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elle4352 's review for:
Himawari House
by Harmony Becker
emotional
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Himawari House is a graphic novel that details a year in the lives of three exchange students living in Japan
Things You'll Find:
*Extremely small print*
*Lots of cooking*
*Themes of struggle and acceptance of identity*
Nao, Hyejung, and Tina are living in Himawari House in Japan for different reasons. Hyejung and Tina are both in school, but Nao has taken a gap-year break in an attempt to reconnect with her heritage.
I thought the way this book was written was pretty cool. Becker includes Japanese and English in her speech bubbles to convey both languages and how sometimes Nao, Hyejung, and Tina can struggle to understand what's being said in conversation. It added an interesting touch to the theme of them trying to assimilate into Japanese culture.
Unfortunately, this is truly a book that relies heavily on the reader being able to relate to either Nao, Hyejung, or Tina, because almost nothing exciting, plotwise, happens in this very long novel. The text also ended up being like a double-edged sword for me; because it was so small, the speech bubbles were very crowded and hard to read. Sometimes, it was difficult to discern who was speaking because they were packed in so tightly on the page.
Overall, I feel like this book probably should've been a series. As it is, it was just too crowded and too long to hold my attention without major plot advancement.
Things You'll Find:
*Extremely small print*
*Lots of cooking*
*Themes of struggle and acceptance of identity*
Nao, Hyejung, and Tina are living in Himawari House in Japan for different reasons. Hyejung and Tina are both in school, but Nao has taken a gap-year break in an attempt to reconnect with her heritage.
I thought the way this book was written was pretty cool. Becker includes Japanese and English in her speech bubbles to convey both languages and how sometimes Nao, Hyejung, and Tina can struggle to understand what's being said in conversation. It added an interesting touch to the theme of them trying to assimilate into Japanese culture.
Unfortunately, this is truly a book that relies heavily on the reader being able to relate to either Nao, Hyejung, or Tina, because almost nothing exciting, plotwise, happens in this very long novel. The text also ended up being like a double-edged sword for me; because it was so small, the speech bubbles were very crowded and hard to read. Sometimes, it was difficult to discern who was speaking because they were packed in so tightly on the page.
Overall, I feel like this book probably should've been a series. As it is, it was just too crowded and too long to hold my attention without major plot advancement.