George Takei is back with another fabulous graphic novel with his award-winning team. Takei shares stories of his life, and his decision to come out as gay at the age of sixty-eight. Told with Queer history and Takei's very personal coming out story with his long-time partner Brad, this is a beautiful and accessible story about speaking your truth and how we show up as our whole self in the world. How lucky we are to have such a bright light as Takei in this world!

This is another excellent autobiographical graphic novel by George Takei. This one focuses on how he dealt with being a closeted gay man to preserve his career and ambitions, before eventually coming out when he was 68. Takei speaks openly and honestly about his experiences, and the illustrations do a lot to add to the emotional impact of his story. In particular, the section on AIDS is really haunting and stands out.

This book is also a narrative about equal rights for the lgbtq community and the fight against homophobia in the U.S. It gives a personal side to the battle, and shows how real people are affected by institutionalized hate.

This book gave me chills and drove tears to my eyes for so many reasons. The life of George Takei and what he did with it is inspiring and makes me believe that we should fight and hope (!) through hardships and I'm still really bittersweet about this book, and the time it is actually released in with the oppositing message it gives. I am definitely gonna get myself a copy for my shelf and if it gets a german transaltion (from germany) I hope I can donate one or two copies to libraries. This message is so important and this book made me feel way to many sad, happy and hopeful feelings at once.

They Called US Enemy is one of my all time favorite graphic novels which told the incredibly moving and important story of George Takei and his family living in an interment camp. Because I loved that one so much, I knew going into It Rhymes With Takei would also be a moving journey I was looking forward to experiencing through the graphic medium. I'm thrilled he decided to go further into comics once again to tell his engaging story of living with a part so personal to himself and sharing it with the world really for the first time for a lot of the experiences. I will be happily telling everyone to read this!

This is George Takei's graphic memoir. Sharing his experiences becoming an actor, being an activist and finally coming out as gay.

George Takei is someone whose story I knew little about. I knew him as an internet personality who spoke up when Trump (or other politicians) would do things to oppress people, from his posts I also knew that he had lived in an internement camp. It was really interesting to read his story and the pictures brought it to life even more.

Thank you to NetGalley and IDW publishing for the opportunity to read an arc of this wonderful graphic novel!

George Takei is back with another hard-hitting autobiographical work about being different — this time through a Queer lens. Takei’s story has always been one that impacted me. George was always gay (as these things often go, obviously), but was not always out. In fact, he was almost never out.
It Rhymes with Takei deals with the several decades of George Takei’s life where he could not be openly gay and the myriad of challenges and emotions he faced during those times, such as realizing that he didn’t know anyone else that felt this way, being propositioned by a man in the library at college, and suffering in silence while watching fellow activists able to speak on a topic he found too personal and extremely off-limits. It’s inspiring to hear Takei talk about queerness and I feel lucky to have this book as a physical form of his resistance in finally speaking out.
There are not enough words to express the joy I felt at the announcement of this book or the sincerity I felt while reading it. I’ll just leave you with the best advice I can: read George Takei. Listen to him.
Happy Pride, y’all! We’re here, we’re Queer, all year.

I have read Takei's first graphic memoir. It was good. This is just as good. Reading about the struggles Takei went through living closeted for so many years, while advocating for other groups, showed the difficulty of being a gay man in 20th-century America. And 21st-century America, too. It was heartfelt, sometimes gut-wrenching. Honest and not self-sparing. I deeply enjoyed this book.

No need to read his first graphic if you haven't yet in preparation for this one (though you really should!). I can't imagine the bravery to publish your story to the public. It was such a beautiful read and perfectly published during Pride Month!

It Rhymes With Takei by George Takei
challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective slow-paced
4.0 Stars

A moving memoir from George Takei chronicling his experience growing up as a closeted Japanese-American gay man in America in the 1950s through to modern day. He sheds much needed light on what it meant to navigate family, career and politics as someone who wasn't allowed to fully embrace who they really were publicly in a time where society was vocally and physically violent to the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. I appreciated him not shying away from the consequences that the intersectionality of his race and his orientation had on him.
The art style was wonderful and did a perfect job of capturing Takei's iconic facial expressions and mannerisms without making him a caricature of himself. It was also easy to identify other famous faces even before they were specifically named.

I do feel that the story itself suffered in the last 50-75 page as we moved further away from George's story in particular and more generally into the American political climate of the past couple of decades. This is obviously super important context and history to gay rights and equality, but divorced of Takei's experience the whole section felt very text heavy and contained a lot of info dumping rather than story telling like we had in the rest of the graphic novel.

I think this would be a great graphic novel for any library to keep on hand for early teen readers and older. If read with a parent to help give context around some of the authors self professed riskier activities (re: the bath house and the language used in that scene) I feel it could also be appropriate for some pre-teen audiences.

I recently read George Takei's first graphic novel, They Called Us Enemy, so this book came at the perfect time. Thankfully there's not too much repetition between the memoirs since It Rhymes With Takei actually fills in a lot of the gaps in Takei's life story from the first one. I grew up watching Star Trek but didn't learn anything about the actors' lives outside of it, so I didn't even know Takei was gay until his husband showed up near the end of TCUE. I was in high school when gay marriage was legalized, I've been out to my friends since college, and I mostly exist in alternative and progressive spaces. I've been talking recently with friends and family about the rights that I was born with or gained early in life that I take for granted because I've never known what it's like not to have them. I've also referenced both novels in countless political or historical discussions this year. It Rhymes With Takei is 100% worth a read even if you don't know or care about George Takei as it is a great walkthrough of the queer liberation movement in America so far and what it means to fight for your rights.

Happy Pride Month!

I love so much that George Takei did graphic novel autobiographies. I love an autobiography in general, but to do it comic book style makes it so much more approachable for reluctant readers and it's just so smart.

I read this while circling Orlando for 40 minutes waiting to land, and it just made me smile. I've followed him online pretty much since the invention of Twitter, and remember so much of what he references of current day, but his early life sections were obviously new to me, and the art is so good, and the story even better.

An amazing Pride read, and an amazing Other 11 Month read, as well. So lovely.

I'm not sure when I discovered George Takei since I'm not American, and I wasn't raised on Star Trek. I think it was his funny videos in which he responded to homophobes? Or maybe when the new Star Trek films came out, and I got interested in the universe? The point is, I have known and admired George for some time now. I haven't read his previous comic book yet, but I knew I had to read this one. This guy is a legend, not only to people like me (queer sci-fi fans).

It Rhymes with Takei is a comic book biography. It focusses on George's career, starting with college where he was studying architecture, but quickly changed it to pursue acting. In college, he also got interested in social issues and activism, which is still a big part of his life. But through all of it he was keeping a secret - his homosexuality. I loved how honest George is here. Yes, he went to gay bars, yes, he had lovers. And yes, he was really scared that his coming out would ruin both of his careers - the acting and also the political one. To be honest, I wasn't too aware of his role in the Los Angeles political scene and found this part fascinating.

To say that George's life is inspiring is not enough. This guy is a legend. His constant support of civil rights issues is amazing. Even when closeted, he supported the queer community. And after coming out, he doubled his efforts - publicly debating opponents of same-sex marriages, trying to convince Donald Trump to support such marriages and even letting teachers use his surname instead of the word "gay".
I rarely cry while reading, but the fragment when George and Brad finally get married made me cry so hard.

As for the style, well, it's not the prettiest comic book I've read, but I think it suits the story. It supports it instead of making itself the focus.

I was never a Star Trek fan. I saw one episode while visiting my cousin, (Kirk in the Old West?), and that was enough for me. So, I'm not sure how George Takei popped up on my radar - charming appearances on talk shows, or hilarious Facebook posts . . . somehow I became aware of him, and I liked what I saw.

As impressive as his first graphic memoir, They Called Us Enemy was, this one is even better. An overview of George's life after his release from the internment camp to the present day, we learn of his early acting aspirations, and his budding homosexuality - AND, how he initially fought against both urges. Out of fear that his career would be over, Takei remained deeply closeted until he was 68 years old. I loved the story of how he met his husband, and how their love grew over time.

The book features fantastic artwork, and George's tale is simply wonderful.

Enjoyable but far too long and wordy for a graphic novel! Would've been better as another novel memoir. Happy Pride!

It Rhymes With Takei by George Takei, Justin Eisinger, Harmony Becker, and Steven Scott continues Takei's story that begun in They Called Us Enemy, which recounted Takei’s childhood in a Japanese American internment camp.

This follow-up focuses on another powerful chapter of his life. In October, it will be 20 years since Takei, then 68, publicly came out as gay. From a young age, he knew he was different from other boys, and quickly learned that this difference had to be hidden. He lived through decades of discrimination and silence, surviving and ultimately thriving in a world that was often hostile to his identity. As someone who had little awareness of the LGBTQ+ history he recounts, I found this to be a poignant and eye-opening account of what it’s like to be gay in a rapidly changing era.

I got this graphic novel as a digital ARC from Netgalley for my review.

I loved this book. It's an autobiography of George Takei that centers around his identity as a homosexual who remained closeted most of his life to then make the decision to come out during a time of LGBT activism, with great support.

Books like this are so important at a time in our history where so many people are still divided on these topics. It's a good reminder that a lot of the progress here is so recent and very tentative and so much work needs to be done to spread love in a world full of hate.

Reading about George Takei's life in this way made me cry at so many different parts of his story. It was so real and genuine and I could really feel as if he was talking to me through the novel. I could hear his voice in every line of this story. It was exceptional and I was very surprised that the story caught up to real time events that have happened. I'm glad that it did though. This is a story that I feel is needed during this year especially and I'm so glad I was able to read and enjoy it.

A stunning, moving, hopeful and informative look at George Takei's entire life, from a childhood spent in confinement, years of success in acting, in protesting civil rights, and finally coming out as gay at the age of 63. At a time when the American government - and many parts of the world - seem to be moving backwards, Takei shows us the struggle, sacrifice and hardship many have undergone to reach where we are. He has achieved so many milestones, and reminds us that - whatever challenges currently face the world - there is living proof that the power of people to change minds and change lives remains.

A stunning book. I didn't know about Takei's history - other than being a Star Trek fan, I was pretty ignorant in fact. I think this is essential reading for our LGBTQIA+ community and for allies. I feel humbled that Takei has shared his entire story, including the years of living secretly, too frightened to come out publicly with so much at stake. Ultimately, he realised that his very being was at stake, and he to be himself. An actor spent his acting because of the fear instilled in him, the belief that being gay would rip it away from him.

And yet it hasn't - he is no longer a frightened young man concerned with making end meet, but a privileged veteran star who has worked tirelessly on philanthropic causes for so many different people. Honestly, I also learnt a lot - I don't keep up closely with American News , so I didn't realise how important he was. A good man. A fantastic father.

There is hope, in this graphic novel, and I think its publication is very timely.

4.75 - not quite perfect, as I would have liked a little more context and detail in some places!

Thank you to NetGalley and Top Shelf Productions for the copy - it's now out, in all its wonderful glory! Come and meet the man behind Sulu.

George Takei is inspiring, smart, funny, and wise. His life experiences have led him on a long path to justice, starting when he was a child and his family was held in barracks during WWII due to their nationality being Japanese. As he grew older, he had a loving family that supported his interests in theater, and even influenced him politically in a positive way. However, he knew early on that he was gay, and in a time in our nation's history when this wasn't legal or accepted, he felt he had to remain in the closet.

This memoir was very touching, with wonderful friendships made along the way, and the power of using your voice for good. He also worked closely with the LA transit system and used his notoriety as a Star Trek actor to support causes he believed in. George lost friends during the AIDs epidemic, and fought for marriage equality as it became an issue that came up for vote, then overturned in the courts. He has had many highs and lows in his life, but always has kept a good head on his shoulders and stayed strong.

I felt that this would be a fantastic book for anyone who has been rejected by their family for being LGBTQ or who worries about our current political climate. "The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice." is a fitting quote for the overall theme of this book.

George Takei's graphic memoir tells the story of his life and struggles from young adulthood to the present. The memoir traces how he fell in love with acting and decided to pursue it as a career even as he feared disappointing his parents. It also shows his struggles with his sexuality, trying to ignore the way he felt, coming to terms with and having to hide his feelings, and then ultimately telling the world that he is gay and becoming a huge advocate for the LGBTQ community. This book covered a lot of topics including Takei's love for his craft, the history of LGBTQ rights (especially in California), and of course a deep dive into his personal life.

This was a pretty dense memoir, especially for a graphic memoir, and there was a lot going on. I enjoyed the parts where Takei talked about getting his start in acting and it was obvious that he has a lot of passion for the work. His involvement in politics in California was also interesting, but I think there was maybe too much ground to cover for a book of this length. The work that he has done is so important, but it felt like it was jumbled up with acting, personal struggles, and family conflict, which maybe lessened the overall impact. I almost feel like maybe this could have been split into two books just so that the readers could get more into the nitty gritty of Takei's life and work. Overall it was still an enjoyable read. Fans of Takei will definitely love it and I would also recommend it to people who are interested in the history of gay rights in California.