This creative, impassioned, in-your-face biography is as on fire as Jimi Hendrix’s guitar.
Smith gives light, air, and sound to the life story of an unparalleled musician who moved to his own rhythms.
Arranged in five multipage “verses” of poetry with an “outro” and “interlude” to reflect Hendrix’s blues, this fascinating biography offers a feast for the ear as Smith tells of Hendrix’s childhood rife with parental conflict, his mother’s traumatic departure, his father’s denigration of his music, and Hendrix’s need to escape a life of exclusion and ostracism. After flying with the Army’s Screaming Eagles, Hendrix often found himself at odds with his bands because of his individualism and drive to play solo. Smith describes him as “a git-tar magician, / a sonic tactician, / a Picasso with a pick / painting in the blues tradition.” Rodriguez’s artwork uses heavily saturated reds, yellows, and (appropriately) blues to create scenes that reveal how music-possessed Hendrix was. Whether illustrating a young Hendrix’s playing a broom as if it were a guitar or plucking “the fireworks exploding in his head,” Rodriguez’s gritty, oil-based woodblock paintings effectively capture Hendrix’s passion, drive, and genius. Smith describes wanting to conclude with a “moment of triumph…to celebrate the unique individual who inspired me.” And he does: With his “show-stopping tricks / …behind-the-back, between-the-legs, / teeth-plucking licks,” Hendrix set his guitar on fire and “showed the world / how to kiss the sky.” (This book was reviewed digitally.)
This creative, impassioned, in-your-face biography is as on fire as Jimi Hendrix’s guitar. (author's note, biographical timeline, personal playlist, discography, references) (Picture book/biography. 8-14)Pub Date: Oct. 19, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-8234-4333-8
Page Count: 56
Publisher: Neal Porter/Holiday House
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2021
An adventurous work whose authentic voice celebrates the outdoors and everyday heroism.
A summer spent summiting the Adirondacks allows a teenager to reckon with grief.
Thirteen-year-old Finn Connelly’s summer is off to a rocky start. In addition to several incomplete class assignments—including a poetry project about heroes—he’s facing vandalism charges after an angry outburst at the local cemetery. To avoid paying thousands in fines that his family can’t spare, he reluctantly agrees to the proffered alternative: climbing all 46 Adirondack peaks over 4,000 feet by Labor Day accompanied by Seymour, the enthusiastic dog who belonged to the woman whose headstone he damaged. As Finn attempts the hikes, he wrestles with what it means to be a hero, a term often used for his deceased father, a local hockey legend, New York City firefighter, 9/11 first responder, and paramedic who died on the front lines of the Covid-19 pandemic. This verse novel is engaging and easy to follow. It encompasses varied structures, like haiku, sonnet, and found poetry. Other ephemera, such as letters, recipes, and school progress reports, create visual breaks evocative of a commonplace book. The first-person narration vividly conveys a disgruntled teenager’s feelings, including moments of humor and contemplation. The novel wrestles with loss and legacy intertwined with weighty events, challenges, and themes—PTSD, alcoholism, toxic masculinity—and their resulting impact on Finn’s emotional well-being. The supporting characters are encouraging adult role models. Characters present white.
An adventurous work whose authentic voice celebrates the outdoors and everyday heroism. (author’s note) (Verse fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: April 29, 2025
ISBN: 9781547616398
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Brava!
From award winner Telgemeier (Smile, 2010), a pitch-perfect graphic novel portrayal of a middle school musical, adroitly capturing the drama both on and offstage.
Seventh-grader Callie Marin is over-the-moon to be on stage crew again this year for Eucalyptus Middle School’s production of Moon over Mississippi. Callie's just getting over popular baseball jock and eighth-grader Greg, who crushed her when he left Callie to return to his girlfriend, Bonnie, the stuck-up star of the play. Callie's healing heart is quickly captured by Justin and Jesse Mendocino, the two very cute twins who are working on the play with her. Equally determined to make the best sets possible with a shoestring budget and to get one of the Mendocino boys to notice her, the immensely likable Callie will find this to be an extremely drama-filled experience indeed. The palpably engaging and whip-smart characterization ensures that the charisma and camaraderie run high among those working on the production. When Greg snubs Callie in the halls and misses her reference to Guys and Dolls, one of her friends assuredly tells her, "Don't worry, Cal. We’re the cool kids….He's the dork." With the clear, stylish art, the strongly appealing characters and just the right pinch of drama, this book will undoubtedly make readers stand up and cheer.
Brava! (Graphic fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-545-32698-8
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Graphix/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: July 21, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2012
SEEN & HEARD
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