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klsreads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
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? It's complicated
4.0
This is a sweet story, a mix of fact and fantasy. Kiku writes and illustrates her journey as a mixed-race, queer Japanase-American unearthing her family history in WWII internment camps. (She refers to interment camps as incarceration camps throughout the book, and rightly so). A magic fog transports her back in time to experience the racism and fearmongering about Asian Americans in the 1940's. Kiku is incarcerated in a room next to her grandmother and great-grandparents and follows their life while cultivating her own in the camp. This is a story about alienation from culture, generational trauma, and the moored "otherness" of multiply marginalized identities. It moved a bit slowly at some points, but it's rich with history, and the art is beautiful. Shamefully, I learned a lot from this short graphic novel. It's a beautiful and real tale of resistance and reconnection.
Graphic: Racial slurs, Police brutality, War, Racism, Grief, Hate crime, Xenophobia, Colonisation, Confinement, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Murder, Death of parent, Violence, Cancer, and Death
smilagros's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
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? N/A
5.0
“ Being in the future meant very little when my education on the past was so limited“. This is one of my favorite graphic novels of all time. I wish more people would talk about it because wow. It was beautiful illustrations and the story was not a history book even though it’s about history. I cannot recommend this graphic novel enough.
Graphic: Police brutality, Racism, Terminal illness, War, Cancer, Deportation, Confinement, Gaslighting, Hate crime, and Xenophobia
brookey8888's review
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-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
4.0
This is a really great graphic novel if you want an easier to digest history of the Japanese Camps. I did learn a lot and it also refreshed the knowledge I did have. At first I was confused about the going back in time but how the author tied that in was good. There was also LGBTQ+ representation.
Graphic: Cancer, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Grief, Gun violence, Islamophobia, Murder, Racism, Religious bigotry, and Xenophobia
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