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4.43 AVERAGE
4.43 AVERAGE
this was so beautiful!!! made my heart hurt in so many different ways
i do wish hyejung and tina got a bit more time for their stories, but overall such a worthwhile read
i do wish hyejung and tina got a bit more time for their stories, but overall such a worthwhile read
emotional
I really loved all the character and various storylines but wished we would have stuck w one at a time bc it feels incomplete when we do skip around. It feels like I missed some moments in the characters’ journey but also by jumping around some of the arc lose their impact. They were still impactful at the end but it would have been so much more impactful if we saw the characters go through it. Without that focus, you just feel surface emotions like aw this is sad but you’re not crying about it.
I really liked seeing the divide between asian americans and asian being depicted and also the struggles of learning a language even if u grew up w it. Very well done and i felt seen.
This review is a mess. Maybe I’ll come back and rewrite it lol.
I really liked seeing the divide between asian americans and asian being depicted and also the struggles of learning a language even if u grew up w it. Very well done and i felt seen.
This review is a mess. Maybe I’ll come back and rewrite it lol.
So amazing, loved it. Had me sobbing in an office building.
emotional
hopeful
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:
Complicated
emotional
funny
lighthearted
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:
No
a wonderful, beautifully written and illustrated book. this is a labor of love. i enjoyed getting to know all of the characters of the himawari house, especially our main trio. the story is framed by nao’s year abroad in japan, as she figures out her place in japan after moving to the US as a child. i related the most to nao in her diasporic struggles and attempts to figure out who she is (japanese? american? neither? both? something entirely different?) tina and hyejung are great characters who go through their own bouts with family, purpose, and outsiderness in a foreign country.
i gotta give creds to the author for juggling all of the different languages in this book. oftentimes, a character’s speech bubble will have, for ex, spoken japanese but translated english underneath it. sometimes, japanese words are replaced with squiggles to show a character’s language gap. it captures the struggles of learning a new language and actually using it and trying to imply meaning and figure things out. sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. the inclusion of accents in spoken english was also a plus, showing us that english has all different varieties. it is an incredible feat to include so many variants of language in written and drawn form.
i mean. if you can’t tell, i’m a big fan. this book was just so sweet, touching, and emotional, and was truly carried by the friendships of the house. 10/10
i gotta give creds to the author for juggling all of the different languages in this book. oftentimes, a character’s speech bubble will have, for ex, spoken japanese but translated english underneath it. sometimes, japanese words are replaced with squiggles to show a character’s language gap. it captures the struggles of learning a new language and actually using it and trying to imply meaning and figure things out. sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. the inclusion of accents in spoken english was also a plus, showing us that english has all different varieties. it is an incredible feat to include so many variants of language in written and drawn form.
i mean. if you can’t tell, i’m a big fan. this book was just so sweet, touching, and emotional, and was truly carried by the friendships of the house. 10/10
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Racism, Toxic relationship, Sexual harassment
emotional
funny
reflective
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:
Complicated
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes