Inspiring in many ways, this will be meat and potatoes to girls with their own basketball aspirations.
WNBA star Delle Donne shares her story of basketball success with an emphasis on how she has overcome trials and tribulations while maintaining her commitment to her family and friends.
Coming out publicly as a lesbian before the 2016 Olympics is almost glossed over, but Delle Donne’s commitment to her sister, Lizzie, who was born blind and deaf with cerebral palsy and later diagnosed as autistic, is there from beginning to end. This commitment has led Delle Donne to include girls with disabilities in her basketball camps and to a role as an ambassador to the Special Olympics. Still, Delle Donne’s career is the focus, and readers hear much more about wins and losses than they gain in understanding of the challenges Lizzie faces. (The ballplayer’s bouts with Lyme disease have also led to work with the Lyme Research Alliance.) While there is plenty of basketball for devotees of the game, Delle Donne gives equal time to the psychology of winning and losing, and she emphasizes that the difference between a great player and a good one is not just talent. Amid the motivational insights is nestled the tremendous support she has had from her white, middle-class family. Along with co-writer Durand, she pens a breezy, conversational narrative that goes down easily.
Inspiring in many ways, this will be meat and potatoes to girls with their own basketball aspirations. (Memoir. 10-16)Pub Date: March 6, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5344-1228-6
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Nov. 21, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
If only Benedict Arnold had died sooner. Had he been killed at the Battle of Saratoga, he’d be one of the greatest heroes of American history, and “we’d celebrate his life as one of the best action stories we have.” Instead, he survived and went on to betray the colonies and die in shame. Sheinkin sees Arnold as America’s “original action hero” and succeeds in writing a brilliant, fast-paced biography that reads like an adventure novel. Opening with the hanging of Major Andre, the British officer who plotted with Arnold to turn West Point over to the British, the story sticks to the exciting illustrative scenes of Arnold’s career—the invasion of Canada, assembling America’s first naval fleet, the Battle of Valcour Island, the Battle of Saratoga and the plot with Andre, whose parallel narrative ends in a bungled mission, his execution and Arnold’s dishonor. The author’s obvious mastery of his material, lively prose and abundant use of eyewitness accounts make this one of the most exciting biographies young readers will find. (source notes, quotation notes, maps [not seen]) (Biography. 11-14)
Pub Date: Nov. 9, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-59643-486-8
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: Oct. 1, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2010
Long before the Internet, 24-hour news cycles and social networking, the 25-inch-tall General Tom Thumb was a household name in both the United States and Europe. Tom owed his celebrity and wealth to the marketing genius of master showman P.T. Barnum. This lively biography chronicles the remarkable life and career of Charles Sherwood Stratton, who was recruited by Barnum when he was 5 years old and rechristened General Tom Thumb. Under Barnum's tutelage, Tom learned skills that led him to become an accomplished entertainer. Not all of Barnum's influences were positive. "At five, Tom…was drinking wine with meals. At seven, he smoked cigars. By nine, he chewed tobacco. He never had a day of school." Sullivan notes that for a "human oddity" like Tom, there were few choices other than show business. (Regrettably, the author misses this opportunity to further explore the ethics of this sort of exploitation.) Tom was no ordinary sideshow attraction, appearing before Queen Victoria twice and becoming the toast of high society. He also enjoyed a happy marriage and his fame and fortune to the end of his eventful life. Tom's personal and professional relationships with Barnum make this biography a superb complement to Candace Fleming's The Great and Only Barnum (2009). (endnotes, bibliography, index) (Biography. 10-14)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-18203-2
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 29, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2011
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
bookshelf
