Ain't Burned All the Bright by Jason Reynolds
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Web ID: 15416038Interesting
This will be really short because this book has hardly any words in it, like maybe a sentence a page. It’s more of a graphic novel with poetry. I read it for the Gateway committee, although I’m not sure that it really qualifies for the award, because I didn’t think we did graphic novels with this specific award. But we’ll see!
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
The Book We Need
Thank you to the publisher publisher and NetGalley for the gifted copy in exchange for an honest review. Ain’t Burned All the Bright by Jason Reynolds with artwork by Jason Griffin was an unexpected surprise. Now I’m talking about Jason Reynolds, so when I say surprise, I am talking about something on another level. I will give any book by Reynolds an automatic read. Approaching this book, I had no idea what it was about, but from the title and cover I assumed it was a novel-in-verse. I was wrong, but in a good way. This book was amazing and like a balm (or maybe I should say oxygen) to the soul during a time when everyone is struggling in one way or another. Now, I want you to sit down. Are you ready for this? Ain’t Burned All the Bright is three long sentences. There is no punctuation and the sentences are run-ons. And every single part of this book from the words to the art is brilliant and timely. Now, I probably/hopefully have your attention. So keep walking with me. The sentences are representative of three long breaths. I listened to the StacksPod podcast episode with Jason Reynolds and he explained his inspiration like this. Everything in 2020 attacked the respiratory system. COVID-19. Protests for George Floyd. The idea of an oxygen mask. We all needed one – some of us metaphorically and some of us literally. But what was our idea of an oxygen mask? What you do in a panic attack. You are always told three deep breaths. Which ties everything back to breathing and surviving during the last few years. Ain’t Burned All the Bright is categorized as young adult, but I think both teens and adults should read this book. This book just made sit, think and…breathe. I think, because we are still going through this pandemic, it’s a challenge for us to just stop, reflect and remember to breathe during a time when it is so difficult to keep doing so. So I hope you check out this book. I hope you breathe. I hope you peeped what I did with the power of three during this review.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Perfect for Poets and Artists
I am an art student who enjoys the occasional modern poetry. This book was rich with metaphors and abstractions of art. The use of color, composition and texture astounded me; in fact, I feel inspired to study this book and make my own studies of color and poetry. This book is extremely relevant today, being about 2020. I read this book from the library, but now I want to purchase my own, just to hold onto it forever! Truly a piece that I hope will be used to look back on this period in history. Beautifully done
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Beautiful Work
Loved! Perfect combination of two different art forms to create a beautifully crafted masterpiece. An impactful read that everyone should pick up. I'm inspired to use it as inspiration in my Creative Writing class.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Impactful & unique
This compelling and unique book is a creative collaboration of text and art. Utilizing minimal words and striking artwork, it is stunning in both its simplicity and depth. Through the eyes of a black teenager, the reader explores a black family’s experience in 2020. With racial tensions, family who are sick with Covid, isolation, and climate change it feels like the world is bleak. Although the story brilliantly captures the despair, grief and horror it also manages to convey a hauntingly beautiful sense of hope and healing. Although short, it is impactful. This is truly a standout that is visceral and insightful, a powerful melding of words and art not to be missed. Thank you to NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Another wonder from Jason Reynolds
Thanks to Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing, Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books, NetGalley, and LibroFM's Educator ALC program for review/complimentary ebook and audiobook copies of this book. I know I keep saying this, but Jason Reynolds has done it again. This book is short on words, but Reynolds's impactful choice of words combined with Jason Griffin's stunning artwork pack a powerful punch. The audio narration is spectacular. Not only does is Reynolds the narrator, but there is a bonus reading by a full cast and it is wonderful! After both versions of the book, there is also an interview between Reynolds and Griffin where listeners can hear how the book came to be. I enjoyed both versions of this book but I think it would be great if teachers and librarians could project the text & illustrations while playing the audio. Any audience would be riveted!
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
An Absolute MUST!
5 stars As a long-time Jason Reynolds fan and as a person who has been teaching his work for years, I expect to enjoy anything he produces. What I did not expect is how novel the presentation would be in this one. It's a top recommendation. One of many aspects to love about Reynolds is what a prolific speaker he is. A particularly favorite video is his discussion of books as time capsules of the period in which they are produced, and I could not stop thinking about that particular connection the whole time I engaged with this piece. Like many of Reynolds's works, this is not a light read. It's about a number of current events and circumstances, including but not limited to race relations, Covid, stay-at-home orders, the horrors of the nightly news, and tech dependency. The main character is in a state of focusing on breath: breathing in, breathing out, and not being able to breath. It's impossible to interact with this work - especially with the addition of the complementary art - and not feel these characters' pain...and access our own. This is another stellar work from one of the greatest writers of our time, but in many ways, for me, this one stands out from the rest. I'll be recommending this - and perhaps teaching it - for years to come.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Hauntingly Beautiful
Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Children’s Publishing for providing me with an ARC of this book! Thank you NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing for sending me an ARC of this book. Ain’t Burned All the Bright follows an unnamed narrator as his family responds to both the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing violence against Black-Americans in the United States. Told in fragmented lines of prose accompanied by thought-provoking artwork, it is a story about finding hope in “the little things” when the systems of oppression you live under become too overbearing to deal with. The hauntingly beautiful art style Jason Griffin used throughout the novel matched the mood of the storyline and subject matter perfectly. I loved the different art techniques used, from the scattered splotches of paint to the collage work; it created a multidimensional atmosphere that helped amplify the themes of the story. Jason Reynolds, as always, has masterfully created another tender, heartfelt love letter to both Black struggle and Black prosperity; I’m almost in tears just thinking about how phenomenal this book was. From Reynolds’ emboldening prose to the little details about growing up Black, like having a cookie can at home that’s actually used to store sewing materials, made my heart swell with both sorrow and warmth. I appreciate Reynolds for discussing how mind-numbing it is to see horrible atrocities happen to your community on the news every day, especially during the social uprisings that occurred at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The experience of living as a Black person in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic is an exhausting, oppressive one and I laud Reynolds’ for bringing awareness to a facet of the Black-American experience that hasn’t been highlighted in mainstream media as much as it should be.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com