I can’t remember if I already said this, but I’m going to try switching to this format for Book Spotlight posts as well as Interlude posts. My thoughts seem to flow more naturally in this format and lately I’m trying to be better about testing new ways of doing things for better results. Now, to business.

I regret not picking up this book sooner! It was one of those cases of pushing it further down the TBR after reading the back cover, as it sounded like it might be a theater story, and I wasn’t really in the mood for a theater story. I really liked Abby as a character. I wouldn’t mind reading more of her future adventures.

The color palette of the art was interesting. Initially, I found it rather stark and unappealing, but as the story progressed, I realized the colors were doing an excellent job of setting the atmosphere of various scenes.

At the end of the story, I realized I’d been waiting for some explicit reference to Abby’s nikkei-ness, but I also think including such references would have made it a very different story, and it seems that was not Tamaki’s goal here. There appear to be racial undertones to many of Abby’s experiences with the other students, but nothing that seemed specifically Japanese and/or nikkei. I did wonder about Jessica, as she appears to be Asian, but I didn’t see this confirmed anywhere in the text.

The most ‘explicit’ othering of Abby by her peers seems to focus on their assumptions about her sexual orientation. No one says anything outright about her race and I wondered about the reason for this. If we assume that at least some of the students’ pointed exclusion of Abby is, consciously or not, driven by their perceptions of her race, I wonder if these initial, more subtle (but not less harmful) behaviors laid the groundwork for the students’ subsequent, very pointed speculation about whether she is gay. If my interpretation is correct, it’s an excellent depiction of how layered prejudices operate in a school setting.

Lastly, I appreciate the moment when Abby says she is questioning her sexual orientation, as I can’t immediately recall any examples of this in the nikkei-authored books that were around when I was her age. It’s great to think today’s young nikkei readers have a much better chance of seeing their diverse identities reflected in books.

Title: This Place Kills Me

Author: Mariko Tamaki

Genre: Contemporary

Book Type: Graphic novel

Would read this author again: Yes – past readers of this blog will know this isn’t my first Mariko Tamaki book and I very much doubt it’ll be my last!