A Pakistani journalist’s rousing look back at years of strife.
Speaking truth to power in a repressive regime.
Siddiqui grew up like many boys around the world—he dreamed of superheroes, played soccer with friends, and took an interest in girls. Not every kid, however, has a father who becomes radicalized in his religious beliefs, a man who throws away his son’s comic books and is incensed upon learning that there are girls in his classroom—both sure signs of Satan’s presence, he says. As for soccer, best not to play it during afternoon prayers, when the Muttawa—the religious police—hunt you down in police cruisers and, if they catch you, beat you with sticks and shave your head to mark you as someone who has broken religious laws. That is, unless you happen to escape by hopping over a wall and hiding in what you learn is the empty compound of none other than Osama bin Laden. Such is Siddiqui’s upbringing in Saudi Arabia as the free-spirited child of Pakistani Muslim parents who moved to the kingdom in the 1980s in search of a better life. Siddiqui chronicles his eventful life story in a fast-paced graphic memoir that jumps from the author’s early years in Jeddah to his journey of becoming a prominent journalist in Pakistan who is critical of the Islamic republic’s oppressive military rule. There’s a lot of heavy subject matter in the book—Siddiqui’s life is threatened, and colleagues are killed—but he can be very funny, as when recounting a youthful infatuation that can’t bode well: “Oh, shit! I’m falling in love with a Shiite!” Or when his ever-critical father shares some news with his wife: “You hear that?” he bellows. “Your son won a TV prize! Shame upon us!” Credit also goes to Maury, a former French military officer whose lively and expressive artwork graces these pages; it’s the artist’s first work published in English.
A Pakistani journalist’s rousing look back at years of strife.Pub Date: April 22, 2025
ISBN: 9781551529530
Page Count: 270
Publisher: Arsenal Pulp Press
Review Posted Online: Jan. 31, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2025
PERSPECTIVES
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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