A beautifully drawn book, rich with insight, humor, and hard-won knowledge.
A graphic memoir explores the author’s experiences with and understanding of racism.
When he was 6, Bell, a contributing cartoonist to the New Yorker and recipient of the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for his editorial cartoons, was playing with a neon-green water gun when a policeman told him to drop his weapon. Earlier that day, he’d asked his mother why his toy had to be green. “That’s what’s going to keep you alive,” his mother, who is White, told him. “The world is…different for you and your brother. White people won’t see you or treat you the way they do little white boys.” The author continues, “If they see me with [the gun], they’ll see a menace. A thug. A threat to be dealt with.” Throughout this powerful graphic narrative, the author traces pivotal events in his life and career that were in some way connected to this conversation. As a kid, he encountered racist teachers, one of whom tried to fail him despite his high grades. In college, he sat with White classmates who argued “that colonialism was GOOD for Africa.” “I bite my tongue,” he explains, “because I’m tired of being ‘The Other.’ ” Bell’s story reflects his awakening to—and gradual comprehension of—the realities of American racism. At first, he didn’t want to believe what he saw. Composing an essay for his college application, he wrote, “I am not a ‘Black’ American. I am not an ‘African American.’ I am not any sort of hyphenated-American. I am not even an ‘American.’ For these are all social constructs.” Bell’s deft drawings perfectly complement the text, with a watery blue wash and panels of varying sizes and shapes matching the contemplative mood. Funny and nerdy—note multiple references to Star Wars—the book is also deeply moving. Part memoir and part intellectual awakening, Bell’s memoir is a triumph.
A beautifully drawn book, rich with insight, humor, and hard-won knowledge.Pub Date: June 6, 2023
ISBN: 9781250805140
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: Jan. 30, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2023
A heartwarming journey that, yes, goes boldly where few men have gone before.
The role of a lifetime: an actor as activist.
Takei famously came out of the closet at age 68, in 2005. Ever since, the actor has been working passionately as an advocate for LGBTQ+ rights and social justice. In this sprightly and affecting graphic memoir, Takei guides readers on the winding path that led to his activism—and tells how he became an actor, known the world over for his portrayal of Hikaru Sulu in the Star Trek franchise. Takei recounts his Japanese American family’s post–Pearl Harbor imprisonment in internment camps in Arkansas and California. “We were punished for looking different,” he says. “Then came this growing realization that I had another difference”—he was attracted to other boys. “I felt so alone,” he says in text accompanying a poignant illustration of him with his hands in his pockets, a despairing look on his face. Thankfully, Buddhism helped the youth; his temple taught him about acceptance—“maybe my feelings were a natural part of me.” His desire to fight injustice began early, when, as a teenager, he picked strawberries and challenged fellow Japanese Americans not to exploit Mexican workers. Takei studied architecture at UC Berkeley, but his “secret aspiration” to be an actor soon became a reality: He landed a voice-over gig that paved the way for a bright future. For decades, he lived a double life, afraid of others’ finding out that he was gay (which could have ended his career). His fear, though, didn’t stop him from championing causes—in addition to serving on the board of the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles, he volunteered for politicians, including Tom Bradley, who, as mayor of Los Angeles, named Takei to a public transportation board. The helmsman of the USS Enterprise, it turns out, helped the City of Angels get a subway system.
A heartwarming journey that, yes, goes boldly where few men have gone before.Pub Date: June 10, 2025
ISBN: 9781603095747
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Top Shelf Productions
Review Posted Online: April 17, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
An accessible, informative journey through complex issues during turbulent times.
Immersion journalism in the form of a graphic narrative following a Syrian family on their immigration to America.
Originally published as a 22-part series in the New York Times that garnered a Pulitzer for editorial cartooning, the story of the Aldabaan family—first in exile in Jordan and then in New Haven, Connecticut—holds together well as a full-length book. Halpern and Sloan, who spent more than three years with the Aldabaans, movingly explore the family’s significant obstacles, paying special attention to teenage son Naji, whose desire for the ideal of the American dream was the strongest. While not minimizing the harshness of the repression that led them to journey to the U.S.—or the challenges they encountered after they arrived—the focus on the day-by-day adjustment of a typical teenager makes the narrative refreshingly tangible and free of political polemic. Still, the family arrived at New York’s JFK airport during extraordinarily political times: Nov. 8, 2016, the day that Donald Trump was elected. The plan had been for the entire extended family to move, but some had traveled while others awaited approval, a process that was hampered by Trump’s travel ban. The Aldabaans encountered the daunting odds that many immigrants face: find shelter and employment, become self-sustaining quickly, learn English, and adjust to a new culture and climate (Naji learned to shovel snow, which he had never seen). They also received anonymous death threats, and Naji wanted to buy a gun for protection. He asked himself, “Was this the great future you were talking about back in Jordan?” Yet with the assistance of selfless volunteers and a community of fellow immigrants, the Aldabaans persevered. The epilogue provides explanatory context and where-are-they-now accounts, and Sloan’s streamlined, uncluttered illustrations nicely complement the text, consistently emphasizing the humanity of each person.
An accessible, informative journey through complex issues during turbulent times.Pub Date: Sept. 8, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-250-30559-6
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Metropolitan/Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2020
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