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

 

Last week, I also read They Called Us Enemy by George Takei, Justin Eisinger, Steven Scott, and Harmony Becker. This graphic memoir is about George Takei's experiences in the Japanese internment camps during World War II. When Takei was four years old, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and the United States declared war on Japan. Soon afterwards, Takei's family was forced from their home in Los Angeles to Camp Rohwer in Arkansas. Although Takei and his younger brother, Henry, tried to make the most of the situation by having adventures (and a few misadventures), the conditions at this camp were difficult for Takei's family. As the war went on for nearly four years, the U.S. government placed increasingly restrictive regulations on Japanese Americans and Takei's family became more and more uncertain about their future. These childhood experiences had a profound affect on Takei and he reflects upon them often to the present day.

I decided to read They Called Us Enemy because I wanted to get a head start on reading the Rebecca Caudill-nominated books for next year and thought it was a wonderful graphic memoir of courage and family. I was fascinated and horrified by his family's experiences in the internment camps. I think it is so unfair how Japanese Americans were treated because they just wanted to live their lives in the United States. It's definitely one of the many great injustices in American history. I was very worried for George and his family towards the end of the war when it was a very real possibility that they might have to move back to Japan, but it was also very exciting to read about his successes as an actor after WWII. The graphic memoir is not completely linear. To fill in the gaps of the story, it goes back and forth between Takei's childhood and other points in his life or events that were happening elsewhere that impacted him. In conclusion, I would recommend They Called Us Enemy to Star Trek fans or anyone who wants to learn more about the Japanese internment camps.