Identity issues and mental health crises portrayed with depth and authenticity.
In this graphic memoir, a young biracial woman recalls her complicated emotions when she returns from America to her childhood home in Japan.
Nineteen-year-old Christine is excited to study Japanese in Tokyo, where she lived until age 5. Being “half”—with a Japanese mother and a white American father—has long been a source of pain because it’s been the main lens through which other people, both Asian and white, see her. While leaving Japan made Christine an outsider, she hopes that going back will help her “stop feeling lost” and offer a sense of belonging. She envisions new adventures with new friends, but her excitement is tempered by embarrassment that her Japanese isn’t fluent. Initially Tokyo is thrilling, but even there she despairs of being seen for herself rather than being exoticized. As she’s variously judged to be too Japanese and not Japanese enough, Christine begins to feel alienated and hopeless and slides into depression. Christine’s portrayal is appealing and true to life; Mari captures her fragile emotional state with care and accuracy, and her self-loathing, self-isolation, and endless rumination are brought to life in strikingly realistic ways. The muted light-purple-and-black color palette with occasional pops of color evokes nostalgia and melancholy. The artwork creatively conveys Christine’s experiences, from the Tokyo backdrop to her internal state (such as black scribbles representing the Japanese speech she can’t understand).
Identity issues and mental health crises portrayed with depth and authenticity. (Graphic memoir. 13-18)Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2024
ISBN: 9780316416726
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Little, Brown Ink
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
Small but mighty necessary reading.
A miniature manifesto for radical queer acceptance that weaves together the personal and political.
Eli, a cis gay white Jewish man, uses his own identities and experiences to frame and acknowledge his perspective. In the prologue, Eli compares the global Jewish community to the global queer community, noting, “We don’t always get it right, but the importance of showing up for other Jews has been carved into the DNA of what it means to be Jewish. It is my dream that queer people develop the same ideology—what I like to call a Global Queer Conscience.” He details his own isolating experiences as a queer adolescent in an Orthodox Jewish community and reflects on how he and so many others would have benefitted from a robust and supportive queer community. The rest of the book outlines 10 principles based on the belief that an expectation of mutual care and concern across various other dimensions of identity can be integrated into queer community values. Eli’s prose is clear, straightforward, and powerful. While he makes some choices that may be divisive—for example, using the initialism LGBTQIAA+ which includes “ally”—he always makes clear those are his personal choices and that the language is ever evolving.
Small but mighty necessary reading. (resources) (Nonfiction. 14-18)Pub Date: June 2, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-09368-9
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2020
A powerful reminder of a history that is all too timely today.
A beautifully heart-wrenching graphic-novel adaptation of actor and activist Takei’s (Lions and Tigers and Bears, 2013, etc.) childhood experience of incarceration in a World War II camp for Japanese Americans.
Takei had not yet started school when he, his parents, and his younger siblings were forced to leave their home and report to the Santa Anita Racetrack for “processing and removal” due to President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Executive Order 9066. The creators smoothly and cleverly embed the historical context within which Takei’s family’s story takes place, allowing readers to simultaneously experience the daily humiliations that they suffered in the camps while providing readers with a broader understanding of the federal legislation, lawsuits, and actions which led to and maintained this injustice. The heroes who fought against this and provided support to and within the Japanese American community, such as Fred Korematsu, the 442nd Regiment, Herbert Nicholson, and the ACLU’s Wayne Collins, are also highlighted, but the focus always remains on the many sacrifices that Takei’s parents made to ensure the safety and survival of their family while shielding their children from knowing the depths of the hatred they faced and danger they were in. The creators also highlight the dangerous parallels between the hate speech, stereotyping, and legislation used against Japanese Americans and the trajectory of current events. Delicate grayscale illustrations effectively convey the intense emotions and the stark living conditions.
A powerful reminder of a history that is all too timely today. (Graphic memoir. 14-adult)Pub Date: July 16, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-60309-450-4
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Top Shelf Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 4, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
