Jason Reynolds’s interest in hip-hop and poetry turned into a successful writing career. Learn about the New York Times best-selling author who has received a Newbery Honor, an NAACP Image Award, and many other accolades.
SLJ Review of Gateway Biographies
The careers of four famous people and one soccer team are chronicled in these five volumes. Readers will learn that artist Kendrick Lamar recorded his first songs at age 16 and became the first rapper to win a Pulitzer, while Stephen Curry was rejected by his dream school before taking Davidson College to the NCAA championship. Though raised in a working-class neighborhood, Sonia Sotomayor’s determination to practice law led her to Yale, and eventually the Supreme Court. Information about personal lives is limited to brief mentions of parents and relationships, and no personal data on the soccer stars is included at all. Laudatory in their praises, authors omit controversy while charitable works are noted. Photographs accompany the texts but do not enhance them. Narratives run a little dry, but the information contained in these titles would be suitable for report purposes. However, numerous biographies have already covered these subjects, and interested readers will probably prefer individual titles on U.S. Women’s Soccer team members. VERDICT These volumes feature subjects already covered in other books and at best would be additional purchases.