Tallgrass by Sandra Dallas

Rennie Stroud is 13 when Tallgrass, a Japanese internment camp, is built next to her family's farm during World War II. The small town of Ellis, Colorado is upended with people taking sides either for or against the camp and the individuals inside. Then a local girl is murdered and tensions heat up even more. Rennie's father, Loyal, opposes the camp. He hires Japanese men and women to help harvest the family's beet fields and help in their home. Rennie's coming of age, shaped by her family's convictions and the events of the time, makes for an interesting story. I've always loved Sandra Dallas' historical novels. In fact, they are some of the only historical fiction that I consistently read. The first 40 pages of the book were a little slow, but once you get into the story, it will be hard to put it down.