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shirleytupperfreeman's review against another edition
It was a privilege to hear Sylvia Acevedo at the National Book Festival so I had to read her book of course. Her life, and consequently her memoir for young people, is so inspiring. Kids facing obstacles of all sorts will find Acevedo's story a source of grit and perseverance. My favorite story was when she was a young girl she started noticing that their car broke down far more often than her friend's cars. She asked a relative about it and he directed her to the owners manual in the glove box of their car. It was untouched. She took it to her room and read it cover to cover. After that she took it upon herself to make sure the family car was regularly maintained. Acevedo's socioeconomic status, her non-dominant ethnicity and her gender created barriers to her dream of going to college and becoming a rocket scientist but her attitude, work ethic and intelligence allowed her to power through those obstacles. This is a great story - with high praise for the Girl Scouts and other organizations which broaden kid's horizons.
alisonwonderland823's review against another edition
5.0
Inspirational and empowering. Acevedo's memoir shows what can be accomplished in you believe in your dreams and work hard to achieve your goals.
wad3mil3sgarru2's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Medical trauma, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Grief, and Misogyny
lazygal's review against another edition
3.0
Inspirational memoir for STEM students, but nothing special.
ARC provided by publisher
ARC provided by publisher
abigailbat's review against another edition
5.0
I was never a Girl Scout, but I want to be one after reading this book. This memoir from Girl Scouts CEO Sylvia Acevedo talks about her childhood growing up in New Mexico and the skills she learned from Girl Scouts that she wouldn't have had the opportunity to learn otherwise. Hand this to kids interested in life 50 years ago and especially any devoted Scouts or former Scouts. The bulk of this memoir concentrates on Acevedo's elementary and middle school years, so I think this book is great for a wide range of ages, but would be particularly suited for kids in grades 4-8.
Coming in September!
Coming in September!
nerfherder86's review against another edition
4.0
Terrific middle school-level biography. Acevedo was one of the first Latinx (and women) to get a masters degree in engineering from Stanford University. She was a rocket scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, worked for the Obama administration, and became CEO of the Girl Scouts USA. She tells of her childhood in New Mexico with Mexican immigrant parents (both became US citizens), getting help from joining Head Start, how much she loved math, how the sudden illness of her younger sister severely affected the family. Ever a tomboy, playing drums and basketball, she joined Girl Scouts as a Brownie and it taught her many things, including how to plan ahead--her father was never a "handyman," he was a nerdy chemist who neglected things like basic car maintenance, so after a harrowing cross country trip to the 1968 Mexico Olympics when their car died on the way, she took a class in auto mechanics (in 8th grade!) so that she could maintain their car. Girl power! Her story is one of inspiration, perseverance, love of family, cultural conflict, and learning self-confidence. Good book to hand to young girls looking for inspiration.
scostner's review against another edition
4.0
Anyone who has ever dreamed of accomplishing something important will empathize with Sylvia's life story. Her memoir covers her life from her time before she started school to her work at JPL. The growth of her skills in mathematics began at the same time as her first lessons in English, which her mother arranged for her before she started school. Details about her life (in school and out), show a girl who learned from every experience. She learned to excel in class, to balance the expectations of her parents with their traditional upbringing and what she wanted for herself, and to work toward her goals. Her participation in the Girl Scouts taught her important skills like budgeting, planning, and organization.
Changes over time in gender roles, treatment of minority groups, and other social standards show up in the vignettes from Sylvia's years in school and college. The modified basketball rules for female players is one example; the reluctance of the band director to let her play the timbales is another. Each time she met an obstacle, whether it was her father's demand that she save up $5 before getting a library card (in case she damaged a book), or building up the muscles to carry those drums, Sylvia found a way to succeed.
Personally, even though I am not from the same ethnic background as Sylvia, I identified with so many of the situations she described in this memoir. The drive to attend college, the interest in math and science (even though they were not considered girly subjects), even making new friends in the Brownies was very familiar. And when she talked about reading every biography in her school library and looking up to the famous women she discovered in those books, I nearly jumped out of my seat because I had done the same thing. During fourth grade I read every single book in that Childhoods of Famous Americans series!
This is a wonderful book for anyone interested in biographies/memoirs of successful women and LatinX individuals. Girl Scouts and STEM are also valuable topics that run throughout the story. Sylvia's math and organization skills helped her reach her goals of college, a career in industrial engineering, and the opportunity to work on the Solar Polar Solar Probe and the Voyager mission. Highly recommended for middle grades and up.
I read an advance copy provided by the publisher for review purposes.
Changes over time in gender roles, treatment of minority groups, and other social standards show up in the vignettes from Sylvia's years in school and college. The modified basketball rules for female players is one example; the reluctance of the band director to let her play the timbales is another. Each time she met an obstacle, whether it was her father's demand that she save up $5 before getting a library card (in case she damaged a book), or building up the muscles to carry those drums, Sylvia found a way to succeed.
Personally, even though I am not from the same ethnic background as Sylvia, I identified with so many of the situations she described in this memoir. The drive to attend college, the interest in math and science (even though they were not considered girly subjects), even making new friends in the Brownies was very familiar. And when she talked about reading every biography in her school library and looking up to the famous women she discovered in those books, I nearly jumped out of my seat because I had done the same thing. During fourth grade I read every single book in that Childhoods of Famous Americans series!
This is a wonderful book for anyone interested in biographies/memoirs of successful women and LatinX individuals. Girl Scouts and STEM are also valuable topics that run throughout the story. Sylvia's math and organization skills helped her reach her goals of college, a career in industrial engineering, and the opportunity to work on the Solar Polar Solar Probe and the Voyager mission. Highly recommended for middle grades and up.
I read an advance copy provided by the publisher for review purposes.
verity__'s review against another edition
Charming memoir with a powerful story about family, culture, and belonging. Sylvia is a trailblazer whose difficult path to success is an inspiring tale of fortitude and activism-girls and women seeking a place in a male dominated profession will in particular be moved by Sylvia’s passion and skill for engineering and rockets during a time when a Latina engineer was unheard of.