Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)

For me, ‘Himawari House’ by Harmony Becker was an easy 5 out of 5 stars read. But does that mean it’s also the right pick for you?

Let me quickly list 5 reasons why I loved the graphic novel and if you think that’s something you might enjoy too, add it your ‘to read’ list. I’ll also point out three things that might not work for some readers.

You can alternatively listen to me talk about ‘Himawari House’ below.

  1. It’s a slice-of-life graphic novel about the often surprising gap between dreaming of life abroad and actually living it, exploring the loneliness and doubt that can quickly creep in.
  2. Himawari House features three distinct protagonists: Japanese-American Nao, Korean Hyejung and Singaporean Tina, which allows the graphic novel to explore three different cultures. It’s heart-warming to watch these young women share their traditions, cultures, and beliefs with each other.
  3. The black-and-white illustrations are super cute, expressive, and doesn’t make you miss colors. I absolutely loved the artwork.
  4. One of the best things (in my opinion obviously) about the book is that Harmony Becker doesn’t polish the broken English spoken by Hyejung or change Tina’s Singaporean English. Their speech is even accented, which authentically brings out the struggles of speaking a foreign language. It’s endearing, and relatable.
  5. For immigrants and anyone who has spent time living abroad, ‘Himawari House’ gets a lot right: the loneliness, excitement, awkwardness and joy of slowly making a foreign place feel like home.

Three things readers might not like about Himawari House:

  1. There isn’t a strong focus on one main protagonist, so those looking for a deeper connection with a character and needing to know about their life will feel a little robbed. Also, the story flow might feel fragmented.
  2. I did not care about the romantic sub-plots being very minor, although those hoping for more romance will be disappointed.
  3. The deliberately imperfect English might frustrate readers who prefer clean, grammatically correct dialogue and think, “It’s fiction, just let everyone speak proper English!”

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Read Next: Asako Yuzuki’s Hooked – Review (Or watch me talk about the book below)