October 15, 2020
The companion volume to the stage adaptation of Morissette's Grammy-winning album. In 2019, fans of the 1995 megahit Jagged Little Pill were blessed with a Broadway jukebox musical adaptation (the production premiered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 2018). This complementary book, co-written by Morissette and screenwriter Cody, with photos by Murphy, vividly combines song lyrics and cast stories with bright collages, eye-catching imagery, and effectively captured stage photography from pre-pandemic performances in Manhattan. The musical follows the affluent Healy family: pill-popping mother Mary Jane; distant, workaholic father Steve; and teenage brother and sister Nick and Frankie. Nick is a Harvard-bound senior with an overinflated ego. Frankie, the adopted, bisexual, feminist Black daughter, emerges as the most politically charged character, thrust into a predominantly White community that's not always racially tolerant. As hidden secrets, sexual assault, opioid dependency, denial, and youthful angst consume the family, lyrics to the album's hits interweave through the narrative. Two resonant essays capture the essence of the drama: Cultural critic Rachel Syme expresses her high hopes that the book will provide a fitting place marker during the Covid-19 era while the theater is dark and the sets and props are "gathering dust, waiting for the day that the show can go on." In her commentary, Morissette chronicles the album's genesis and enduring relevance, and she remarks on how the production has impacted her on a personal healing level. The book provides a line-by-line script of the production along with behind-the-scenes footnotes and directorial and cast commentary, resulting in a colorful assembly of art, music, and activist messaging. "I didn't make it any easier by deciding the show would deal with the opioid epidemic, sexual assault, political activism, and religion," writes Cody in the afterword. "This was not a dance-in-the-aisles jukebox musical with a featherweight story; as much as I enjoy those shows, I wanted [this one] to be as real and provocative as the album that inspired it." A moving, well-rendered keepsake and a must-purchase for fans.
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November 6, 2020
This collector's book about the musical adaptation of singer Morissette's seminal 1995 album of the same name includes the libretto of the show, interspersed with essays and interviews with the cast and creative team about its journey to Broadway. As with many jukebox musicals, the plot by screenwriter Cody (Juno)--which follows the struggles of a seemingly perfect Connecticut family--is constructed around the songs, the lyrics of which don't completely fit the story, creating a slightly awkward pairing. Vibrantly designed with compelling photographs that document both the stage show and life behind the scenes, the volume is meant to be flipped through rather than read cover to cover. Short explainers on the issues tackled in the musical--opioid addiction, LGBTQ identity, transracial adoption, sexual assault--may be an effort toward inclusion but feel like virtue signaling. Theatergoers who haven't seen the show will be interested in the creation and production of the musical. Most notable are Morissette's contributions, including footnotes in the script, about writing the now-classic songs, and readers will find themselves humming her hits. VERDICT Ardent Morissette fans and Broadway buffs will enjoy this peek behind the curtain. --Katy Hershberger, School Library Journal
Copyright 2020 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
April 25, 2022
Five teens navigate the aftermath of sexual violence in this raw novelization of the musical Jagged Little Pill. The adoptive daughter of a white family in suburban Connecticut, Black 16-year-old Frankie feels that “I don’t belong here, in this family.” Her white older brother, Harvard-bound Nick, is desperate to please their parents. Transfer student Phoenix, who is Latinx, is struggling to balance his growing feelings for Frankie with caring for his hospitalized older sister. Frankie’s best friend with benefits, queer white Jo, craves her homophobic mother’s acceptance while also nursing feelings for Frankie. And white Bella simply wants to enjoy the end of high school before escaping to college. The teens’ lives untether following an act of sexual violence, and they must come together to pick up the pieces. Though the intertwining story lines cause the jam-packed narrative to feel unbalanced, the five narrators’ voices are distinct, providing a multilayered perspective. The teens explore gender and sexual identity, substance dependency, and complicated relationships in this edgy interpretation of the sometimes traumatizing experience of growing up. Morissette’s lyrics, woven throughout, resonate powerfully with the group’s turbulent adolescence. Ages 14–up. Agent (for Smith): Jen Azantian, Azantian Literary.