Kurt Cobain

VOYA - Katie O'Dell Madison

Young adults from every generation have always been fascinated by untimely death, and this new, readable and accessible series They Died Too Young will quench some of that thirst for unexpected tragedy. Covering musicians and film stars who died of unnatural causes, most at the height of their careers, this series takes a compelling look at each artist's youth, rise to fame, and eventual demise. John Lennon traces the unstable family life of this beloved musician and songwriter, as he is farmed out to various relatives, struggles as an undiagnosed dyslexic, and eventually finds a place in the world for himself at art school. The beginning days of the Beatles, their rise to fame, and their subsequent break-ups are portrayed in short, yet informative chapters. Little detail is given to the actual murder of Lennon or analysis of his long lasting contributions to popular music. Instead, the author covers Lennon's life with Yoko Ono, his troubled time with drugs, and the release of his last album shortly before his murder. While Lennon and the Beatles changed the face of rock music in the 1960s, Kurt Cobain and his band Nirvana introduced the world to grunge and the Seattle music scene in the early 1990s. Intensely popular and often imitated, Cobain, like Lennon, struggles through an unsteady childhood, changing addresses and families. The series admirably does not shy away from the complex relationships Cobain created for himself with drugs and his wife, Courtney Love. Much of the book focuses on Cobain's depression, struggle for peace and balance in his life, and his eventual suicide. Only the omission of source notes, lack of discussion on the long-term effects of the artists' deaths, and the sometimes awkwardly placed photographs keep this series from getting highest praise. Other titles in the series feature Jimi Hendrix, Bruce Lee, and Jim Morrison. The combination of the striking photos on the covers, the selected artists, and the easy reading level makes this series a great success. Young adults will appreciate that this series summarizes, yet does not trivialize, these untimely deaths. These books will be very popular and off the shelf for years to come and are perfect choices for reluctant readers. Index. Photos. Note: This review was written and published to address two titles: Kurt Cobain and John Lennon. VOYA Codes: 3Q 5P M J S (Readable without serious defects, Every YA (who reads) was dying to read it yesterday, Middle School-defined as grades 6 to 8, Junior High-defined as grades 7 to 9 and Senior High-defined as grades 10 to 12).

School Library Journal

Gr 5-8-These pithy books about celebrity musicians fail to provide any real sense of why the early deaths of any of these performers was such a tragedy. If there is any unifying theme, it is the focus in each case on the subject's drug use and self-destructive behavior. None of the artists come across as particularly sympathetic characters. Unclear grammar and changes in tense are typical of the quality of writing found throughout. The books lack any documentation or source notes, and contain numerous unattributed quotations. All three volumes are illustrated with occasional color photographs that are sometimes only tangentially relevant. These titles are too short to provide any real meat for students doing reports, and are not detailed enough to provide anything of interest to young fans.-Tim Wadham, Dallas Public Library, TX