TAYLOR SWIFT

A pithy panegyric for the planet’s highest-paid and possibly most popular performing artist.

Considering that Taylor Swift is still producing music, she may seem an odd choice for a biographical series titled Who Was? Still, for younger readers who can’t get enough Taylor, Mayer lays out the oft-told essentials of her career from birth and early signs of talent to a few months beyond the end of the “Eras” tour in December of 2024—with some choice bits about friendship bracelets, baking cookies, “fairy godmother” charitable work, and how Swift color-codes outfits to match her albums. Further insight into her character is confined to repeated references to how she stays “true to herself” and insists on “saying what she want[s] to say.” No mention is made of her dating life or (squeal!) recent engagement. With much use of pinks and purples, Mariana’s illustrations depict the superstar winking up at readers from the title page, then go on to scenes of her performing in increasingly large venues after her public debut in 2004 at age 14, meeting fans of diverse skin color, and bustling about her kitchen at Christmas. She “has proven over and over again,” the author concludes in a final line, “that a young woman should never be underestimated.”

Sweet, feel-good fare for young Swifties.