Juvenile Nonfiction
Viking Childrens Books
2005
Hardcover
232
Purchased
2006 Michael L. Printz Honor Book
An award-winning biographer paints a vivid picture of John Lennon's life, from his tumultuous childhood in London to his rock-n-roll career writing, recording, and performing music with the Beatles, revealing how he struggled to come to terms with fame, marriage, and his artistic mind.
So, I’ll admit: I was a little dubious about reading a biography of John Lennon. I had to buy it, too, because it wasn’t available from any of my library choices, or online. Having read it, I still wonder at why, exactly, this was chosen as an honor book. It was good, but I would love to know what made it award worthy in the minds of the Printz committee.
Everyone knows about The Beatles, right? Snips and bits of their stories, their musical is inescapable. This biography was a well-written overview of Lennon’s life, filling in little details about the other band members as they came in to his life. It came as no surprise that he and the rest of the band spent most of their time high as kites. I’m not sure, after reading this, the Lennon was a very *nice* person. Not that that matters, but I don’t think I would have wanted to know him personally. It’s also apparent that he wasn’t a very happy or content person. I got the impression that part of the reason he drank and did so many drugs was to self-medicate.
One of the reviews I read on Goodreads was from someone who wished she hadn’t read it, because it completely ruined him for her. These days of all access via social media and paparazzi have definitely changed a lot of how we view and interact with those making the art we consume. (And by art, I mean music, movies, books, and everything else). Anyone can make a fool of themselves via Twitter or Tumblr or anything else, and it’s hard to separate our opinions of the person with the things they create. There are more than a few authors I refuse to read because of their behavior, but I don’t think that my enjoyment of the music of Lennon and The Beatles is going to be affected by learning in more detail what kind of people they were.
The book itself was very well-written, I thought it was a fairly quick read, the inclusion of photos kept the pages turning. Again, though, I’d love to know why this was thought to be one of the best books written for teens in 2005/2006.
Here’s something that I should probably be embarrassed about: one of my favorite childhood memories is watching the movie Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. You know, the one that starred Peter Frampton, the BEE GEEs, Steve Martin, George Burns, and etc.
I thought I’d try to redeem myself by picking my favorite Lennon song, but I can’t pick just one, apparently. How about you, dear reader? What’s your favorite?
