Displacement is a historical fiction tied with a memoir of Kiku Hughes. It's about Kiku who finds herself relaxing one day and suddenly fog blurs her vision and she is no longer aware of where she is and why. Eventually she finds out that these "displacements" are pulling her back in time to live through and see her grandmother's experiences in the Japanese internment camps because in WWII. She learns why her culture seems as if its been diminished overtime as well as why no one now speaks Japanese. Even though this is part fictional, much of it sadly true. The Japanese Americans in the internment camps faced many adversities, were shown very little respect, and were completely controlled and mistreated. This book definitely teaches you things you may not have known from your high school history class. The connection and conversation Kiku has with her mother at the end of the story after Kiku's third displacement was heartwarming and sensitive. The illustrations are gorgeous and I loved the color palette to fit with the 1940's era.

A mix of nonfiction and fantasy in this semi-biographical graphic novel, Displacement by Kiku Hughes interrogates generational trauma and collective memory in a thoughtful and artistically beautiful way.

As an educator, I am always looking for YA fiction that exposes students to American historical events that are often not taught or glossed over in school. The history of Japanese internment during World War II is one of them. So, I was glad to find the new graphic novel Displacement by Kiku Hughes. Hughes uses inspiration from her own life to tell the story of sixteen-year-old Kiku who travels back in time to experience life in a Japanese internment camp—the same camp her grandmother is in. The story begins when during a vacation in San Francisco when Kiku and her mother go on a search in Japantown to find her late grandmother’s childhood home. It is here that Kiku feels disconnected from her Japanese heritage, as well as comes to the realization that she doesn’t know much about her grandmother’s experience during World War II. As a result, Kiku has a series of episodes that cause her to time travel, which she calls displacements. One of those displacements sets her in 1943 at the Tanforan Assembly Center. Thus begins her journey. Displacement gives a good account of the internment of Japanese Americans with an emotional story that illustrates the conditions and treatment they endured, as well as demonstrates their resilience and rebellion. Hughes, also through the novel, helps enlighten readers on the impact the historical event had on future generations. As Kiku is experiencing life in the camps, she begins to understand why many of the Japanese traditions and language were not passed down and why there was a reluctance to talk about the pain of being interred. The author also uses the story to show how history can repeat itself when it is lost. She does this by intertwining in the story the recent detention of immigrant children at U.S. facilities. These facilities happen to be the same internment camps that housed Japanese Americans. Overall, I was pleased with Displacement and believes it is a worthy book to add to the reading list to young and older readers alike.

What was it like to live in a Japanese Internment camp during World War II? Hughes shares a modern-day perspective through her semi-biographical, historical fiction, graphic novel. Hughes, as the protagonist, unexpectedly travels back in time (courtesy of a fog) to see her grandmother's journey during the relocation of Japanese Americans to a race track and then to a desert camp. Hughes and the reader become aware of U. S. mandates, daily issues, loyalty questionnaires, and an overall sense of what a person experienced at these camps. The family delves into the why's, like why her mom didn't speak Japanese to why she lived in New York and not San Francisco. Family history and research about the camps helps the modern day family bond and come to an understanding about the unanswered why's.

Part fantasy, part historical fiction, part biography, definitely all graphic novel.
Recommended for teens, family history enthusiasts, WWII, especially Japanese interest, and graphic novel readers. (less)

A fantastical look at life within a Japanese interment camp. I appreciated the authors message about generational trauma and how the actions against one person/group can have chilling effects in the future.

I received an electronic ARC from First Second Books through NetGalley.
Powerful account of life in the Japanese Incarceration Camps during World War II.
Kiku lives in Seattle during the 2020's. The background event are the 2016 presidential campaign and early years of the Trump administration. The current events trigger what little she knows about her grandmother's life during the 1940's. Somehow, she is transported back to be there - first in San Francisco and later in the Incarceration Camps.
Hughes has written a strong account of her grandmother's life from the fragments she knows. The message is one that resonates as again containment camps have been created for a different group of people. Readers are offered information and encouraged to think for themselves as they look back and then to the future.

WOW. WOW. WOW. I heard about this book from a debut YA authors panel at BookCon, and it sounded amazing just from hearing the author describe it, but it is EVEN BETTER than it sounds! I don't even really have the words to describe how wonderful this book is. The artwork is beautiful and evocative, and the storyline is compelling and deeply important. It has some echoes of Octavia Butler's Kindred, since both Kindred and Displacement feature someone being pulled back in time to a time that was particularly tough for their ancestors. In Displacement, Kiku is pulled back in time to the time that her grandmother was in the Japanese internment camps, and Kiku is embarrassed to realize that she doesn't know much about her own family's history. I think this is an extremely relatable feeling, and I think her journey towards discovering what her grandmother's family went through is one that will inspire readers to take their own journeys into their families' pasts. The themes in the book are both timely and timeless, and while this book is aimed at a YA audience, I think adults should definitely read it as well, since there is much for people of all ages to learn from it. Definitely definitely recommend!

I enjoyed the creativity associated with the book's title, Displacement, and it's various meanings - of Japanese Americans being displaced from their homes and sent to camps during WWII and how our main character is displaced as she travels back in time and experiences this trauma first hand. Having just read, They Called Us Enemy, by George Takei, it was hard not to draw comparisons. I like that this subject is being featured in books for younger readers because I don't remember learning about this when I was in school, and it is important for us to understand America's dark history so we do not repeat it. Students will enjoy the time travel element, and it reminded me of a more mature Magic Tree House story. It was a quick and visually stunning read and would have been more informative for me if I had not read another book so similar recently. This historical graphic memoir would be a great addition to promote diverse literature in any upper elementary or middle school library.

Great teen title. I have to admit that I remember liking it but it's one of those books that isn't sticking in my brain as I try to write about it. It reminds me of Pashmina by Nhidi Chanani but for older kids. Characters connecting to their culture is always great.

Displacement is a beautifully written and illustrated graphic novel that is a welcome and needed addition to the anti-racist canon. Author Kiku Hughes calls on her own family history to create the narrative of the American Incarceration Camps. This deserves a place in every library.

"Displacement" is a wonderfully written and illustrated graphic novel. Sadly when I was in school we weren't really given any information about how Japanese people were treated before and after WWII. This book was very informative while still having an interesting plotline. As I was reading this book, I found myself compelled to keep reading. I highly recommend this book to anyone who would like a historical fiction story about the American response to WWII and how it connects to Trump's actions towards Muslim people and immigrants.

This is a moderately interesting title about the Japanese-Americans' internment in camps during World War II. It's told through the story of a contemporary teenage girl of mixed Japanese and European ancestry who periodically is "displaced" back into her grandmother's time and the experiences of being rounded up and sent to live in the camps. The story is interesting but not compelling. The art is well drawn and colored but not particularly exciting.

Based on a review of an e-advance copy of the book.

This book looks great and I wanted to read it. However, it did not display properly on my Kindle. Part of the text boxes were cut off so I couldn't really read the book. This was frustrating but I don't know that there's a way to fix it. So, I cannot write a proper review.

This is a well-done historical fiction graphic novel about a girl visiting San Francisco who finds herself inside Japanese internment camps through a series of what she calls displacements. She relives the history lived by her grandmother, whom she never knew. The story gets a bit heavy-handed with politics in the end, but overall it's a good way to introduce children to the topic and will help them draw comparisons to what is going on in the world today.

Absolutely fantastic middle grade graphic novel - a mix of memoir and fiction - that should be required reading for all ages. This is about the power of memory, of sharing stories, generational trauma and its ripple effects, the power of history and how incredibly relevant it is today. The illustrations are beautiful and Kiku is such a relatable character to take this journey with. Highly recommend.

Displacement is about a Japanese American girl whose consciousness travels back to her grandmother's time and experiences the trials and tribulations of the internment camps during WWII. The art was beautiful, and the faces of each character were so expressive that the pictures really helped to convey the emotions and tone of the story. I felt that the author struck a good balance between being informative and entertaining, and even though the book is technically fiction, it was well researched. As a librarian, I love the blending of fact and fiction that can grab you and transport you while still teaching you something. This book packed in a lot of information in a short time, and because it is a graphic novel, I believe it will reach readers that would not normally pick up a story like this.

I received an advanced reader copy of this book courtesy of Netgalley, in return for my honest critique and review.

Excellent way to explain parts of the Japanese Internment. Written for kids to enjoy and understand. Great art work,

Spurred by a trip to San Francisco where her grandparents once lived, Kiku is transported back to the 1940s to experience her grandmother’s displacement at Taniform (CA) and Tule Lake (UT). Based on family history, Hughes’ graphic depiction emphasizes the collective trauma brought about by incarceration and its lasting legacy to future generations. Not to be missed.

I love the concept of the book and it’s point of view but the digital version is almost impossible to read with the page cuts in random places so the words in speech bubbles are on 2 or 3 pages.

I thought this was great. I've read a fair amount about the history of the Japanese internment camps, so there wasn't a ton of new information, but I loved the emphasis on remembering and how history does have real effects on the generations that come after.