This Light Between Us by Andrew Fukuda

The Light Between Us is the story of ten-year-old Japanese American Alex Maki and ten-year-old Charlie Levy, a Jewish girl living in Paris. After becoming penpals in 1935 through a school assignment, the two remain unlikely friends as they grow up under the shadow of World War Two. Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour and the growing threat of Nazi persecution in Europe, the two must survive through the horrors of Manzanar Internment Camp, Auschwitz, and battlefields across Europe with only their memories and letters for strength.

Andrew Fukuda grew up in Hong Kong and graduated from Cornell University. He is the author of five books and currently resides in Long Island. The Light Between Us was the winner of the American Library Association's Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature.