by Baby Ariel ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 9, 2018
Vapid and banal.
Social media ce-web-rity Baby Ariel steps out of the digital realm and into print with her debut, Dreaming Out Loud.
Ariel Martin, better known as Baby Ariel, combines autobiography with self-help. Starting with her rise to celebrity through creating lip-sync videos on the musical.ly app, the Jewish-Latina teen sensation shares her triumphs and struggles. The book is divided into color-based themes, with biographical sections bookended by sections of questions and guidance. Some of the advice is genuinely helpful, such as how to tackle online trolls and real-life bullies and the edict to seek the assistance of a mental health professional for severe anxiety. Other advice is less so, such as the recommendation to binge-watch Netflix to stave off boredom or how to use false lashes as part of a supposedly minimalist makeup routine. While the advice has many hits and a few misses, the intervening narrative has Ariel singing “me, me, me” such that even glints of good advice fade in the shadow of the author’s narcissistic tone, making for tedious reading. Only the most dedicated member of the Ariel “fan-mily” will find much appeal here. While life advice from a peer mentor certainly has its place, other, better self-help and inspirational resources exist.
Vapid and banal. (Memoir. 12-18)Pub Date: Oct. 9, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-285748-4
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018
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by Hannah Testa ; illustrated by Ashley Lukashevsky ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 13, 2020
Brief yet inspirational, this story will galvanize youth to use their voices for change.
Testa’s connection to and respect for nature compelled her to begin championing animal causes at the age of 10, and this desire to have an impact later propelled her to dedicate her life to fighting plastic pollution. Starting with the history of plastic and how it’s produced, Testa acknowledges the benefits of plastics for humanity but also the many ways it harms our planet. Instead of relying on recycling—which is both insufficient and ineffective—she urges readers to follow two additional R’s: “refuse” and “raise awareness.” Readers are encouraged to do their part, starting with small things like refusing to use plastic straws and water bottles and eventually working up to using their voices to influence business and policy change. In the process, she highlights other youth advocates working toward the same cause. Short chapters include personal examples, such as observations of plastic pollution in Mauritius, her maternal grandparents’ birthplace. Testa makes her case not only against plastic pollution, but also for the work she’s done, resulting in something of a college-admissions–essay tone. Nevertheless, the first-person accounts paired with science will have an impact on readers. Unfortunately, no sources are cited and the lack of backmatter is a missed opportunity.
Brief yet inspirational, this story will galvanize youth to use their voices for change. (Nonfiction. 12-18)Pub Date: Oct. 13, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-22333-8
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2020
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More In The Series
by Shavone Charles ; illustrated by Ashley Lukashevsky
by Leo Baker ; illustrated by Ashley Lukashevsky
by Chella Man ; illustrated by Chella Man & Ashley Lukashevsky ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 1, 2021
Best enjoyed by preexisting fans of the author.
Deaf, trans artist Man meditates on his journey and identity in this brief memoir.
Growing up in conservative central Pennsylvania was tough for the 21-year-old Deaf, genderqueer, pansexual, and biracial (Chinese/White Jewish) author. He describes his gender and sexual identity, his experiences of racism and ableism, and his desire to use his visibility as a YouTube personality, model, and actor to help other young people like him. He is open and vulnerable throughout, even choosing to reveal his birth name. Man shares his experiences of becoming deaf as a small child and at times feeling ostracized from the Deaf community but not how he arrived at his current Deaf identity. His description of his gender-identity development occasionally slips into a well-worn pink-and-blue binary. The text is accompanied and transcended by the author’s own intriguing, expressionistic line drawings. However, Man ultimately falls short of truly insightful reflection or analysis, offering a mostly surface-level account of his life that will likely not be compelling to readers who are not already fans. While his visibility and success as someone whose life represents multiple marginalized identities are valuable in themselves, this heartfelt personal chronicle would have benefited from deeper introspection.
Best enjoyed by preexisting fans of the author. (Memoir. 12-18)Pub Date: June 1, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-22348-2
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: March 24, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2021
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More In The Series
by Shavone Charles ; illustrated by Ashley Lukashevsky
by Leo Baker ; illustrated by Ashley Lukashevsky
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