This is one of those rare reads where rating it at all seems to diminish the meaning. Just Kids is an autobiographical telling of Patti Smith's early years in New York with visual artist and photographer Robert Mapplethorpe. The memoir details their relationship and their development as artists in the late 60s and 70s.

While it was easy to get lost in the barrage of names and places, it felt like the rare memoir in which the author was not writing for her audience, but for herself and that is what made it so special. I'll take many things away from Just Kids, largely an inspiration for creation and an understanding of deep bonds that only come in the formative years. Where I've struggled to give words to relationships that surpass physical love and transcend into the essence of oneself, Smith excels. Mapplethorpe's demons and desires come across loudly. It's as if the New York of 1969 is right outside my window.

It's an incredibly important and resounding read.