A fascinating and revealing journey following Sonia Sotomayor's rise in becoming a Supreme Court Justice. It's an engaging read that will appeal to young readers not only for the content but also for the length at just 112 pages.

Six chapter titles give a hint at what you will learn about this amazing woman's life.
1. DEEP ROOTS
2. DESPAIR AND HOPE
3.FINDING HER VOICE
4. FIGHTING FOR JUSTICE
5. A JUDGE AT LAST
6. THE HIGHEST COURT IN THE LAND

Filled with black and white illustrations that blend in well with the text, there are many memorable moments. Fighting discrimination, how her diabetes effected her both in childhood and as an adult, and the many jobs she had before becoming a Supreme Court Justice.

Sonia Sotomayor is a great addition to the Hispanic Star series that also include biographies on Roberto Clemente, Ellen Ochoa, Celia Cruz, Selena Gomez, and Sylvia Revera.

This book offers middle-schoolers an informative account of Sonia Sotomayor's life. The book is the right length for any middle schooler & it flows seamlessly. The book covers her family history in both Puerto Rico & New York. From her humble beginnings to her ascent to the Supreme Court, her story is inspiring.

Hispanic Star series for middle grade celebrates Hispanic and Latinx heroes who have made a difference.

Sonia Sotomayor grew up in the projects in the Bronx. She is a great inspiration, showing children that no matter where you come from you can still achieve great things.

The story gives a brief history of Puerto Rico Island and how it becomes the US territory. How her parents arrive in NYC, and how with other members of the family, they continue with traditions of their island – spending weekends together, preparing their food and listening to their music.

Her mother who is a nurse works hard to be able to send her children to Catholic school. Her mother values education and instills it in her children.

Sonia’s story brings her hardship and aspirations, and what steps she takes to achieve her goals. At the end of her hard work, she receives a full scholarship to attend the Princeton University.

Her hardship isn’t just financial. She loses her father at young age and it takes her mother some time to get over the loss, which has an effect on Sonia and her brother. Sonia is also told that she doesn’t deserve to go to Princeton.

The book explains well the point of affirmative action. Sonia coming from low-income family is at disadvantage with students who came from well-off families and are well-travelled and have access to things Sonia has no idea about.

Outside school, when she hears of some injustice happening to Puerto Ricans, she quickly becomes their advocate. She stands up to discrimination. She refuses to be disrespected and to remain silent out of fear of losing a potential job.

Her career takes her from a prosecutor, to a law that improves people’s lives instead of enforcing laws. Then, she becomes a federal judge in NY. It leads her to become the judge for the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and finally the judge for the Supreme Court.

This is a well-written story that clearly shows what Sonia Sotomayor had to go through to get where she is now. She didn’t feel sorry for her circumstances. She was close to her family and that’s what mattered the most. It didn’t hold her back to reach for the stars, and in order to reach for those stars she had to take many steps and she worked hard at those steps.

The black and white illustrations are simple, some are like sketches. Most of the series have black and white illustrations for this age group, which seem appropriate.

This is an inspiring story of a phenomenal woman, and it’s part of a wonderful series.

I love this book as a middle grade read!!! With a variety of visuals and text boxes this is sure to be an inspirational and informative read to build and students knowledge about both the supreme court and american government.