George Takei’s graphic novel They Called Us Enemy is an interesting story of the racial injustices suffered by Japanese-Americans during World War II. It follows Takei’s family as they suffer the effects of Pearl Harbor, the fear of Japanese spying, and the movement of Japanese-Americans into internment camps. Takei frames the story incredibly well and is an incredible book everybody should read. It shines a deep, reflective light on the dangers of widespread fear and paranoia.
Summary: We Are Not Free by Traci Chee is a historical fiction novel set during World War II that follows the lives of fourteen Japanese American teenagers living in San Francisco. As they are forcibly relocated to internment camps following the attack on Pearl Harbor, the group grapples with loss, injustice, and the impact of discrimination on their friendships and identities.
The book We Are Not Free is a historical fiction by the Author Traci Chee. In the book, they
provide the perspectives of fourteen different characters - Minnow, Shig, Yum-Yum, Bette,
Frankie, Stan, Aiko, Yuki, Mary, Kiyoshi, Mas, Keiko, Twitchy, and Tommy - who are all
Japanese-American teens affected by the Pearl Harbor incident. All the characters (other than
Kiyoshi) lived a peaceful and carefree life together as friends in Japantown, where they lived
My rating for this book is a 4 because the book does show realistic things that happened in our country that are often not remembered. History has its ups and downs and more often than not we forget about the tragic things that happened; even in our own nations. This book brings out one of the pieces of history that many people have either forgotten or don't even know about.
Tomi Nakaji is a young Japanese-American boy growing up on the streets of Hawai’i. All his life knows is school, fishing, his baseball team, and his friends.
So when the Japanese Empire bombs Pearl Harbor, throwing America headfirst into World War Two, the American people are looking for someone to blame. Soon, his grandfather and father are detained solely for their Japanese heritage, even though they are loyal Americans. His mother is fired from her housekeeping job because it “does not look good” to give a Japanese-American woman work.
