Whitney Houston

December 1, 2012

Gr 7-10-These books trace the lives of pop-culture notables from childhood to their sudden deaths, and the personal and professional triumphs and troubles in between. The opening chapters detail a specific performance by the celebrity. This career highpoint exemplifies the individual's qualities and abilities that were admired, generated sales, and attracted legions of fans. The chapters conclude with a statement that tells when the person died, piquing readers' interest to discover how the star had gone from one of the brightest moments to such a tragic ending. The narrative history has an informative tone, balancing opinions and quotes from the subjects and insiders close to them, and critics' views, along with important facts and milestones. The books convey a sense of what made these performers legendary, how they influenced others, and why their legacies endure. The authors provide helpful context to the eras in which they lived, such as the common practice of prescribing sleeping pills and amphetamines. Large color, captioned photographs appear throughout, and sidebars supply helpful background material. These up-to-date biographies should find an audience in middle and high school collections. While the books maintain that the tragic ends do not diminish their subjects' accomplishments, the authors neither romanticize nor glamorize these lifestyles marred by substance abuse.-June Shimonishi, Torrance Public Library, CA

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 1, 2012
Grades 7-10 The dependable Lives Cut Short series adds another four titles featuring celebrities who died prematurely. Each begins with a poignant quote from the late celeb. The books use many other first-person quotes as well as comments from people who knew the subject. Freed from the risk of libel, the authors generally treat their biographees with a mix of admiration for their achievements and honesty about the mistakes they made, as in this line about Whitney Houston: She was a real person, a girl from New Jersey who had weaknesses as well as strengths, just like anybody else. Whitney Houston builds a nicely rounded picture of the singer and actress, making excellent use of sidebars to explain and extend the information, with well-chosen photographs. Given the subject, it's a bit macabre to say it, but this is one series worth continuing.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2013
These standard-issue biographies, accompanied by numerous stock photos, introduce readers to celebrities who died young, relating their superstardom, troubled last years, and continuing legacies without adoration or sensationalism. Serious issues such as substance abuse, public-image struggles, and marriage problems are covered directly and honestly. Plentiful sidebars break up the text but sometimes distract from the main narrative. Reading list, timeline. Bib., glos., ind.

(Copyright 2013 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)