Belieber!

April 1, 2012

Gr 9 Up-Award-winning religion columnist Cathleen Falsani looks at the influence of Christianity on Justin Bieber's life, music, and career in her book (Worthy Pub., 2022). Falsani is known for her insightful interviews that reveal the spiritual lives of cultural icons. Bieber's story begins with information about his mother, her struggle with addiction to drugs and alcohol, and how she eventually turned her life over to God. Her commitment to Christianity shaped Justin's early life as he grew up embraced and supported by an Evangelical church family. Falsani illustrates how his career blossomed, and how his faith has continued to influence his rise to fame. She explores the decision, unpopular with many Christians, for Justin to become a pop singer and evangelize by performing to non-believers. Falsani points out the tremendous power of social media that allowed Bieber to promote his work and to stay in touch with his fans in a way previously unprecedented by other artists. The CD is peppered with quotes from Justin as well as many individuals who helped shape his life and career such as Usher and Scooter Braun, his manager. A PDF features a timeline, tweets from Justin and his mother, statistics, and additional information. The audiobook is read at a good pace by the author. Fans looking for a tell-all biography will likely be disappointed, but listeners curious about the true spiritual life of a pop icon may just become "Beliebers."-Lisa Hubler, Charles F. Brush High School, Lyndhurst, OH

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.