Graphic Novel: Gaijin
I'm always on the lookout for new graphic novels. I have one student in my English Language Learners class that devours graphic novels at an insane rate and I'm constantly having to borrow from the library or other teachers to give him things to read in class. My fifteen-year-old sister also is an exclusive graphic novel reader and my parents and I encourage it by taking her to the library often and buying her new graphic novels whenever we can.
I picked one up at a bookstore recently that looked like it was super interesting and I found it fascinating.
Gaijin: American Prisoner of War by Matt Faulkner is the story of Koji Miyamoto who lives in San Francisco in 1941. He has a white mother and a Japanese father. When Japan bombs Pearl Harbour and suddenly America and Japan are at war, Koji discovers that America he was born in and grew up in was no longer welcoming. People are constantly accusing him of being a spy. Eventually, Koji receives a letter forcing them to move to a relocation center for Japanese Americans. He and his mother are forced to leave everything. Unfortunately, being half white in an internment camp might end up being just as hard as being half Japanese in San Francisco.
This story is based on real-life events that happened to some of Faulkner's family members. He does a great job of showing the struggle Koji experiences in understanding how he can be a prisoner of war in his own country--something that many Japanese-Americans experienced during World War II.
Besides relaying historical events, I feel like this book is something that many multi-racial people can relate to. Being multi-racial is becoming increasingly common in places like the United States and many of those people struggle with feeling like they are divided culturally or feeling like they don't belong in either group. I have many of my students who struggle with feeling this way!
The art itself in this graphic novel is kind of a casual style but I felt like it was good for covering the subject matter and the characters. I felt like the storytelling style as well revealed the story in a good way. It incorporates some dream sequences and all of these are included seamlessly in the graphic novel.
I enjoyed this super quick read and I would recommend it for MG or YA readers, anyone fascinated by WWII, Japanese-Americans, or Internment camps, or wanting to understand the struggles of multi-racial people. You can purchase a copy here!
I picked one up at a bookstore recently that looked like it was super interesting and I found it fascinating.
This story is based on real-life events that happened to some of Faulkner's family members. He does a great job of showing the struggle Koji experiences in understanding how he can be a prisoner of war in his own country--something that many Japanese-Americans experienced during World War II.
Besides relaying historical events, I feel like this book is something that many multi-racial people can relate to. Being multi-racial is becoming increasingly common in places like the United States and many of those people struggle with feeling like they are divided culturally or feeling like they don't belong in either group. I have many of my students who struggle with feeling this way!
The art itself in this graphic novel is kind of a casual style but I felt like it was good for covering the subject matter and the characters. I felt like the storytelling style as well revealed the story in a good way. It incorporates some dream sequences and all of these are included seamlessly in the graphic novel.
I enjoyed this super quick read and I would recommend it for MG or YA readers, anyone fascinated by WWII, Japanese-Americans, or Internment camps, or wanting to understand the struggles of multi-racial people. You can purchase a copy here!
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