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9781728424170

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This starry-eyed, adulatory biography of 18-year-old white pop singer Billie Eilish will please her legions of fans. The meteoric rise of Eilish, who first gained fame at 13, is documented in painstaking detail. Beginning with Eilish's childhood in Los Angeles, the text describes her creative home school life in which dancing, art, and music played a major role. Her close relationship with her older brother Finneas O'Connell led to a musical collaboration that went on to make both of their careers. Besley provides in-depth accounts of how Eilish created her hit songs, their accompanying music videos, and their impact on the music scene and growing fan base. The singer's live performances are assessed, covering the songs she played, the outfits she wore, and minute details as to how she stood or moved around the stage. A bright, fun layout and color photographs enhance the text. The tone of Besley's reporting is undoubtedly admiring and will appeal to young readers with its unabashed, casual style. Older readers may be reminded of long-form Rolling Stone-style profiles of artists if they were written by a gushing fan rather than a jaded journalist. One can't help but worry about how soon this book will be out of date, making it an impractical purchase for most collections. VERDICT Recommended where biographies of contemporary musicians are popular. --School Library Journal -- Journal (1/1/2021 12:00:00 AM) This biography of the teen singer/songwriter shows a talented young woman in charge of her art and career. Touted as the first artist born in this century to hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200, Eilish is presented here as someone who knows what she wants, full of creativity, and an embodiment of Gen Z proclivities. Beginning with her early childhood in a Los Angeles neighborhood (described here as being improved by gentrification) where she was home-schooled with Finneas, her brother and fellow musician, and moving on to the overnight sensation of her first song, this book covers the period up to the many awards she received at the 2020 Grammys. Exploring the writing and recording process of each hit song and video, it can serve as an empowering book for teens, who will see how Eilish kept control of her work and her life. While, due to her youth, others continually tried to take over her career, she is portrayed as being unapologetic about being a teenager with valid experience and perspectives. There is a chapter on Finneas' own musical successes, and breakout text goes into specific aspects of her life such as her veganism, Tourette syndrome, synesthesia, and her relationships with other pop stars, making some of this information feel isolated rather than integrated into the overall portrait of the artist. A straightforward and positive portrayal of a young singing sensation. --Kirkus Reviews -- Journal (12/1/2020 12:00:00 AM)

This biography of the teen singer/songwriter shows a talented young woman in charge of her art and career. Touted as the first artist born in this century to hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200, Eilish is presented here as someone who knows what she wants, full of creativity, and an embodiment of Gen Z proclivities. Beginning with her early childhood in a Los Angeles neighborhood (described here as being improved by gentrification) where she was home-schooled with Finneas, her brother and fellow musician, and moving on to the overnight sensation of her first song, this book covers the period up to the many awards she received at the 2020 Grammys. Exploring the writing and recording process of each hit song and video, it can serve as an empowering book for teens, who will see how Eilish kept control of her work and her life. While, due to her youth, others continually tried to take over her career, she is portrayed as being unapologetic about being a teenager with valid experience and perspectives. There is a chapter on Finneas' own musical successes, and breakout text goes into specific aspects of her life such as her veganism, Tourette syndrome, synesthesia, and her relationships with other pop stars, making some of this information feel isolated rather than integrated into the overall portrait of the artist. A straightforward and positive portrayal of a young singing sensation.--Kirkus Reviews -- Journal

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Adrian Besley is a freelance writer and former copywriter for the BBC. He lives in London and is the author of many successful nonfiction titles.

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