Bibliographic data
Grandits, John. 2008. Blue Lipstick. New York: Clarion Books. ISBN 978-0618568604
Brief plot summary
Met Jessie, a high school freshman. Jessie is adventurous; in “Bad Hair Day,” Jessie lets Lisa, her best friend, do her hair in “a totally extreme way” which results in “one side of [Jessie’s] hair all limp and pale and the other side … blue.” Jessie is funny; as she and her father visit the Art Institute, she says that she would like to “make ultra-cool radical art.” But her dad explains how artists have to “be thick-skinned” because they “struggle, ” are “often misunderstand,…don’t have any money” and are “really alone.” Jessie response? “It sounds like high school.” And Jessie is sarcastic; she charts her emotions ranging from “ridiculously happy” to “shaving my head and running away” for one day because she “had to come up with a stupid chart for math class.” Blue Lipstick is made up of concrete poems readers will enjoy because they cover topics familiar to teens. And the book is fun to read because it involves turning the book in various ways to read the lines of poetry – even using a mirror to read “Go Look in the Mirror!”
Critical analysis
Grandits using humor to develop Jessie’ character and to connect his readers to her. Sometimes its situational humor like in “Blue Lipstick” Jessie is warned by the saleslady that she was, “ really a Fall, and Blue [lipstick] is definitely / a winter [color],” but Jessie is sure that “together [she and Blue] can change the world” until her best friend, Lisa, comments, “I don’t know, Jessie. With your coloring, you’re really a Fall, and Blue is definitely a Winter.” And sometimes the humor is plain goofy like when Jessie tries to teach Robert manners after he burps and the poem ends with the two repeatedly telling each other to “shut up.”
Not only will readers enjoy Jessie, they’ll find the poetry appealing with its conversational diction assuring a positive experience with poetry. Most of the poetry is free verse, but “Zombie Jocks” followed a set meter and rhyme. Grandits’ concrete poems are nicely combined with actual images. In “Missing,” Grandits employs a milk cartoon as the object on which his poem is written. And in “Pep Rally” the image is not created by the poem but by words; for example the word “pom” is repeated in a circle to form a pom-pom in the hands of the cheerleaders and the phrase “ridiculously tiny waist” forms their waists. In “Volleyball Practice,” he uses the words of the poem to track the path of the volleyball.
The subject matter centers on relationships with family, friends, and peers –all of which are important to teens. The poetry is creative and fun. The diction is easy to follow. All in all, a winning combination.
Awards:
- An ALA Notable Book
- ALA Quick Pick for Young Adults
- A VOYA Poetry Pick for 2004
- School Library Journal, Best Books of the Year
Review excerpt(s)
School Library Journal, Starred Review:
Grandits crafts his collections with the needs of poetry-phobic readers in mind. It isn't even necessary to crack the book, since the first poem, "Blue Lipstick," is cleverly placed on the front cover, surrounding a reflective mirror. ...the author uses artful arrangements of text on the page, along with 54 different typefaces, to bring his images and ideas to life...This irreverent, witty collection should resonate with a wide audience.
Connections:
* When studying poetry, especially concrete poetry, this text offers rich examples.
* Can be paired with its companion piece Technically, It's Not My Fault featuring Jessie's younger brother Robert.
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