They Called Us Enemy: A Book Review

World War II was one the most horrifying things that ever happened in world history. The attack on Pearl Harbor on the morning of December 7, 1941, marks another terrible event that occurred on American soil. This year marks eighty years of Pearl Harbor. During World War II, Germany, Italy, and Japan were on one side fighting against the rest of the world. The Pearl Harbor attack was a surprise military strike by the Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu. Within two hours, 18 US warships sunk or were damaged, 188 aircraft destroyed, and 2,403 American servicemen and women killed. There was also massive damage to the US navy force. Therefore, the US declared war on Japan and joined World War II.

As a result, President Franklin Roosevelt used an executive order to incarcerate Japanese-Americans in isolation camps. From 1942 to 1945, this policy was used against the Japanese Americans, whether they were American citizens or not.  Many of them were forced to go back to Japan. The camps were surrounded by barbed-wire fences patrolled by armed guards who had instructions to shoot anyone who tried to leave. Japanese Americans suffered a lot in those camps.

Many books talk about stories after the Pearl Harbor attack. I have read a couple of books that share the perspective of children who survived that period. I have read “They Called Us Enemy” by George Takei, “I’m Still Scared” by Tomie DePaola, and “A Place to Belong” by Cynthia Kadohata. But today, I’m going to review the graphic novel They Called Us Enemy.

The author of this book, George Takei, is the main character of this graphic novel. It’s based on his childhood. Alongside being an author, he is also an actor and an activist. You may know him for his role as Hikaru Sulu in Star Trek. George Takei was born in the United States to Japanese parents.  His father was born in Japan but moved to the United States in his teens. His mother was born in the United States but moved to Japan as her father didn’t want her to experience discrimination at school. They had two sons whom they had named Henry and George after two English kings. They thought that their children would grow up to be kings. Takei also had a baby sister that went by the name Nancy. When George was four, the attack on Pearl Harbor happened, and people of Japanese descent were forced to leave their homes and go to a camp. They stayed there for a couple of years and had to cooperate with others and try to work with one another until the war was over. They had to suffer injustice and humiliation at times, but they pulled through until the war was over. But the story doesn’t end. George goes back with the rest of his family to see his birthplace and gets sad to find it in a mess with racial injustice, hatred for the Japanese, the ruined cities, and people dying. As George grew older, he got a job in Hollywood, and he continued to write and started activist work after meeting activists in his life. He continues to be an activist against the recent surge of Anti-Asian hate crimes. 

I read this book last week at my first Battle of the Books meeting and absolutely loved it. I find graphic novels quite fascinating. It is easy to understand because of the visual details and is quicker to read. 

I would highly recommend this book for ages 12+. I recommend this book to people who love history and sociology, just like me.