School Library Journal Review
Gr 5 Up--Zoboi's biography of science fiction author Octavia Estelle Butler details her life from birth in Pasadena, CA, to her legacy as an author. Raised by her mother and grandmother after losing her father when she was four, Butler grew up in a non-segregated town filled with opportunities that her mother worked hard to give her. After struggling with dyslexia in school, Butler found reading and storytelling as a way to escape the schoolyard banter, where she found it difficult to connect with her classmates. Butler's life story is complemented by the history she grew up within, providing context of the Great Depression, World War II, the space race, the red scare, and the Civil Rights movement. Told through poetry, narrative, photographs, newspaper clippings, handwritten notes, story drafts, childhood sketches, quotes, report cards, and war propaganda, this stunning biography is a one-of-a-kind masterpiece of literature. Zoboi carefully crafts each chapter of Butler's life with various types of poetry, using clever rhymes and rhythmic stanzas. Each poem and section of prose elegantly connects to the space theme, painting the picture of Butler as a star child, born out of stardust. The vivid poetry will fill readers' heads with imagery of the historic journey Zoboi presents. The quick-paced chapters and rich voice will draw readers of all ages into this nontraditional biography. VERDICT This must-read biography belongs on every library shelf and will redefine the way readers engage with biographical texts.--Angie Jameson
Publisher's Weekly Review
Alternating between verse forms, prose interludes, and direct quotations, Zoboi (The People Remember) recounts the life and career of legendary speculative fiction writer Octavia Butler (1947--2006), emphasizing her beginnings as a "star child" (her middle name, Estelle, means "star"). A sweeping mix of allusive poetry and contextualizing prose traces Butler's birth during the baby boom and childhood "raised by her mother and grandmother--two hardworking and God-fearing matriarchs" in unsegregated Pasadena, Calif. Portraying Butler as a solitary child who "always seemed distant and aloof," Zoboi traces the determined figure's initial forays into literature, first as a reader and then as a creator of worlds. Examples cover Butler's first novel, penned in her trusty pink notebook at age 10; early submissions to editors at age 13; and her subsequent focus on science fiction and making "imagination her life's mission." In a turn toward memoir, one section recounts Zoboi's commonalities with Butler, including thebirthday they share and conversations between them. More extensive ode than strict biography, this is a fittingly expansive tribute to Butler's visionary mind and the childhood that sowed it. Ages 10--up. Agent: Ammi-Joan Paquette, Erin Murphy Literary. (Jan.)
Horn Book Review
A biography that's as unique in form and content as the groundbreaking sci-fi/fantasy author herself. Zoboi (The People Remember, rev. 11/21) came to this project from a lifetime love of Butler's work and from having met her on several occasions. The word constellation in the subtitle is used both literally -- referring to the otherworldly stories about which Butler dreamed and then wrote -- and figuratively, for she was a lonely "rogue planet," with others revolving around her but rarely getting to really know her. Focusing mainly on her early life, Zoboi tells the author's story in several literary modes: original poems in many forms (haiku, concrete, and acrostic, among others); excerpted quotes from interviews; and descriptive passages that offer further explanations of these biographical snapshots. This variety is narratively enthralling and reflects Butler's openness to telling stories in many different ways. The volume also offers superb historical context for Butler's life, from the Great Migration to the U.S.'s fascination with UFOs, the baby boom, McCarthyism, the civil rights movement, and more. Zoboi occasionally includes relevant visuals -- a photograph of Octavia and her mother, Butler's handwritten childhood notes, the cover of a Dick and Jane basal reader -- that will provide readers a clearer sense of the historical details. Informational and inspirational, this innovative work will draw committed Butler fans and entice those unfamiliar with her work to seek it out. Michelle H. Martin March/April 2022 p.(c) Copyright 2022. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
By the time she was 10 years old, Octavia Butler knew that she wanted to be a writer. Weaving together quotes from Butler, prose passages of historical and biographical information, and her own original poetry, Zoboi explores the visionary speculative fiction author's early life. This ambitious experimental biography is at once a tribute from an adoring fan and an introduction to Butler's juvenilia and her childhood growing up as a shy Black child in postwar 1950s America. Each chapter covers a different aspect of, or key moment in, Butler's girlhood and adolescence, showing the challenges she overcame and the sustaining force of her imagination. Included are black-and-white childhood photos and a facsimile of a handwritten story about wild horses that Butler worked on as a child and illustrated herself. Young readers familiar with the Butler oeuvre will note the allusions to her famous and groundbreaking works. Zoboi's powerful poems vary in style and form; particularly interesting are several concrete poems, including the titular "Star Child," "Moon Child," and "Moon Child II," with the words arranged on the page to reveal an image of a star, quarter moon, and full moon respectively. Readers will come away with an understanding of Butler's early influences and an interest in her writing. An inspiring look at the formative years and work of a literary giant that's sure to capture young readers' attention. (author's note, bibliography, endnotes, photo credits) (Biography. 12-adult) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Fragments--photos, notebook pages, quotes, poems, and snippets of biography several pages long--pointedly coalesce into a pattern revealing writer Octavia Estelle Butler's unique position in the galaxy of great contemporary science fiction writers. And while readers younger than high-school age may not have encountered Butler's renowned work, they will certainly appreciate the way her childhood obsessions, from pop culture to horses to a pink notebook, as well as her propensity for daydreaming (noted sharply by a teacher in a report card), influenced her. National Book Award finalist Zoboi emphasizes the otherworldly aspects of Butler's writing, linking the author to stardust, constellations, and the moon in original poems that illuminate the author's life. One entry, shaped like a star, explains Butler's middle name, which means star, and goes on to say, "like a star, she was born to listen / to the whispers of the universe." More earthly parts of Butler's life, in particular the racism she saw growing up and the cultural and historical touchstones of the mid-twentieth century, explain the way these informed her best-known works, such as Kindred and Parable of the Sower. Zoboi has created a necessary addition to school and public library collections through this memorable look at how writers incorporate their lives into their work.
Excerpts
Stardust What if on the day she was born there was a quiet storm of tiny shimmering dust that settled on tree leaves, on flower petals, on rooftops, on the ground, on the shiny work shoes, and glided through open windows to settle on hardwood floors? Maybe there was a storm of stardust and this was how Laurice James Butler and Octavia Margaret Butler gave birth to a baby girl named Octavia Estelle Butler, a star child. Dawn Laurice James Butler, who worked as a shoeshine man, and Octavia Margaret Butler, who worked as a live-in domestic servant, were married on May 17, 1931, in Los Angeles, California. On June 22, 1947, in Pasadena, California, they gave birth to a baby girl whom they named Octavia Estelle Butler. Laurice died on February 16, 1951, when Octavia was almost four years old. She knew very little about her father. She was raised by her mother and grandmother--two hardworking and God-fearing matriarchs. For a brief period, she also lived with her two uncles, each like a father to her. Octavia Margaret Butler, her mother, was the greatest constant in her life. She was born in Louisiana in 1914 and lived on a sugarcane plantation before migrating with her family--and hundreds of thousands of other African Americans--to Southern California as part of the Great Migration that was reshaping cities in the North and West. Excerpted from Star Child: A Biographical Constellation of Octavia Estelle Butler by Ibi Zoboi All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
