Billie Eilish, the Unofficial Biography

January 1, 2021

Gr 6 Up-This starry-eyed, adulatory biography of 18-year-old white pop singer Billie Eilish will please her legions of fans. The meteoric rise of Eilish, who first gained fame at 13, is documented in painstaking detail. Beginning with Eilish's childhood in Los Angeles, the text describes her creative home school life in which dancing, art, and music played a major role. Her close relationship with her older brother Finneas O'Connell led to a musical collaboration that went on to make both of their careers. Besley provides in-depth accounts of how Eilish created her hit songs, their accompanying music videos, and their impact on the music scene and growing fan base. The singer's live performances are assessed, covering the songs she played, the outfits she wore, and minute details as to how she stood or moved around the stage. A bright, fun layout and color photographs enhance the text. The tone of Besley's reporting is undoubtedly admiring and will appeal to young readers with its unabashed, casual style. Older readers may be reminded of long-form Rolling Stone-style profiles of artists if they were written by a gushing fan rather than a jaded journalist. One can't help but worry about how soon this book will be out of date, making it an impractical purchase for most collections. VERDICT Recommended where biographies of contemporary musicians are popular.-Kristy Pasquariello, Westwood P.L., MA

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