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burgundywhine 's review for:
They Called Us Enemy
by Justin Eisinger, Steven Scott, George Takei
They Called Us Enemy is a heart wrenching and honest account of George Takei's childhood experience living in three Japanese American internment camps during WWII. From the moment Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, Takei weaves his tale between the chronological moments of his childhood, his reflections from the present, and quotations from policymakers of the day. Through the brutal honesty of his story, the dehumanization of Japanese Americans is conveyed with understandable frustrations and angered that is tempered by two lenses: Takei as a child experiencing the story (often with rose-colored glasses and oblivious) and Takei the adult (who now fully understands his parents' perspective and the memories he carries with him). Finally, he ends by giving us some hope in the power of American Democracy but also in the danger of repeating the same mistakes of the past by not learning about our mistakes. These connections to current events and Takei's continued activism leave what could have been a story of injustice and elevates it to a story of hope after injustice.
This is a book which should be included in secondary classrooms -- oftentimes students do not learn about this part of our History, so it definitely could work in a history course or an ELA course. I have not read March (another historical graphic novel -- based on John Lewis' experiences), but I could see them pairing well together in a unit about marginalized voices. The text is incredibly accessible for students (once you teach them how to read a graphic novel), and the multiple themes leave many areas for rich discussion and even further research.
This is a book which should be included in secondary classrooms -- oftentimes students do not learn about this part of our History, so it definitely could work in a history course or an ELA course. I have not read March (another historical graphic novel -- based on John Lewis' experiences), but I could see them pairing well together in a unit about marginalized voices. The text is incredibly accessible for students (once you teach them how to read a graphic novel), and the multiple themes leave many areas for rich discussion and even further research.