Hunt for the Bamboo Rat by Graham Salisbury is based on a true story and tells of the World War II military intelligence service of a young Hawaiian born American-Japanese who under the code name of Bamboo Rat spies on the Japanese in the Philippines.

When the Japanese invade, Zeniji who is 17 at the time, sticks to his cover story and hides the fact that he is in the American military. He is arrested, beaten and tortured but stands his ground. Eventually, the Japanese accept his cover story and as he speaks both Japanese and English he is forced to work for a high ranking officer. He continues his spy work and his information is delivered to the Americans through the Philippine guerrillas. Even after the Americans return to the Philippines, Zeniji must be very careful how he approaches people as all they see is a young Japanese man not the American hero that he has become.

Hunt for the Bamboo Rat is an intense and exciting survival story. Zeniji proved to be a strong, intelligent young man, a very loyal American who survived as a spy and a POW. His story is one of courage in the face of insurmountable odds and I was glued to this adventure-filled historical fiction novel. ( )

Zenji Watanabe, 17, is recruited for a top-secret mission in the Philippines during World War II. This novel of espionage and survival is based on a true story. Author’s Note, Bibliography, Glossary, Maps.

I put off reading this because I’m tired of WWII stories, at least Holocaust ones; I’ve read a ton of those. But this is not one of those. Bamboo Rat is about an American born Japanese boy from Hawaii. It was a bit of a slow start but quickly picks up after Zenji is employed by the Army to translate for them. He goes to Manila to spy on Japanese businessmen living at the hotel where he stays, and is there when Pearl Harbor is bombed. Then he leaves with the army as they retreat to other islands, goes through some of the fighting, is captured by Japanese soldiers and tortured, survives, and so much more. I stayed up late to finish this one, reading it in just one day. The author’s note tells me the story was inspired by a real person, making it even more impressive to me. I’ve given it to one of our history teachers to read, I love getting coaches to read books. ( )

Zenji, a 17-year-old Japanese-American born in Honolulu, is recruited by the army prior to WWII to go undercover in Manila. When the war catches up to him he is taken prisoner, and spends about four years imprisoned and trying to find his way home. ( )