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BILLIE EILISH

GLOBAL POP SENSATION

An informative, colorful celebration of a musical celebrity.

A guide to the life and career of pop star Eilish suitable for projects and reports or casual perusal by the young singer’s fans.

In an introduction and four short chapters, this concise volume accompanied by color photographs and helpful sidebars covers the performer’s life and cultural factors influencing why and how she connects with fans. The introduction explores her notable youthful achievements; at 18 she was the youngest person and the first woman to win the four most prestigious honors at the Grammys (best new artist, album of the year, record of the year, and song of the year). The first chapter explores the beginnings of Eilish’s life as the daughter of actors, growing up in the Los Angeles area, where she was involved with singing and dancing from an early age. She and her older brother, musician Finneas O’Connell, have collaborated extensively. Later chapters touch upon challenges Eilish has faced, including self-harm, suicidal ideation, sleep disturbances, depression, and Tourette’s syndrome, as well as controversies over her lyrics and behavior; the difficulties of living in the public eye; the impact of her fashion sense and personal style; and her activism. The fluorescent pink-and-green design scheme will catch the attention of young readers, and the work’s uncritically laudatory tone will speak to fans. Those looking for an in-depth biography will need to go elsewhere, but this volume is an accessible overview.

An informative, colorful celebration of a musical celebrity. (source notes, timeline, further information, index, picture credits) (Biography. 12-18)

Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2022

ISBN: 978-1-67820-326-9

Page Count: 64

Publisher: ReferencePoint Press

Review Posted Online: July 26, 2022

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2022

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THE NEW QUEER CONSCIENCE

From the Pocket Change Collective series

Small but mighty necessary reading.

A miniature manifesto for radical queer acceptance that weaves together the personal and political.

Eli, a cis gay white Jewish man, uses his own identities and experiences to frame and acknowledge his perspective. In the prologue, Eli compares the global Jewish community to the global queer community, noting, “We don’t always get it right, but the importance of showing up for other Jews has been carved into the DNA of what it means to be Jewish. It is my dream that queer people develop the same ideology—what I like to call a Global Queer Conscience.” He details his own isolating experiences as a queer adolescent in an Orthodox Jewish community and reflects on how he and so many others would have benefitted from a robust and supportive queer community. The rest of the book outlines 10 principles based on the belief that an expectation of mutual care and concern across various other dimensions of identity can be integrated into queer community values. Eli’s prose is clear, straightforward, and powerful. While he makes some choices that may be divisive—for example, using the initialism LGBTQIAA+ which includes “ally”—he always makes clear those are his personal choices and that the language is ever evolving.

Small but mighty necessary reading. (resources) (Nonfiction. 14-18)

Pub Date: June 2, 2020

ISBN: 978-0-593-09368-9

Page Count: 64

Publisher: Penguin Workshop

Review Posted Online: March 28, 2020

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2020

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THEY CALLED US ENEMY

A powerful reminder of a history that is all too timely today.

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A beautifully heart-wrenching graphic-novel adaptation of actor and activist Takei’s (Lions and Tigers and Bears, 2013, etc.) childhood experience of incarceration in a World War II camp for Japanese Americans.

Takei had not yet started school when he, his parents, and his younger siblings were forced to leave their home and report to the Santa Anita Racetrack for “processing and removal” due to President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Executive Order 9066. The creators smoothly and cleverly embed the historical context within which Takei’s family’s story takes place, allowing readers to simultaneously experience the daily humiliations that they suffered in the camps while providing readers with a broader understanding of the federal legislation, lawsuits, and actions which led to and maintained this injustice. The heroes who fought against this and provided support to and within the Japanese American community, such as Fred Korematsu, the 442nd Regiment, Herbert Nicholson, and the ACLU’s Wayne Collins, are also highlighted, but the focus always remains on the many sacrifices that Takei’s parents made to ensure the safety and survival of their family while shielding their children from knowing the depths of the hatred they faced and danger they were in. The creators also highlight the dangerous parallels between the hate speech, stereotyping, and legislation used against Japanese Americans and the trajectory of current events. Delicate grayscale illustrations effectively convey the intense emotions and the stark living conditions.

A powerful reminder of a history that is all too timely today. (Graphic memoir. 14-adult)

Pub Date: July 16, 2019

ISBN: 978-1-60309-450-4

Page Count: 208

Publisher: Top Shelf Books

Review Posted Online: Aug. 4, 2019

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