Common Sense Media Review
By Michael Berry
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Moving tale of teen time traveler's trip to internment camp.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 12+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
What's the Story?
As DISPLACEMENT begins, Kiku Hughes is somehow transported from the modern-day streets of San Francisco to an incarceration camp in 1942. Half-Japanese, Kiku has never paid a lot of attention to her heritage, but being a prisoner in the country she has always considered home causes her to re-evaluate her loyalties. She begins to make new friends and learns about political resistance. She even starts a low-key romance with another girl. What will Kiku do if she is trapped in this timeline forever?
Is It Any Good?
The internment of Japanese Americans is a national disgrace, and this subdued but moving time travel tale gives the subject its full due. Writer/illustrator Kiku Hughes uses her own family history in Displacement to support the story, giving the narrative extra weight. With a few simple expressions and gestures, she's able to convey a lot of emotion from her characters. Hughes focuses on the grace and grit of the internees, highlighting their individuality. Readers will find this an important graphic novel that has something new to say about a relevant and distressing subject.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how Displacement portrays life in an internment camp during World War II. Why were white Americans so frightened by Japanese and Japanese American people after Pearl Harbor?
Do you think incarceration camps could ever be set up again in America? What might prevent their return?
What kinds of strategies can be used to combat injustice? Do peaceful protests work to change society?
Book Details
- Author :
- Illustrator : Kiku Hughes
- Genre : Graphic Novel
- Topics : Activism , History
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : First Second
- Publication date : August 4, 2020
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 12 - 18
- Number of pages : 290
- Available on : Paperback, Nook, Apple Books, Kindle
- Award : ALA Best and Notable Books
- Last updated : September 29, 2025
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