Category: Memoirs

Ages 18+

Mike Massimino has dreamt of becoming an astronaut since the day Neil Armstrong walked on the moon. Massimino grew up on Long Island, and attended both Columbia University and MIT. He took qualifying exams and was rejected twice by NASA, but he didn’t give up. On the final round of astronaut selection, he failed because of poor eyesight, but he didn’t stop there, either. He makes it to space and has the ride of his life. His memoir teaches us that when you persevere, anything is possible.

Grades 9-12

Felicia Day is a filmmaker, actress, musician, and self-proclaimed geek who found herself as an Internet entrepreneur after years of being home schooled and isolated. She moved to Hollywood to become an actress, but her misadventures led her to produce her own web series, own her own production company and become an Internet star. In this charming and funny memoir, Day shares her story and inspires us all to pursue our wildest dreams.

Ages 16+

This was an excellent immigrant story that was gripping from beginning to end. Although it was hard to root for the protagonist towards the end of the book after the way she “beat the system,” it was a book worth reading for sure.

Thanks to Netgalley.com for a review copy of this book.

Ages 14+

Captain Sully shocked the world and became an instant hero when he made an emergency landing on the Hudson River and saved the crew and all 155 passengers of flight 1549. His story is now a major motion picture staring Tom Hanks.

Ages 14+

This intense, eye-opening memoir chronicles Emily Lindin’s life as a middle schooler and peer-labeled “slut.” The book is made up of diary entries of Lindin’s middle school years, and footnotes that the adult Emily Lindin has added to examine the craziness of her relationships with her friends, enemies and various crushes and boyfriends. The purpose of the memoir is to shed light on how crazy kids’ lives can be, and what we as adults can do to help them. She includes entries that talk about kids ages eleven to thirteen drinking, engaging in sexual behavior and acting nasty towards each other, like it’s no big deal at all. The Unslut Project began as a blog, but when women started sharing their own stories, and took it a step further, and published the memoir in hopes that it would shed light on the sexual bullying of girls and women.

Ages 16+

In his inspiring autobiography, Bruce Springsteen tells of his life as a star, beginning with how he always knew he wanted to be a musician. He tells about his life growing up Catholic in New Jersey, and all the steps he took to make his dreams come true.

Ages 14+

With the recent passing of Charmian Carr, I felt the need to check this one out of the library. She was the actress known for playing the role of Liesl Von Trapp in 1965’s The Sound of Music. The book tells of how Carr got the part in the famous musical, romances in her life, and her relationships with the actors while working together, and life after The Sound of Music. Though she was supposedly “sixteen going on seventeen,” in real life she was actually 21, a legal adult, which set her apart from the other children she was acting with. Despite all that, however, she still maintained close relationships with each of them. In this memoir, Carr explains why she left acting, and her experience of meeting the real Von Trapp children. She also includes stories from people whose lives were affected by the film. A must read for all Sound of Music fans!

Ages 14+

The author and owner of Breakfast In America, an American diner in France, details the struggles he faced while trying to realize his dream of opening a diner in Paris. He ran into many snares and jumped through hoops before and after he opened his restaurant, but in the end it was worth it. Highly recommended!

Thanks to Sourcebooks for a review copy of this book.

Ages 18+

Jennifer decides to take a summer off and travel abroad with her daughter Katie. Together, the two of them travel the world, and make memories that will last a lifetime.