musicreads's reviews
31 reviews

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

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative sad medium-paced

5.0

This book was an amazing memoir. Compared to other memoirs I've read, this truly "takes the cake." The story was informative, emotional, and captivating. The book was informative as it provided a personal perspective on the atrocities that came from Executive Order 9066. However, the story is told from the perspective of a young George Takei, so the image he illustrates is a bit distorted. The image does, however, become clearer when George focuses on his parents and their point of view. We don't get to see exactly what goes through their minds but the level of distress is shown in their actions and tears.

It's inspiring to see that even through all they went through, not once did Takei's parents drop their values. They knew they did nothing wrong and stood by that. Even when their family had to be moved three times, even when they were "no-nos," and even when facing deportation. The story truly shows the resilience Takei's parents and many other Japanese Americans had during the carrying out of Executive Order 9066.

I did enjoy the childlike view that this book is from.

While Japanese Internment was something tragic, Japanese Americans still managed to remain hopeful and try to have some sense of normality. My favorite scene that showed this was in the beginning when George's mother brought the sewing machine. The family's reaction was very silly to me.

I also enjoyed the art style and the emotional storytelling that comes purely from the art. For instance, this is shown simply by the cover art. It shows barbed wires, and a guard standing out front as families pack their lives up in bags and suitcases. You can truly see how sading this is as they place a child front and center, sacred and innocent. I think the art style also helps to lighten the mood of the book, while there are extremely heavy scenes, I think the softness of the art style dilutes it and makes it more bearable. Overall, the story was compelling, emotional, and informative. I will definitely reread this later down the line and it is one of my favorite memoirs.

Content Warnings

The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan

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adventurous emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Compared to the Percy Jackson Series, I enjoyed this book a lot more. I think it was mainly due to the different characters, they are so drastically different from one another, with completely different pasts. This makes it all the more interesting when the points of view change, and when they do we usually get further insights into each character. I did find the characters, two "lovebirds," annoying at first, but over time they grew on me. Also, be warned that the moments they have about one another can be particularly cringy at times, but that might also just be me.

There's so much that happened in this book and I'm on the edge of my seat! Like how did it go with Percy? Jason's memory is starting to slowly come back, he's remembering his friends' names now. Also, how does current Jason connect to past Jason? They seem to be the same person, however, Jason, from what we know is mostly related to the Roman side and the other camp, we've yet to find out about. Like was he reincarnated or what?? The bonding moments between Piper and her dad were somber and sweet at the same time. On that note about Piper, I get her having to stand up to Drew, but did it have to be so corny? No hate to Piper/Jason, they're disgustingly cute together, but that crossed a line... I know this book also dipped its toes into Leo's backstory but I want to know more! He ran away like what 6 times?? There has to be something that happened in that time period that could be important to Leo's character.

Anyway, this was an amazing read! Though it took me months, literally, it was 100% worth it and I can't wait to read the rest of this series!

Go for It, Nakamura! by Syundei

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funny lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson

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emotional funny hopeful reflective medium-paced

3.0

I wish Jacqueline had continued this book by adding the details of how she met up with her father again later in life. I also wish we got to see the other side of her family, the Ohio side especially since she gives a glimpse at the end of the book with their pictures.

However, the book was overall an okay experience, some of the repetitive themes became annoying over time but as she introduced new themes like finding her identity as a writer it became more bearable. This is the kind of book you'd have on your "to be read" for months and then one gloomy, rainy day you decide to read it and it perfectly matches the vibe but as you near the end of the book, you question, "Is that it?" And then your day is ruined. There is also the alternative, which is a sigh of relief that it's finally over. The writing is very good, I especially enjoyed all the metaphors and the "how to listen" poems.

Witch Catcher by Mary Downing Hahn

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 67%.

I was giving this book a large benefit of the doubt but it was so hard to even imagine how the book would end. The pacing was just not my favorite and I didn't know where the story was going, I felt like I wasted a lot of my time trying to read this.

Americanized: Rebel Without a Green Card by Sara Saedi

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 61%.

It's Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini

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funny sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

This book took me a while to get through. In all honesty it was one of my least favorite reads. I didn't like how a good half of the book was just about sex. Especially considering the charcters who are 15. I know teenagers have sex but having be such a big part of the book was actually annoying and made it hard to read, it disgusted me a little. I'm also not sure if I'm just making a big deal of this but I didn't like how the book talked about a certain caharcter who was described as, "transvestile." I know it was a different time but I really didn't like seeing a slur ( not the word transvestile btw) on page for absolutely no reason. It added nothing to the story.

Content Warnings

Komi Can't Communicate, Vol. 1 by Tomohito Oda

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lighthearted relaxing slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman

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adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I had no idea what I was getting into when I picked up the book. I just found the cover and title interesting.

The beginning was confusing for me but as the book went on, it started to make more sense. The book managed to draw me in and keep me wanting me more. It was an interesting read.

Content Warnings

Girls' Last Tour, Vol. 1 by Tsukumizu

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adventurous medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

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musicreads's reviews 31 reviews

musicreads's reviews
31 reviews