Hey, Kiddo by Jarrett J. Krosoczka

Hey, Kiddo by Jarrett J. Krosoczka-314 pages

Krosoczka was the closing keynote speaker at the MLA Annual Conference that I recently had the pleasure of attending. I enjoyed hearing from him and seeing him draw. This book about his early life and upbringing was discussed heavily. I saw it on the shelf and decided to read it for this month's blog challenge. Krosoczka had a difficult childhood/upbringing. His mother was addicted to heroin and his father wasn't in the picture at all and wanted nothing to do with him. He was raised by his grandparents, Joe and Shirley, who he came to view as his parents. He loved his mother and had a relationship with her as best as he could in the circumstances. This graphic memoir/biography details his life up through high school graduation. He meets his biological father for the first time at age 17 and finds out he has a half brother and sister. This is a good read that is at times heartbreaking. His grandparents' personalities really stand out in this story. It is a story about family and what that means. Not everyone has a mother and father raising them.

Hey, Kiddo by Jarrett J. Krosoczka

Hey, Kiddo by Jarrett J. Krosoczka
(National Book Award Finalist)
320 pages

"In kindergarten, Jarrett Krosoczka's teacher asks him to draw his family, with a mommy and a daddy. But Jarrett's family is much more complicated than that. His mom is an addict, in and out of rehab, and in and out of Jarrett's life. His father is a mystery... Jarrett lives with his grandparents -- two very loud, very loving, very opinionated people who had thought they were through with raising children until Jarrett came along.

"Jarrett goes through his childhood trying to make his non-normal life as normal as possible, finding a way to express himself through drawing even as so little is being said to him about what's going on. Only as a teenager can Jarrett begin to piece together the truth of his family, reckoning with his mother and tracking down his father.

"Hey, Kiddo is a profoundly important memoir about growing up in a family grappling with addiction, and finding the art that helps you survive."  --from the publisher

This is a masterful telling of his life's story.  Most of us can get our point across given enough time and words, but Krosoczka manages to use outstanding illustrations and very few words to communicate the pain and hope that colored his childhood.