August 1, 2015
Gr 7 Up-This inspirational memoir from a soccer champion and Olympic gold medalist will appeal to sports fans and nonathletes alike. Morgan adeptly shares how she achieved her goals of becoming a renowned professional soccer player and the important lessons she learned along the way. As a young girl, she played softball, but at age eight, she realized that her dream was to play professional soccer. With her family's support, she trained with the American Youth Soccer Organization, played on her hometown's soccer club team, and joined the Olympic Development Program, as well as the under-17 and under-20 national World Cup teams. Morgan went on to accomplish her biggest achievements: playing in the World Cup and the Olympics. In addition to detailing her triumphs on the field, she also describes other elements of her life, such as a long-term long-distance relationship, the chronic sports injuries she suffered, and her strong performance at college. The writing is accessible, personal, and down-to-earth. In each chapter, Morgan provides helpful advice on fulfilling one's objectives, accepting failure, and staying positive and focused, as well as the importance of a good support network and the value of being competitive. While readers might not share her aspirations, they will appreciate her story and benefit from her counsel. VERDICT A great addition to memoir and sports collections in public and high school libraries.-Jess Gafkowitz, New York Public Library
Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
September 1, 2015
Grades 7-10 Author of a best-selling middle-grade sports series, the Kicks, the Olympic gold-medal-winning soccer star Morgan shares her own life story in this YA memoir. In a conversational tone, Morgan narrates her journey from a kid whose dad would have preferred she played softball to college soccer star at UC-Berkeley to the youngest player on the U.S. Women's National Team. Along the way, Morgan experiences challengesunanticipated changes in coaching staff, balancing academics and sports, and riding out injuriesbut she does so with a positive attitude in a way that makes her a natural role model for teens, particularly teen athletes. Each chapter ends with a life lesson based on Morgan's experience, which can be a bit much over the course of 57 chapters, and the narrative is sometimes repetitive. Still, tween and teen soccer fans, particularly those who watched the recent U.S. women's victory in the World Cup, will be eager to get their hands on anything with Morgan's name on the cover.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)