Review: Women in Space by Karen Bush Gibson

Title: Women in Space
Author: Karen Bush Gibson
Format: Hardcover
Publisher: Chicago Review Press
Publish Date: February 1, 2014
Source: I received a copy from the publisher; however, this did not affect my review.

Why You're Reading This Book:

• You're a non-fiction fan.
• You like adventure.

 What's the Story?:

From Goodreads.com: "Women in Space profiles 23 pioneers, including Eileen Collins, the first woman to command the space shuttle; Peggy Whitson, who logged more than a year in orbit aboard the International Space Station; and Mae Jemison, the first African American woman in space; as well as astronauts from Japan, Canada, Italy, South Korea, France, and more. Readers will also learn about the Mercury 13, American women selected by NASA in the late 1950s to train for spaceflight. Though they matched and sometimes surpassed their male counterparts in performance, they were ultimately denied the opportunity to head out to the launching pad. Their story, and the stories of the pilots, physicists, and doctors who followed them, demonstrate the vital role women have played in the quest for scientific understanding."

My Two Cents:

"Women in Space" is another book in the fantastic Women in Action series. This is a non-fiction series geared for young adult readers and it is really fantastic. "Women in Space" is a collection of stories of the women who dared to go to the final frontier: space. I was drawn to this book by my own fascination with space and those people that were brave enough to explore it. I was not disappointed with this book at all.

When I was little, I wanted to be an astronaut and I grew up looking up to so many of these women. This was a great collection and although I knew about some of these women, there were many that I did not know about. I love learning something new when I'm reading.

This book was well written and would be a great introduction for young adult readers who want an overview of these truly amazing women. Each story is a short overview of a certain person or even group of people (did you know that there were women who trained for the Mercury flights??? I had no idea). The book covers both American women and women from other countries who traveled to space. This book definitely whetted my appetite to learn more about some of these women!

Overall, this is another great addition to this series!