Review by Booklist Review
Two like-minded people from completely different backgrounds, Grace Lee and James Boggs, grew up to fall in love and dedicate their lives to social justice. It took several decades for their paths to cross, and this parallel biography traces their respective childhoods and early activist years until fate brought them together to work on labor-union organizing. Readers will learn about the injustices and influences that shaped Grace and Jim when they were very young and how they responded to those forces, overcoming obstacles in their own paths and then working for the betterment of other people. Their stories are told in blank verse, rich in detail, with quotes and descriptions of salient events. The illustrations echo the text, providing readers with visual renderings of Grace's and James' contexts and, occasionally, the ferocity in their eyes. The back matter includes even more biographical information from both authors and the illustrator, making this a necessary addition to classroom libraries and collections of activist biographies.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Alternating spreads frame this comprehensive double biography of married activists Grace Lee Boggs (1915--2015) and James Boggs (1919--1993) authored by Shin and Mangal. Following Grace Lee Boggs from her Rhode Island birth and James Boggs from his Alabama upbringing, free-verse lines delineate each figure's early experiences with discrimination and their 1953 meeting in Detroit. Both involved in the union movement, they collaborate on a newspaper, "writing and publishing/ FOR the workers." Along the way, the two also fall for each other and marry: "It didn't matter that... their relationship/ was illegal/ in parts of the country." A painterly approach distinguishes exemplary portraiture from multimedia artist Barlow, making a picture book debut; the characters' expressions convey both their connection and their fervent passion for fighting for equity across a work about "a true/ collaboration,/ a union/ of love/ and struggle." Creators' notes and more conclude. Ages 7--11. (Nov.)
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 5--8--A lesser-known activism duo in a biography with poetic interpretation. James Boggs and Grace Lee Boggs were both revolutionary activists who later married and worked to make the world around them a better place for everyone. Chinese American Grace was a young scholar who quickly saw how sexism and racism permeated nearly every aspect of her life. She spoke up for injustices through her actions, such as joining a tenants union in Chicago and planning to march for job equality during World War II. James came from humble beginnings in Alabama and was encouraged to learn, think deeply, and write. He traveled by railroad to find work and eventually became a union leader fighting for job equality for Black people. They eventually cross paths with their lifelong passion for writing and spreading equality; their activism didn't cease until their deaths. The authors provide detailed notes and information about their personal ties to and research about these remarkable people, neither of whom will be familiar to readers. The poetry is able to convey succinctly the extensive accomplishments of both subjects and the hurdles they faced together and individually, imbuing it with a tone of hope throughout. The illustrations are based on images and stories of the couple, portrayed thoughtfully in each time period of their lives with vivid imagery and color. VERDICT An exceptional choice for libraries that cherish the stories of unsung, exceptional American people.--Lindsey Morrison
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
