What Every Girl Should Know: Margaret Sanger’s Journey by J.Albert Mann –OPTIONAL

What Every Girl Should Know: Margaret Sanger’s Journey by J.Albert Mann, 228 pages. Atheneum (Simon), 2019 $19

Language: G (0 swears); Mature Content: PG (dating/kissing); Violence: G.

BUYING ADVISORY: HS

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

This is a fictionalized account of Margaret Sangers childhood and teen years. Her father was outspoken in his views, which included the right of everyone to vote. She idolized him, though he did little to support the family. Her mother, on the other hand, works non-stop to not only care for their ever growing family, but neighbors in need as well, and with a health condition. Because their family is so large, everyone must work incredibly hard (except for father). Margaret does get to attend school but experiences how life is when there are so many children in a low income situation. She wants to be a doctor but eventually starts nurse training and becomes a speaker for women’s reproductive rights, and eventually the founder of planned parenthood (though the book doesn’t cover that part of her life).

My favorite part of this book was the ending historical notes, which clear up a lot of misconceptions about Margaret and racist comments that were mis-attributed to her. Much of her teen and childhood years were made up of repetitive hard work helping take care of the large family she was born into. I felt like I would have rather read a few chapters about that, and the rest of the book be about her adult life. Although this book is very well written, its just too much of the same over and over. While Margaret did evolve over the course of the book, I am not sure a high school reader would stick with this, its like reading someone doing chore after chore, I was tired after a few chapters.

Reviewer: Stephanie MLS & Author.