Mazer, Harry. A boy at war: a novel of Pearl Harbor

Mazer, Harry. A boy at war: a novel of Pearl Harbor. Scholastic (Book Fair), 2001 [0-439-36676-3]
It is early December 1941 and Adam's father is an officer serving on the Arizona. Much to his father's displeasure, Adam has some Japanese friends on the island. The morning of the attack the boys sneak under a fence and hijack a row boat to go fishing so they are in the harbor at the moment of the attack. There are some vivid descriptions of the situation in the harbor, but it is not overdone. After the attack, Adam and his mother wait word about his father. This short 104 page book would be a very good high interest reader but I would be cautious about using it with children below 6th grade because of the attack scene. There are historical notes at the end of the book which give enough background material and would spur further research. This short book shows what it must have been like on the island, before, during, and after the attack. The only other fiction book on this subject that I have read is "Under the blood-red sun" by Salisbury