Publishers Weekly Review
This contemplative and often entertaining collection of journal entries, poems, clippings, and sketches by the late Morrison, edited by her daughter, spans the tumultuous years between 1937 and 1943, which took Morrison from age 14 to 20, and took the world from the Great Depression into WWII. Morrison's parents were Swedish immigrants who settled comfortably in Chicago, and Morrison details her school day concerns and studies, exploring the city, her crushes on boys, attending the University of Chicago, and her thoughts on religion, books, films, and more. She also comments on the increasingly dramatic news of the day, from the Hindenburg crash ("The Herald Examiner said 100 people were killed, but as it's a Hearst paper, 50 is a safer guess") to Pearl Harbor and the U.S. entry into the war ("Well, Baby, it's come, what we always knew would come"). Her sensitivity to and exuberance about events large and small is contagious, though her poetic tendencies are tempered by her doubts, intellect, sarcasm, and savvy. Witnessing Morrison mature as a woman and a writer is invigorating and memorable. Ages 12-up. (Nov.)? (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved. |
School Library Journal Review
Gr 7 Up-World War II is not the focus of this book. Instead, what Morrison presents is social commentary on the times. Her diary entries span the years 1937-1943, from the time the author was 14 until she was 20, and reflect her home, school, and social life with a bit of news thrown in. Her original drawings, photographs, and newspaper clippings (and transcripts) add interesting and authentic content. Readers will find young Joan to be intelligent, but at times flighty, inspiring yet also boring, humble and often quite proud-a normal teenager. However, today's teens might find it hard to relate to her life and find the vernacular of the era difficult to follow. Footnotes explain unfamiliar vocabulary and people, but also interrupt the flow of the text. This posthumous publication was compiled and edited by the author's daughter and is a good primary source to complement an American history textbook; it might also be enjoyed by readers who like historical diaries of real people.-Wendy Scalfaro, G. Ray Bodley High School, Fulton, NY (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. |