Boy Underground by Catherine Ryan Hyde
Review by Anne Jung, Senior Library Assistant, Central Library
A gripping historical novel dealing with timeless issues, Boy Underground provides a unique perspective of daily life for teens in the United States during World War II.
Catherine Ryan Hyde, deftly and with incredible sensitivity, weaves several storylines throughout. The depth of each character captivates, beginning with Steve, followed by his friends and family.
Steve tells the story of his life growing up on a prosperous farm in California in 1941 around the time of the bombing of Hiroshima. Boy Underground vividly depicts the awful ripple effects across continents that were created by Hitler’s mandates.
Steve chooses a new group of friends at school and an older person in town, who provides him with wisdom and insight that Steve’s family does not approve of. Why is Steve different from his family? What motivates a youth to learn to stand up for his choices in the face of adult opposition?
One of Steve’s new friends at school is of Japanese descent. Suki’s family has their house and vehicle taken away. A Japanese internment camp in another state becomes their prison. Hyde creates a bond between the reader, Steve, and Suki’s family. What empathetic writing!
Boy Underground also explores another aspect of life often neglected. Steve is attracted to his male friend, Nick. How will Steve handle his feelings in small-town America? Will his family learn to accept him and his new friends?
Steve is not alone. Each of the main characters face some kind of misunderstanding, prejudice, malice, or displacement from their homes. How do people cope when their home is no longer a safe place?
Hyde makes each fictional person real to the reader. Their journeys explore lives in pursuit of love, family, and acceptance in a war-torn world where differences were often punishable by death or imprisonment.