A profound visual testimony to how much changed while we all had to stay inside and how much—painfully, mournfully—stayed the same.
Artful, cathartic, and most needed.
— Kirkus Review STARRED REVIEW
There's nothing Reynolds can't do, and his readers know it. This creative, timely reflection will be particularly admired by teens seeking change. It’s essential reading.
— Booklist *STARRED REVIEW*
As Reynolds’s lines depict Black people facing police brutality, Covid-19, and general concerns regarding safety, Griffin’s captivating collages literally and metaphorically capture a constant state of worry and panic, leading to visual moments that encourage the reader to find solace and inspiration in the everyday.
— Publishers Weekly *STARRED REVIEW*
This powerful title may become the memory book for how we made it through troubled times.
— The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, *STARRED REVIEW*
Ain't Burned All the Bright is a gripping, emotional look into the life of a Black family living through what is evidently the early months of the Covid-19 pandemic.
— Shelf Awareness, *STARRED REVIEW*
Griffin’s art is the linchpin of the book. He skillfully juxtaposes vast spaces of black and white with color and texture; canvas tape and speckled paint make images feel urgently dimensional, while the blank spaces feel expansive.
— Bookpage, *STARRED REVIEW*
The poem and images create an authentic young adult narrator trying to grapple with the confusion and fear of the double pandemic (COVID-19 and systemic racism) he is facing.
— Horn Book Magazine, *STARRED*
Reynolds’s breathtakingly poetic prose melds seamlessly with Griffin’s effective multimedia images to capture a story of our time that should be read by everybody. This is a must read.
— School Library Journal, *STARRED REVIEW*
“If there’s ever been a person to write about these times of BLM protests, conflict, COVID, it’s Jason Reynolds. Three illustrated poems get to the heart and pain of the matter, make the reader face the Truth, and are full of pain and hope.”
