Likely to appeal mostly to readers who have a strong interest in the medical field.
Latta has gathered together brief biographies of 21 “bold women of medicine.”
Among the subjects are the expected, such as white medical pioneers Florence Nightingale, Elizabeth Blackwell, and Clara Barton. But there are many who are less well-known, including America’s first two African-American female physicians, Rebecca Lee Crumpler and Rebecca Cole (covered jointly in one chapter), and a determined white Australian physician, Catherine Hamlin, who spent years treating women in Ethiopia who were crippled by obstetrical injuries. White nurse Mary Carson Breckinridge brought modern obstetrical service and nursing care to rural Kentucky and founded the Frontier Nursing Service. The chapter covering black Somaliland nurse midwife Edna Adan Ismail describes her efforts to combat female genital mutilation. Each chapter concludes with a few sources to provide more information. Sidebars provide additional detail on a variety of related topics. A foreword by a recently minted osteopathic physician contributes little. The uninspired narrative style features a tedious, mostly subject/predicate sentence structure that seems intended for a much younger audience than teens. It stands in sharp contrast to the inspirational subject matter. Many of the women defied the cultural expectations of their time to perform valuable work. Photographs of most are included. Endnotes are meticulous, but the index was not available for review. An extensive bibliography rounds out this uneven effort.
Likely to appeal mostly to readers who have a strong interest in the medical field. (Collective biography. 12-18)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-61373-437-7
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Chicago Review Press
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2017
Small but mighty necessary reading.
A miniature manifesto for radical queer acceptance that weaves together the personal and political.
Eli, a cis gay white Jewish man, uses his own identities and experiences to frame and acknowledge his perspective. In the prologue, Eli compares the global Jewish community to the global queer community, noting, “We don’t always get it right, but the importance of showing up for other Jews has been carved into the DNA of what it means to be Jewish. It is my dream that queer people develop the same ideology—what I like to call a Global Queer Conscience.” He details his own isolating experiences as a queer adolescent in an Orthodox Jewish community and reflects on how he and so many others would have benefitted from a robust and supportive queer community. The rest of the book outlines 10 principles based on the belief that an expectation of mutual care and concern across various other dimensions of identity can be integrated into queer community values. Eli’s prose is clear, straightforward, and powerful. While he makes some choices that may be divisive—for example, using the initialism LGBTQIAA+ which includes “ally”—he always makes clear those are his personal choices and that the language is ever evolving.
Small but mighty necessary reading. (resources) (Nonfiction. 14-18)Pub Date: June 2, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-09368-9
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2020
Brief yet inspirational, this story will galvanize youth to use their voices for change.
Testa’s connection to and respect for nature compelled her to begin championing animal causes at the age of 10, and this desire to have an impact later propelled her to dedicate her life to fighting plastic pollution. Starting with the history of plastic and how it’s produced, Testa acknowledges the benefits of plastics for humanity but also the many ways it harms our planet. Instead of relying on recycling—which is both insufficient and ineffective—she urges readers to follow two additional R’s: “refuse” and “raise awareness.” Readers are encouraged to do their part, starting with small things like refusing to use plastic straws and water bottles and eventually working up to using their voices to influence business and policy change. In the process, she highlights other youth advocates working toward the same cause. Short chapters include personal examples, such as observations of plastic pollution in Mauritius, her maternal grandparents’ birthplace. Testa makes her case not only against plastic pollution, but also for the work she’s done, resulting in something of a college-admissions–essay tone. Nevertheless, the first-person accounts paired with science will have an impact on readers. Unfortunately, no sources are cited and the lack of backmatter is a missed opportunity.
Brief yet inspirational, this story will galvanize youth to use their voices for change. (Nonfiction. 12-18)Pub Date: Oct. 13, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-22333-8
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2020
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