Displacement is an incredibly strong work by author/illustrator Kiku Hughes that blends fantasy with history. Protagonist Kiku is effectively portrayed first as a sullen teenager who does not feel a strong connection to her heritage, who then gains understanding and through "displacement" into the past of her grandmother, particularly her time spent living in and moving between internment camps for Japanese Americans during World War II. A recommended book not only for teens, but for anyone interested in this period of history.

Displacement is a clarifying and at times, heart-breaking, fictional account of growing up in the Japanese American internment camps, as portrayed through a modern-day teenager. The illustrations are soothing, belaying the message - "Never Again." Definitely read this!

I loved this story so much. It was such an interesting take on time traveling, and the art was very well done. I didn’t know very much about Japanese-American incarceration camps, so I felt like I learned a lot reading this story. I really appreciated how the author highlighted the effects of generational and communal trauma and how sometimes we strip parts of ourselves and culture away in hopes of self-preservation. I highly recommend people read this graphic novel!

An interesting spin on historical fiction, and the displacement of our main character to unfamiliar circumstances allow the reader to learn and explore along with Kiku. I enjoyed the realization Kiku goes through in her connection to her family, and the reasons her family have distanced themselves from their Japanese heritage, as many Japanese Americans may have following the WWII era.

A beautifully illustrated version of what may have happened in the Japanese internment camps. Centered around Kiku, the granddaughter of Ernestina, who was at camp Topaz in Utah. Kiku, suddenly travels back in time to be interred in the same place as her grandmother. The frustrations and unfairness of the camps is evident. At the same time the resilience of the people affected is on display as well. This title also warns against letting history repeat itself. We are living in difficult times where old rhetoric is becoming popular again. We have to fight back against it.

This graphic novel revisits a time in American history that has been mostly overlooked, the internment camps of Japanese Americans during World War II. This book could be shared with Takei's They Called Us Enemy. In Displacement the main character becomes "displaced" into history and is placed into her late grandmother's story of being in an internment camp during the 1940s. There are details that show the struggles each of these people faced while living in the camps including displacement and being moved while treated unfairly. This was a part of history that I knew very little about, but recently have been exposed to several similar titles that helped open my eyes. This one is easily accessible to all teens. The author is also the illustrator basing this on her own family history. Netgalley gave me a review copy for free.

Simply incredible. Gorgeous art and a clear personal connection that deepens the story. Put this on all the best of lists now.

This is an amazing narrative giving an insight into the World War II-era Japanese internment camps. Despite being part fiction part real life, there is much to learn. The graphic novel is beautifully illustrated which will captivate readers. The further reading section at the end is also a nice addition to those wishing to learn more about this period in history. Highly recommend!

It's 2016, and Japanese American Kiku, 16, and her mother are on vacation in San Francisco from their home in Seattle. Kiku's grandmother had lived in San Francisco before the attack on Pearl Harbor, followed by Executive Order 9066, calling for the roundup and incarceration of all people of Japanese descent living on the West Coast. After looking for house where they lived, Kiku's mother is disappointed to see it has been replaced with a mall. When she goes in to see what's there, Kiku stays outside and that's when the first displacement, as she calls them, happens.
Suddenly, Kiku finds herself in the audience of a violin recital where a young version of her grandmother, Ernestina Teranishi, is performing. Kiku didn't know her grandmother, but she did know that she had been a gifted violinist. Returning to the present, Kiku and her mother head to the hotel, and hear Donald Trump calling for a total shutdown of Muslims entering the US.

Before leaving San Francisco, Kiku displaces again, this time after Executive Order 9066 has been issued and she finds herself in a line of people being watched by armed guards. Again, returning to the present and heading home to Seattle, Kiku realizes how little she knows about her own Japanese culture and history, in part because her grandmother never spoke to her mother about what happened to the Japanese Americans in the camps.

Back in Seattle, Kiku displaces once again, finding herself reduced to being Number 19106, and traveling on the same bus as the Teranishi family, heading to Tanforan Assembly Center, a racetrack where the Japanese Americans are forced to live in horse stalls that still smell of manure. There, Kiku lives with a roommate, Aiko Mifune, right next door to the Teranishi family.

Kiku's first two displacements were for short periods of time, but now she finds herself living in the past for an extended time. This means that Kiku can learn something about her grandmother and great grandparents, but it enables author Kiku Hughes to show what went on behind the barbed wire and armed guards. The overcrowding, the poor quality of the food, the lack of privacy in the latrines and showers are part of daily life there, but so is the tenacious spirit of the Japanese people, who are determined to turn their living conditions into something better. Kiku even finds a love interest.

By the time Kiku is transferred to the Topaz Relocation Center in Utah, she knows she won't be returning to the present anytime soon, and determines to make the best of her situation. Once again, she finds herself living near her grandmother and even her love interest from Tanforan. The whole time she is torn as to whether or not to introduce herself to her grandmother, or merely to continue to observe her from afar. Life in Topaz is a real eye-opener for Kiku. People who had been productive and law-abiding are now incarcerated and deprived of their civil rights. When the government issues a loyalty questionnaire, those who refuse to answer yes on questions 27 and 28, and renounce their Japanese ancestry, face harsh punishment, including Kiku friend Aiko. But after after someone was shot and killed, people really begin to worry about their safety. Does Kiku ever return to the present? Yes, of course, and at a very interesting point in her story. But does her experience in the past change her?

Displacement is somewhat autobiographical for author Hughes, who also never knew the grandmother who had been in the internment camps during the war. Sending Kiku back in time enables her to show the personal and community trauma that was inflicted on people who had done nothing wrong. What I found most telling is Kiku's feelings of helplessness and her gradual acceptance of her incarceration. That was scary, given today's world.

I think Hughes really captured Kiku's emotional truth, and through her, readers also know the emotional truth of her grandmother and all the other Japanese people who had been incarcerated for no other reason than their race. Though the word interned is generally used to describe what happened, Hughes chooses to use incarceration, given that people had no freedom and lived surrounded by barbed wire and armed guards, it really did resemble prison-like conditions.

Displacement is one of the best graphic novels I have read about the Japanese American experience in WWII. You might want to pair it with George Takei's They Called Us Enemy.

You can find an interesting and enlightening interview with Kiku Hughes HERE

This book is recommended for readers age 12+
This book was an eARC gratefully received NetGalley

Excellent way to bring the past to the present. It's important to see that things have not changed, but they can if we fight for the change. This graphic novel really puts it into perspective as our main character has some tough decisions to make with the knowledge she gained. Beautifully drawn. A story to pair with George Takei's "They called us enemy".

WOW! Absolutely incredible graphic novel for teens that will completely suck you into the story and make you reflect on America's history and future. Kiku Hughes has created, what should be, an award-winning graphic novel about the wrongful Japanese imprisonment during World War II. This should be added to every high school classroom.

Unable to read due to the poor quality of the digital arc.. looks like a great title, and I look forward to the print edition.

Wow, this was a stunning debut and read like the time shifts were real. Beautiful coloring to the story throughout that follows a palate during the whole story. This is an interesting way to think of cultural memory through generations.

It is a lovely graphic novel in muted tones that feels like a mix of They Call Us Enemy and a safer Kindred. It was enjoyable and would work well in addition to a history display.

This book was such a novel and engaging way of exploring America's history with Japanese Internment Camps. Through the eyes of a modern-day girl, the reader is transported back in time to when Japanese-Americans all over the west coast were rounded up and held in camps under government orders. We learn of the day-to-day life in the camps, the conditions and how people made a life for themselves, as well as the lasting ramifications of imprisonment and echoes in today's society. This book makes this dark period in our history accessible for middle-graders, and helps us to learn that the past and present are interconnected.

A graphic novel that follows the life of Kiku as she finds herself displaced along side her grandmother in WW2 Japanese Incarceration camps. Kiku will learn plenty that was never taught in school as she walks side by side with her grandmother as she continues to learn about history of her family. Kiku learns that even though WW2 was quite some time ago, there continues to be impacts on her current life.

This is a graphic novel about a young adult girl who is transported back in time to Japanese-American internment camps in CA and UT. The story is part fiction and part fact, based on her grandmother's life at the Topaz internment camp. I found the historical context to be very moving, informative, well-researched, and a part of history we don't hear about near enough.

I found the modern-day pieces of the novel less poignant and moving, especially the political references, which were rushed and not fully explained. However, I loved the illustrations, the characters, and the well-researched history. Definitely a timely-read!

Thanks to NetGalley, First Second Books, and Kiku Hughes for the advanced e-reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

Kiku never realized how little she knew about her maternal grandmother. When Kiku is suddenly transported to 1940s San Francisco, she is unprepared for the treatment that she and other Japanese Americans will endure. She knows that her grandmother’s family were displaced into internment camps, but she knows little else about this time in history. Kiku’s time warps, although terrifying, illuminate a part of her heritage that she has long believed was missing.

Displacement is a beautifully illustrated historical autobiographical graphic novel about the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. Hughes does a wonderful job of exploring a time period in history that little known and giving depth through the use of historical context and modern-day parallels. This is a wonderful resource for middle grade readers, and a great educational supplement.

Kiku and her mother are visiting the area of San Francisco where Kiku’s grandmother grew up when Kiku finds herself transported to the past. The first time only happens briefly, but her third time in the past Kiku finds herself taken to Tanforan and then Topaz internment camps with her grandmother and many others of Japanese descent. Kiku thinks she will just be there for a few moments, but as her time in the past extends to weeks and months, she learns firsthand why we need to learn from the past and not repeat the same mistakes in the present or future.

The author says in the back of the book that this is somewhat biographical. Her grandmother really was sent to Tanforan and then Topaz. I can see the importance for her family of sharing her experiences and making her story heard. I’m hard pressed to find a reason to pick this up instead of Takei’s They Called Us Enemy. I know it may not be fair to compare the two, as both the experiences are valid and important. But after Takei’s book made such a big splash in the book world it is hard not to compare other graphic novels about Japanese interment during WWII to it. I like that Takei’s is based on a more direct, first-hand account, though this author’s grandmother passed away many years ago so this is the best she could do in the circumstances. That said, Kiku does take center stage and her grandmother is only sporadically in it. I was hoping for more time with the grandmother, but that wasn’t to be. This book is well researched and the art is excellent. Those studying the Topaz internment camp in Utah specifically may find this of more interest. This book does a good job exploring why many Japanese Americans after WWII refused to teach their children Japanese or Japanese culture. I may prefer Takei’s book more, but there is validity in picking up both. Recommended to those who like time travel stories and biographical fiction graphic novels.

Notes on content [based on the ARC]: 1 minor swear word. There’s a kissing scene between two girls. No other sexual content. A shooting is mentioned, but not shown.

I received an ARC of this title from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This graphic novel is an excellent way for young readers to be introduced to and/or learn more about the Japanese interment camps and the experiences of those that lived through them. A fictionalized account based on true events from the author's family, this is a story all Americans should know.

Told in a way that reminds me of The Devil's Arithmetic, present-day Kiku finds herself experiencing periods of spontaneous time-travel. She's transported back to the time of her grandmother, and follows her journey through several interment camps during WWII. Kiku has always wondered about her grandmother's life but living in a past-life interment camp with few comforts is not how she wanted to learn more.

There's not a lot of time for significant character development (particularly in the present-day scenes), but I like the author's focus on resistance networks within the camps and the complexity of Japanese American identity.