Publishers Weekly
04/04/2022
First Lady Jill Biden “stepped into the White House as a symbol of reliability and relatability—a woman fiercely protective of her family and her passions and ambitions,” according to this amiable if unenlightening biography. Associated Press reporters Pace and Superville move briskly from Jill’s childhood in 1950s and ’60s New Jersey and Pennsylvania, where she was the eldest of five sisters, through her first marriage at age 19 and divorce four years later, to her 1975 first date with Delaware senator Joe Biden, whose wife and daughter had died in a car accident three years earlier, leaving him with two young sons, Beau and Hunter. After marrying Joe in 1977, Jill pursued master’s and doctoral degrees while raising their daughter, Ashley, alongside Beau and Hunter, and taught in public high schools and community colleges. Pace and Superville draw a persuasive portrait of Jill Biden as a dedicated educator and protective wife and mother who “bemoans the corrosive nature of modern American politics, which has repeatedly put her family in the crosshairs,” though their subject remains a somewhat guarded and elusive figure throughout. This well-mannered biography has few surprises. Agent: Bridget Matzie, Aevitas Creative. (Apr.)
From the Publisher
"Up to date through late 2021, this is a satisfying, enlightening profile of a talented woman redefining the role of First Lady."—Booklist
“Pace and Superville draw on memoirs by Jill, Joe, and Hunter Biden; published interviews, articles, and biographical material; and an interview with Jill herself to create an admiring biography of the first lady… The authors portray Jill as a devoted, practical, energetic mother and wife, able to juggle family life, public responsibilities, and teaching, to which she is wholly committed. In short, brisk chapters, the authors recount Jill’s busy, productive life: engaging in Joe’s presidential runs, supporting military families, and responding to family challenges, including the death of Beau Biden from brain cancer and Hunter’s problems with addiction. A fond portrait of a woman anyone would want as a friend.”—Kirkus Reviews
"In Jill: A Biography of the First Lady, authors Darlene Superville and Julie Pace chart the story of Jill meeting Joe (and making him propose five times!), becoming a mother to Beau, Hunter, and Ashley, going through three presidential elections, and breaking barriers with her decision to work outside the White House."—Vanity Fair
"With Jill: A Biography of the First Lady, AP reporters Darlene Superville and Julie Pace shine a light on the lifelong educator and Biden family protector."—Elle
“Associated Press journalists Pace and Superville offer a deep dive into the personal and political life of first lady Jill Biden in this deeply reported biography of the woman who holds the Biden family together.”—USA Today
“[Dr. Jill Biden’s] devotion and vigilance – often enacted publicly but deeply ingrained in her private self – are explored in depth…the book is extensively reported and features interviews with some of the first lady’s dearest relatives and friends.”—People
“Jill: A Biography of the First Lady examines how Biden’s commitment to her work has defined the first family as much as her husband’s own political career and ambitions.”—The 19th
Library Journal
11/01/2021
Biden Owens isn't simply the younger sister of President Joe Biden, here recalling their childhood in Delaware and helping to raise Biden's sons after the tragic deaths of their mother and sister. She has also been among Biden's key political advisers, having managed nearly all his political campaigns, including his successful presidential bid, and can offer important insights into both the president and U.S. politics generally. Her memoir tells a big story; with a 150,000-copy first printing. Pace and Superville, Washington bureau chief and White House reporter, respectively, for the Associated Press, have been following the First Lady closely and here present a thoroughgoing portrait, moving from her childhood, through her first marriage and divorce, marriage to Joe Biden, ascension to the public eye, commitment to her children, to ongoing career in education. The book presents her as a model for a wide range of women. With a 75,000-copy first printing.
Kirkus Reviews
2022-01-20
Becoming Jill Biden.
Associated Press reporters Pace and Superville draw on memoirs by Jill, Joe, and Hunter Biden; published interviews, articles, and biographical material; and an interview with Jill herself to create an admiring biography of the first lady. Born in 1951, the eldest of five daughters, Jill Jacobs grew up in the affluent farming town of Hammonton, New Jersey, where she was nurtured by a close-knit family and loving relatives. By her own account, her childhood was “really beautiful, idyllic.” At a junior college, she briefly studied fashion merchandising before enrolling at the University of Delaware, where she changed her focus to English and education. At 18, she married a fellow student, but the marriage floundered; by 1975, she was divorced. Joe Biden pursued her as soon as he was given her phone number by his brother, and he proposed multiple times before she finally accepted. Reluctant because her first marriage had failed, Jill was afraid of hurting Joe’s two little boys in case it didn’t work out. Of course, it worked out splendidly. The authors portray Jill as a devoted, practical, energetic mother and wife, able to juggle family life, public responsibilities, and teaching, to which she is wholly committed. In 2007, she earned a doctorate in educational leadership, and after moving to Washington, D.C., when Joe became vice president, Jill joined the faculty at Northern Virginia Community College, where she continues to teach. For much of her involvement in her husband’s career, bipartisan friendships and cordiality were the norm, vastly different from the rampant polarization that characterizes the current political landscape. In short, brisk chapters, the authors recount Jill’s busy, productive life: engaging in Joe’s presidential runs, supporting military families, and responding to family challenges, including the death of Beau Biden from brain cancer and Hunter’s problems with addiction. Running, the authors discovered, helps Jill get “physical and mental space from daily life.”
A fond portrait of a woman anyone would want as a friend.
