ikuo1000's review against another edition
4.0
Disclaimer: I'm a huge George Takei fan, so I was probably predisposed to like this book.
I was pleased to find that even though I had read George Takei's autobiography To The Stars, seen his Broadway musical Allegiance, followed him on Facebook, read countless articles by and about him, and watched who knows how many interviews on video - still this book had details that were new to me.
The book centers on George Takei's experiences growing up in an internment camp during World War II, but it does briefly touch upon his acting and activism at the end of the book. Published just this year, the graphic novel includes a panel that draws a clear parallel to the current border crisis.
Mostly this book is an excellent way to educate new audiences about a part of American history that is still largely unknown. Telling this personalized history through illustrations and from the perspective of childhood humanizes the events. The remembrances of happy moments shed surprising warmth on an otherwise dark and painful time. Through the agonizing decisions faced by George Takei's parents, we see the injustices perpetrated by our government on our own citizens, and we see how time and time again the Japanese-Americans were in "lose-lose" positions, yet they persevered with as much dignity and resolve as they could muster.
Ultimately, I rated this book short of 5 stars because I found the storytelling choppy. The narrative jumped unexpectedly from George Takei's childhood to a TEDx talk in 2014 back to childhood flashbacks then forward to a Day of Remembrance event in 2017, etc. Even scenes that followed chronologically were sometimes difficult for me to separate as new events taking place on a new day or in a new setting. I admit that I usually do not read graphic novels, though, so I am not the target audience, and maybe I'm just not accustomed to graphic novel storytelling.
Anyway. I hope this book finds its way into many school libraries and classrooms.
I was pleased to find that even though I had read George Takei's autobiography To The Stars, seen his Broadway musical Allegiance, followed him on Facebook, read countless articles by and about him, and watched who knows how many interviews on video - still this book had details that were new to me.
The book centers on George Takei's experiences growing up in an internment camp during World War II, but it does briefly touch upon his acting and activism at the end of the book. Published just this year, the graphic novel includes a panel that draws a clear parallel to the current border crisis.
Mostly this book is an excellent way to educate new audiences about a part of American history that is still largely unknown. Telling this personalized history through illustrations and from the perspective of childhood humanizes the events. The remembrances of happy moments shed surprising warmth on an otherwise dark and painful time. Through the agonizing decisions faced by George Takei's parents, we see the injustices perpetrated by our government on our own citizens, and we see how time and time again the Japanese-Americans were in "lose-lose" positions, yet they persevered with as much dignity and resolve as they could muster.
Ultimately, I rated this book short of 5 stars because I found the storytelling choppy. The narrative jumped unexpectedly from George Takei's childhood to a TEDx talk in 2014 back to childhood flashbacks then forward to a Day of Remembrance event in 2017, etc. Even scenes that followed chronologically were sometimes difficult for me to separate as new events taking place on a new day or in a new setting. I admit that I usually do not read graphic novels, though, so I am not the target audience, and maybe I'm just not accustomed to graphic novel storytelling.
Anyway. I hope this book finds its way into many school libraries and classrooms.
daydreamangel18's review against another edition
4.0
George Takei's personal tale of unlawful internment was touching and illuminating. History keeps repeating itself in America where the ignorant powerful will always find scapegoats in the weak to discriminate against in order to assuage their fears and propagate their prejudices. This book is quite timely especially in the dark age of Trump. I believe George's story would resonate with anyone open-minded enough to want to learn of his experience through this palatable format.
katiecatbooks's review against another edition
5.0
Japanese-Americans. Internment. Moving.
Story: Young George Takei was spending an ordinary morning in his home with his mom, dad, brother and baby sister, when his family was forced to leave, bringing with them only what they could carry. George went on to become a famous television actor and social rights supporter. This is his story.
Language: This is a great graphic novel for adults and young adults. It's a bit too heavy and long winded for kids, but they might benefit from reading parts. The entire story is in black and white and flips from Takei's childhood and adulthood, before, during and after the internment camps. It's beautifully illustrated and moving and very informative.
Characters: Told in first person from George's perspective, we watch him grow and play and learn and adjust to life during the internment and adjusting to the world after being released, many years later. He shows us the roles his parents played and the effect the war and politics had on them. The book ends in near present.
A one day read and I enjoyed every page. I plan to watch Takei's TedTalk later today and brings new perspective of Sulu's character in Star Trek. A must read.
Story: Young George Takei was spending an ordinary morning in his home with his mom, dad, brother and baby sister, when his family was forced to leave, bringing with them only what they could carry. George went on to become a famous television actor and social rights supporter. This is his story.
Language: This is a great graphic novel for adults and young adults. It's a bit too heavy and long winded for kids, but they might benefit from reading parts. The entire story is in black and white and flips from Takei's childhood and adulthood, before, during and after the internment camps. It's beautifully illustrated and moving and very informative.
Characters: Told in first person from George's perspective, we watch him grow and play and learn and adjust to life during the internment and adjusting to the world after being released, many years later. He shows us the roles his parents played and the effect the war and politics had on them. The book ends in near present.
A one day read and I enjoyed every page. I plan to watch Takei's TedTalk later today and brings new perspective of Sulu's character in Star Trek. A must read.
riverlasol's review against another edition
3.0
The one thing that made me give this book a lower rating is that it had a lot of time jumps. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but I found them slightly disjointed and hard to follow. The whole story was basically told from present day George’s perspective, but most of it took place when he was very young. Occaisonally, the book would cut to him now doing an interview or something similar and talking about his life back then. I think this style may have been close to a storyboard type of thing you would see for a film, but it didn’t really work for me in formatting a novel.
Other than that, though, I thought it was a really interesting look into...
Read the rest of my review here: https://libraryinmymind.com/2019/11/15/review-they-called-us-enemy/
Other than that, though, I thought it was a really interesting look into...
Read the rest of my review here: https://libraryinmymind.com/2019/11/15/review-they-called-us-enemy/
acenry's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
4.5
bluenicorn's review against another edition
4.0
This was a good, easy-to-understand glimpse at a period of American history that still isn't really acknowledged for how terrible and misguided it was. It can't and doesn't try to be all-encompassing, but it does just enough that if the reader wants to learn more, they have a place to start.