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Himawari House
Bilingual Edition in English and Japanese
Living in a new country is no walk in the park.
When Nao returns to Tokyo to reconnect with her Japanese heritage, she books a yearlong stay at the Himawari sharehouse. There she meets Hyejung and Tina, two other girls who came to Japan to freely forge their own paths. The trio live together, share meals, and even attend the same Japanese-language school, which results in them becoming fast friends. But will they be able to hold one another up as life tests them with new loves, old heartbreaks, and the everyday challenges of being fish out of water?
Living in a new country is no walk in the park.
When Nao returns to Tokyo to reconnect with her Japanese heritage, she books a yearlong stay at the Himawari sharehouse. There she meets Hyejung and Tina, two other girls who came to Japan to freely forge their own paths. The trio live together, share meals, and even attend the same Japanese-language school, which results in them becoming fast friends. But will they be able to hold one another up as life tests them with new loves, old heartbreaks, and the everyday challenges of being fish out of water?
380 pages, Paperback
First published November 9, 2021
About the author
Harmony Becker
4 books152 followersHarmony Becker was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. She is the illustrator of George Takei's graphic memoir They Called Us Enemy. She currently lives in Mexico City.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,299 reviews
April 21, 2024
A beautiful slice-of-life, coming-of-age tale, a story about community and the struggles of fitting into a new culture while learning the language, Harmony Becker’s Himawari House is a moving feat of visual storytelling. Becker, who previously worked with George Takei for the artwork in They Called Us Enemy, has a real gift for bringing her wonderfully written story to life in graphic form through a fluid art style that is able to represent the spectrum of emotions and keep a relatively introspective story engaging and forward moving. Himawari House follows the lives of five college-aged students living under one roof in Japan as they take classes, work various jobs, bond with one another and share their cultural traditions. Becker perfectly captures the youthful journey towards identity formation, one already fraught with pitfalls of self-doubt that are only enhanced for many of the characters as they struggle to find their place both culturally and socially living in a foreign country. Quietly powerful, Himawari House is an exquisitely empathetic look at language barriers, the nuances of identity and finding strength in friendship all told through an art style that will keep you constantly entertained.
‘I feel like I'm mourning a twin I lost in childhood. A twin who never got to grow up... but who always... always... waited for me to come back.’
While the story weaves between the lives of the three women—Nao, Hyejung, and Tina—living in Himawari House, the book is framed around Nao’s arrival and time there. Nao, having moved to the United States at a very young age, is caught feeling too Japanese while in the US (growing up facing many racist comments and microaggressions from peers), yet too American to feel she can fit in now that she lives in Japan to study the language. Each character experiences feeling out of place (their growing language skills making them often a target of derision from unruly customers at work), missing their homes and struggles of identity but find their shared space can also mean sharing one another's struggles and successes as they come closer together. While there are initially language barriers (the dialogue is written in both Japanese and English to show they are speaking in Japanese, with words occasionally blurred out when a character does not understand them), or, for one character, embarrassment that keeps him mostly silent, their support of each other helps each blossom. They spend much of their time sharing their customs, such as Chinese New Years, and especially the foods from home.
Becker’s art really steals the show here. Based in manga art, Becker deftly moves between realism and more loose, cartoon caricature styles to best capture the emotions of the characters and keeps things fresh, fun, and often funny. She is able to convey so much with the art that illuminates the characters' interior lives beyond what the words can express, and as a friend pointed out, this book feels that it opens up more and is so well suited for visual representation that a prose novel couldn’t convey as well. There is a definite sense of them within the world and society around them. It also expands upon the theme of finding the most effective way to communicate across language or emotional barriers, something most directly touched upon in an interview with a pop singer that Tina is smitten with when he discusses how he can be best understood through his music more than he could put in words.
Language is central to this book, and I really appreciated the different techniques Becker uses to demonstrate language barriers and learning. ‘I love accents,’ Becker writes in the afterword, ‘I think that they add depth and character to one’s speech—a sense of place.’ She discusses how she uses them not only to reflect the reality of learning a language but to subvert the long history in Western media to portray Asain characters with accents for the purpose of ‘comic or exotic effect…this legacy has cemented the idea that to have an accent is to be laughable, to be stupid, to be “other”.’ She reminds us ‘what is an accent but proof of the ability to speak more than one language,’ and uses it in the book to show characters tripping over grammar but reminds us it is a mark of pride because they are learning.
While this is marketed as YA, this is a story that anyone can engage with and it brought me right back to my college days and the early struggles of living on my own. This so perfectly captures the way one learns so much about themselves by being unmoored from their typical routine, and the way the characters miss home but find new enjoyments helps them see what they wish to retain about themselves but also how they’d like to grow. There is also a lot of emphasis on interpersonal relationships, such as crushes and friendships. Something that I really enjoyed was the depiction of a crush that does not work out, but the characters handling the awkwardness appropriately and being able to move forward with remaining friends. It is a charming book that moves at a comfortable pace with plenty of story and insight to make it a multi-sitting reading. Fun, moving, and insightful, Himawari House is a delight.
4.5/5
‘I feel like I'm mourning a twin I lost in childhood. A twin who never got to grow up... but who always... always... waited for me to come back.’
While the story weaves between the lives of the three women—Nao, Hyejung, and Tina—living in Himawari House, the book is framed around Nao’s arrival and time there. Nao, having moved to the United States at a very young age, is caught feeling too Japanese while in the US (growing up facing many racist comments and microaggressions from peers), yet too American to feel she can fit in now that she lives in Japan to study the language. Each character experiences feeling out of place (their growing language skills making them often a target of derision from unruly customers at work), missing their homes and struggles of identity but find their shared space can also mean sharing one another's struggles and successes as they come closer together. While there are initially language barriers (the dialogue is written in both Japanese and English to show they are speaking in Japanese, with words occasionally blurred out when a character does not understand them), or, for one character, embarrassment that keeps him mostly silent, their support of each other helps each blossom. They spend much of their time sharing their customs, such as Chinese New Years, and especially the foods from home.
Becker’s art really steals the show here. Based in manga art, Becker deftly moves between realism and more loose, cartoon caricature styles to best capture the emotions of the characters and keeps things fresh, fun, and often funny. She is able to convey so much with the art that illuminates the characters' interior lives beyond what the words can express, and as a friend pointed out, this book feels that it opens up more and is so well suited for visual representation that a prose novel couldn’t convey as well. There is a definite sense of them within the world and society around them. It also expands upon the theme of finding the most effective way to communicate across language or emotional barriers, something most directly touched upon in an interview with a pop singer that Tina is smitten with when he discusses how he can be best understood through his music more than he could put in words.
Language is central to this book, and I really appreciated the different techniques Becker uses to demonstrate language barriers and learning. ‘I love accents,’ Becker writes in the afterword, ‘I think that they add depth and character to one’s speech—a sense of place.’ She discusses how she uses them not only to reflect the reality of learning a language but to subvert the long history in Western media to portray Asain characters with accents for the purpose of ‘comic or exotic effect…this legacy has cemented the idea that to have an accent is to be laughable, to be stupid, to be “other”.’ She reminds us ‘what is an accent but proof of the ability to speak more than one language,’ and uses it in the book to show characters tripping over grammar but reminds us it is a mark of pride because they are learning.
While this is marketed as YA, this is a story that anyone can engage with and it brought me right back to my college days and the early struggles of living on my own. This so perfectly captures the way one learns so much about themselves by being unmoored from their typical routine, and the way the characters miss home but find new enjoyments helps them see what they wish to retain about themselves but also how they’d like to grow. There is also a lot of emphasis on interpersonal relationships, such as crushes and friendships. Something that I really enjoyed was the depiction of a crush that does not work out, but the characters handling the awkwardness appropriately and being able to move forward with remaining friends. It is a charming book that moves at a comfortable pace with plenty of story and insight to make it a multi-sitting reading. Fun, moving, and insightful, Himawari House is a delight.
4.5/5
March 16, 2023
Himawari House is a YA graphic novel by Asian American author and illustrator, Harmony Becker, focused on the experiences of three foreign exchange students from different countries and backgrounds living in a group house in Japan for a year. Becker is the illustrator of George Takei's autobiographical graphic book, They Called Us Enemy. The art here is B&W, and more interesting if less "pretty" than the art in Enemy.
From time to time I became confused between the characters and story lines, but it didn't matter; Becker excels in showing her characters' emotional responses to events and to each other, and in how she handles languages (subtitles and sometimes blanks where the characters miss or can't translate a word or phrase another character says) -- making her characters' experiences of living in a language-immersion group house real for each reader. Other themes include food, relationships, belonging or not belonging, disappointing traditional Korean parents vs. independence, missing grandma's or mom's cooking, divining when a kiss mean the other person wants a relationship vs. a moment undefined, and divining when silence mean dislike or disengagement vs. feeling excluded by language choices. It was a trifle long, and it wasn't a favorite book of mine but I recommend it particularly for readers interested in authors' use of language and depiction of characters struggling with fluency/proficiency in a country that is new to them. Becker was 100% successful at hitting her target.
Here's an interview with her that explains its appeal.
https://diversebooks.org/qa-with-harm...
From time to time I became confused between the characters and story lines, but it didn't matter; Becker excels in showing her characters' emotional responses to events and to each other, and in how she handles languages (subtitles and sometimes blanks where the characters miss or can't translate a word or phrase another character says) -- making her characters' experiences of living in a language-immersion group house real for each reader. Other themes include food, relationships, belonging or not belonging, disappointing traditional Korean parents vs. independence, missing grandma's or mom's cooking, divining when a kiss mean the other person wants a relationship vs. a moment undefined, and divining when silence mean dislike or disengagement vs. feeling excluded by language choices. It was a trifle long, and it wasn't a favorite book of mine but I recommend it particularly for readers interested in authors' use of language and depiction of characters struggling with fluency/proficiency in a country that is new to them. Becker was 100% successful at hitting her target.
Here's an interview with her that explains its appeal.
https://diversebooks.org/qa-with-harm...
January 22, 2023
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3 ½ stars
Himawari House breathes a breath of fresh air into the contemporary graphic novel genre. I have never come across a multilingual graphic novel so it was really refreshing to see Harmony Becker seamlessly incorporate English, Japanese, Korean, and Singlish in her work. I loved that the English equivalent of whatever was being said in Japanese was imperfect, or incomplete, to convey a specific character’s ‘limited’ knowledge/understanding of the language.
We follow Nao, a Japanese-American young woman, over the course of a year that she spends at the Himawari sharehouse in Tokyo. Nao longs to reconnect to her Japanese heritage, but soon after arriving in Tokyo is made to feel like an outsider, an American, a ‘foreigner’. Growing up in America she was also made to feel like an outsider, with her white peers taunting her for the way she looked, for the food she ate, etc.
In going to Japan Nao hoped to find that which she’d been so yearning for, a place to belong to. Thankfully for Nao, she’s not alone in her attempts to master the Japanese language and understand/adapt to Japanese customs. She bonds with two other girls staying at the Himawari sharehouse: Hyejung, who is Korean, and Tina, who is from Singapore. The three study Japanese at language school, find part-time work, explore the city, go to festivals, share meals together, etc. The story has a very slice-of-life feel that really gives us an impression of the characters’ everyday lives in Tokyo. Additionally, Becker gives us insight into the girls’ pasts, and we learn more about Hyejung and Tina’s lives prior to Tokyo, what led them there, and what made them stay.
I loved the friendship and their moments of bonding together, and I found myself really liking Hyejung and Tina. Now, Nao was harder for me to like. Which is weird given that—to a certain degree of course—I understood her longing to belong, and what she says about feeling more American in Japan and more Japanese in America made me think of how I feel, and I am made to feel, like a foreigner both in England and Italy (*tiny violin playing in the background*). But she had this very binary way of looking at things and her understanding of everything was very…dare I say, American? I could see why she was frustrated by the way Japan is portrayed and spoken of in the West, and her anger at the kind of white people who think that because they watch anime that means they speak Japanese or know all about Japan (there is this hilarious video on youtube that makes fun of this type of person) but the idea that a country or a language belongs only to those who have lived there or have parents who were born there, well, it makes me a bit sad I won’t lie (i am definitely more in line with jhumpa lahiri's way of thinking).
Maybe I am being too sensitive about this because I am living in a ‘foreign’ country…I don’t quite know. Also, while she does usually specify that she dislikes white people who playact being Japanese, I thought she was a bit insensitive towards Tina and Hyejung, especially when she complains about being seen as a foreigner (or seems to see this word as inherently negative) when both of them also are foreigners and will undoubtedly experience xenophobia for not being Japanese. I don’t know, I just didn't like her that much. Then again, maybe I am being a bit hypocritical in disliking her...boh.
Anyway, despite not really liking Nao, I still loved the friendship she forms with Hyejung and Tina, and I did appreciate the characters' conversations on language, belonging, and identity.
The romantic subplots were a bit too heteronormative for my liking (don't @ me, there was some good queer potential here). I’m glad the author didn’t couple up everyone at the house but still…I wish the focus could have remained on the friendship between Nao, Hyejung, and Tina.
While I wasn't wholly enamoured by Becker's art style, her illustrations generally strike a good balance between being cute and simple, and she usually conveys really clearly the characters' various states of mind.
All in all, this is a good read and I look forward to reading more by Becker. If you are looking for a coming of age graphic novel exploring the realities and complexities of being a young adult, specifically of living abroad, well, look no further. The story has many moments of lightness and sadness, and the ending is rather bittersweet. Becker captures the experiences of feeling like a perpetual outsider, the difficulties in learning and adapting to another culture (or a culture that is you consider yourself part of but did not grow up in), and of making your own way into the world, even if it means leaving your loved ones 'behind'. And of course, the multilingualism at play here is just *chief's kiss*. More of this, please.
3 ½ stars
Himawari House breathes a breath of fresh air into the contemporary graphic novel genre. I have never come across a multilingual graphic novel so it was really refreshing to see Harmony Becker seamlessly incorporate English, Japanese, Korean, and Singlish in her work. I loved that the English equivalent of whatever was being said in Japanese was imperfect, or incomplete, to convey a specific character’s ‘limited’ knowledge/understanding of the language.
We follow Nao, a Japanese-American young woman, over the course of a year that she spends at the Himawari sharehouse in Tokyo. Nao longs to reconnect to her Japanese heritage, but soon after arriving in Tokyo is made to feel like an outsider, an American, a ‘foreigner’. Growing up in America she was also made to feel like an outsider, with her white peers taunting her for the way she looked, for the food she ate, etc.
In going to Japan Nao hoped to find that which she’d been so yearning for, a place to belong to. Thankfully for Nao, she’s not alone in her attempts to master the Japanese language and understand/adapt to Japanese customs. She bonds with two other girls staying at the Himawari sharehouse: Hyejung, who is Korean, and Tina, who is from Singapore. The three study Japanese at language school, find part-time work, explore the city, go to festivals, share meals together, etc. The story has a very slice-of-life feel that really gives us an impression of the characters’ everyday lives in Tokyo. Additionally, Becker gives us insight into the girls’ pasts, and we learn more about Hyejung and Tina’s lives prior to Tokyo, what led them there, and what made them stay.
I loved the friendship and their moments of bonding together, and I found myself really liking Hyejung and Tina. Now, Nao was harder for me to like. Which is weird given that—to a certain degree of course—I understood her longing to belong, and what she says about feeling more American in Japan and more Japanese in America made me think of how I feel, and I am made to feel, like a foreigner both in England and Italy (*tiny violin playing in the background*). But she had this very binary way of looking at things and her understanding of everything was very…dare I say, American? I could see why she was frustrated by the way Japan is portrayed and spoken of in the West, and her anger at the kind of white people who think that because they watch anime that means they speak Japanese or know all about Japan (there is this hilarious video on youtube that makes fun of this type of person) but the idea that a country or a language belongs only to those who have lived there or have parents who were born there, well, it makes me a bit sad I won’t lie (i am definitely more in line with jhumpa lahiri's way of thinking).
Maybe I am being too sensitive about this because I am living in a ‘foreign’ country…I don’t quite know. Also, while she does usually specify that she dislikes white people who playact being Japanese, I thought she was a bit insensitive towards Tina and Hyejung, especially when she complains about being seen as a foreigner (or seems to see this word as inherently negative) when both of them also are foreigners and will undoubtedly experience xenophobia for not being Japanese. I don’t know, I just didn't like her that much. Then again, maybe I am being a bit hypocritical in disliking her...boh.
Anyway, despite not really liking Nao, I still loved the friendship she forms with Hyejung and Tina, and I did appreciate the characters' conversations on language, belonging, and identity.
The romantic subplots were a bit too heteronormative for my liking (don't @ me, there was some good queer potential here). I’m glad the author didn’t couple up everyone at the house but still…I wish the focus could have remained on the friendship between Nao, Hyejung, and Tina.
While I wasn't wholly enamoured by Becker's art style, her illustrations generally strike a good balance between being cute and simple, and she usually conveys really clearly the characters' various states of mind.
All in all, this is a good read and I look forward to reading more by Becker. If you are looking for a coming of age graphic novel exploring the realities and complexities of being a young adult, specifically of living abroad, well, look no further. The story has many moments of lightness and sadness, and the ending is rather bittersweet. Becker captures the experiences of feeling like a perpetual outsider, the difficulties in learning and adapting to another culture (or a culture that is you consider yourself part of but did not grow up in), and of making your own way into the world, even if it means leaving your loved ones 'behind'. And of course, the multilingualism at play here is just *chief's kiss*. More of this, please.
January 25, 2022
Quite liked this one. 3 foreign exchange students (one from America, another from South Korea and the last one from Singapore) come to Japan, share a house with two Japanese guys and become friends. Their personal stories were interesting, and so were tidbits about Japan. As a former foreign exchange student myself, I found a lot to relate to here. Going to a foreign country as a young person may be one of the more challenging and enriching things you can do in your life. Highly recommend!
Art is mostly good (black and white), but I truly dislike the style where panels of beautiful, realistic drawings are interspersed with cartoon-like, highly exaggerated ones where I can't recognize any characters. Does anyone know what this is all about? I like uniformity.
Art is mostly good (black and white), but I truly dislike the style where panels of beautiful, realistic drawings are interspersed with cartoon-like, highly exaggerated ones where I can't recognize any characters. Does anyone know what this is all about? I like uniformity.
February 24, 2022
my heart is so full ;-; one of my favorite graphic novels of all time now
short rtc
short rtc
September 7, 2024
4.5 stars ★
be prepared for a long review i am making my comeback 🤗🤗
be prepared for a long review i am making my comeback 🤗🤗
January 19, 2022
As someone who has studied abroad in Japan and is currently living and working in Japan, there is a lot I can relate to in this graphic novel on the study abroad experience in Japan. There are so many things that I like about this, but I'll just share a few things in order to keep this review to a readable length.
First, this story really gets to the heart of why people choose to study abroad. "I'm interested in Japanese culture." "I want to broaden my horizons." "I want to learn the language." These are all surface reasons that we tell other people, but the reasons why we choose to study abroad are much deeper than that. For example, one of the characters is escaping from an overly controlling family. Only by moving to another country does she find the freedom that she needs to grow. Another character is half Japanese and has had trouble fitting in with her American classmates. By studying in Japan, she hopes to find somewhere where she can feel that she belongs. These are just two examples. There are many more of these deeper motivations that are explored.
Second, the Japanese culture presented is accurate. It is clear that the author has spent time in Japan herself. If not, she has done some really thorough research. What I appreciate is that the culture is presented, but not explained, so as a reader you can feel that you are also having a cultural experience . As someone who studied in Japan as a university student, the cultural experiences here feel authentic (although the characters here don't obsess about vending machines as much as I did). However, since the cultural experiences aren't explained, I wonder if someone who hasn't been to Japan might have difficulty understanding some scenes.
Third, I appreciate that there is a lot of codeswitching (a fancy linguistic term that means people mix languages) going on. English, Japanese, Korean, and even Singlish are mixed together in a way that is very natural for a multilingual environment. Japanese was accurately used, so if you are studying Japanese this might be a good book to pick up since the Japanese is usually accompanied by English translations. Also, the Japanese used here is more conversational that you will find in your average textbook, which I feel is a big plus for language study.
I'll mention one more point. There is one Japanese character that comes off as very rude at the beginning because he refuses to talk to the other people living in the shared house where this story takes place. It turns out that he has a lot of anxiety about using English. He actually wants to talk to everyone, but his anxiety holds him back. This is a very realistic depiction of the anxiety that some Japanese people have about using English. Reading this story helped to remind me that if someone is not communicating with me, it doesn't necessarily mean that they don't want to communicate with me.
There's more that I could say about this, but I'll stop here. Just go ahead and give this a try--especially if you are thinking of studying abroad in the future.
First, this story really gets to the heart of why people choose to study abroad. "I'm interested in Japanese culture." "I want to broaden my horizons." "I want to learn the language." These are all surface reasons that we tell other people, but the reasons why we choose to study abroad are much deeper than that. For example, one of the characters is escaping from an overly controlling family. Only by moving to another country does she find the freedom that she needs to grow. Another character is half Japanese and has had trouble fitting in with her American classmates. By studying in Japan, she hopes to find somewhere where she can feel that she belongs. These are just two examples. There are many more of these deeper motivations that are explored.
Second, the Japanese culture presented is accurate. It is clear that the author has spent time in Japan herself. If not, she has done some really thorough research. What I appreciate is that the culture is presented, but not explained, so as a reader you can feel that you are also having a cultural experience . As someone who studied in Japan as a university student, the cultural experiences here feel authentic (although the characters here don't obsess about vending machines as much as I did). However, since the cultural experiences aren't explained, I wonder if someone who hasn't been to Japan might have difficulty understanding some scenes.
Third, I appreciate that there is a lot of codeswitching (a fancy linguistic term that means people mix languages) going on. English, Japanese, Korean, and even Singlish are mixed together in a way that is very natural for a multilingual environment. Japanese was accurately used, so if you are studying Japanese this might be a good book to pick up since the Japanese is usually accompanied by English translations. Also, the Japanese used here is more conversational that you will find in your average textbook, which I feel is a big plus for language study.
I'll mention one more point. There is one Japanese character that comes off as very rude at the beginning because he refuses to talk to the other people living in the shared house where this story takes place. It turns out that he has a lot of anxiety about using English. He actually wants to talk to everyone, but his anxiety holds him back. This is a very realistic depiction of the anxiety that some Japanese people have about using English. Reading this story helped to remind me that if someone is not communicating with me, it doesn't necessarily mean that they don't want to communicate with me.
There's more that I could say about this, but I'll stop here. Just go ahead and give this a try--especially if you are thinking of studying abroad in the future.
March 9, 2023
A beautifully drawn story of a young woman spending a year in Japan to reconnect with her birth country and all the things about herself she hid while growing up in the US. She stays at a share house with some others, and becomes good friends with two of the other girls, one from Korea, the other from Singapore, who are in Japan for their own reasons, but all three young women are trying to find out who they are and what’s important to them.
I loved the friendship, the artwork, all the food, and the tone of this whole story.
I loved the friendship, the artwork, all the food, and the tone of this whole story.
January 5, 2022
This is a long graphic novel (~400 pages) and I wish it was even longer. Delightful coming-of-age story featuring foreign exchange students in Japan. Read via library.
June 24, 2022
4.5 Stars
This was FANTASTIC
3 women, 1 from Singapore, 1 from the U.S., and 1 from Korea, all live in a share house together, with two other Japanese men. The group struggles to come to terms with the complicated intricacies of their identities and tackle language barriers, and build life long lasting friendships and relationships along the way.
This was so tender and heartfelt! I loved every second of it, from the art to each and every one of the characters. The only thing that was sort of unsatisfying was the ending:
Anyways, all that aside, this will definitely makes its way into my regular summer comic rotation, happy reading (: ❤️
This was FANTASTIC
3 women, 1 from Singapore, 1 from the U.S., and 1 from Korea, all live in a share house together, with two other Japanese men. The group struggles to come to terms with the complicated intricacies of their identities and tackle language barriers, and build life long lasting friendships and relationships along the way.
This was so tender and heartfelt! I loved every second of it, from the art to each and every one of the characters. The only thing that was sort of unsatisfying was the ending:
Anyways, all that aside, this will definitely makes its way into my regular summer comic rotation, happy reading (: ❤️
August 30, 2021
Thank you to Teen Ink and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Himawari House is the story of binding friendships, struggles and joys of identity, and mochi that you didn’t know you were missing out on. With illustrations that range from beautiful to adorable to masterfully expressive, Harmony Becker tells the story of three young women whose vastly different paths all lead them to a year in Japan at Himawari House. Nao barely remembers her childhood in Japan after years in the United States, despite constantly feeling too Japanese to fit in. But her struggle to understand her identity is only complicated when she suddenly finds herself too American in Japan. Hyejung hasn’t talked to her parents in Korea since she dropped out of college and moved to Japan, hoping to find her own path and move on from the aftermath of a secret relationship. At 25, Tina leaves Singapore dogged by the feeling that she’s already a failure – no savings, no degree, and still unsure of her future. Together, along with a complex and diverse supporting cast, Nao, Hyejung, and Tina navigate life in Japan and the ups and downs of finding yourself in a new place.
As a reader who is fairly picky about the art in my graphic novels, Himawari House was a delightful read. The visual design and mannerisms of each character felt truly unique and enabled the book to include a robust supporting cast without confusing the reader. The art style moved gracefully between a more comic style for humorous moments and beautiful full-page illustrations that captured the book’s heavier moments.
Among the book’s greatest strengths is its portrayal of learning a new language and being bilingual. All three main characters start off less than fluent in Japanese, while other characters struggle to understand English. By including both the original Japanese and English translations in dialogue, often with gaps and fuzzy patches where the character’s understanding falters, Himawari House captures the experience of learning a new language without sacrificing clarity, and arguably uses the format of a graphic novel to do so in a way that would not be possible in a novel.
Although I usually find accents in dialogue distracting at best, I also came to appreciate the book’s thoughtful approach to this aspect of language learning. As Becker explains in an endnote, “Often characters are written with thick foreign accents for comic effect […] This legacy has cemented the idea that to have an accent is to be laughable, to be stupid, to be ‘other’” (Becker 376). By including many characters with strong written accents when speaking English, she purposefully combats the idea that such characters cannot also be complex and three-dimensional. By the end of the book, I enjoyed the way each character’s accent was unique to them and reflected aspects of their home and identity.
Himawari House tackles some of the most central issues of a coming-of-age story: identity, friendships, and finding one’s own path. The former in particular can be easy to mishandle and clunky to read when done poorly, but the complexity and messiness of the characters led to struggles and joys that felt genuine and truly unique to each character. Nao especially captured the much-written-of struggle of being from two places in a way that felt entirely her own, and I loved the progression over the course of the novel in the way she understands her own identity.
Funny and heartfelt, with beautiful illustrations, strong female friendships, and a thoughtful approach to its depictions of language learning, Himawari House captures the highlights of YA and graphic novels in one enchanting story. Whether you are a graphic novel devotee or simply looking for a good read, this is a book you will not regret picking up.
Himawari House is the story of binding friendships, struggles and joys of identity, and mochi that you didn’t know you were missing out on. With illustrations that range from beautiful to adorable to masterfully expressive, Harmony Becker tells the story of three young women whose vastly different paths all lead them to a year in Japan at Himawari House. Nao barely remembers her childhood in Japan after years in the United States, despite constantly feeling too Japanese to fit in. But her struggle to understand her identity is only complicated when she suddenly finds herself too American in Japan. Hyejung hasn’t talked to her parents in Korea since she dropped out of college and moved to Japan, hoping to find her own path and move on from the aftermath of a secret relationship. At 25, Tina leaves Singapore dogged by the feeling that she’s already a failure – no savings, no degree, and still unsure of her future. Together, along with a complex and diverse supporting cast, Nao, Hyejung, and Tina navigate life in Japan and the ups and downs of finding yourself in a new place.
As a reader who is fairly picky about the art in my graphic novels, Himawari House was a delightful read. The visual design and mannerisms of each character felt truly unique and enabled the book to include a robust supporting cast without confusing the reader. The art style moved gracefully between a more comic style for humorous moments and beautiful full-page illustrations that captured the book’s heavier moments.
Among the book’s greatest strengths is its portrayal of learning a new language and being bilingual. All three main characters start off less than fluent in Japanese, while other characters struggle to understand English. By including both the original Japanese and English translations in dialogue, often with gaps and fuzzy patches where the character’s understanding falters, Himawari House captures the experience of learning a new language without sacrificing clarity, and arguably uses the format of a graphic novel to do so in a way that would not be possible in a novel.
Although I usually find accents in dialogue distracting at best, I also came to appreciate the book’s thoughtful approach to this aspect of language learning. As Becker explains in an endnote, “Often characters are written with thick foreign accents for comic effect […] This legacy has cemented the idea that to have an accent is to be laughable, to be stupid, to be ‘other’” (Becker 376). By including many characters with strong written accents when speaking English, she purposefully combats the idea that such characters cannot also be complex and three-dimensional. By the end of the book, I enjoyed the way each character’s accent was unique to them and reflected aspects of their home and identity.
Himawari House tackles some of the most central issues of a coming-of-age story: identity, friendships, and finding one’s own path. The former in particular can be easy to mishandle and clunky to read when done poorly, but the complexity and messiness of the characters led to struggles and joys that felt genuine and truly unique to each character. Nao especially captured the much-written-of struggle of being from two places in a way that felt entirely her own, and I loved the progression over the course of the novel in the way she understands her own identity.
Funny and heartfelt, with beautiful illustrations, strong female friendships, and a thoughtful approach to its depictions of language learning, Himawari House captures the highlights of YA and graphic novels in one enchanting story. Whether you are a graphic novel devotee or simply looking for a good read, this is a book you will not regret picking up.
June 24, 2022
The way this story DESTROYED me, I just love it with all my heart 🥺💙!
May 10, 2022
i am actually obsessed with this book. the art style is gorgeous and i loved the way the character’s emotions were drawn. you can just tell it must have taken forever and a day to finish this, but it’s worth it: himawari house is a masterpiece.
at first i thought the entire graphic novel would be following nao. born in japan, she has lived in america for most of her life. she’s decided to return to japan and study the japanese language for a year to return to her roots. for her entire life, she has felt torn between her two cultures, and this is a struggle she battles throughout the book. however, i was surprised and then enthralled to find that she was not the only character to get a highlight. becker also dived into the background stories of hyejung and tina, and how they all ended up in the himawari house together - each from different countries, each dealing with their own sets of cultural and personal problems. also, i can’t express my love for masaki!! his social anxiety was expressed so endearingly, his internal thoughts constantly at odds with his resting bitch face. i really recommend this book! 💘
at first i thought the entire graphic novel would be following nao. born in japan, she has lived in america for most of her life. she’s decided to return to japan and study the japanese language for a year to return to her roots. for her entire life, she has felt torn between her two cultures, and this is a struggle she battles throughout the book. however, i was surprised and then enthralled to find that she was not the only character to get a highlight. becker also dived into the background stories of hyejung and tina, and how they all ended up in the himawari house together - each from different countries, each dealing with their own sets of cultural and personal problems. also, i can’t express my love for masaki!! his social anxiety was expressed so endearingly, his internal thoughts constantly at odds with his resting bitch face. i really recommend this book! 💘
March 10, 2024
This is literally such a pleasant surprise for me.
I knew it would be cute but just EVERYTHING hit above that mark for so much.
It was like watching a family grow and raise each other and the commentary on culture and family was so open and organic in this book.
The topics of what is or isn't cultural appropriation what is okay and what isn't.
What to embrace and how to embrace it within yourself.
Obviously I am not of Asian descent so my opinion holds no marks but as for the author's intent of the accent I do not think it held any comedy unless the words bein spoken were jokes. As someone of Hispanic descent I adore that message of our accents are something to be loved and I was so happy to see it.
This was such a great read and I highly recommend it highly.
I knew it would be cute but just EVERYTHING hit above that mark for so much.
It was like watching a family grow and raise each other and the commentary on culture and family was so open and organic in this book.
The topics of what is or isn't cultural appropriation what is okay and what isn't.
What to embrace and how to embrace it within yourself.
Obviously I am not of Asian descent so my opinion holds no marks but as for the author's intent of the accent I do not think it held any comedy unless the words bein spoken were jokes. As someone of Hispanic descent I adore that message of our accents are something to be loved and I was so happy to see it.
This was such a great read and I highly recommend it highly.
December 8, 2021
This is literally such a pleasant surprise for me.
I knew it would be cute but just EVERYTHING hit above that mark for so much.
It was like watching a family grow and raise each other and the commentary on culture and family was so open and organic in this book.
The topics of what is or isn't cultural appropriation what is okay and what isn't.
What to embrace and how to embrace it within yourself.
Obviously I am not of Asian descent so my opinion holds no marks but as for the author's intent of the accent I do not think it held any comedy unless the words bein spoken were jokes. As someone of Hispanic descent I adore that message of our accents are something to be loved and I was so happy to see it.
This was such a great read and I highly recommend it.
I knew it would be cute but just EVERYTHING hit above that mark for so much.
It was like watching a family grow and raise each other and the commentary on culture and family was so open and organic in this book.
The topics of what is or isn't cultural appropriation what is okay and what isn't.
What to embrace and how to embrace it within yourself.
Obviously I am not of Asian descent so my opinion holds no marks but as for the author's intent of the accent I do not think it held any comedy unless the words bein spoken were jokes. As someone of Hispanic descent I adore that message of our accents are something to be loved and I was so happy to see it.
This was such a great read and I highly recommend it.
December 14, 2021
Nao was born in Japan but mostly raised in the United States in her multiracial family. She's taken a gap year to travel to Japan to relearn the language she once spoke fluently as a child but has since forgotten and to reconnect with the fading memories of the land and culture. It's a middling identity quest and coming of age drama with appropriate angst, romance, and an unsurprising arc. Fortunately, she rooms with young women from Korea and Singapore who lift the book with lives packed with a smidge more drama. It's still a bit slow and low-key, but the extended cast helped keep me engaged.
July 7, 2022
HIMAWARI HOUSE Il mio anno giapponese di Harmony Becker. Un meraviglioso fumetto in bianco e nero con il quale scoprire la bellezza delle amicizie e del ritrovare le proprie origini. Una storia che fa vibrare le corde dell'anima. Da 11 anni <3 https://ilmondodichri.com/himawari-ho...
#himawarihouse #deagostini
#himawarihouse #deagostini
November 16, 2021
This is a beautiful graphic novel about not knowing where you belong.
June 23, 2022
3.75*
Don't tell me this is the end... I need a part 2!!
Don't tell me this is the end... I need a part 2!!
October 30, 2021
My thanks to NetGalley and First Second Books for an eARC copy of this book to read and review.
Lovely artwork, nice coming-of-age story set in Japan. My only quibble is that since I was reading on a smaller screened device, I wasn't able to get the full effect of the artwork and I think I missed some flashback memory scenes that confused me, as I wasn't able to make out much detail and wasn't sure who the characters in the scenes were.
I would recommend this in real book format, or read it on a larger screened device so you don't miss anything.
I like how the three MC hs were all from different cultural backgrounds and how they were all open and welcoming of each other and their languages, food, etc. I will probably never get to live for a year in Japan and I will never have the background of these characters, but for a moment, I was able to imagine being in their shoes and able to try to understand how they felt and thought. I appreciate being able to do that, if only for a moment.
The ending was very bittersweet and I hope that she gets to travel there and see them all again.
3 solid stars. Recommended if you enjoy coming of age stories.
Lovely artwork, nice coming-of-age story set in Japan. My only quibble is that since I was reading on a smaller screened device, I wasn't able to get the full effect of the artwork and I think I missed some flashback memory scenes that confused me, as I wasn't able to make out much detail and wasn't sure who the characters in the scenes were.
I would recommend this in real book format, or read it on a larger screened device so you don't miss anything.
I like how the three MC hs were all from different cultural backgrounds and how they were all open and welcoming of each other and their languages, food, etc. I will probably never get to live for a year in Japan and I will never have the background of these characters, but for a moment, I was able to imagine being in their shoes and able to try to understand how they felt and thought. I appreciate being able to do that, if only for a moment.
The ending was very bittersweet and I hope that she gets to travel there and see them all again.
3 solid stars. Recommended if you enjoy coming of age stories.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 14, 2021
This was such a good read. It made me want to stay in a flatshare, and made me miss studying abroad and having a flatshare. I loved learning about all of the characters and where they came from.
March 30, 2022
Absolutely perfect. From the story to the characters to the weaving of multiple languages… this is my graphic novel STANDARD, and I don’t know how any others I read this year can compare.
January 18, 2022
A beautiful and thoughtful graphic novel from Harmony Becker, the artist behind George Takei's "They Called Us Enemy". The story focuses on three young women from different parts of Asia who end up staying at the same sharehouse in Japan as they study, struggle, laugh, and come to a deeper understanding of who they are and what they want from life.
Becker does a fantastic job of showcasing each girls journey individually all while tying them together into the bigger narrative. While they each are grappling with different feelings (like Nao feeling like she isn't fully Japanese or American, or Hyejung coming to terms with her break from familial expectations) they learn from each others rich backstories and cultural experience, weaving a multicultural story that is highly immersive and informative.
I also enjoyed the fact that not every single little thing was wrapped up tidily with a bow or gave the expected "happy" ending. That's not to say the ending is not sad, necessarily, it's just super realistic. Sometimes family struggles go on a while, or people have to leave places they love, or not everyone has a big, grand plan for what they want to do in life and are instead just taking life day by day. At times I forgot this was fiction because each character felt so deeply realized and full of emotion that I thought this must be autobiographical - but no, it's just a very honest and heartwarming read that I think many readers will enjoy.
Becker does a fantastic job of showcasing each girls journey individually all while tying them together into the bigger narrative. While they each are grappling with different feelings (like Nao feeling like she isn't fully Japanese or American, or Hyejung coming to terms with her break from familial expectations) they learn from each others rich backstories and cultural experience, weaving a multicultural story that is highly immersive and informative.
I also enjoyed the fact that not every single little thing was wrapped up tidily with a bow or gave the expected "happy" ending. That's not to say the ending is not sad, necessarily, it's just super realistic. Sometimes family struggles go on a while, or people have to leave places they love, or not everyone has a big, grand plan for what they want to do in life and are instead just taking life day by day. At times I forgot this was fiction because each character felt so deeply realized and full of emotion that I thought this must be autobiographical - but no, it's just a very honest and heartwarming read that I think many readers will enjoy.
November 24, 2021
Excellent!! I want everyone in my life to read this beautiful slice of life story about three young adults navigating their cultural differences. It’s illustrated so beautifully and told so well.
August 26, 2023
Loved it. It felt so real and intimate that I would have thought it was a memoir, if I didn’t already know it is fiction. I love love love the presentation of accented speech and different languages, including Singlish which is just so close to home!! Haha I laughed so much at the Singlish. This book embraces language differences in a really lovely way that I feel we need more of in this world. In the media and in the real world, accents are too often treated as inferior and something to be ashamed of, thus it sometimes becomes either used for comic effect or skirted around as if it’s wrong and demeaning to show that some people speak with accents or with less fluency. Accents or different levels of fluency is normal, and it won’t be demeaning if you simply treat these people as normal, fully actualised people. As the author says in a note at the end of the book, “what is an accent but proof of the ability to speak more than one language?”
December 23, 2021
Himawari House was a graphic novel unlike anything else I've read. The character development of Nao, Hyejung, and Tina was wonderfully done. Each of them had a rich backstory that unfolded in such a rewarding way over the course of the story. The love that these three friends have for each other was such a lovely thing to see.
Becker's depiction of language in Himawari House was incredibly cool. Telling this story in a visual format allows for the reader to see the good intentions and awkwardness that can come from trying to connect with others in a new language.
Himawari House was a moving read with a rich, emotional story and lovable characters. I can't wait to read more from Harmony Becker.
Becker's depiction of language in Himawari House was incredibly cool. Telling this story in a visual format allows for the reader to see the good intentions and awkwardness that can come from trying to connect with others in a new language.
Himawari House was a moving read with a rich, emotional story and lovable characters. I can't wait to read more from Harmony Becker.
February 11, 2022
Three foreign exchange students from the US, South Korea, and Singapore, live together in Himawari House in Tokyo. These three young women and two young men round out the crew. I really liked the themes explored in this story, and the deft and respectful handling of the various Asian cultures and languages. Each person has their own reason for being there, and their backstories are well fleshed out. I really liked the illustrations too.
If you've ever lived in a country where you don't speak the language, there's much in this YA graphic novel that will resonate. If you are an immigrant and are deemed too much of one thing, and not enough of another, this story will resonate.
If you've ever lived in a country where you don't speak the language, there's much in this YA graphic novel that will resonate. If you are an immigrant and are deemed too much of one thing, and not enough of another, this story will resonate.
February 15, 2022
One could literally write a paper on this book and all the issues that it explores - sense of belonging for first generation immigrants, immigrant experience, parental expectations, friendship, love, family. What I loved the most was the author's afterword about the use of accent in this book. Accents of Asian people have been long used for comic relief. Harmony Becker gives her characters authentic accents because she loves accents. She thinks "they add depth and character to one's speech - a sense of place." She writes, "What is an accent but proof of the ability to speak more than one language?"
December 7, 2021
I’d like to recommend this graphic novel. Ceritanya tentang tiga exchange students yang homestay di Jepang. Belajar bahasa, budaya, dan yang terpenting tentang belonging.
Uniknya, di buku ini memperlihatkan aksen orang Asia ngomong Bahasa Inggris yang bukan sekadar lucu2an, tapi memperlihatkan bahwa kita harus bangga dengan keunikan aksen masing2. Selain itu, di banyak panel ada terjemahan Jepang-Inggris, jadi cocok buat yg lagi belajar Bahasa Jepang.
Ceritanya ringan, heartwarming, dan kocak melihat interaksi anak Amerika-Jepang, Thailand, dan Singapur 😂 a must read!
Uniknya, di buku ini memperlihatkan aksen orang Asia ngomong Bahasa Inggris yang bukan sekadar lucu2an, tapi memperlihatkan bahwa kita harus bangga dengan keunikan aksen masing2. Selain itu, di banyak panel ada terjemahan Jepang-Inggris, jadi cocok buat yg lagi belajar Bahasa Jepang.
Ceritanya ringan, heartwarming, dan kocak melihat interaksi anak Amerika-Jepang, Thailand, dan Singapur 😂 a must read!
May 26, 2023
Dibujo 4⭐
Personajes 4⭐
Argumento 5⭐
Coherencia 5⭐
Originalidad 4⭐
Disfrute 4⭐
Personajes 4⭐
Argumento 5⭐
Coherencia 5⭐
Originalidad 4⭐
Disfrute 4⭐
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