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4.07 AVERAGE
4.07 AVERAGE
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
I love that this book exists, and I'm glad to find out more about a subject I didn't know a lot about. However, I found the book a bit disjointed and hard to get through.
challenging
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
This book is great. It’s well researched and tells important stories. Anyone who loves the new League of Their Own series should check it out! There’s an audiobook on Audible.
This is a great account of a sports league that few knew existed. My main gripe was that the writing was repetitive at times. The writing is also on the dryer side. If you want to read sports history this is for you. If you want to read about women impacting the sports world whether they know it or not read this book.
informative
slow-paced
***USING NEW RATING SYSTEM***
Engagement: 2/4
Engagement: 2/4
- The book has moments that get my attention, but it does not do so consistently.
Clarity: 3/4
- The writing is mostly clear and easy to follow.
- Ideas are for the most part explained well.
Relevance: 2/4
- The book has some relevant topics that I find interesting, but not enough to keep me fully engaged.
Writing: 3/4
- The writing style is well done and engaging, with a clear and consistent voice.
Vibes: 2/4
- I read it and liked some parts of it.
- Might not recommend it to a friend, but I enjoyed reading it.
Overall Score: 12/20
Star Rating: 3/5
The authors brought the women's football players and teams of the past to life. Hail Mary is an impressive feat of journalism and historical research given the minimal (and often patronizing) coverage of the NWFL during its existence. Highly recommended!
It's hard given the lack of documentation as the history was being made, but given access to what information there is and the luck of living players to flesh it out, I found the actual writing of the book to be fairly one-note and shallow. With chronology constantly on the shuffle and a deluge of names and statistics, it's a constant fight to even connect anecdotes to the right context. Most of the phrasing itself felt like filler--redundant filler, at that--rather than actual meaningful analysis, which greatly reduced the overall enjoyment and learning experience. The players were amazingly interesting, but I wanted to hear more from and about them rather than the authors' omniscient insistence on repeating trite phrasing about how these were women doing something women were told they shouldn't do. Why did they do it? How did it impact their lives as it was happening, and what did it mean for their lives going after the fact? We get some quick answers to what should have been at the heart of the book, and that's what's most disappointing. This could have been an electric 250 page book had the fat been trimmed, or a well-trod 500 page book if given some room to breathe and ponder its own questions.
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
inspiring
slow-paced
informative
reflective
slow-paced