“I didn’t want to be inspirational; I just wanted to be funny.” Happily he manages to be both.
A breezy, upbeat memoir from a 22-year-old Canadian autism advocate and stand-up comic.
Diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder at age 5, McCreary is quite unlike the stereotypical Aspie (a term he uses interchangeably with autistic person, person on the spectrum, and similar phrases): hopeless at math but extroverted, verbose, and in love with performing. He repeatedly emphasizes that ASD manifests differently in everyone—indeed, his younger brother, also autistic, is in many ways his polar opposite. He recounts his journey to his dream of becoming a professional comedian, including triumphs and humiliations, family, teachers, friends, and enemies, all in a wry, self-deprecating voice peppered with innumerable pop-culture references and relentless optimism. Along the way, he provides an intimate glimpse of one autistic person’s inner life, highlighting common experiences, explaining widespread coping mechanisms, and demolishing popular misconceptions. Some readers might yearn for his advantages of economic means, supportive community, and excellent, well-funded special needs programs in the public schools; still, he acknowledges his struggles with living independently and that some persons with ASD may never achieve that. Nonetheless, the hard-won lessons he shares—be understanding, don’t judge, live for the moment, never give up, and “shut up and listen”—are worthwhile for autistic and neurotypical alike.
“I didn’t want to be inspirational; I just wanted to be funny.” Happily he manages to be both. (Memoir. 12-18)Pub Date: March 12, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-77321-257-9
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Annick Press
Review Posted Online: Dec. 8, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2019
Easily the best study of the Vietnam War available for teen readers.
Following his award-winning World War II–era volumes Bomb (2012) and The Port Chicago 50 (2014), Sheinkin tells the sweeping saga of the Vietnam War and the man who blew the whistle on the government’s “secret war.”
From 1964 to 1971, Daniel Ellsberg went from nerdy analyst for the Rand Corp. to “the most dangerous man in America.” Initially a supporter of Cold War politics and the Vietnam War, he became disenchanted with the war and the lies presidents told to cover up the United States’ deepening involvement in the war. He helped to amass the Pentagon Papers—“seven thousand pages of documentary evidence of lying, by four presidents and their administrations over twenty-three years”—and then leaked them to the press, fueling public dissatisfaction with American foreign policy. Sheinkin ably juggles the complex war narrative with Ellsberg’s personal story, pointing out the deceits of presidents and tracing Ellsberg’s rise to action. It’s a challenging read but necessarily so given the scope of the study. As always, Sheinkin knows how to put the “story” in history with lively, detailed prose rooted in a tremendous amount of research, fully documented. An epilogue demonstrates how history repeats itself in the form of Edward Snowden.
Easily the best study of the Vietnam War available for teen readers. (bibliography, source notes, index) (Nonfiction. 12-18)Pub Date: Sept. 22, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-59643-952-8
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: June 22, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2015
Musical-theater lovers, whether front-of-curtain, backstage, or audience, will revel in this journey in which “Every moment...
With a deft hand and unbridled admiration for her subject, Rubin presents the career of a musical theater giant.
Stephen Sondheim’s life as composer and lyricist is the stuff of legends, starting with his fabled apprenticeship with Oscar Hammerstein, moving on to his Broadway beginnings with West Side Story, and his subsequent successes (and some failures) in the coming decades. Much has already been written for adults about the collaborative process for West Side Story, but Rubin succinctly captures the genesis of the production for confirmed young fans while no doubt hastening the rush of others to listen to the music and attend revivals. She then moves on to describe Gypsy, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Company, Follies, A Little Night Music, Pacific Overtures, Sweeny Todd, Merrily We Roll Along, Sunday in the Park with George, and Into the Woods. Readers will come away with an understanding of the difficulties involved in creating Broadway shows and an appreciation of the many, many talents required to finally reach opening night. Photographs and snippets of lyrics add to the whole package.
Musical-theater lovers, whether front-of-curtain, backstage, or audience, will revel in this journey in which “Every moment makes a contribution / Every little detail plays a part.” (list of shows, film scores, bibliography, videography, discography, source notes) (Biography. 12-18)Pub Date: Nov. 3, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-59643-884-2
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Neal Porter/Roaring Brook
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2015
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