carriepond's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Displacement by Kiku Hughes is a graphic novel about a girl, Kiku, who is pulled back in time to the Japanese internment camps where her grandmother's family was forcibly relocated. Kiku's displacements are even more jarring juxtaposed with her present day, where then-President Trump and his Republican peers defend Muslim travel bans and family separation policies.
Hughes notes that she drew inspiration from Octavia Butler's Kindred, which I love. Though it doesn't match the genius of Butler's novel, Hughes deftly applies the forced time travel concept to explore the forcible relocation of her family and thousands of other American citizens, which isn't something that was discussed much (if at all) when I was a teen. I like how Hughes also ties the displacement to memory and familial connection, serving as a reclaiming of history that her family felt they had to abandon to gain acceptance and safety in the U.S.
Hughes notes that she drew inspiration from Octavia Butler's Kindred, which I love. Though it doesn't match the genius of Butler's novel, Hughes deftly applies the forced time travel concept to explore the forcible relocation of her family and thousands of other American citizens, which isn't something that was discussed much (if at all) when I was a teen. I like how Hughes also ties the displacement to memory and familial connection, serving as a reclaiming of history that her family felt they had to abandon to gain acceptance and safety in the U.S.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia, Forced institutionalization, and Racism
Minor: Death
sweetsimplenothing's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Xenophobia, and Confinement
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, and Grief
readingwithkaitlyn's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Death, Blood, Murder, Confinement, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Gun violence, Medical content, Deportation, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Colonisation, Grief, and Hate crime
Minor: Cancer, Xenophobia, Terminal illness, War, and Death of parent
Incarceration camps, disconnection, WWII, Donald Trump, Pearl Habor, Anti-Muslim rhetoric (critical stance), Anti-Black racism, Pearl Habor, Civil Rights Movement, cigarettes, starvation, suffering, poor living conditions.rebekkaemmi's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Loved the art and the writing style
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Xenophobia, and Death
sallytiffany's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Wow. This was a quick and engaging read. It helped me learn a lot of history and had a powerful message of generational trauma. I really loved this one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Deportation, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Colonisation, and Hate crime
Moderate: Gun violence, Grief, Emotional abuse, War, Violence, and Death
emily_mh's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
This story is about Kiku, a displaced girl who is landed in the displacement of a whole group of people, namely Japanese-Americans in WWII. She’s on a journey learning about why she feels so disconnected from her Japanese heritage; that it’s because her ancestors were forcefully disconnected from theirs. Her story is about generational trauma and how this can reach through time to affect the present and future. Hughes draws parallels between the generational trauma of Japanese-Americans from WWII, and the generational trauma being generated right now in the US with racist, xenophobic, and Islamophobic immigration policy that lands people in border detainment/incarceration.
Hughes also emphasises the power of memory, of remembering. Both are galvanising and unifying and instructive. I particularly loved this quote on the topic: “But when a community comes together to demand more, when we do not let trauma stay obscured but bring it up to the surface and remember it together - we can make sure it is not repeated.” I also loved this quote, how it implies the consequence of not remembering the past: “Being from the future meant very little when my education on the past was so limited.”
Overall, this story provided a massive learning curve for me regarding the incarceration camps. This is the first book I’ve read on them and I learnt so much. The book is written with Kiku as both MC and narrator which works well, as the story she tells is deeply informative and takes you through all kinds of aspects of the incarceration. Specific facts that have stuck with me are the information about No-Nos, and the discussion on how white people used Japanese-Americans’ history of incarceration camps to feed into model-minority myth in the 60s.
I think that in terms of the medium, there could have been a bit of editing of the panels. There was an excess of landscape and context panels that was unnecessary and led to repetition. But the art style was good; I particularly liked the cleanness of the lines and the fact that the panels weren’t overcrowded.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Xenophobia
Moderate: War, Death, and Grief
Minor: Death of parent, Medical content, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Terminal illness, Blood, Excrement, Cancer, Islamophobia, Racial slurs, Confinement, Vomit, Drug use, and Gun violence
Major: Japanese-American incarceration camps Moderate: forced separation fro loved ones, loss of a loved one Minor: nuclear warfareshaipanda's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
So important and well done
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Xenophobia, and Confinement
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, and Grief
Minor: Murder
bleuennreads_'s review against another edition
emotional
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I am very happy to have found this graphic novel because I was able to really learn more about a period of history that I didn't know much about.
In this story, the author stages herself, following in the footsteps of her grandmother to learn more about her past and that of her community. She therefore finds herself in the 1940s (this present/past transfer brings a little bit of science fiction to the story which is quite pleasant), sent to a detention camp alongside other Japanese-American citizens (including her grandmother). Kiku will live there for more than a year, which allows us to get a vague idea of the daily life of these people who were unjustly and forcibly detained. The only small negative point that is that I would have liked to know more, but the book is still very interesting and quite light while dealing with an important subject. An ever topical subject : the story takes on the backdrop of Trump's anti-Muslim speeches, allowing this trip to the past to echo the present and alarm about the potential risk of a return to the past (by registering immigrants).
To end on a lighter note, the designs are really beautiful although quite minimalistic. There is also a bit of lesbian romance and even if it's absolutely not the main subject of the book, it's always nice to see representation !
In this story, the author stages herself, following in the footsteps of her grandmother to learn more about her past and that of her community. She therefore finds herself in the 1940s (this present/past transfer brings a little bit of science fiction to the story which is quite pleasant), sent to a detention camp alongside other Japanese-American citizens (including her grandmother). Kiku will live there for more than a year, which allows us to get a vague idea of the daily life of these people who were unjustly and forcibly detained. The only small negative point that is that I would have liked to know more, but the book is still very interesting and quite light while dealing with an important subject. An ever topical subject : the story takes on the backdrop of Trump's anti-Muslim speeches, allowing this trip to the past to echo the present and alarm about the potential risk of a return to the past (by registering immigrants).
To end on a lighter note, the designs are really beautiful although quite minimalistic. There is also a bit of lesbian romance and even if it's absolutely not the main subject of the book, it's always nice to see representation !
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Racism, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, and Grief
Minor: Murder and Racial slurs
sofiefarmer's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
WOW! I started off thinking this book would be a solid four stars. It has beautiful art, a gripping and powerful plot, fascinating characters, and a unique take on a memoir (of sorts). I was captivated by the story and moved by Kiku's experiences. What really sold this book for me was the ending. Hughes could have left this as just a story of a girl who travels in time to experience what her grandmother went through in the Japanese incarceration camps; however, her decision to make the displacements a way of experiencing memories due to generational trauma was so powerful. It made this book all the more special and bumped it up to 5 stars.
I highly recommend this book for people wanting to learn more about Japanese incarceration camps and the impacts of generational trauma.
I highly recommend this book for people wanting to learn more about Japanese incarceration camps and the impacts of generational trauma.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia, Racism, Gun violence, and Death
daycia's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia, Racism, Confinement, and Grief
Moderate: Death
Minor: Islamophobia