Parents and Teachers: Participate in Long Beach Reads One Book from March 3 - 14. The selection for 2010 is The Soloist: a lost dream, an unlikely friendship, and the redemptive power of music by Steve Lopez.
Check out scheduled events at Long Beach Public Libraries and around the city.
About the book:
Steve Lopez, a columnist for the L.A. Times spots a homeless man performing beautiful music on a shabby violin. Over the next few days, Lopez discovers that the homeless man, Nathaniel Ayers, was once a promising student at Juilliard, but various pressures - including schizophrenia and being one of the few African-American students - caused him to drop out. Enlisting the help of doctors, mental health professionals and professional musicians, Lopez attempts to help Ayers move off Skid Row, regain his dignity, develop his musical talent and free himself of the demons induced by his schizophrenia. --Adapted from Publishers Weekly review
Themes:
Friendship, Music, Art, Homelessness, Mental Health, Journalism
