Earnest and vulnerable.
A collection of life lessons for teens from a 17-year-old actor.
Ortega’s debut compilation of motivational quotes and stories from her life includes themes of family, self-love, faith, and owning one’s story. The writing style is conversational and addresses readers as peers. Some of the life lessons communicate beliefs about love and light in a manner that may not appeal to all, but Ortega uses her personal stories to connect this philosophy to her lived experiences with sincerity. Some of the stories end fairly abruptly, leaving readers wanting to hear more about what happened next, and some feel repetitive. However, overall, the book speaks directly to Ortega’s teenage fan base, addressing topics that they may struggle with such as depression, jealousy, social media use, difficulties in school, and friendship conflict. The author also talks about the value of role models and the pride she feels in being a Latina in the public eye who can, in turn, inspire others. The book’s structure, with aphorisms in decorative frames separated by single pages of text, allows readers to work their way straight through or skip to random pages and still gain value from the tiny nuggets of wisdom. In Ortega’s words, “You are in charge of your story. Don’t let anybody else write it for you.”
Earnest and vulnerable. (Nonfiction. 12-17)Pub Date: Jan. 5, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-17456-2
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Nov. 25, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2020
For a guide to fashion, there's not much flair here. But there's plenty of valuable info for budding fashionistas and...
A matter-of-fact tone removes the mystery from style in this work that is one-part fashion manual and one-part career guide.
Flaherty begins by explaining what a stylist is and the tools he or she uses. She moves on to a wide range of different looks like Socialite, Tomboy and Hipster; fashion elements like color and prints; and a thorough understanding of body type. While the number of fashion personalities is impressive, not one is male, a confusing omission given that boys wear clothes, too. The section on body types is very useful with its real-world examples, Naomi Campbell representing the Inverted Triangle type. The second half is more practical, focusing on "curating" a closet, building a wardrobe, styling oneself and others, and styling as a career. Sprinkled throughout the text are activities like a fashion-movie night and organizing a clothing swap. The illustrations are attractive, yet it's too bad there isn't a greater variety of body types represented.
For a guide to fashion, there's not much flair here. But there's plenty of valuable info for budding fashionistas and stylists, going beyond the shallow glitz of fashion magazines and blogs. (index) (Nonfiction. 12-16)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-9827322-4-3
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Zest Books
Review Posted Online: July 24, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2012
Considerably more edgy satire than Happily Ever After here; a bracing take for teens.
From Puss in Boots’ swaggering descendant “Puss-in-Trainers” to the titular break-and-enter artist caught on security cameras, Agard lays urban-inflected modern twists on 29 folkloric characters.
Written in rhyme or free verse with hip-hop cadences, the poems are nearly all in first person and range in tone from funny or acid (“Bring on your shining armour, dude. / I’ll be your damsel in distress with attitude”), to dark, even threatening. Many offer fresh approaches to the familiar, such as quick portraits of Cinderella in biker leathers and Iron Jack as an emotionally vulnerable Gulf War vet. An apple and a magic mirror provide unusual points of view about their assigned roles, as do “Two Ugly Sisters” who defiantly declare that they “won’t be face-down in no make-up kit / We give the thumbs-up to hair in the armpit,” but end with a sobering “Never mind the eye, we enchant the ear / From our ugly mouths come song, come prayer.” The poems are printed in a variety of typefaces, and Kitamura’s heavily inked black-and-white cartoons or silhouettes likewise change looks while adding appropriately dark, angular, energetic visual notes.
Considerably more edgy satire than Happily Ever After here; a bracing take for teens. (Poetry. 12-16)Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-84780-183-8
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Frances Lincoln
Review Posted Online: Sept. 25, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2012
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