As a Trekkie, I'm familiar with George Takei as the iconic Sulu. As a queer woman, I'm familiar with his activism. As a millennial, I'm familiar with his social media presence.

Despite all of this, there was still *so* much more to learn! It Rhymes with Takei is a compelling, emotional ride told in Takei's own words alongside beautiful illustrations. What a wonderful testament to the legacy of a true pioneer!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a free eARC in exchange for an honest review.

A full colour graphic memory of the legendary George Takei
Author, outspoken activist and beloved actor, the helmsman of the starship enterprise
George tells his amazing life story from childhood to coming out in 2005, to the present political views and world state
As a living witness to the internment of Japanese Americans, he recounts his friends, family, crushes, fears, hopes and dreams dreams in this historical Hollywood icons journey
The terror of entrapment in straight and gay, the AIDs crisis and his political views in a conservative society
This is an emotional Rollercoaster of the story behind the charismatic beloved person and how he found self acceptance and love

<b>A graphic novel biography of a passionate actor and advocate<b/>

I didn’t know anything about George Takei before I started reading this graphic novel. Based on the cover I had expected it to focus more on queer rights. I was surprised to find that it was actually a biography from his childhood through his adult career and personal life. The pacing was a bit slow for me at the beginning, mostly because I didn’t feel a lot of emotional attachment. I don’t know if Takei maybe just didn’t remember as many details about his childhood, but the emotional reactions seemed very simplified. I kept thinking, didn’t you ever feel bitter or defensive or blame other people? Instead it kept talking about how ambitious and stellar he was. I guess the point was to set up his successes, but I found it unfortunate that I didn’t feel emotionally moved until about a fourth of the way in.

I like the way that the graphic novel included historical moments that intersected with and affected his life. There were many important events that I didn’t know about, so I was glad to have that gap in my knowledge rectified. I found the social justice aspects inspiring, both through the tone of the narrative, and also through Takei’s passions and missions. The text was dense for a graphic novel, but that’s also to be expected for something that has so much history included. The art was about average for me. I liked it well enough because the characters were drawn distinctly.

Overall, I would recommend this graphic novel to others because I think the history is important, but I would warn them that the pacing is slow sometimes and they might not necessarily want to read every page fully in-depth. It would be great to use this for students: maybe assigning 20 pages or so for them to read together in class and then discuss.

A wonderful look into the life of a longtime advocate for marginalized voices. Similar to They Called Us Enemy, this graphic memoir allows for strong storytelling elements to be explored through the textual and visual medium. This book is expansive and dense, covering decades of Takei's life and at no point does it drag. At the same time heartwarming and heartbreaking, It Rhymes With Takei provides a hopeful perspective to a life that was filled with adversity.

Another masterpiece for George Takei. I was honored to receive a digital ARC, and I'm inspired again by George's story. Live long and prosper! 🖖🏼🌈🏳️‍🌈 Definitely recommend.

Holy wow! There was so much I did not know about the great George Takei and I found it really creative to use a comic medium to convey a life story. I this memoir conveyed the unrest, intimacy, fear, and determination Takei has had his entire life. I was truly touched by his parents words and his commitment to his dream of acting.

Throughout the graphic novel (which is a fast read, as many are), it is entrenched in his activism, curiosity in his sexuality, and drive to be a Japanese American on screen and stage who doesn't just fill a stereotype. Takei proves himself to be one of a kind and as someone who always looked up to seeing that representation on screen (in mostly Star Trek), this book only made me love and appreciate him more.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and George Takei for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A great man key advocate for LGBTQI+ rights.. life story in comic format. Thank you to the author, and check him out on Bluesky. Thank you to #netgalley and the publisher for an ARC.

Hopeful. In a world where we have been surrounded by terrible news at all hours this book is exactly what we needed. A true love story posed as a graphic memoir that is funny, poignant, and beautiful in every possible way. George Takei has been a personal hero of mine for many years and he still manages to fill me with pride after all the great things he has done. This book truly highlights all he has done for our society and I cannot wait to see my students read this book! Thank you so much to IDW and NetGalley for allowing me to read this eARC, it was a much needed book at this point in my life.

It Rhymes with Takei isn’t the kind of graphic novel you blow through in one sitting. It's densely narrated, emotionally layered, and filled with art that asks you to pause. And it should - because George Takei’s life hasn’t exactly been light reading.

This follow-up to They Called Us Enemy is part memoir, part social history, and part love letter - to his husband Brad, to the queer community, and to the idea of progress. Takei doesn’t shy away from painful moments, whether it's being disowned by his own brother after coming out -“you’re dead to me and I’m cutting you off from my family” - or bearing witness to the horrors of the AIDS crisis in the 80s. The art accompanying these chapters is poignant, often hard to look at, but all the more necessary because of it.

And yes, even Trump shows up. Because of course he does. Takei tried talking to him about marriage equality once, and it went about as well as you’d expect. And that was before was his first term.

I appreciated the depth and honesty here, and that it didn’t read like a highlight reel. Takei is generous with his experiences, but also unflinching. One quote that stuck with me: “Whatever progress we’ve seen only happened because brave people sit up and demanded it. The strength of our nation is in its abundant diversity.” That about sums it up.

Whether or not you're a Trekkie, this is worth reading - especially if you’re interested in activism, queer history, or just great graphic memoirs.

*Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for providing an advanced copy for review.*

This was just brilliant. Following George Takei's life from his early years of being imprisoned in an internment camp in the US during WW2, through years growing up being closeted in a time when to be gay was challenging and even dangerous. I loved following his highs and lows, and the gradual process of him feeling ready to come out at 68.
Incredibly touching, occasionally funny, at times anger inducing, this was very accessible and well written.
The illustrations were excellent and complimented the memoir perfectly.
I couldn't put this down and read it in one sitting. Highly recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley for my Advanced Reader's Copy of this book.

Overall, this is a good book. George Takei's activism and childhood is a story that should be told. Unfortunately, the book reads as very wooden, with none of the warmth and humor I associate with the man himself. Overall an okay biography, with good illustrations, about a great person.

This graphic memoir is so many things all wrapped into one - an autobiography, a beautiful love letter to George's husband Brad, an informative history of the legislation surrounding LGBTQ+ rights, and a call to action to fight for our rights.

As a casual Star Trek fan, I knew who George Takei was but was not super familiar with his personal story. They Called Us Enemy provides an insight into one period of Takei's life that impacted the rest of it, and It Rhymes With Takei is the rest of it - the whole picture - while also being so much more than a memoir. At the same time heartbreaking and hopeful, I learned a lot from this graphic memoir about Takei's life but also recent US history. While this can certainly be read by itself, it meshes beautifully with They Called Us Enemy to tell a very important story. Like many in recent times I have felt a lot of anger and hopelessness, and although these feelings are present in this book the overwhelming message is one of hope and determination that if we fight things will be okay.

Thank you NetGalley and IDW Publishing for the ARC!

I absolutely loved this second book by George Takei! I had previously read his other book called 'They Called Us Enemies' for a college assignment, so when I saw this book I HAD to get an arc! I felt a roller coaster of emotions reading this book, relating to a lot of the things he spoke about. Just like he did with 'They Called Us Enemies' he and the publishers did an amazing job retelling the events Takei has gone through and the hurdles he had to face when coming out, from fear of what his family thought to the fear of what would happen if people of higher power did as well, mentioning how all his life had been about 'acting'. This was the perfect sequel to TCUE as it goes far more in depth of Takei's adulthood and the events that happened during that time, making him finally decide on releasing this book and becoming an activist. This was such a beautifully illustrated memoir that I hope others that stumble upon this book can read it as well!

This is George Takei's second graphic autobiographical novel. It Rhymes With Takei can be read as a stand alone novel or as a sequel to They Called Us Enemy. I was smiling, laughing, and crying as I read his story. I expected to learn about Takei's coming out story, but I didn't expect a wonderfully dense historical graphic novel that documents LGBQTIA+ history from Stonewall through 2015. Takei pulls the reader into the story by sharing his fears as well as his victories. I highly recommend this graphic novel memoir.

Thank you #GeorgeTakei, #StevenScott, #JustinEisinger, #IDWPublishing, and #NetGalley for me eARC in exchange for my honest review.

This graphic novel beautifully illustrates the life of George Takei. I'm not usually a fan of biographies, but this blew me away.

I found myself on a rollercoaster of emotions, laughing and smiling one moment, and crying the next. It was amazing how many universal queer moments I could relate to, despite living a completely different life, and living different experiences.

One of my favorite things was how seamlessly they wove queer history into the book!

This is definitely one of my favorite books I've read this year and I can't wait for more people to read it! I feel like we need this book now more than ever!

This is a wonder graphic novel on the insight of George Takei’s life. He talks about family, his career, his involvement with politics & activism, & mostly his journey through the decades as a closeted gay man finally making his way out of the closet so late in life.

I cannot tell you how much I teared up with joy or sadness from this memoir. As bisexual Asian American this hit for me closer than it probably would with some. Reading about Takei’s struggles both internally and externally was really quite interesting. I have a great respect for this beautiful man! Thank you for all you’ve done and continue to do George!

🖖

Thank you to NetGalley, IDW publishing, & the author/illustrators for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This deeply touching graphic memoir is vulnerable and incredibly important. Takei shares with readers his experiences as a gay man in the entertainment industry and politics and his decision to come out as gay at the age of 68 after living most of his life in the closet. Takei’s first graphic memoir, They Called Us Enemy, tells the story of Takei’s younger years and his family’s imprisonment in the Japanese internment camps. It Rhymes With Takei is told with the same creative team and follows his life thereafter.

This is an inspiring and informative primary account of the last 80+ years of American History and showcases the importance of political advocacy and fighting for rights and freedoms. I highly recommend this book to High School students and Adult readers.

A really lovely graphic novel memoir detailing Takei's sexuality and coming out journey. Both the writing and artwork were beautiful, and Takei's story was equally beautiful, especially having been a fan of his for most of my life (I've been a Trekkie since very early childhood). It was nice to see this topic tackled with such poise as well as robustness; Takei didn't shy away from delving into every aspect of his journey or gloss over how long his hid himself away for fear of losing his career both as an actor and an activist. Yet while we saw his fear of being found out, we also saw his shame of hiding, especially as people he loved and cared for were dying from AIDs and being denied equality, and he couldn't fight for them as he fought for so many other causes that meant so much to him. I also appreciated that Takei didn't try to put a nicer face on how coming out went with his brother; he allowed the reader to experience his sadness, anger, and disappointment in his brother, likely knowing that so many other Queer readers would have similar experiences with their own families and that relating his own experience, sharing that commonality with them, would help them.
It was also such a joy to see George and Brad's love story unfold. They've always been such a lovely couple to see online and in interviews, so seeing how they met and fell in love was so sweet and wonderful, especially given the circumstances at the time, and that they have continued to love and support each other after all this time.
This graphic novel was truly a joy to read and experience. I really enjoyed learning more about Takei's life, including things I'd never learned before, reading some behind-the-scenes Star Trek stories, and seeing a great gay icon really come into his own on his own terms. I can't wait for this book to be available for more people to read and enjoy as well.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for early access to this book in exchange for an early review. It was really, really lovely.

To understand what this book means to me, I've gotta talk about my dad. See, my dad is a giant nerd, who grew up watching Star Trek live when it first premiered on NBC in the 1960s. My dad is also a little old-fashioned sometimes, which is why it was such a big deal in 2011 when he called me over to the computer to show me some news he found: that George Takei, one of his childhood heroes, was challenging a "Don't Say Gay" bill in Tennessee by urging students to use his name instead.

I won't go into details--you should read the book for that--but I will share that my dad thought this was great. He thought it was hilarious, for one, but he also thought it was an excellent way to criticize a stupid law. Which is how I found out that my dad was cool with gay people. Which made me, as a closeted bisexual who at the time had a crush on her best friend, feel safe in my home.

So what I'm saying is, when I saw that this book with this title was on NetGalley, I not only requested a copy immediately, I also skipped the rest of the NetGalley books in my queue to read it first. So thank you to NetGalley and IDW Publishing for the ARC of this graphic novel.

First things first: this book is gorgeous. Harmony Becker's artwork has a simplicity that contains room for a vast amount of emotion and expression. The moments when George describes his inner turmoil are beautifully illustrated and extremely relatable. It's also a beautiful experience as a younger queer person to read the story of an "elder gay"--aka someone who experienced the AIDS crisis firsthand and lived through it. Things are dark right now, but things have been dark before.

It's hard to talk about how meaningful this book is without going into details but I'll settle for saying that George does a fantastic job of balancing the joy and tragedies in his life in a very real way. This is probably because while he focuses on his experience as a gay man in this book, he cannot tell his story without sharing the rest of him as well--and in an atmosphere where queer people are continually reduced to only their sexuality or presentation, this is a breath of fresh air. It also tickled more of the old Hollywood nerd in me than I expected and gave me some fun Star Trek factoids to share with my dad--and only my dad. If you wanna find out, you should read the book.

I know I got an ARC for free, but I've already pre-ordered my copy for this June.

I really loved "They Called Us Enemy", which is about Takei's childhood growing up in a Japanese camp during wwii, so I was excited to see this new graphic novel from him and that team! This is also an autobiographical graphic novel about Takei but this time focusing more on his queer journey through his life from the 1940s through his acting career in the 60s and to his marriage in the 2000s. Definitely a great read for anyone who likes star trek, history, queer history, and/or graphic novels!

Thanks to netgalley for a free copy in exchange for an honest review!