This compelling and compassionate story delineates the plight of American and Filipino soldiers and medical personnel through the Bataan Death March and prison camp experiences in the Philippines. Primarily told through first-person accounts, beginning with the attack on Pearl Harbor and ending with the rescue mission in January 1945, each chapter tracks the events chronologically, often returning to the same voices. Archival photos, maps, and drawings made by soldiers and inmates are scattered throughout. The fast-paced narrative does not shy away from horrors experienced under the Japanese occupation of the island. The successful rescue operation outlines the critical role of Filipino resistance/guerilla efforts and assistance of local farmers. In rich detail, Hopkinson illuminates an important, and oft-forgotten, episode in the Pacific theater of World War II. (Age 12 and older)