yet to figure out how. I am interested in writerly net offerings, when I can find them. The internet is fast becoming my choice of communication.

Amazon.com: Feel free to use this space to write about whatever you wish: your family, your hometown, hobbies, favorite places, where you've lived, where you went to school, what jobs you have had, your last (or planned) vacation, your favorite color/food/pet/song/movie, what books you'd take to a desert island, what you intend to do before you die, or what you think of just about anything.

G.S.: I just feel fortunate to have reached this point in my life. I should not have been allowed to live beyond the age of 12. Like a lot of boys, I did many utterly stupid things early on (once sat out on my surfboard with four other boys -- this was in Hawaii, where I was raised -- with a shark circling, just because I didn't want to be called "chicken" upon getting the heck out of there. If that ain't stupid, than nothing is).