The inside story from the perspective of a still-developing teen reporter.
Read all about it! A teen journalist opens up.
At 4, by happenstance, Lysiak went with her reporter father to the scene of a breaking news story, a murder. Watching him work, she became hooked on journalism. She started her own newspaper, the Orange Street News in Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania, just before she turned 8 and even scooped more traditional journalists on the news of a murder there. By 14, she’d published a book series, inspired the TV series Home Before Dark, and been the subject of countless news articles. Despite her accomplishments, however, the White-presenting teen grappled with emotional turmoil: “But on the inside, I felt nothing except pain.” This memoir describes the loss of self-esteem felt by many confident girls as they enter adolescence. Lysiak’s years of writing experience come through in this conversational account that includes many specific details and direct quotations. Along the way, she sheds light on how a news story is researched and organized, the importance of a free press, and her issues with food. Readers will find plenty to admire in Lysiak’s determination, her love and respect for her family, and the freedom that her parents have given her to pursue her passions.
The inside story from the perspective of a still-developing teen reporter. (Memoir. 9-12)Pub Date: April 19, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-64160-581-6
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Chicago Review Press
Review Posted Online: April 12, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2022
PERSPECTIVES
In no particular order and using no set criteria for his selections, veteran sportscaster Berman pays tribute to an arbitrary gallery of baseball stars—all familiar names and, except for the Yankees’ Alex Rodriguez, retired from play for decades. Repeatedly taking the stance that statistics are just numbers but then reeling off batting averages, home-run totals, wins (for pitchers) and other data as evidence of greatness, he offers career highlights in a folksy narrative surrounded by photos, side comments and baseball-card–style notes in side boxes. Readers had best come to this with some prior knowledge, since he casually drops terms like “slugging percentage,” “dead ball era” and “barnstorming” without explanation and also presents a notably superficial picture of baseball’s history—placing the sport’s “first half-century” almost entirely in the 1900s, for instance, and condescendingly noting that Jackie Robinson’s skill led Branch Rickey to decide that he “was worthy of becoming the first black player to play in the majors.” The awesome feats of Ruth, Mantle, the Gibsons Bob and Josh, Hank Aaron, Ty Cobb and the rest are always worth a recap—but this one’s strictly minor league. (Nonfiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: Sept. 7, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-4022-3886-4
Page Count: 138
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2010
BOOK REVIEW
A spirited biography untangles the accretion of myth and story around Pocahontas and makes clear what little is actually known and what fragments of the historical record are available. The text is rich in illustration and in sidebars (on longhouses, colonial diet, weaponry and so on) that illuminate the central narrative. Whether Pocahontas saved John Smith’s life directly or as part of an elaborate ritual might not matter, argues Jones. Pocahontas and her people were certainly responsible for keeping the English settlement of Jamestown from starvation. Relations between English settlers and Native people were uneasy at best, and the author traces these carefully, relating how Pocahontas was later kidnapped by the British and held for ransom. When none was forthcoming, she was converted both to English ways and the Christian religion, marrying the widower John Rolfe and traveling to England, where Pocahontas saw John Smith once again and died at about the age of 21. An excellent stab at myth busting and capturing the nuances of both the figure and her times. (glossary, bibliography, source notes, index) (Biography. 9-12)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-4027-6844-6
Page Count: 124
Publisher: Sterling
Review Posted Online: Aug. 31, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2010
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