Wears its agenda on both rolled-up sleeves, but it’s set apart by the admixture of unfamiliar names.
Profiles of achievers, mostly of the present or recent past, focusing on character traits that make them worthy role models.
Aside from tricking biased readers into picking this up, there is no reason to brand it as “for boys”—not only because 15 of the chosen figures are or were women, but also because all were chosen as exemplars of one or more of 20 “Special Powers” unrelated to sex, such as “compassion,” “creativity,” “intelligence,” and “perseverance.” Along with such usual suspects as Jackie Robinson, Abraham Lincoln, and Malala Yousafzai, the arbitrarily ordered roster mines less-picked-over ground, from William Tyndale, who translated the New Testament into English and was burned at the stake for it, to, more recently, Yasuteru Yamada, organizer of a corps of senior citizens volunteering to help clean up the Fukushima nuclear facility. The lineup is less notable for its diversity, though it does include 15 people of color. Each receives a two-page profile that extols their virtues (not always uncritically: Lincoln “sacrificed his life, along with 620,000 others, for the future of the United States”) and urges readers to find ways of practicing said virtues in their own lives. Each also comes with a heavily stylized likeness. There are no source notes.
Wears its agenda on both rolled-up sleeves, but it’s set apart by the admixture of unfamiliar names. (Collective biography. 9-12)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-7336335-0-5
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Bushel & Peck Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 11, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
A tighter focus would make this fascinating life story even more intriguing.
In this graphic memoir by sports journalist Shah, a ninth grader pursues his passion in the face of familial expectations pushing him toward a medical career, while also navigating the perils of high school social life.
It’s 1995, and Indian American Amar is desperate to meet the Chicago Bulls—Michael Jordan, in particular—when they stop by his Orlando, Florida, school. A lucky break leads him to his first sports interview, with Phil Jackson, and his tenacity takes him further, leading to multiple conversations with Shaquille O’Neal. But Amar’s luck in journalism doesn’t spill over to his relationship with his crush, blond Kasey Page (“like a mixture of Cameron Diaz, Tinkerbell, and heaven”), or his efforts to remain close with best friends Rohit and Cherian, who start spending more time with other classmates. The work relies on captions as much as plot developments to propel the story. It also follows a broad cast of characters—close and former friends, antagonists, supportive adults, and famous athletes—who appear in multiple storylines. The story accurately depicts the complexities of life as a young teen, though overlapping life challenges pull it in multiple directions, leaving some threads underexplored and hastily wrapped up. Doucet illustrates the characters using loose, disjointed outlines that give the artwork a sense of movement, and the colorful backgrounds use patterns and action lines to indicate a wide array of emotions.
A tighter focus would make this fascinating life story even more intriguing. (author’s note, photographs) (Graphic memoir. 9-12)Pub Date: Aug. 5, 2025
ISBN: 9781546110514
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Graphix/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 13, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A spirited biography untangles the accretion of myth and story around Pocahontas and makes clear what little is actually known and what fragments of the historical record are available. The text is rich in illustration and in sidebars (on longhouses, colonial diet, weaponry and so on) that illuminate the central narrative. Whether Pocahontas saved John Smith’s life directly or as part of an elaborate ritual might not matter, argues Jones. Pocahontas and her people were certainly responsible for keeping the English settlement of Jamestown from starvation. Relations between English settlers and Native people were uneasy at best, and the author traces these carefully, relating how Pocahontas was later kidnapped by the British and held for ransom. When none was forthcoming, she was converted both to English ways and the Christian religion, marrying the widower John Rolfe and traveling to England, where Pocahontas saw John Smith once again and died at about the age of 21. An excellent stab at myth busting and capturing the nuances of both the figure and her times. (glossary, bibliography, source notes, index) (Biography. 9-12)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-4027-6844-6
Page Count: 124
Publisher: Sterling
Review Posted Online: Aug. 31, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2010
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