After hearing Amanda Gorman perform her reading of The Hill We Climbed, during President Joe Biden's inauguration, I was captivated. I wanted to know more about this young woman and was quite intrigued when I saw this biography written by Marc Shapiro. I find her writing inspirational and her words necessary for the times we are living in. Shapiro is a journalist by trade, did a lot of research to learn about Amanda's path from skinny black girl to a phenomenal woman with passion, beliefs, and an amazing way with words. This snapshot of Amanda Gorman’s life is written in a detached journalistic style, based primarily on interviews, which prevented me feeling engaged with his subject. I enjoyed learning more about Amanda Gorman and did spend a lot of time on google and youtube watching video and reading about many of the things mentioned in the book. Although not about Amanda Gorman, the final two chapters highlight all the inaugural poets (there have only been 8) and Female Authors of Colour, which once again sent me down the rabbit hole. Overall this is an informative biography, but not one that I loved.

Marc Shapiro tells a riveting tale of a young woman who rose to prominence in a blink of an eye. I can still relive the moment that she spoke at President Biden's inauguration - and the impact Amanda Gorman's writing had on the world at that moment and the know that she will continue to go in such a direction!

I remember being so impressed by Amanda when I watched her at President Biden's inauguration. So when I saw this book about her life and her story, I knew that I wanted to read it.

While I did enjoy getting to learn about Amanda and how she got to where she is, I didn't feel like this author's writing style really did her justice. I think everything was just kind of surface level and it could have gone so much deeper and been written so much better.

I would love to see Amanda's story written in her own words, in her own style.

I declare I have never read any of Marc Sharipo’s work but I do know he is a renown author for penning lives of the rich and famous.

Shapiro, a journalist by trade, has put a lot of research into finding out what makes a phenomenal woman of our time tick. This snapshot of Amanda Gorman’s life is written in a detached journalistic style, based primarily on interviews, which prevented me feeling engaged and personable with the author and his subject.

I enjoyed learning about her life adventures but I found the style disjointed and shallow. For a woman who has so much depth and passion, I felt Shapiro’s words didn’t quite hit the mark.

Marc Shapiro, Work Up: The Life of Amanda Gorman, Riverdale Avenue Books, 2021.

Thank you, NetGalley, for this uncorrected proof for review.

Marc Shapiro has penned numerous biographies, some with contributions from the subject, others unauthorised, and, in this case, although the subject or her associates did not take part, seemingly accepted by them as a contribution to Amanda Gorman’s fame. The dedication is instructive in that it applauds powerful women who are smart and encourages them to flourish. Shapiro sees Amanda Gorman’s voice as an essential contribution to those with gravitas re- envisioning an America after the four years in the White House of the former president. Shapiro began the book after watching Amanda Gorman provide a lightning strike for hope in her poem ‘The Hill We Climb’ at President Biden’s Inauguration. He states that the outcome was a rarity. He found nothing negative, in both the minor and major senses of the word, in his work on the Amanda Gorman excursion.

As well as the introduction, Shapiro has included Author’s Notes, and a bibliography. Chapters seventeen and eighteen cover previous Presidential Inaugural Poets and Black Women Writers. What a wealth of immensely interesting information, which puts the bulk of the book into context. These sections are an important part of understanding the way in which Shapiro approaches his subject.

And it is here that it becomes so clear that the book would have benefitted from Shapiro’s direct involvement in the material he has so painstakingly assembled from Amanda Gorman’s utterances through the filter of other interviewers. Shapiro’s questions, and shaping of the story would have been such a sensitive and colourful rendering of a story that needs the attributes of an interviewer who is able to immerse themselves in Gorman, her work and poetry. There are some direct quotes from Amanda Gorman’s interviews and media appearances. And, of course, her poetry tells part of her story. Shapiro has quoted this where appropriate.

Shapiro has done an immense job in bringing Amanda Gorman’s story to the page and enhancing knowledge of the writer and performer of ‘The Hill We Climb’. I just wish he had been able to conduct his own interviews so that his intricate touch could have been used to its full capacity in weaving his, as well as others’ interviews, throughout the bulk of the book.

I received this book for free for an honest review from netgalley #netgalley
I love hearing Amanda Gorman space especially if they're inauguration and I've got a few books by her. This is amazing to hear about her life.