From School Library Journal
Gr 6 Up-- To write the story of this tragic and gifted jazz singer for young people is a challenging job, and Kliment has done it well. Dodging none of the harrowing aspects of Holiday's short life--desertion, poverty, loneliness, discrimination, and addiction to drugs and alcohol--he describes her life in music objectively and with appreciation. Unlike De Veaux' subjective and deeply felt biography, Don't Explain (Harper, 1980), Kliment does not analyze the self-destruction that changed her voice--so vibrant in her sessions with Teddy Wilson and Lester Young in the 1930s--to a sad echo of itself at the end of her career, but lets the facts speak for themselves. A good choice of black-and-white photographs accompany the well-researched text. --Ann Stell, The Smithtown Library, NY
Copyright 1990 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
