From School Library Journal
Grade 6 Up–Schoell is clearly a great admirer of Davis's talent and seeks to share that admiration with readers. At the same time, it appears that he wants to provide readers with a view of Davis the man. The result is a biography that is light on specific dates, has no clear focus or theme, and provides little in the way of real interpretation. Written in a clear but dry style, the book fails to grapple fully with the inner turmoil that shaped Davis's life. Racism dogged his every step, and he often responded to it in bizarre, self-destructive ways. Schoell glosses over that aspect of Davis's personality by briefly detailing his alcohol and drug abuse; yet, this may be the very issue that teens need to read about. Like the text, the few photos do little to enhance readers' understanding of the performer's life.–Carol Jones Collins, Columbia High School, Maplewood, NJ
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Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
