Reviews

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

jnishi's review against another edition

5.0

As a Japanese Canadian whose own family went through internment during WWII, this graphic novel hit close to home for me. It is not something my family likes to talk about and I've had to do my own research because we never really learned about this in school; in our history books it was only ever a paragraph. Takei and crew has crafted a deeply personal, emotional, and informative graphic novel that had me chuckling, crying, and outraged all out the same time. I learned so much more about the American Japanese internment then I'd known before. As a teacher this book will definitely become a part of my reading list and I think it is an important book every student should read.

jennderqueer's review against another edition

5.0

It's a fast read but it's a hard-hitting one. George Takei of Star Trek fame was, as a child, imprisoned along with 120k other Japanese and Japanese-American people in horrific internment camps. This book contains his memories of those years and a look at how they affected his life from then on. 

slaying_samuel's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective fast-paced

4.0

mitskacir's review against another edition

5.0

This graphic novel tells George Takei's story of being interned during World War II. The illustrations are wonderful and the story was unique from the other interment stories I have read/seen, even Takei's other work on the camps (the play "Allegiance"). Even though I feel like I know more than the average person about Japanese internment, I still learned about things I'd never heard of. It was also interesting to read about how the Takei's story differed from my own grandmother's.

lunariumvee's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

4.5

daumari's review against another edition

4.0

A graphic novel memoir of George Takei's time in the Japanese American incarceration camps during WWII starting when he was 4 years old, the oldest of three children. Overall I liked it, though the frame story (stories?) were a little confusing as older!George seemed to be speaking at several events (a very minor criticism)

I learned about Japanese incarceration in school (we read [b:Farewell to Manzanar: A True Story of Japanese American Experience During and After the World War II Internment|649361|Farewell to Manzanar A True Story of Japanese American Experience During and After the World War II Internment|Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1481673039l/649361._SY75_.jpg|807858] in eighth grade), which in hindsight surprises me for a conservative state but it shouldn't, given that the camps are part of state history (Minidoka is in south-central Idaho). With George telling the story of his younger self, we see how his parents made the best of it for their children and how child!George didn't understand the cruelty against his family. The ending draws obvious parallels to modern American concentration camps and the cyclical nature of history.

Strongly recommend for introducing younger audiences to these aspects of American history.

kermittothebook's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective medium-paced

3.5

creativelifeofliz's review

challenging hopeful informative reflective fast-paced

5.0

A short but powerful story to remind us of the atrocities committed in the name of war and that we should not let history be repeated. 

_lish_'s review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

joyleverich's review

5.0

Great introduction

Introduction to a period of history that I was not familiar. Enjoyed the story and the illustrations. Provides an understanding of how George Takei became an effective voice for this time in our country.