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katkiyoko's review
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
sarahboudereads's review against another edition
5.0
Oh boy yes, I laughed, I cried, the whole package.
helecturas's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
mitskacir's review against another edition
5.0
Absolutely loved this. The struggles of learning a new language were really relatable and I loved being able to practice my Japanese while reading (Becker does a great job censoring out parts of the English translations to illustrate the character's struggles understanding the language). All of the characters were sweet, charming, and had interesting perspectives and experiences with their home, family, and life in Japan. The illustrations were so charming and made me laugh out loud many times. I would so love to read more about Himawari House, although I suppose the ending should teach me that beautiful experiences are fleeting and must be cherished in our memories.
wollstonecrafty's review against another edition
i adored this - i love a "studying" "abroad" narrative that questions both of those concepts
bookph1le's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars
I thought this was lovely and wonderful. I was so invested in all of these characters, and I loved seeing their stories and learning about what had driven them to move to Japan.
Becker does such an amazing job of capturing the challenges of communication, both in a cross-cultural sense and in a grammatical sense. Language barriers are called barriers for a good reason, in that even when you're really interested in getting to know someone from a different culture, speaking different languages can make that a real challenge. Nao's struggle to communicate in a language she's still learning really resonated with me, and I loved how Becker depicted Nao's growing fluency as a kind of key that unlocked new doors for her. This book does a really beautiful job of portraying all the words that go unsaid because of the challenges of communicating. And the way culture is woven into it all was fascinating.
I also thought the depiction of Nao's struggle to understand where she belonged was extremely strong. I had a lot of sympathy for Nao's sense that while she had a foot in two separate worlds, she never really felt as if she could claim one or the other as her own, since others seemed so eager to define her by how they saw her. I've thought a lot about the U.S.'s reputation as a melting pot, and it's never struck me as a very apt way of looking. There's a lot of pressure for people to assimilate in the U.S., to adhere to some standard that white Americans feel comfortable with. It would be a really beautiful thing if the U.S. truly were a melting pot, where people felt comfortable moving fluidly from one identity to another, where they could be a mix of all the things that add up to the person who's uniquely them instead of being expected to contort themselves into some idea of what America should look like.
On top of all this, I so admired the way Becker depicted individual characters' personal struggles. She writes and draws about the pain of young love in a way that felt so raw and real. Overall, she does an amazing job of capturing how a coming of age feels, of how transitioning from being a child to being an adult means a loss of innocence and a realization that a huge, uncertain future looms before you. I thoroughly enjoyed watching these characters decide to define life on their own terms, and their struggle with who they were and who they wanted to be.
I really look forward to reading more of Becker's work.
I thought this was lovely and wonderful. I was so invested in all of these characters, and I loved seeing their stories and learning about what had driven them to move to Japan.
Becker does such an amazing job of capturing the challenges of communication, both in a cross-cultural sense and in a grammatical sense. Language barriers are called barriers for a good reason, in that even when you're really interested in getting to know someone from a different culture, speaking different languages can make that a real challenge. Nao's struggle to communicate in a language she's still learning really resonated with me, and I loved how Becker depicted Nao's growing fluency as a kind of key that unlocked new doors for her. This book does a really beautiful job of portraying all the words that go unsaid because of the challenges of communicating. And the way culture is woven into it all was fascinating.
I also thought the depiction of Nao's struggle to understand where she belonged was extremely strong. I had a lot of sympathy for Nao's sense that while she had a foot in two separate worlds, she never really felt as if she could claim one or the other as her own, since others seemed so eager to define her by how they saw her. I've thought a lot about the U.S.'s reputation as a melting pot, and it's never struck me as a very apt way of looking. There's a lot of pressure for people to assimilate in the U.S., to adhere to some standard that white Americans feel comfortable with. It would be a really beautiful thing if the U.S. truly were a melting pot, where people felt comfortable moving fluidly from one identity to another, where they could be a mix of all the things that add up to the person who's uniquely them instead of being expected to contort themselves into some idea of what America should look like.
On top of all this, I so admired the way Becker depicted individual characters' personal struggles. She writes and draws about the pain of young love in a way that felt so raw and real. Overall, she does an amazing job of capturing how a coming of age feels, of how transitioning from being a child to being an adult means a loss of innocence and a realization that a huge, uncertain future looms before you. I thoroughly enjoyed watching these characters decide to define life on their own terms, and their struggle with who they were and who they wanted to be.
I really look forward to reading more of Becker's work.
kpeoples23's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
viqwxcs_'s review against another edition
4.0
himawari house
↳4.75 stars
⋆౨ৎ˚⟡˖
˚୨୧⋆｡tropes
↳found family
˚୨୧⋆｡plot
Nao returns to Tokyo for a year to reconnect with the heritage she left behind when she moved to the States. There she meets meets Hyunjung and Tina. They all live together in Himawari house with two boys. The girls form connections, remnisce the past, and hold each other up through bad times.
˚୨୧⋆｡characters
The characters felt alive and were really in depth, they each had they own backstory and somthing they strugged with throughout the story, the main obstacle being not being able to understand/speak Japanese clearly.
˚୨୧⋆｡thoughts
I really enjoyed this story, though my eyeballs started sweating towards the end. I really connected with these characters, mainly Nao, alot and the ending felt like just what this book needed. Though I'm still requesting a sequel where they all meet again and live happily ever after
⋆౨ৎ˚⟡˖ ࣪pre read
reading this in honor of asian american and pacific islander heritage month!
ps: happy asian american and pacfic islander heritage month to all my aa and pi friends out there! <333
↳4.75 stars
What makes something real?
Is it only real if you can touch it?
Is it only real if someone agrees that it is?
Is it only real if it lasts forever?
⋆౨ৎ˚⟡˖
˚୨୧⋆｡tropes
↳found family
˚୨୧⋆｡plot
Nao returns to Tokyo for a year to reconnect with the heritage she left behind when she moved to the States. There she meets meets Hyunjung and Tina. They all live together in Himawari house with two boys. The girls form connections, remnisce the past, and hold each other up through bad times.
˚୨୧⋆｡characters
The characters felt alive and were really in depth, they each had they own backstory and somthing they strugged with throughout the story, the main obstacle being not being able to understand/speak Japanese clearly.
˚୨୧⋆｡thoughts
I really enjoyed this story, though my eyeballs started sweating towards the end. I really connected with these characters, mainly Nao, alot and the ending felt like just what this book needed. Though I'm still requesting a sequel where they all meet again and live happily ever after
⋆౨ৎ˚⟡˖ ࣪pre read
reading this in honor of asian american and pacific islander heritage month!
ps: happy asian american and pacfic islander heritage month to all my aa and pi friends out there! <333
chan_bean's review against another edition
5.0
Oh I loved this :( I really liked how simple and realistic all of the character designs were while still being distinct enough that I could tell everyone apart. I'm also always gonna be a sucker for this kind of story. AND! This is just a me thing but, I loved the use of languages and accents here. I definitely took double the time necessary to read this book so I could practice reading Japanese and Korean all the way through.
lerkis_s's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5