Hey, Kiddo by Jarrett J. KrosoczkaMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Wow, I just loved this graphic novel & memoir as the author describes his life being raised by his grandparents, never seeing his mother and never knowing his father---sounds bleak doesn't it? Add the argumentative, harsh grandparents and life must be pretty tough for Jarrett---but it isn't ---this memoir is a love song to his devoted grandparents who raised him with love, support, and deep pride. When Jarrett is given art lessons as a gift by his grandparents---he wants to make them proud too. This book is heartbreaking but it is also uplifting---Jarrett has a loving family without his mother (he misses her desperately as a child) ---he has cousins, aunts and uncles. As he grows up---he is told more about his mother (she is a drug addict and in jail---but she loves him deeply) and later in the book, meets his father and 1/2 sister and brother and builds and adds to his meaning of family. I especially loved the Author's Note---it made me cry (a happy cry) because Jarrett has learned through his wife, therapy, his children and the backdrop of his loving grandparents how necessary a stable family is for love, laughter and memories. A raw, honest must read YA readers will identify with, talk about and pass around to their friends!
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