Clark and Division OneBookOneVillage 2022

Read the book all of Arlington Heights is talking about - Clark and Division by Naomi Hirahara. One Book, One Village (OBOV), now in its ninth year, invites the community to read the same book at the same time and share in the experience through related programs and book discussions.

Copies of Clark and Division are now available for checkout at the library, at the Senior Center, on the bookmobile or online on cloudLibrary. Holds can be picked up on the bookmobile, at the drive-up window or inside the library on the hold shelves. Young readers are invited to participate by checking out the following books to learn more about Japanese American history: Fish for Jimmy: Inspired by One Family's Experience in a Japanese American Internment Camp (kids), Dash (tweens) and We Are Not Free (teens).

For the first time since 2019, OBOV 2022 will culminate with an in-person visit by the author on Thursday, October 27, 7-8:30 p.m. at Forest View Auditorium, 2121 S. Goebbert Rd. Naomi will be joined in conversation with historian Erik Matsunaga. Sponsored by the Friends of the Library. Click here to register for this special event. Arlington Heights cardholders can register starting September 1. Registration opens to the general public starting September 15.

RESERVE YOUR COPY AND START READING CLARK AND DIVISION TODAY:

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About the Book

Set in Chicago in 1944, Clark and Division is a meticulously researched historical fiction and gripping mystery set against the backdrop of World War II and the incarceration of Japanese Americans in internment camps. Aki Ito and her parents have been released from Manzanar, an internment camp, where they had...

About the Author

Naomi Hirahara is the Edgar Award-winning author of the Officer Ellie Rush Mysteries. Born and raised in Pasadena, Hirahara received her bachelor’s degree in international relations from Stanford University and studied at the Inter-University Center for Advanced Japanese Language Studies in Tokyo. She worked as a reporter and editor of The...

Attend a Discussion

Are there practical insights and wisdom you will take away from this book that illuminate a larger social issue? Was there anything you learned from Clark and Division about the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II that you found surprising? How is historical 1940s Chicago different from the Chicago you know...

For Your Book Club

Discuss Clark and Division with your own book group. We have sets of books available for checkout.

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We've prepared a list of thought-provoking discussion questions to help get your book club's discussion started.
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Explore More

Want to dig deeper into the themes behind Clark and Division? Explore these resources:

Internment of Japanese Americans During World War II

Japanese American Service Committee (JASC) Legacy Center: Organization whose mission is “to keep alive the cultural heritage of Japanese Americans in Chicago.” Their site includes archives...

Interactive Map

The Near North Side of Chicago plays a major role in Clark and Division. Chicago's Japanese population boomed in the years during World War II as a result of the War Relocation Authority's (WRA) ethnic dispersal program. It is estimated that about 20,000 Japanese Americans settled in Chicago between 1942 and 1945....