I was drawn to this book because I love to see women (especially women of color) in STEM. I can understand what it’s like being a woman in STEM since that’s what field I was in but obviously things are even more difficult for persons of color.

I thought the premise of this book sounded really cool and I was looking forward to learning about sharks. And there is some information about sharks but not as much as I wanted there to be. I also wanted the writing to be more scientific. The book had more memoir writing than science talk, which is fine. But I felt like those chapters were a little slow. Graham had important background to include to help drive her point across and to help illustrate the struggles that she’s had in the field. But I felt that there was still some content that could have been edited.

Forever grateful for strong smart women like Graham to be in the STEM field. To be role models for the next generation.

Thanks to Pantheon and NetGalley for the ARC!

"The public mostly tends to see sharks as deadly killers – likely thanks, in part, to the fictional Great White featured in the 1975 Hollywood thriller Jaws. They are rarely viewed as diverse, fascinating creatures that play a key role in maintaining balance in marine ecosystems. Jasmine Graham, a young shark scientist of color, who sees herself and her people in sharks, writes, “All too often Black people are perceived and treated much like sharks: feared, misunderstood, and brutalized, often without recourse; assumed to be threatening when so often we’re the ones under threat; portrayed unfairly in the media, so that others are predisposed to have a negative interaction with us.” She works to change people’s perception, providing diversity, equity, and inclusion training at universities to prevent attrition of talented people of color.

Scientists, she writes, often have a particularly hard time accepting their biases because they believe themselves to be entirely rational. So, she gives them tangible tools they can use to ensure that they are not making unfair assumptions about minority students or mentees.

Graham, who now serves on the board of the American Elasmobranch Society, could decide to earn her PhD and re-enter the academy, but she chooses to remain an independent researcher. “Going forward, I’m committed to contributing to peer-reviewed, quality publications, and doing research in a**hole- free spaces, only,” she writes.

For her next project, Graham plans to collect information about fishing stock and patterns from Black fishermen who have been fishing in Myrtle Beach for decades. In conservation circles, she writes, most assume that small fishers, especially those of color, are uneducated and have little to contribute to scientific research. Graham knows this is wrong.

She will also continue her work with MISS. “I truly can’t wait for the day when MISS no longer needs to exist,” she writes, “when we don’t need to fight to be heard or create a safe space. But, until then, we are here to help you insulate you as much as we can from the BS we had coming up.”

Sharks Don’t Sink is an accessible book about life as a marine scientist – and an empowering one. Graham writes in a simple, direct way about the sexism and racism many in the sciences have become inured to. Doing nothing, she reminds readers—whether in response to social injustice or to the destruction of the natural world— supports the status quo. We owe it to ourselves and to the planet to take action."

I feel conflicted writing this review, because I SO wanted to like Sharks Don't Sink, but I edit science writing for a living, so I can't, in good conscience, give this higher than 3 stars. I believe this book provides an important and valuable perspective on being a woman of color in science, and the author seems like someone I'd love to hang out with. She presents as fun and relatable; she is clearly a wonderful cheerleader for women and minorities, and is working hard to lower the barrier to entry into marine conservation science, which is amazing. I have a ton of respect for her and her work.

Unfortunately, I just didn't love the book. It's a memoir first and foremost, with minimal shark science peppered throughout. That's fine, but the quality of science writing was not great, and I found the writing overall to be pretty juvenile. I actually convinced myself it was geared toward middle grade readers. In fact, I think it might appeal most to young readers interested in marine science and conservation.

That said, I still think Graham offers a unique and important frame of reference, and her voice is one I hope to continue to see contributing to conversations around social justice and scientific research going forward.

As someone who wants to go into the environmental science/marine science field, it was enlightening to see the struggles women of color face and the methods they have come up with to get around the old conservative white men that cling onto the idea that conservation is an exclusionary field.

That being said, I feel like this book was more of a memoir than a book about sharks. I was hoping it would be more science-heavy with things about Jasmin's personal life woven into the narrative, but it was more Jasmin's personal life with small interjections about the science she was performing. There were some things I felt just weren't relevant to the story. Maybe not really that, but they weren't tied in well so they didn't seem relevant to the story. It also had a lot of time jumps and the main plot line went in reverse order. It didn't feel like a purposeful choice, especially because of how much the book repeated itself. With how short it is, it sometimes felt very drawn-out, which I didn't love.

Nevertheless, I think it's still a good read, especially for people who need their eyes opened to the rampant microagressions littered throughout conservation work.

I received this book as an ARC through NetGalley!

As a marine biologist, I could not pass up the chance to read this ARC. In this well written read, Jasmin Graham gives extreme insight into both her academic and scientific career. Shark science is a small world, and women, especially women of color, are not always welcomed with open arms in scientific circles. Like other marine science areas, shark science is a white male dominated world, but Graham does not let that stop her.

This memoir is a great read, even for people not interested in the marine sciences or sharks. Graham writes about her life and experiences in a way that makes it compelling to readers from across all walks of life.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Pantheon Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review! This is such a wonderful book! I absolutely loved hearing about Jasmin’s experiences and research. It was enlightening and felt like talking to a friend over coffee. So many times, scientific books take themselves so seriously that things get lost in jargon; however, that was not at all the case with this book. It felt casual and enjoyable while still teaching about marine life. My only wish was that it would have had a big
more about the actual marine adventures that Jasmin had.

Wow, Jasmin's story is incredible in so many ways, and it is so important that stories like hers are shared with the masses! I think if I had known about Jasmin's story at an earlier point of my life it might have given me the confidence to follow my dreams into marine biology research which pinpoints how critical her efforts through MISS and within the scientific research community are.

Jasmin Graham is a rogue shark scientist. Following the traditional path to her dream of becoming a marine biologist was extra challenging as a woman of color. In a field dominated by men Jasmin decided to find her own way. She co-founded Minorities in Shark Sciences which is an organization dedicated to providing support and opportunities for other young women of color pursuing the fascinating and environmentally essential work of marine studies. Jasmin became a rogue shark scientist, learning how to keep those endangered but precious sharks swimming free—just like her. Sharks Don't Sink tells the story of this journey along with an inside look at some of the creatures she's passionate about protecting.

This a short but insightful read. Not only do we learn a little about sharks and the process and importance of researching them, but also a look at the people trying to protect them. Jasmin's journey is interesting and inspiring. There are good lessons about standing up for yourself and pursuing your dream. She's also funny.

This is just as much memoir as information about sharks. I would have liked more shark info but that's partly because Jasmin is so good at relating the facts! Even her diagrams, which she makes fun of, are very helpful. This book makes me feel like I'm reading a show featured on Shark Week. The book ends but Jasmin's story is continuing. An area of research she talks about at the end sounds very interesting and I would enjoy hearing more about it. I'm glad sharks have someone like her on their side.

Thanks to Netgalley for the chance to read. Sharks Don't Sink will be published July 16th.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/199349061-sharks-don-t-sink?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=gpJ61B48TN&rank=1

This book was enlightening and fun, and shed light on the challenges of being a woman of color in both academia and the world of marine biology - areas heavily filled by white men. I really enjoyed learning about sharks and the connections the author made between the world of misunderstood marine life and her own experiences in these areas. I learned a lot about marine life, and I am really impressed by this rogue scientist!

Parts of the book were repetitive and the timeline seemed to jump around a lot, but I really enjoyed the nerding-out over sharks and learning about MISS.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance reader copy of this book!

In Sharks Don't Sink: Adventures of a Rogue Shark Scientist, Jasmin Graham chronicles her academic and scientific career in shark science and contextualizes her experience in the field with broader racial issues in not only academic institutions but also across the United States in general. In my effort to be more kind to creatures that scare me (see: sharks, snakes, spiders), I was excited to pick up this book and see sharks through a shark scientist's eyes. I mean, what better way to appreciate sharks than hear about them from a shark expert?

But Graham's love of and study of sharks is not without obstacles. The field is white male dominated, and she explains how labs, conferences, and other organizations often express a resistance to change (i.e., diversity). At every step, Graham meets a challenge head-on, finding new and exciting ways to get her job done. I love how she emphasized the importance of diverse thinking and how such open-mindedness leads to innovation. Her experiences as a researcher -- and the #BlackInNature hashtag -- pushed her to found MISS, or Minorities in Shark Sciences, with four other Black women.

This memoir is interesting, compelling, and entirely my kind of book, so I enjoyed every second. Graham also writes in such an accessible way: I can tell she knows a lot about her field (obviously!), but she makes some unfamiliar topics (like phylogeny) much easier for me to understand and follow. While I do wish certain topics were a bit more explored, and would've loved more shark facts, this was a great little memoir, and I cannot wait to recommend it for my work's book club once it's published in July.

Thank you NetGalley & Pantheon for the eARC!

I'm not sure there's a better way to begin a review of Jasmin Graham's "Sharks Don't Sink: Adventures of a Rogue Shark Scientist" than to enthusiastically recommend that the folks behind Shark Week snag up this enthusiastic, energized shark devotee for the next season of Shark Week.

I'm quite serious. Whether or not you resonate with Graham's passion for sharks, you'll most assuredly get caught up in her enthusiasm and spirited advocacy for one of nature's most misunderstood animals.

Graham is a marine biologist and co-founder of Minorities in Shark Sciences (MISS). "Sharks Don't Sink" is part exploration of Graham's work as a marine biologist and part life-affirming memoir about how this young Black scientist has grown to flourish by placing herself outside the traditional confines of academia.

If you're expecting a straightforward exploration of the world of sharks, "Sharks Don't Sink" may be a tad disappointing as it's as much memoir as it is a journey through the world of sharks. Don't get me wrong. Graham's knowledge of sharks is impressive and her enthusiasm absolutely engaging, however, a good amount of "Sharks Don't Sink" also covers Graham's struggle in the often older white world of shark experts and her conflicts with particular expert she not so affectionately refers to as Dr. Minion.

She might have some unresolved issues there.

Joining with three other Black women, Graham formed MISS, an organization dedicated to providing support and opportunities for other young women of color pursuing the world of marine studies. She dedicated herself as a "rogue scientist," an independent researcher who has still managed to grow impressively in the field.

"Sharks Don't Sink" is a rich, informative, and incredibly moving memoir that delves into social justice along with marine studies. Graham's exploration of how we can learn to respect and protect some of nature's most misunderstood creatures becomes, in turn, a guide to how we can embrace with grace those who are different from us and those who bring different gifts to the table.

Graham writes with an engaging honesty and relentless enthusiasm. It's an enthusiasm that keeps you immersed in her world even when she's using language you may not completely understand. I was captivated. You'll be captivated. Easily one of early 2024's most unexpected joys, "Sharks Don't Sink" is destined to be one of my favorites this year.