robinks's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I had a feeling this book would be quite sad and informative about history, but I was surprised by the incorporation of current struggles and recognition of various forms of resistance.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, Xenophobia, and Forced institutionalization
Moderate: Cancer, Death of parent, and Murder
Minor: Gun violence, Police brutality, Deportation, War, and Excrement
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 warfarebleuennreads_'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
rakkaussipsi's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia, Racial slurs, and Racism
Moderate: Hate crime
lhraine's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I couldn't put it down. I was a little surprised that this was not just based off of history but the author's grandmother's history. The world always could use more books on history. This particular book is a mixture of fiction and non fiction which I loved. I wouldn't even mind re-reading this book every year. That's how amazing this book is! I would recommend this book to anyone that likes graphic novels and fiction non fiction mixture.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Confinement, and Xenophobia
Minor: Racial slurs, Murder, and Death
kazbrekkercore's review against another edition
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Finished it in about ten minutes. Very informative about Japanese internment camps, and their lasting effects. Reminds me of The Devil's Arithmetic.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, and Terminal illness
Minor: Racial slurs
thesaltiestlibrarian's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
slow-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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Xenophobia, Racism, and Racial slurs
Moderate: Death of parent and Grief
alisazhup's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
inspiring
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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Murder, and Racism
Moderate: Cancer, Death of parent, Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, Terminal illness, and Xenophobia
Minor: Racial slurs
Japanese incarceration campsehmannky's review against another edition
emotional
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
4.0
A beautifully drawn work that blends memoir and historical fiction and magical realism into a poignant look at the way that communal trauma, especially the trauma that is not spoken about or addressed, can continue to have incredibly damaging impacts generations afterwards. The metaphor Hughes uses of time travel and physical and temporal displacement to emphasize the ways that Japanese-Americans were torn away from everything and everyone due to racism and wartime hysteria is beautifully done. It's just a lovely read all around.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia, Racism, and Confinement
Moderate: Grief, Racial slurs, and Death of parent
Minor: Death and Gun violence
queenqueso's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Hate crime, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, and Xenophobia