Linda Sue Park's "When My Name Was Keoko" is a powerful historical fiction novel set during the Japanese occupation of Korea from 1940 to 1945, told through the alternating perspectives of ten-year-old Sun-hee and her older brother Tae-yul. The story begins when the Japanese government forces all Koreans to adopt Japanese names, transforming Sun-hee into Keoko as part of a broader cultural assimilation policy designed to erase Korean identity. As the family struggles to balance outward compliance with secret preservation of their heritage, they face escalating dangers including Sun-hee's uncle's involvement in the resistance movement and Tae-yul's potential forced conscription into the Japanese military. Through their personal experiences, Park masterfully illustrates how war and occupation affect civilian families, exploring themes of identity, resistance, survival, and hope while providing middle-grade readers with an accessible introduction to this lesser-known period of history. The dual narrative structure allows students to understand how the same historical events can be experienced differently based on age and perspective, making this Newbery Honor book an excellent tool for teaching historical empathy and the importance of cultural preservation in the face of systematic oppression.