Part of Penguin Workshop’s popular Who HQ series, this biography of the soccer superstar covers not only her skills and dedication on the field, but also her realization that she was gay and her advocacy for LGBTQ people and for other aspects of social justice. Unlike some biographies, it doesn’t try to downplay her queer identity—the title-page image even shows her holding a Pride flag, and one page states, “As the U.S. Women’s National Team rolled to a gold medal in the World Cup, this bold lesbian striker with a big personality and an air of fearlessness both on and off the pitch would transcend her sport to become known as an activist and a legend.” The rest of the book gives us the story of how that legend came to be.
A timeline and bibliography add to the usefulness.
This is a good biography for those ready for something a little more substantial than the picture-book biographies, but still at a reasonably easy reading level, so I’m categorizing it as both an early chapter book and a middle grade title.
