This is the fictional story of three young women who are raised on the Great Plains of eastern New Mexico during the Great Depression era and are best friends in their high school senior year when the US enters WWII. These young women already know hardship and patience; they will learn about love and loss when their childhood abruptly ends.

“It can't happen here” does not save Akiko from internment with her family as enemy aliens. Thereafter, Susan's and Clovie's experiences create opportunities to learn empathy, generosity, and unbiased thinking. Little Texas gave them clean air, wide horizons, the security of a small community. But the bigoted beliefs they learned as children in Little Texas (a term given 100 years ago to New Mexico counties that border Texas) lose their authoritative influence. Susan and Clovie challenge these beliefs and boundaries.

I created characters and scenarios that unveil those prevalent in 1930s-1940s Little Texas. Though this is a work of fiction, its characters and their stories are fiction, I sincerely tried to accurately represent and fairly analyze the setting.

When I first learned in 2019 about the forced removal of Clovis' Japanese residents in 1942, to prison conditions at Fort Stanton, I was immediately appalled. Writing this novel helped me understand how “it could happen here”.

Nancy Jean

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