Beauty Mark: A Verse Novel of Marilyn Monroe

In a powerful novel in verse, an award-winning author offers an eye-opening look at the life of Marilyn Monroe.

From the day she was born into a troubled home to her reigning days as a Hollywood icon, Marilyn Monroe (n e Norma Jeane Mortenson) lived a life that was often defined by others. Here, in a luminous poetic narrative, acclaimed author Carole Boston Weatherford tells Marilyn's story in a way that restores her voice to its rightful place: center stage. Revisiting Marilyn's often traumatic early life--foster homes, loneliness, sexual abuse, teen marriage--through a hard-won, meteoric rise to stardom that brought with it exploitation, pill dependency, and depression, the lyrical narrative continues through Marilyn's famous performance at JFK's birthday party, three months before her death. In a story at once riveting, moving, and unflinching, Carole Boston Weatherford tells a tale of extraordinary pain and moments of unexpected grace, gumption, and perseverance, as well as the inexorable power of pursuing one's dreams. A beautifully designed volume.

Author: Carole Boston Weatherford
Publisher: Candlewick Press (MA)
Published: 09/08/2020
Pages: 192
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.25lbs
Size: 8.40h x 6.70w x 0.80d
ISBN: 9781536206296
Audience: Young Adult

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 6.2
Point Value: 4
Interest Level: Upper Grade
Quiz #/Name: 515518 / Beauty Mark: A Verse Novel of Marilyn Monroe


Review Citation(s):
School Library Journal 07/01/2020 pg. 70
Kirkus Reviews 07/15/2020
Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 09/01/2020
Booklist 08/01/2020 pg. 56
Shelf Awareness 09/22/2020

About the Author
Carole Boston Weatherford, a New York Times best-selling author and poet, was selected as the Children's Book Guild 2019 Nonfiction Award Winner. Her numerous books for children include the Coretta Scott King Author Award Honor Book Becoming Billie Holiday, illustrated by Floyd Cooper; the Caldecott Honor Books Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom, illustrated by Kadir Nelson, and Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer, Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement, illustrated by Ekua Holmes; and the critically acclaimed Schomburg: The Man Who Built a Library, illustrated by Eric Velasquez. Carole Boston Weatherford lives in Fayetteville, North Carolina.