This is a really unique idea - it is so very important for young people to understand, and know, what Planned Parenthood is, what does, and the services that it offers. I don't think this book will end up reaching the audiences it is needed in most, but it is an important story nonetheless.

I received a copy of this book for a fair and honest review. I know this is a historical book. There are parts of this book that I don't agree with I just want to say that first off. This book is done like a journal or diary by Margaret. She does not have a lot of time to herself while she is doing chores and taking care of her younger sibling. Her wants something different for her life then what is planned for her at that time period.

I revived a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a fair review. 

As far as biographies go, this book was pretty good. It showed the life that Margret and many women of her time had to live in, one where endless babies and dying young without proper care was bound to be your fate. It's something that I think is hard for most modern people to wrap their head around, and it was portrayed really well in the story. 

At times I felt like the writing style was a little repetitive and not the most interesting, but still I did read the entire book. I think I expected a little bit more from this book, I wanted to know more about Sanger's fight for reproductive rights. But this book mostly focused on why she decided to get into the fight in the first place. Which was really good, but it could have been better.

I would say this book is probably for younger YA readers, something that would get them interested in learning more about Sanger and reproductive rights. But definitely not something that could be used as a textbook, it would need to go with other books. 

In the end I gave this book 3 stars on Goodreads.

It can be said that it was Margaret Sanger’s childhood that led her down the path to becoming a birth control activist and the mother of the organization that would eventually form Planned Parenthood. Born Margaret Higgins in the 1870s, she saw firsthand how limited choices and opportunities for women could lead to a stifled life, and often death. Margaret’s own mother had 18 pregnancies in 22 years, although only 11 babies survived. Margaret, the sixth child of eleven, saw the toll that being nearly constantly pregnant took on her mother and their family, and it can rightly be said that Margaret pursued a life in which she advocated for women’s rights and the opportunity for women to have control over their bodies due to what she witnessed in her own home growing up. J. Albert Mann’s What Every Girl Should Know tells that story - how Margaret grew from being a “girl with promise” yet no real future beyond becoming a mother or teacher, to a champion for women everywhere.

What Every Girl Should Know alternates between the past, where we learn about Margaret’s life growing up in a home bursting at the seams with children, and the present as Margaret returns to her childhood home and her mother’s deathbed. While most of the story takes place in the past, the present day chapters set the scene for the impactful events that solidified Margaret’s decision to spend her life advocating for women.

As a historical YA novel based on Margaret Sanger’s life, What Every Girl Should Know would probably work best for an older young adult audience, including those in their late teens and early 20s. Quite literary and descriptive, as well as grounded in sociology, philosophy, and religion, this novel will connect best with those who have some life experience and understand what it means to sacrifice, as well as fight for what you believe in.

As a reader, I would have liked the novel to focus more on Margaret’s later teenage life, once she goes away to school, becomes involved in her first relationship, and pursues a string of careers. This part of the book was given little time or attention, with most of the novel covering Margaret’s younger years, which involved caring for her many siblings, helping her mother take care of their home, being publicly chastised for her father’s radical ideas, and attempting to become more than just a “girl with promise” in school. I feel that this part of the book could have been shortened to make way for the years in which Margaret really came into her own.

Readers should note that this novel does not cover Margaret’s adult life, in which she becomes a birth control activist, taking on the U.S. courts and opening our nation’s first birth control clinic. Rather, What Every Girl Should Know paints a picture of how Margaret’s upbringing turned her into the women’s crusader she became.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atheneum Books for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Maggie makes her way home to take care of her mother, she is a school teacher but feels trapped at her job.she has a brood of brothers and sisters . Maggie is stuck clean ing,taking care of her mother and changing diapers.I liked Maggie's spirit and how she treated others