A scintillating portrait of the stage legend.
Reef brings to life for teen readers Bernhardt, a 19th-century icon and paragon of the French theater—and a single mother who went on to earn France’s highest recognition, the Legion of Honor. Industrious, multitalented, and wildly eccentric, this self-made artist had an exceptional gift for creating multiple personae. The author convincingly argues Bernhardt was indeed the world’s first superstar, wooing audiences of thousands on multiple continents with her ability to command the stage and capturing the devotion of fans with her indefatigable spirit and take-no-prisoners attitude. A biographer’s dream, Bernhardt the actor, patriot, world traveler, mother, sculptor, motion-picture star, and author packed countless professional and personal feats into her 78 years. Henry James also noted she had “in a supreme degree what the French call the génie de la réclame—the advertising genius,” pulling stunts such as having herself photographed sleeping in her coffin (to remind herself of “the mystery of death”) and acquiring scores of exotic pets, among them a lion cub, tortoises, chameleons, and—when on tour in New Orleans—an alligator named Ali-Gaga. Thoroughly researched and enhanced by illuminating illustrations, Reef’s account pulls out all the stops in showing both Bernhardt’s struggles and triumphs as the daughter of a Jewish courtesan who attained dizzying heights of success.
A captivating biography possessing as much verve as its inimitable subject. (author’s note, endnotes, bibliography, timeline, picture credits, index) (Biography. 12-18)Pub Date: June 16, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-328-55750-6
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 5, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2020
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An adaptation for teens of the adult title A Queer History of the United States (2011).
Divided into thematic sections, the text filters LGBTQIA+ history through key figures in each era from the 1500s to the present. Alongside watershed moments like the 1969 Stonewall uprising and the HIV/AIDS crisis of the 1980s and 1990s, the text brings to light less well-known people, places, and events: the 1625 free love colony of Merrymount, transgender Civil War hero Albert D.J. Cashier, and the 1951 founding of the Mattachine Society, to name a few. Throughout, the author and adapter take care to use accurate pronouns and avoid imposing contemporary terminology onto historical figures. In some cases, they quote primary sources to speculate about same-sex relationships while also reminding readers of past cultural differences in expressing strong affection between friends. Black-and-white illustrations or photos augment each chapter. Though it lacks the teen appeal and personable, conversational style of Sarah Prager’s Queer, There, and Everywhere (2017), this textbook-level survey contains a surprising amount of depth. However, the mention of transgender movements and activism—in particular, contemporary issues—runs on the slim side. Whereas chapters are devoted to over 30 ethnically diverse gay, lesbian, bisexual, or queer figures, some trans pioneers such as Christine Jorgensen and Holly Woodlawn are reduced to short sidebars.
Though not the most balanced, an enlightening look back for the queer future. (glossary, photo credits, bibliography, index) (Nonfiction. 14-18)Pub Date: June 11, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-8070-5612-7
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Beacon Press
Review Posted Online: March 13, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2019
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BOOK REVIEW
Curator, author, and activist Drew shares her journey as an artist and the lessons she has learned along the way.
Drew uses her own story to show how deeply intertwined activism and the arts can be. Her choices in college were largely overshadowed by financial need, but a paid summer internship at the Studio Museum in Harlem became a formative experience that led her to major in art history. The black artists who got her interested in the field were conspicuously absent in the college curriculum, however, as was faculty support, so she turned her frustration into action by starting her own blog to boost the work of black artists. After college, Drew’s work in several arts organizations, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, only deepened her commitment to making the art world more accessible to people of color and other marginalized groups, such as people with disabilities, and widening the scope of who is welcomed there. Drew narrates deeply personal experiences of frustration, triumph, progress, learning, and sometimes-uncomfortable growth in a conversational tone that draws readers in, showing how her specific lens enabled her to accomplish the work she has done but ultimately inviting readers to add their own contributions, however small, to both art and protest.
This deeply personal and boldly political offering inspires and ignites. (Nonfiction. 12-18)Pub Date: June 2, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-09518-8
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: March 29, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2020
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