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Take What You Can Carry
In 1977 suburban Chicago, Kyle runs wild with his friends and learns to shoplift from the local convenience store. In 1941 Berkeley, the Himitsu family is forced to leave their home for a Japanese-American internment camp, and their teenage son must decide how to deal with his new life. But though these boys are growing up in wildly different places and times, their lives intersect in more ways than one, as they discover compassion, learn loyalty, and find renewal in the most surprising of places.
Kevin C. Pyle’s evocative images bring to life a story of unlikely ties across space and generations.
176 pages
First published March 13, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 112 reviews
September 15, 2023
A cross-generational coming of age tale that highlights how the choices we make can have profound reverberations through the years. Two teenage boys from very different place and time discover a bond over choices made when facing adversity; a very powerful narrative - a GN Bildungsroman that will have you remembering the 'wrong turns' you took when you were very young.
September 30, 2014
The modern day story with the white boy was pointless. How can any storyteller ever draw a comparison between someone stealing to survive versus someone stealing for kicks and giggles? The false equivalency here is astounding and even a little bit insulting to the audience. I get the point the author was trying to make, but it came off as yet another story where the little white kid learns a valuable lesson from the wise old Japanese man. Barf.
Would have been a MUCH better book if it was all about the kids in the internment camps. What a way to waste an interesting premise (graphic novel on American concentration camps) by focusing more than half of the story on some random kid committing crimes for fun. I think we all know if the modern day kid was Japanese, Latino or Black there is NO WAY he would have been let off so easy. I would have even preferred more epic scenery over that kid whining and moaning over nothing. His white privilege showed from start to finish. In fact, the little historical bits at the very end were more interesting that the actual graphic novel, which is just sad. Glad it was incredibly short and that I flew through it in less than two hours.
Would have been a MUCH better book if it was all about the kids in the internment camps. What a way to waste an interesting premise (graphic novel on American concentration camps) by focusing more than half of the story on some random kid committing crimes for fun. I think we all know if the modern day kid was Japanese, Latino or Black there is NO WAY he would have been let off so easy. I would have even preferred more epic scenery over that kid whining and moaning over nothing. His white privilege showed from start to finish. In fact, the little historical bits at the very end were more interesting that the actual graphic novel, which is just sad. Glad it was incredibly short and that I flew through it in less than two hours.
December 19, 2012
”It’s weird with some stuff. Or moments, really. Even though they are entirely under your control…they somehow aren’t. It feels like once you start…there’s only one way things can go. Even if it’s the wrong way.”
Take What You Can Carry is a stunning work of art connecting two lives through time and history. A reading experience with emotional and visual power.
The action and timeline flashes back in forth between 1942 in a Japanese-American internment camp in California and a 1978 Chicago suburb. Mr. Pyle presents each world with its own style and color. A rich, dark natural brown brings the camp alive with depth and motion. Truly astonishing what an artist can do with one color and shadows. The world of 1978 is depicted in light, soft shapes and blues. Both beautiful to the eye in their own way.
Our story is told in few words. The subtle, sparse style is moving at times, but a bit confusing in others. There were a couple of times I had to stop, back up, and say—“So what is going on here?” Especially the camp’s story, which disappointed me—crushed my heart actually. I am a history geek, so to see history in a young adult graphic novel made me very happy. Plus the internment camps are a sad piece of American history that needs to be seen and discussed more. History may be in the past, but it is never gone. History leaves a mark. Scars we need to talk about. But the story here came off as unclear and fuzzy at times unfortunately. I hope it inspires readers to look deeper though and research the subject. I know I did. :)
A strong graphic novel with important subjects that may show readers what is important--what can be stolen, taken, and forgiven in life.
March 7, 2015
I feel uncomfortable with the author's ease at drawing parallels between Japanese Internment in the 1940s and a punk-ass kid who shoplifts in 1978. Not comparable. (Also, a very good reason I don't work with middle & high schoolers. I don't have the patience.) And I don't really understand why the author chose the segments set in the 1940s featuring Japanese-Americans to be wordless. Japanese people can speak.
November 29, 2012
Ok, I don't know if this is a spoiler, so I'm putting things behind curtains... I think this book is about .
It tells the stories of two teenage boys - one of Japanese descent living in WWII California, one of apparently Caucasian descent living in an anonymous suburb.
One of the boys ends up in an internment camp in rural California, the other falls in with a rough crowd in his suburb. The internment story is all in browns, and is wordless. We see what life was like in those camps. The suburban story is rendered in blues and mostly depicts kids getting into trouble in construction zones and gas stations.
It is a reflective story - perhaps too reflective for a teen audience. I found myself wondering how the two stories were connected, . This might get picked up by a kid who was already interested in the internment camps, but there's not a major hook for the modern-day story, and the wordlessness in the internment section might be perceived as a lack of hard information.
And although I appreciate it more now that I'm reflecting on it to write this review, overall I found it literally forgettable. I read it less than a week ago, and when I saw it in my inbox (waiting to be reviewed), I thought that I still needed to read it. Which is never a particularly positive sign.
It tells the stories of two teenage boys - one of Japanese descent living in WWII California, one of apparently Caucasian descent living in an anonymous suburb.
One of the boys ends up in an internment camp in rural California, the other falls in with a rough crowd in his suburb. The internment story is all in browns, and is wordless. We see what life was like in those camps. The suburban story is rendered in blues and mostly depicts kids getting into trouble in construction zones and gas stations.
It is a reflective story - perhaps too reflective for a teen audience. I found myself wondering how the two stories were connected, . This might get picked up by a kid who was already interested in the internment camps, but there's not a major hook for the modern-day story, and the wordlessness in the internment section might be perceived as a lack of hard information.
And although I appreciate it more now that I'm reflecting on it to write this review, overall I found it literally forgettable. I read it less than a week ago, and when I saw it in my inbox (waiting to be reviewed), I thought that I still needed to read it. Which is never a particularly positive sign.
June 24, 2012
WHY I READ IT:
I'm a sucker for graphic novels. When I learned that TAKE WHAT YOU CAN CARRY was a graphic novel about the historic Japanese internment, I immediately purchased it. I thought of how I could pair it with FAREWELL TO MANZANAR or use it as an introduction to such an unfathomable period of American history.
SUMMARY:
The novel focuses on two strands, as suggested by the cover: (1) the life of a Japanese family forced to move into the Manzanar camp as depicted in brown illustrations and NO DIALOGUE & (2) the rebellious life of a teenage boy who has moved into a new town and suburban neighbor as depicted in blue illustrations WITH dialogue. Kyle, the rebellious teen, keeps pushing boundaries to impress his new friends, even going so far as to steal from a convenience store. When Kyle must atone for his actions, he realizes he has more in common with the store owner than he initially realized.
COMPLAINTS:
The title of this book basically gives away the connection between the two plot strands, and I found the back cover of the book to be more illuminating than some of the illustrations. For instance, I don't recall ever discovering Mr. Himitsu's first name being Ken while reading the book. Also, nothing about the illustrations suggest that Kyle is living in the 1980s, as the back cover claims "Never four decades later, another boy also begins a new life." I thought the action was taking place in the present day, the 2010s. Finally, this book did not have page numbers, which was super annoying.
I'm a sucker for graphic novels. When I learned that TAKE WHAT YOU CAN CARRY was a graphic novel about the historic Japanese internment, I immediately purchased it. I thought of how I could pair it with FAREWELL TO MANZANAR or use it as an introduction to such an unfathomable period of American history.
SUMMARY:
The novel focuses on two strands, as suggested by the cover: (1) the life of a Japanese family forced to move into the Manzanar camp as depicted in brown illustrations and NO DIALOGUE & (2) the rebellious life of a teenage boy who has moved into a new town and suburban neighbor as depicted in blue illustrations WITH dialogue. Kyle, the rebellious teen, keeps pushing boundaries to impress his new friends, even going so far as to steal from a convenience store. When Kyle must atone for his actions, he realizes he has more in common with the store owner than he initially realized.
COMPLAINTS:
The title of this book basically gives away the connection between the two plot strands, and I found the back cover of the book to be more illuminating than some of the illustrations. For instance, I don't recall ever discovering Mr. Himitsu's first name being Ken while reading the book. Also, nothing about the illustrations suggest that Kyle is living in the 1980s, as the back cover claims "Never four decades later, another boy also begins a new life." I thought the action was taking place in the present day, the 2010s. Finally, this book did not have page numbers, which was super annoying.
February 17, 2014
This book had an interesting format in which it juxtapose a person's life story and childhood to another persons present life in his childhood. The book periodically switched back and forth between the persons life. It showed how adequately fun the modern child's life was compared to the other child's (on the left of the cover) life was. It showed me how much we take for granted, while people around us struggle to survive every day. It may be an easy and quick read, but it is filled with different perspectives that are very interesting. I recommend this to anyone.
May 4, 2018
I too was uncomfortable with the parallels drawn between what Japanese-Americans had to do to survive during their unlawful internment and some white boys stealing for fun.
April 17, 2023
My love of the graphic novel is growing. 😊. This is an interesting back and forth tale that tells both the story of a young boy in a Japanese internment camp during World War II and a young man in 1978 California who steals because he is bored and lonely. It’s an interesting juxtaposition because the two don’t have much in common on the surface. It’s also led to a lot of the criticisms I’ve seen in the reviews. The criticism is valid, but there is another way to read this text.
I don’t see a direct comparison as much as I see a story about how an older man teaches a younger man about empathy and mercy. The circumstances were vastly different, but the lesson was much the same. It’s why the “Frank” character is included, and why he is the fulcrum upon which Mr. Himitsu’s perspective changes.
The same is true or the idea that there are no words in Mr. Himitsu’s story. While it could be seen as dismissive, maybe it is simply because the author doesn’t see that story as his to “tell,” so instead he shows us.
There is a valuable lesson here about connecting with others. We do not need to share experiences. We need to draw lines of connection. If we do that, we will see each other much more clearly, and that is for the betterment of us all.
I don’t see a direct comparison as much as I see a story about how an older man teaches a younger man about empathy and mercy. The circumstances were vastly different, but the lesson was much the same. It’s why the “Frank” character is included, and why he is the fulcrum upon which Mr. Himitsu’s perspective changes.
The same is true or the idea that there are no words in Mr. Himitsu’s story. While it could be seen as dismissive, maybe it is simply because the author doesn’t see that story as his to “tell,” so instead he shows us.
There is a valuable lesson here about connecting with others. We do not need to share experiences. We need to draw lines of connection. If we do that, we will see each other much more clearly, and that is for the betterment of us all.
Read
July 11, 2021Hm. Found this while weeding my home library. I think I might've had a different opinion had I read it when I bought it back in 2012. Now, with WNDB and #ownvoices (I know that's falling out of favor), I have serious questions. I'm not sure that the parallels totally work-1978 white boy=hella amount of white privilege.
February 15, 2024
I liked these parallel stories - bored, mischievious white teen in the 70s and teen sent to an internment camp in the 40s. There is a link between the stories, that becomes slowly apparent.
The brief description of the internment camps at the end gave me a couple of insights I had not picked up on before. Overall, good use of the genre.
The brief description of the internment camps at the end gave me a couple of insights I had not picked up on before. Overall, good use of the genre.
March 3, 2013
I'm waffling between 2 and 3 stars for this one. I thought it was just okay, but I liked its ambition and its subject matter a lot, so I'm giving it 3.
I like the tenuous connection between the two characters. There is very little that is similar between them, but being a teen who committed random acts of destruction for no apparent reason helped me identify with Kyle and see how he might feel similarly desperate and anti-authoritarian as Ken, despite his extremely more privileged situation. They both feel displaced and resentful and take similar actions, but the difference between their situations is made apparent by the forgiveness they both find.
I'll echo what a lot of people say about the drawings: the wordless panels are beautiful, but also make it difficult to know exactly what is happening or who is whom. The end notes are fantastic and informative, but I wish it had been clearer in the panels.
I might like this book more later, but I think I go into Japanese internment stories with certain questions and I never get the answers I am looking for.
I like the tenuous connection between the two characters. There is very little that is similar between them, but being a teen who committed random acts of destruction for no apparent reason helped me identify with Kyle and see how he might feel similarly desperate and anti-authoritarian as Ken, despite his extremely more privileged situation. They both feel displaced and resentful and take similar actions, but the difference between their situations is made apparent by the forgiveness they both find.
I'll echo what a lot of people say about the drawings: the wordless panels are beautiful, but also make it difficult to know exactly what is happening or who is whom. The end notes are fantastic and informative, but I wish it had been clearer in the panels.
I might like this book more later, but I think I go into Japanese internment stories with certain questions and I never get the answers I am looking for.
May 13, 2012
Eh. Drawn in an interestingly nice, shaky Mike Judge-y style, with a similar tone/setting, though less lush and humorous. Character development is less than complete -- "oh, I'm a kid that steals stuff... cuz I just get bored," but the wordlessness of the Japanese internment camp story was actually pretty effective -- the smallness of one kid in a big world, and the importance too, communicated through people bustling and scrambling through crowded and empty spots alike. In the end though, and perhaps this was the intention, it didn't amount to much. Which is fine, I suppose. But the forgetableness of the characters and the lack of real dilemma or pathos make for a just ok book, rather than a great one.
April 19, 2012
This is a pretty fast read since it is not heavy on the text. It basically tells two parallel tales: the first being the Japanese internment camps after the attack on Pearl Harbor and the second of a boy who stole thing from a shop due to boredom. The internment side of the story is pretty powerful for the lack of words depicted. I thought it was pretty interesting because you could see parallels in both tales.
Disclaimer: I won this in a Goodreads Firstreads giveaway.
Disclaimer: I won this in a Goodreads Firstreads giveaway.
April 9, 2017
Graphic novel telling the coming of age tale of two boys in very different times. By intertwining their stories, a greater lesson about how little we know about each other and what we’ve been through or are going through. Quick read and such a lovely way to present a wonderful reminder that there’s a lot to learn if we only make ourselves available to it.
November 29, 2014
Two stories told simultaneously - one of a teen boy in trouble and another of a teen whose family gets sent to an internment camp for Japanese-Americans during WWII.
Read
March 24, 2026Never said this before about a graphic novel, but it should have stayed a short story.
Want to Read
April 8, 2021Summary: This book tells two stories of two different young Japanese boys. The first story is based in California in 1941 and the second one is based in a suburb of Chicago in 1978. The first boy and his family are sent to a Japanese concentration camp after Oahu was bombed by Japanese planes. The second story is about a young boy who recently moves to a new neighborhood. Throughout the book, it flips back and forth between the two stories and the struggles each boy goes through. In the end, their stories come together for a learning lesson of respect.
Analyze: I honestly had a hard time following the story until the very very end because I did not understand how the stories were related. The story of the boy in Chicago made me really mad because he was disrespectful and unkind. With that said, I appreciated how the author included some words every once in a while that offered a glimpse into the inner thoughts of the boy as he wrestled with his identity. The story of the Japanese family in the camp showed me how difficult that must have been which opened my eyes and softened my heart to injustice.
Application: I think this book is a great read because it includes a lot of history which is always beneficial for students to read, but the story is written in a way that allows the reader to relate to the experiences of the characters. In the end, there is a sweet moral to take away that I think, as a teacher, you could discuss with your students. This book can be read and interpreted in many ways so I think it would be very interesting and helpful to give students the opportunity to discuss their thoughts, questions, and concerns with each other in a controlled seminar situation. Overall, I think this story is a good read, but challenging and would definitely need teacher supervision if read.
Analyze: I honestly had a hard time following the story until the very very end because I did not understand how the stories were related. The story of the boy in Chicago made me really mad because he was disrespectful and unkind. With that said, I appreciated how the author included some words every once in a while that offered a glimpse into the inner thoughts of the boy as he wrestled with his identity. The story of the Japanese family in the camp showed me how difficult that must have been which opened my eyes and softened my heart to injustice.
Application: I think this book is a great read because it includes a lot of history which is always beneficial for students to read, but the story is written in a way that allows the reader to relate to the experiences of the characters. In the end, there is a sweet moral to take away that I think, as a teacher, you could discuss with your students. This book can be read and interpreted in many ways so I think it would be very interesting and helpful to give students the opportunity to discuss their thoughts, questions, and concerns with each other in a controlled seminar situation. Overall, I think this story is a good read, but challenging and would definitely need teacher supervision if read.
August 15, 2018
This was an intriguing graphic novel, from the color choices, to the historical aspects, to the conversation surrounding stealing and shoplifting. Like others, I found it hard to reconcile that stealing out of necessity at an internment camp was paralleled alongside a white boy's thrill-seeking. But I believe when dealing in such topics as this, authors and illustrators only have the best intentions, though they aren't necessarily above critique. It seems to me that the dialogue surrounding stealing in this graphic novel isn't to say how similar these two boys are, but rather how different, and how white privilege awards you second chances when being Japanese awarded you no chances. Was this potential idea executed? Yes. Was it executed well? Kinda.
But, that being said, I did learn quite a lot about Japanese internment camps. Unfortunately, that topic is one that's consistently glossed over in American history classes, so I welcomed this opportunity to learn. Pyle offers a look at just what those camps were like on the inside, and how the train rides to them were, and how destructive it was to families who had now just lost absolutely everything they owned.
Even so, I found that this book had its merits and its setbacks, and I still find that it's worth reading, if not for just the discussion on the camps.
Review cross-listed here!
But, that being said, I did learn quite a lot about Japanese internment camps. Unfortunately, that topic is one that's consistently glossed over in American history classes, so I welcomed this opportunity to learn. Pyle offers a look at just what those camps were like on the inside, and how the train rides to them were, and how destructive it was to families who had now just lost absolutely everything they owned.
Even so, I found that this book had its merits and its setbacks, and I still find that it's worth reading, if not for just the discussion on the camps.
Review cross-listed here!
August 1, 2024
Told in two narratives, Ken’s story, told in brown brushwork, shares the deportation of his family to the Manzanar incarceration camp during World War II. As Japanese Americans, Ken’s family was given little time to gather their possessions before forcibly boarding the waiting trains bound for their new home. Kyle, who’s story is illustrated with blue ink, is new to the neighborhood and quickly falls in with a group of boys who look for excitement in the form of vandalism and petty theft until they are caught shoplifting from a local convenience store. In restitution, Kyle is forced to work for the convenience store’s owner to pay for his debt. As he assists the owner, Kyle begins to realize that his theft impacted others in a way he had not intended, but that the shop owner may know more about what it is like to be a bored teenager who looks for adventure in the wrong places. The two stories connect in a thoughtful way that leaves both characters with a better understanding of each other.
July 9, 2021
This was a quick read. This book falls into the conversation of who is allowed to tell a people's stories. It is told in two voices that converge at the end. You cannot help but to read this critically and to think about whose voices are amplified and whose are literally silenced in this book. The use of flashbacks/memories is its own form of storytelling. It becomes problematic when applied to disenfranchised Japanese Americans who are being rounded up and held captive by their own government. This needed to be better thought out. I think the take away is supposed to be I too was young once...I also made mistakes. Yeah...no.
There are other books by AAPI authors that would be better reads. This includes George Takei's They Called Us Enemy and Thi Bui's The Best We Could Do for graphic novels. Traci Chee's We Are Not Free is also on my TBR list and has great reviews on GoodReads.
There are other books by AAPI authors that would be better reads. This includes George Takei's They Called Us Enemy and Thi Bui's The Best We Could Do for graphic novels. Traci Chee's We Are Not Free is also on my TBR list and has great reviews on GoodReads.
September 2, 2022
This is an odd book to review because it's about second chances, but the circumstances and the weight of each story is intensely different. In one side we have a story of Japanese people in Concentration camps in the US after the attack on Pearl Harbor and in the other we have a kid that's kind of messing around to land on the wrong side of the tracks. although I can see the intention of drawing parallels and how luck and someone giving a break was the difference, it still felt odd. Then I checked reviews and saw this as a recurring theme. The issue most people (myself included) have is that the stakes are not equal, this isn't apples and oranges, though it is a good piece to bring a proper discussion of theft, its consequences, second chances, and to a great degree, the existence of white privilege and racist attitudes and tendencies in the US. It was an interesting read but beyond being a conversation starter, not sure if this is a MUST read for me or if I'd revisit it.
September 13, 2020
It felt unfinished. Two stories that didn’t mesh at all. The artwork didn’t mesh either. Murky, impressionistic art for the story (such as it was) of the internment camp, combined with cartoon style art for the modern day story made for a disjointed reading experience. Hard to drum up sympathy for the modern characters, and very difficult to figure out what was happening in most of the internment camp panels (hard to even distinguish who the different characters are.) Are we supposed to equate the cavalier theft of chewing gum with the theft of basic living necessities to survive in the camps? Was this the author’s intention? Because that cheapens the Japanese experience. Do not recommend.
July 4, 2018
I really wanted to like this. I liked the art and the color contrast between eras. But I didn’t feel any sympathy for the white kid who stole from the store and didn’t really see his connection to the internment camps (except the store owner was at the camp). I also really feel like the scenes at the internment camp needed dialogue or words of some kind. I missed some of the things that were happening in those scenes because I had no context. Which makes me sad because those felt like the important scenes.
July 8, 2022
ah, this was.... a thing. First, I think the decision to make the internment camp scenes silent was a WRONG one, what ended up happening by doing this is making the story about the white boy in the "present" more important, or at least more in the viewer's eye since the past scenes you just look at quickly and move on. The art style is not impressive enough that you wan to linger in the moments of silence and the effect is that we have an unbalanced story, toward the wrong side! I honestly wasn't sure what the author was trying to do here. Overall, a good concept kinda wasted.
November 19, 2020
This book tells the coming of age story of two guys separated by a few decades. It is also the story of restorative justice. Personally, I wish the author would have included a bit more background/ writing on the historic sections. If the reader is not aware of the internment of Japanese in America, this book will not give them much information on that.
July 24, 2025
This graphic novel goes back and forth between two time-lines, one near Chicago in the 1970s and the other during the time of Japanese internment. The internment story is wordless, while the 1970s thread has text. The two stories seem unrelated at first, but eventually the connections become apparent.
December 6, 2017
I liked this book. Sometimes it was hard to keep track of what was happening, because there was 2 stories going on at once. I would recommend this book if you want a graphic novel that is challenging.
January 3, 2019
I wasn't a big fan of the art style of ken's side. I found it to be a bit confusing since the drawings were blurred slightly and had no text. I understand why that technique was used, but I didn't really enjoy it.
September 29, 2017
A great way to get kids thinking about how history impacts us today. Simple but powerful illustrations.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 112 reviews