Grade Level: 5th and up
Review: This book tells the quest of the “Mercury 13” women, which were the thirteen women who attempted to become apart of NASA’s astronaut program nearly twenty years before the first women were allowed in NASA. This title is a proclamation of the prejudices these women faced as they tried to challenge their own government to allow them to become astronauts in a time where only white males were able to be apart of the missions and command the shuttles, even though the women often outperformed the men in the qualification training tests. What I loved most about this book was that it gives women and girls inspiring examples of female role models in the field of science and space exploration, and the importance it places on overcoming gender roles. Even today there are many gender biases regarding women in the STEM fields, and this book aimed at young readers is a fantastic example of defying those stereotypes. This full-length text is very well-written and the author turns an elaborate political story into something that is comprehensible for children, and is accompanied by full page photographs of the heroic women and their suppressors. Although the text is long and might be intimidating at first glance, the amount of information included is enough to entice any space lover. Overall, I would highly recommend this book to readers because of its power to inspire women to overcome gender roles, especially in the field of science and astronomy.
Recommendation: Recommended
Byline: Chelsea Bland, Graduate Student, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA
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