My Brother's Husband, Volume 1
Illustrator
Gengoroh Tagame
Publisher
Pantheon Books
Publication Year
2017
ISBN
9781101871515
Pages
352 pages
Genre
realism
Format
graphic novel
Item Type
Fiction
Annotation
Yaichi is a work-at-home suburban dad in contemporary Tokyo; formerly married to Natsuki, father to their young daughter, Kana. Their lives suddenly change with the arrival at their doorstep of a hulking, affable Canadian named Mike Flanagan, who declares himself the widower of Yaichi's estranged gay twin, Ryoji. Mike is on a quest to explore Ryoji's past, and the family reluctantly but dutifully takes him in. What follows is an unprecedented and heartbreaking look at the state of a largely still-closeted Japanese gay culture: how it's been affected by the West, and how the next generation can change the preconceptions about it and prejudices against it.
Grade Level
9-12
Diversity Topics
Family Relationships; Racial Diversity; LGBTQ (Gender and Sexuality); Single parent; Family member death; Divorce; Interracial; Gay/Lesbian; single father; death of a brother; death of an uncle; divorced parents; co-parenting; interracial marriage; gay; gay adults; gay uncle
Main Character
adult male
Race/Ethnicities
Asian (Japanese) / White (Canadian)
Family Formation
divorced mother and father
LGBTQ+
gay male
Awards
Alex Awards, 2018, Nominee, Young Adult
Translated YA Book Prize, 2019, Winner, Young Adult
YALSA Great Graphic Novels for Teens, 2018 Fiction
Keywords
stay-at-home dad; twin; Tokyo, Japan; Canada; homophobia; widower; acceptance
Diversity Impact
direct
STARS Citation
Tagame, Gengoroh, "My Brother's Husband, Volume 1" (2017). Diverse Families. 1985.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/diversefamilies/1985