When Wardell was in high school, he won a Japanese Diet/U.S. Senate scholarship for a Youth for Understanding summer exchange trip to Japan. Although he concedes that at the time of his visit (and the writing of this account) he hadn't read much about the country and could speak little Japanese, he nonetheless felt qualified to generalize based on his experiences living in Kyushu with the Ando family, particularly with the four Ando children, whose ages ranged from 18 to 10. Only the elder daughter and the father (whose idiosyncratic pronunciation was a continual source of amusement) were able to speak English, and Wardell's command of Japanese was so limited that he admits he understood little of the high school classes he attended. With communication so restricted, it would be unrealistic to expect any thoughtful commentary on Japan's psyche or the future of its young people, and no such insights are offered. Wardell's diary, a diligent record of his brief immersion in Japanese family life, is surprisingly reticient about the author himself, with no mention of how he became interested in Japan or even what year he went there. Many of the anecdotes in the diary revolve around those predictable old war-horses-the vagaries of Japanese pronunciation of English, the peculiar foods they consider delicacies and the difficult intricacies of Japanese etiquette. Lacking depth or dimension, Wardell's chronicle promises more than it delivers. (Sept.)
Gr 7 Up-As part of a Youth for Understanding Program, Wardell lived with a Japanese family for a summer, attending a local high school. This book is his diary for that period, edited yet retaining a simple, chatty style. Although readers may feel that the young man should have done a bit more homework before he went to Japan, his perspectives are fresh and unprejudiced. Ostensibly dealing with today's youth, Wardell also makes many observations about Japan's older generations and draws apt comparisons with Americans and their customs. Both nations come in for both sensible praise and criticism, the contrast between the two countries' school customs being especially intriguing. YAs will find that the individual portraits as well as the overall presentation challenges American stereotypes of the Japanese. An eyeopener for general readers, this will also prove a welcome adjunct to social-studies classes.-John Philbrook, San Francisco Public Library
