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I don't read a whole lot of biographies, but how cool it was to read Lois Lowry: The Giver of Stories and Memories, a biography of a writer whose work I enjoy! (Full disclosure: I've met author Lisa Rondinelli Albert in person a couple of times and checked out this book because she wrote it.)

The attention to detail was meticulous, and I can only image the depth of research this required. I would hate to do a biography of a person still living, but I know some writers love it, especially if they get to actually interview the subject, as Lisa did.

I knew nothing about Lois Lowry's life prior to reading this book, so it was interesting to find out the genesis of such books as A Summer to Die and Number the Stars. It was also very thought-provoking to read about Lowry's overall theme and how it has played itself out in so many of her books. Getting a dose of lit crit as well as an author's own thoughts about her overarching theme was a great combination. Albert's enthusiasm for Lowry and her works shines throughout the book.

The book was a fast read, too, and one I think teens would zip right through.

My one complaint? Images. There weren't many pictures inside the book, and the cover...Oh, Lord, the cover.

I know Enslow's reputation among librarians: Great texts, not-so-great visuals. I also know they often require (or used to, anyway) the author to find all images used in a book and pay for all image rights. I have no idea whether that was the case or not here, though I think, in general, that that's a terrible choice in how to procure images for a book. A publisher with a photo research team is going to have far superior images, in general, to a publisher who requires unhappy authors to do that.

Anyway, the cover. Lois Lowry is a vibrant, pixie-ish woman with a fabulous smile. And on the cover there's a washed out snapshot cut out and placed against a background that's, I think, a still from an animated movie of The Giver. Or something like that. Anyway, the bottom line is that this cover does not reflect the care and attention given to the words inside.




Even my husband, who sees hundreds of books every month lying around the house and rarely comments on them, said, "What the...?" about the cover. It rather looks like a report cover made by a junior high student who's Photoshop-happy.

So, my advice is to ignore the cover and read the book anyway! (I see Enslow's whole line of Authors Teens Love bios employ this "photo against an illustrated background.") You'll learn lots about Lois Lowry and probably want to go back and reread her books, as I now do. Over the summer I plan to read a few bios of other authors I really like! It was unexpectedly both enlightening and entertaining.