Biblio Reviews

Who killed Mr. Chippendale--and why? These two questions drive the narrative in Mel Glenn's  Who Killed Mr. Chippendale?: A Mystery in Poems  (1999). Told from the perspectives of various characters reacting to the murder of Mr. Chippendale,  Who Killed Mr. Chippendale?  is developed through a series of interlocking free-verse poems. Many characters are introduced, the majority of whose voices are heard once and help to create a nuanced portrait of Mr. Chippendale, whose life was very much a mystery to his colleagues despite his twenty years of teaching English at Tower High. This book is best appreciated not so much as a mystery but as a character study. The mystery simply lacked the tension needed to make it an engrossing whodunit. Still, the story is relevant, for it explores a variety of current issues, e.g. generational conflicts, immigration and the pursuit of the American Dream, media and teen violence, and offers a realistic portrayal of modern hi...

My pleasure while reading Sharon Creech's  Love That Dog  (2001) just could not be contained as evidenced by the Cheshire grin plastered on my face from the beginning to end of this novella. Related in free verse from the perspective of Jack through dated entries that span a school year,  Love That Dog  is quite charming and delightful. On the surface,  Love That Dog  is a story about a boy who learns to appreciate and write poetry. On a deeper level, however, it is a story of a boy who, through poetry, finally finds a way to mourn the loss and honor the memory of his beloved rescue dog, Sky. Through his year-long exposure to poetry, Jack discovers the magic of poetry and writing, which enables him to express his thoughts and feelings, and ultimately tap into the power of his own voice. Jack's voice is completely authentic and endearing. Seeing his growth from resistant, to grudgingly compliant, to insecure, to confident, to independent, and ultimat...

"Wait. Why is Stephen A. Smith of ESPN writing the Foreword to a soap opera actor's autobiography?" The answer is clear upon learning the important role that sports has played in Eric Braeden's life, as detailed in his autobiography,  I'll Be Damned  (2017). Braeden is the star and figurehead of television's number 1 daytime drama,  The Young and the Restless . He stars as Victor Newman, a role he originated in 1980 intended to be for a 26-week run and has parlayed it into one of nearly four decades. Born Hans Jorg Gudegast in Bredenbek, Germany, Braeden's career as an actor was quite the unlikely story. However, a curious mind and an adventurous, independent spirit takes him from a war-torn hospital basement in Kiel to the sound stages of Hollywood. I'll Be Dammed  is Braeden's first book. As such it covers the span of his life, career, and humanitarian efforts to a level of detail and name dropping that may not appeal to the masses. Fans of B...

"Huh?" was my response when the local radio update featured a clip of Jose Baez, the lawyer of former Patriots' tight end and convicted murderer Aaron Hernandez, accusing the medical examiner's office of holding Hernandez' brain hostage and requested that the family's wishes be honored by releasing the brain to Boston University for CTE analysis. Seemingly out of the loop, this is how I learned of Aaron Hernandez' death by suicide a day before. Other than being surprised by the timing of his death--days after exoneration of a double homicide--and lamenting the tragic nature of Hernandez' life and all parties involved in his drama, my response was due to learning that Boston University was in the game, as it were, for CTE research and diagnosis. "Well this is certainly elevating the school's national status," I recall thinking with pride. A week and a half later, after reading Jeanne Marie Laskas's  Concussion  (2015), I downgraded m...