My Lost Freedom: A Japanese American World War II Story. George Takei. 2024. 48 pages. [Source: Library] [Nonfiction picture book, World War II]
First sentence: Hi, I'm George Takei, an eighty-seven-year-old actor.
Premise/plot: My Lost Freedom is a picture book biography for older readers. It is an autobiographical picture book of George Takei's time in several Japanese Internment camps during the Second World War. He was a young child--a very young child, just four years old. His earliest memories, his core memories, if you will, were formed in these war years. The picture book shares about this time in American history through a personal lens. It is personal yet broader than that.
It would be easy to assume that this is a bleak, glummy, downer of a book. But it isn't. The book shares memories of his family life, his friendships, his community. I think he was young enough to not know just how unjust and wrong it was. Know might be a very poor word choice, feel to the depths of his soul might be better but more wordy. I think his memories would be different if he'd been twelve or thirteen when he entered the camp with his family. I also am guessing that his family chose to make the best of an absolutely horrible situation. I think they chose to make it as much a home as possible for their children.
My thoughts: I didn't know what to expect from this one. I'd read a few books for older readers (middle grade, high school, adult) on this subject. These especially from older perspectives are rightly so angry and bitter. This may be the youngest 'memoir' perspective I've read. It does include plenty of general information about this time period in history.
Easily a five-star read.
© 2024 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews
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