Welcome to Litsy!

Incredibly touching story. One year of Chinese, Korean, Japanese and Japanese-American roommates in Japan, 20-somethings experiencing new languages, culture, relationships, jobs; reflecting on identity, heritage and family. So sweet and funny, more of a graphic novel with manga conventions (the facial expressions!!🤣), if I understand the art differences correctly.

'On The Use of Accents In This Book'
Important end note.

Would I find 'putting on makeup' face as funny if I actually wore makeup, i.e. regularly saw that face in the mirror? 😄🤔

"...salty and delicious.." ?
My sudden cackle was at least half down to the facial expression.

On the last day of 2022, here are the rest of the books that stuck to me, whether because of unforgettable characters, setting, plot, beautiful writing or a combination of all. I had a wonderful year of reading. I hope you did too. Happy new year!

3 ⭐ This graphic novel is an everyday look about a group of international people who live together in Tokyo, Japan. Our main character is coming from America. She was born in Japan but immigrated to the US as a child. While in the US, she purposely forgot her language and culture, so she could assimilate into American society.

Probably one of my favourite comics.
Such an interesting adventure and made me think about how people feel when there different ethnicities then where they live. The characters all had their own struggles and worked through them with the help of the people that they love. The baba made my heart melt.

5⭐️

This might be my favorite graphic novel I‘ve ever read (which admittedly is a small sample). Sweet, funny, poignant story about three young adults who individually move to Japan from various parts of the world & live together for a year. Nice portrayal of friendship & found family as the girls get to know each other & themselves. The plot was easy to follow despite multiple languages & phonetic spellings. I would love more! #teachersoflitsy

Tonight‘s garden reading. This comic about international students in Japan is lovely so far!

I absolutely loved this! The story & characters are well developed. It was wonderful watching the dynamics form between three women from very different backgrounds as they settle into Japan. I loved the exploration of placelessness Nao experiences, the lost life‘s path feeling from Tina, and Hyejung‘s feeling trapped in her old life. It was also fun trying to work my way through the Japanese text, but having the english text to support me.

Oh wow, this was so good. I laughed, I cried, and really related to some of the stuff in there. This was an excellent read and as a language professional this warmed my heart a whole lot. I only wish it was longer!

Nao was born in Japan and raised in the US. She takes a gap year in Japan and bonds with the other residents of Himawari House. A sweet look at life between two cultures and early adult friendships. Much less intense and dramatic than my own gap year experiences, but still a fun read.

Beautifully illustrated graphic novel following three young adults studying abroad in Japan for a year. They are either running away from something or toward the idea of something…. And very strong friendships develop. #readmyowndamnbooks

I read this in one sitting, a very moving and funny look at what it's like to find your way in a foreign country (in this case Japan). We follow the three protagonists for a year - I loved how they all struggle with languages, how they get better at them and how the relationships between the residents of Hawari House deepen and transform.
I was as sad as they were, that the year was already over. I'd love to meet them all again.

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

I loved how the different languages were used – casually, yet effectively showing us how it is to struggle in this multilingual world. It feels weird to write this but it shows that Asian people are different, are distinct. The Korean girl is unique, the Singaporean girl is unique, the Japanese-American girl is unique. We are Asian, and to many people we may look similar, but we are so different from each other.

I don‘t usually like graphic novels much, but I absolutely loved this one. It made me laugh, it made me cry, and I absolutely loved the story. Her illustrations of the characters‘ facial expressions are so amazingly expressive. If you like graphic novels, I can‘t recommend this highly enough. And even if you don‘t, you should give it a read!