Review: They Called Us Enemy

 

At our most recent meeting of the Bookworms, we decided to spend some time reading. I had bazillions of papers to grade, but thought I’d spend at least a few minutes with a book. Those few minutes turned into many minutes as I found that I could not put down George Takei’s “They Called Us Enemy.”

This richly illustrated graphic novel tells the story of Takei’s early life as he and his family are forcibly removed from their Los Angeles home and sent to U.S. internment camps during World War II. The story also explains how these early experiences shaped Takei’s life as an actor and activist. 

Takei explains how, as a young child, he didn’t really understand what was happening other than that his family was on a grand adventure that left his father depressed and his mother in tears. Four years later, as his family is released from the Tule Lake camp, he is beginning to understand the injustices of Executive Order 9066. 

Ultimately, this is a story of resilience as Takei turns his family’s experience during the war and turns it into a life of action against injustice.

“They Called Us Enemy” is available in both English and Spanish. It’s a fantastic addition to the classroom library.