The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! 😌
ginameix's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
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
4.5
While it deals with heavy concepts this graphic novel does a good job making the themes accessible for middle grade to teen readers. Even though it is semi-autobiographical in subject matter the main character is easy to relate to. A good read for oneself but would also be good for a book club or school reading for further depth and conversation.
anushka_adishka_diaries's review against another edition
5.0
“Our connection to the past is not lost, even if we don't have all the documents, even if we never learn the details. The memories of community experiences stay with us and continue to affect our lives.”
shelfcarewithshan's review against another edition
4.0
This book was a haunting, but beautifully written, graphic novel, which depicts a family‘s journey with coping and understanding the history of Japanese internment camps. This book has more of a fantasy, feel as the main character is transported back in time, and it’s a really moving work. 4.5/5 stars ⭐️
wrenlee's review against another edition
4.0
What a compelling story. It really pulls you into the Japanese internment camps. While they were absolutely horrible, you can see how the people and the community made the experience better. I love how the author Kiku Hughes (I see what you did there naming the protagonist after yourself!) used time travel as a way to comment on how history is attempting to repeat itself. Toward the end, I teared up a bit because of how powerful Hughes’s words of solidarity and perseverance were.
mindfullibrarian's review against another edition
5.0
Such an important and powerful graphic novel about Japanese internment/incarceration camps - also tied to Trump’s racist and xenophobic policies. On top of the excellent writing and importance of the subject matter, I loved the clean lines and consistent color palette throughout the book. Despite the horrible topic, it is aesthetically pleasing and soothing to the eye.
danacoledares's review against another edition
5.0
I read this not long after We Are Not Free, and so elements from that book definitely came to mind, as did The Devil's Arithmetic. Kiku reminds me a good bit of what I remember of Hannah, though it's been a long time since I read that book. Neither character is really connected to her family's heritage, though for different reasons.
I really, REALLY liked the way this one ended, and the connection between the generations there.
I really, REALLY liked the way this one ended, and the connection between the generations there.
julieanncordero's review against another edition
5.0
This was such a moving story. It had a twist on the typical WWII/internment camp story by bringing in modern day issues as well.
The drawings were captivating and my heart broken while reading a familiar story.
The drawings were captivating and my heart broken while reading a familiar story.
luciuh's review against another edition
4.0
so good!!! this is a really amazing graphic novel for all ages, it makes the story of the camps easy to empathize with and understand while also educating and connecting these historical events to the present! also love the queer rep! and how it shows the historical resistance of japanese american activists/ppl to the oppressive forces of US imperialism!!!
jodyanthony's review against another edition
5.0
Moving and incredibly timely story of life in a Japanese internment camp, but also about censorship and education. Connected to our current world and the dangers minorities are facing. Very much follows the concept of “those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” Absolutely fantastic book that should be read by everyone.
saramarie08's review against another edition
5.0
Read more graphic novel reviews at www.graphiclibrary.org.
Kiku is a high schooler on vacation with her mother in San Francisco, trying to find their family home in Japantown, when she gets swept back in time to her grandmother's violin recital. She travels back and forth a few more times before she is sent back to 1942, right as her grandmother's family is being shipped out to an incarceration camp. She is "stuck" in the past for a year, living in the camps alongside other Nikkei and her grandmother, who she doesn't have the courage to speak to. Back in the present, Kiku and her mother decide to research more of the family's history and the history of the Topaz, Utah camp, and to become activists against the camps at the U.S. Border for Latinx immigrants.
I love the element of using time travel to pull us into a historical event. Kiku has a connection to the incarceration camps but admits she knows nothing about them prior to her displacement, so may put her on an even playing field with many readers who don't always get the opportunity to study Japanese Internment in their history classes. This book would be a great parallel read to George Takei's They Called Us Enemy because of the subject matter, but also be Kiku's journey follows the same path as George's - Tanforan to Topaz, Utah. While Takei's book came out as the camps at the U.S. border were being established, and thus didn't get to draw any comparisons, Displacement doesn't shy away from the opportunity to show the immigrant camps, and even sprinkles in throughout the book some of the rhetoric used by the Trump administration that echoes rhetoric used during World War II with Japanese Americans.
Hughes' illustrations are simple and clean, and beautifully colored. The past has a brown palette, referencing the dust of the camps and the dust that precedes displacement. The present has a teal palette, and occasionally the two are mixed together. Character's clothing have the pop of color to contrast with the brown backgrounds, drawing the eye in to them on the page.
First Second rates this book for ages 12-18, and that seems appropriate. Younger elementary audiences have probably not gotten into World War II in their course of study, so they may lack the background knowledge to contextualize this novel. However, for those young readers who have knowledge about WWII, there is nothing in this novel that would make it inappropriate for them.
Sara's Rating: 10/10
Suitability Level: Grades 6-12
This review was made possible with an advanced reader copy from the publisher through Net Galley. This graphic novel will be on sale August 18, 2020.
Kiku is a high schooler on vacation with her mother in San Francisco, trying to find their family home in Japantown, when she gets swept back in time to her grandmother's violin recital. She travels back and forth a few more times before she is sent back to 1942, right as her grandmother's family is being shipped out to an incarceration camp. She is "stuck" in the past for a year, living in the camps alongside other Nikkei and her grandmother, who she doesn't have the courage to speak to. Back in the present, Kiku and her mother decide to research more of the family's history and the history of the Topaz, Utah camp, and to become activists against the camps at the U.S. Border for Latinx immigrants.
I love the element of using time travel to pull us into a historical event. Kiku has a connection to the incarceration camps but admits she knows nothing about them prior to her displacement, so may put her on an even playing field with many readers who don't always get the opportunity to study Japanese Internment in their history classes. This book would be a great parallel read to George Takei's They Called Us Enemy because of the subject matter, but also be Kiku's journey follows the same path as George's - Tanforan to Topaz, Utah. While Takei's book came out as the camps at the U.S. border were being established, and thus didn't get to draw any comparisons, Displacement doesn't shy away from the opportunity to show the immigrant camps, and even sprinkles in throughout the book some of the rhetoric used by the Trump administration that echoes rhetoric used during World War II with Japanese Americans.
Hughes' illustrations are simple and clean, and beautifully colored. The past has a brown palette, referencing the dust of the camps and the dust that precedes displacement. The present has a teal palette, and occasionally the two are mixed together. Character's clothing have the pop of color to contrast with the brown backgrounds, drawing the eye in to them on the page.
First Second rates this book for ages 12-18, and that seems appropriate. Younger elementary audiences have probably not gotten into World War II in their course of study, so they may lack the background knowledge to contextualize this novel. However, for those young readers who have knowledge about WWII, there is nothing in this novel that would make it inappropriate for them.
Sara's Rating: 10/10
Suitability Level: Grades 6-12
This review was made possible with an advanced reader copy from the publisher through Net Galley. This graphic novel will be on sale August 18, 2020.