Why/how is character important to understand the book Eyes of the Emperor written by Graham Salisbury?Teaching/recommending this book to students

In order for 7th-9th grade students to connect to this
story, they must (and certainly will) connect to the story's narrator, Eddy Okubo.  If I
were introducing the novel to my class for the first time, I would start with the
characteristics of Eddy that would interest my students first.  I would also frame
discussion questions around circumstances in the book in order for students to see that
despite their differences with the main character, they probably have much in common
with him also.

Eddy
Okubo:

• Japanese American.  How has
  race/background/other differences affected your life positively and
  negatively?


• He is 16 years old and lives in
  Hawaii when Pearl Harbor is bombed.  Be sure to give background on Pearl
  Harbor if this is not yet part of your students' knowledge
  base.


• He lies about his age in order to join
  the Army.  Different groups of students have very different perspectives on
  the "nobility" of serving in the military.  This might be a discussion to have before
  introducing the book.


• Eddy's father
  immediately disagrees with his decision, so Eddy is knowingly rebelling (against his
  family and possibly Japan).  A discussion point here might be something along
  the lines of: talk about a time you did something you believed was the right thing to
  do, but your family disagreed.

In
my opinion, the more students can relate to Eddy, the more they will ultimately take
away from reading this novel.  If they cannot find a connection to this character,
likely they will not enjoy the book.