Reviews tagging 'War'

They Called Us Enemy by Steven Scott, George Takei, Justin Eisinger

65 reviews

alexbirdreads's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Xenophobia

Minor: Violence and War

emtk2118's review against another edition

4.75

Made me cry. Somehow an incredibly patriotic book despite depicting one of the great shames of the U.S. Very well done. Would be 5 stars but it jumped around a bit and the transitions didn't always feel smooth.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, and War

Moderate: Vomit and Deportation

Minor: Islamophobia and Death of parent

redhairedashreads's review

5.0

 

This was a very emotional and impactful graphic novel. I have been meaning to read this for a while now and was glad that I could read about this piece of history that was not included in the history books I had to read during school. 

This is the story of George Takei’s childhood in Japanese internment camps during World War II. While he was a child during this, he also pulls upon his parents and other adults perspectives and provides us with multiple perspectives to what happened. He takes us through the whole experience before, during, and after the camps and how the experience affected his family and other Japanese families. 

I am really glad I read this story because it gave me new information about what Executive Order 9066 was and how it affected Japanese people. As an American, I was never taught about this piece of history because our textbooks frequently ignore the negative parts of our history. This is one of the reasons why I have spent a lot of my adult life trying to educate myself about history that is not taught, especially when it comes to BIPOC. 

One of the best takeaways from this graphic was George’s urging Americans to learn about all sides of a story, not just the one that is being heavily pushed by politics. You need both sides of a story to create the best outcome for the future, not just one. 

This graphic memoir is definitely one that I think should be required reading in U.S. history courses and I highly recommend it.

TW: Depictions of anti-Japanese sentiment (Japanophobia), concentration camps, death of a child (briefly mentioned), death of relatives from atomic bombs and the war, grief, threat of deportation; 

 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Racism, War, and Deportation

Moderate: Death and Grief

Minor: Child death

guinness74's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

A powerful reminder of a despicable segment of history that seems to have been memory-holed (as the kids say) because it’s easier to forget and whitewash history than it is to come to terms with our racist past. Takei makes the intimate moments lighthearted as much as possible, but also shows the reality of Japanese incarceration during World War II. My oldest is studying this in English class and I thought I’d enjoy it while it was lying around. It’s always good to refresh one’s memory on the realities of historical events. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Confinement, Racism, War, and Deportation

Minor: Miscarriage

runlaurelrun's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative sad fast-paced

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, and War

laurenmiller100's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

This is an essential book. Japanese internment is relatively unknown to so many modern Americans, but George Takei’s powerful story reminds us that this horror took place not too long ago. The adorable art style stands it stark contradiction to the tragedy within the pages, serving to further cement this child’s view of the experience. I am not usually one to cry at books, but this really affected me. Incredibly powerful and moving.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Racial slurs, Racism, Xenophobia, and Trafficking

Moderate: Hate crime, Violence, and War

whtbout2ndbrkfst's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement and Racism

Minor: Racial slurs, Violence, and War

magpienicky's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative reflective sad fast-paced

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement and Racism

Moderate: Racial slurs, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Grief, War, and Deportation

Minor: Child death and Death

pacifickat's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

"Justice grows out of recognition of ourselves in each other, [...] that my liberty depends on you being free, too;[...] that history can't be a sword to justify injustice or shield against progress, [...] but must he a manual for how to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past."
- Pres. Barack Obama, They Called Us Enemy p. 203

This book should be a national treasure. One of the best historical memoirs I have ever read.  The messages it contains are even more vital and pressing today than ever before.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Racial slurs, Racism, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Bullying, Death, Hate crime, Grief, Gaslighting, War, and Deportation

Minor: Violence and Police brutality

Incarceration, racial injustice, generational trauma

cozy_academic's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Forced institutionalization, and War