A review by hellomei
Himawari House by Harmony Becker

5.0

not everyday you get to read something that feels not only real but familiar. i love that each of the three girls got their own very touching, relatable arcs. i come across stories like nao's – asian diaspora visiting asia – more often (though that doesn't make this telling of it any less poignant), but hyejung's and tina's stories being asian and studying abroad still in asia are so refreshing to read about. tina's love for her favorite musician and struggles at her part time job, hyejung discovering herself after moving away, their roots in singapore and korea... augh!!! also loved having their perspectives re:

nao + masaki

and how hyejung immediately thought the same as masaki did. the grew-up-in-asia perspective... we need more books about this!!!

i loved that it was written in japanese and korean and singlish alongside plain english. the way the author wrote the characters' accents did not seem patronizing because of how real all the characters felt.

this book came well-recommended but i didn't realize i'd feel so seen by it...!!! really wonderful.