A review by library_brandy
Breakthrough: How One Teen Innovator Is Changing the World by Jack Andraka

Jack lives and breathes science--and some experiments he breathes more than others. His family is super-supportive; his magnet middle-school is supportive but his classmates aren't. Jack is already depressed and being bullied when he comes out as gay, but even then he has other things on his mind: his Uncle Ted has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and it was already pretty advanced when it was discovered. After Ted's death Jack throws himself into science: what if he could create a test that could detect pancreatic and other cancers far earlier, and would cost far less than the tests currently in use? By the time he's 15, he's done it--but that's not to say any step of his journey was easy.

Jack's memoir is an engaging, hopeful read, and his enthusiasm for his work is palpable. He tells his story chronologically, which has the side effect of making the first half almost exclusively about his social troubles and the second half explaining his scientific research and processes, but the two halves blend neatly into each other. Jack's passion for science and discovery may inspire high schoolers to pursue their own scientific curiosities.