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panda_incognito 's review for:
Himawari House
by Harmony Becker
This graphic novel is cute and heartwarming. I was planning to read it anyway, and am pleased that I can get school credit by reading it for the Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders category in my Materials for Adolescents class. It is definitely a great selection for the category, since the book focuses on young people from different Asian backgrounds who travel to Japan and get to know each other in a shared household.
The book focuses on three young women who become friends, and the story addresses powerful themes related to identity, family expectations, language struggles, first love, and regret. At times, I felt like there was too much going on for me to follow it all, and I sometimes felt confused over the transition points into and out of flashbacks, but I was very impressed with the story and art style.
In terms of content notes, there is some very mild language, and there are some flashbacks showing one of the girls in bed with a previous boyfriend. The illustrations are sexual, but not graphic, and there are almost no sexual references aside from this.
I love the way that the author includes both Japanese characters and English translations when characters are speaking in Japanese, and when some of the characters talk in English, she spells out their accents on the page. I appreciate this, since it honors people as they are instead of hiding accents as something to be ashamed of or gloss over. The author includes a very thoughtful note about this at the end of the book.
This is a very beautiful book, and it will appeal to teens with Asian backgrounds or interest in Asian countries. I would also recommend it more generally to anyone who enjoys graphic novels and coming-of-age stories. I found this very enjoyable, and would recommend it to both teens and adults.
The book focuses on three young women who become friends, and the story addresses powerful themes related to identity, family expectations, language struggles, first love, and regret. At times, I felt like there was too much going on for me to follow it all, and I sometimes felt confused over the transition points into and out of flashbacks, but I was very impressed with the story and art style.
In terms of content notes, there is some very mild language, and there are some flashbacks showing one of the girls in bed with a previous boyfriend. The illustrations are sexual, but not graphic, and there are almost no sexual references aside from this.
Spoiler
We later learn that this relationship involved the man cheating on his girlfriend, and he later deserts the girl he cheated with. This could be triggering for some readers, but it is only a minor part of the whole graphic novel.I love the way that the author includes both Japanese characters and English translations when characters are speaking in Japanese, and when some of the characters talk in English, she spells out their accents on the page. I appreciate this, since it honors people as they are instead of hiding accents as something to be ashamed of or gloss over. The author includes a very thoughtful note about this at the end of the book.
This is a very beautiful book, and it will appeal to teens with Asian backgrounds or interest in Asian countries. I would also recommend it more generally to anyone who enjoys graphic novels and coming-of-age stories. I found this very enjoyable, and would recommend it to both teens and adults.