It Rhymes with Takei is a graphic memoir that details actor George Takei’s life as an actor and activist. From a young age, Mr. Takei was aware of differences from his American peers- not only was he imprisoned in a Japanese interment camp but he was also gay. Filled with historical information about the realities of the gay existence in the 1950s and beyond, Mr. Takei talks about the AIDs epidemic and the real dangers of being outed as a gay man. I’m extremely thankful for Mr. Takei for sharing his story and his activism- he continues to fight for LGBTQIA+ rights.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read It Rhymes with Takei.

If you are familiar with Geroge Takei because of his work on Star Trek, or if you are familiar with him because of his recent work with LGBTQ rights, then this is a great book that covers his life after the events that followed his first book about his childhood.

You don’t have to have read “They Called Us Enemy”, the book that Geroge wrote about being interred with his family during World War II, in concentration camps that the American threw together for all the people of Japanese descent on the west coast.

This book covers the rest of his life, to date, and how he had to be very very closeted, first because he didn’t want to be driven out of Hollywood, didn’t want to damage any show he was on, and didn’t want to damage getting any work after Star Trek. He kept peeking out of his closet, so to speak, but was too afraid to go much further than that.

I can’t imagine waiting so long to come out. He must have been in so much pain. But, as he likes to say, he was an actor, and it was just an act he put on to appear heterosexual. He did it to survive.

I thought I was just going to look at this, as the eARC came in late last night, but I stayed up late reading the whole thing, despite knowing how it would all turn out. Very moving. Very painful. Very sad. But, how liberating it probably was when he finally could hold his husbands hand in public, and discuss and champion LGBTQ rights not as just an ally.

Highly recommend this. All the stars.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review. This book will be published on the 10th of June 2025.

This was a truly wonderful novel. A few scenes in the first 20% felt disjointed BUT - overall this is an amazing, emotional, vulnerable depiction of Takei’s life as a gay man (and so much more).

The writing and illustrations depicting the AIDS crisis made me unbelievably emotional. As did the juxtaposition of Takei’s brother cutting him off next to a depiction of them as children together in a concentration camp.

Although the current political climate is not as optimistic as it was at the end of this book, Takei reminds us in the final pages that we do not face it alone.

Takei was witness and participant to so munch history. It was incredible to hear his perspective, hopes, and fears through it all.