Path to the Stars: My Journey from Girl Scout to Rocket Scientist—A Latina Engineer’s Odyssey from the Brownies to NASA

by Sylvia Acevedo

The inspiring memoir for young readers about a Latina rocket scientist whose early life was transformed by joining the Girl Scouts and who currently serves as CEO of the Girl Scouts of the USA.A meningitis outbreak in their underprivileged neighborhood left Sylvia Acevedo’s family forever altered. As she struggled in the aftermath of loss, young Sylvia’s life transformed when she joined the Brownies. The Girl Scouts taught her how to take control of her world and nourished her love of numbers and science.      With new confidence, Sylvia navigated shifting cultural expectations at school and at home, forging her own trail to become one of the first Latinx to graduate with a master's in engineering from Stanford University and going on to become a rocket scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.      Simultaneously available in Spanish!

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Middle Grade, Biography, Science, Childrens, Autobiography

323 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 4, 2018

Reviews

[Brina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Feliz Hispanic Heritage month in the United States. Usually I try to have a lineup ready with books across the spectrum, but many of the choices I selected this year turned out to be duds. When in doubt, I turn to the library, and the staff did a fantastic job with their display for children and teenagers. In my quest to read memoirs about Americans from all walks of life, Path to the Stars by Girl Scout CEO Sylvia Acevedo jumped out at me. With an illustrated cover featuring a girl in a Girl Scout uniform using a telescope to reach from the stars, I knew that this memoir aimed at middle grade readers was one that I had to read.

Sylvia Acevedo was born in 1957 in South Dakota while her father was stationed at an army base there. Her family was the only Hispanic family in the area, and her parents soon grew homesick for their families and culture. As soon as her father’s army tour of duty ended, the Acevedos moved to Las Cruces, New Mexico, at the time a rural outpost in between El Paso and the middle of nowhere. The town was divided into Hispanic and Anglo sections, and in a separate but equal environment, it was apparent that the Anglo families received better services across the board. Following an illness to Sylvia’s younger sister Laura, her mother was devastated and wanted to change the family’s surroundings, moving them to the Anglo side of town, becoming one of few Hispanic families in their neighborhood. Yet, it was in this Anglo-centric community that Sylvia thrived and came of age.

In Hispanic culture, machismo plays a prominent role, and Señor Acevedo favored his eldest son Mario. In an era just before the women’s rights movement took off, Sylvia needed to stand out to win favor in her parents’ eyes. She found what she needed when she joined the Brownies during second grade, an organization that taught girls creativity, leadership skills, finance, and independence. Even though the Acevedos lived paycheck to paycheck, her father being passed over for a promotion, Señora Acevedo saw how important Brownies were to Sylvia and even drove her to El Paso to buy a uniform. Feeling important in her newly bought uniform, Sylvia earned as many badges as she could and thrived in the organization. Although she did not stand out in her father’s eyes, she gained valuable skills that taught her how to be self-sufficient as she grew older.

Sylvia Acevedo broke down barriers as a Hispanic and a woman during the 1970s when few people looking like her had achieved great heights. She petitioned her mother to take algebra instead of home economics, leading her to complete calculus in high school and a love of higher order math. Although petite, Sylvia played the drums in marching band and loved playing basketball, both roles her parents did not see as appropriate for girls. At the time, most girls in their close knit Hispanic community were expected to be wives and mothers. Sylvia had been saving since her days in the Brownies; she wanted to go to college and become an engineer long before women had broken down barriers in STEM fields. Yet, as she had noted many times previously, Girl Scouts had laid the foundation for her to dream big and think independently, including making plans to become a rocket scientist.

Today, Sylvia Acevedo has given back to the organization that gave her a leg up in life, serving as CEO of the Girl Scouts of America. After earning a graduate degree from Stanford University, Sylvia has worked as a rocket scientist and on the President’s commission for higher learning initiatives. Her story is one of making the most of one’s opportunities and running with them, whether as a band major, basketball player, or scientist. While this book is designed for young readers with dreams of the future, it is appropriate for adult readers who enjoy memoirs as well. After this rousing start, I hope to honor Hispanic heritage month with additional selections, but Sylvia Acevedo’s story will be a tough act to follow.

4 stars

[SundayAtDusk · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an extremely well written memoir by Sylvia Acevedo, suitable for children and teens, since it covers her life up to college. She vividly describes her childhood as a girl in a traditional Mexican-American family who did not aspire to get married and have kids. Ms. Acevedo also had no interest in having a quinceañera, much to her father’s dismay. Her relationship with her father was never that good to begin with, since he favored his sons, and was physically abusive at times towards his wife and children. He was a hard working chemist, who liked to spend his spare time reading, not interacting with his daughters. Her Mexican mother was very active in her life, very caring, and little by little asserted herself in ways that freed her bit by bit from a submissive wife’s role.

This is not a memoir stressing family problems, though. It’s a story of how recognizing and building on one’s strengths can propel a child to a promising future. Ms. Acevedo gives much credit to her successes in life to the Brownies and Girl Scouts. Being a scout taught her so many things about life, including the need to believe in oneself, and the need to plan out future events; not just showing up somewhere expecting everything to fall into place. As a teenager, she even went to a car mechanics class, because she got tired of bad things happening to the family car, since no one did any maintenance on it. It was in the Girl Scouts, too, that the author seriously started looking at the stars and towards the star for a future life that fit.

When you look at the childhood pictures in the book of Sylvia Acevedo, you can see at times fierce determination in her eyes. She was never going to be the type to sit around and let things happen in her life. She was going to make her life how she wanted her life. There’s no self-pity in this story, no self-absorption, no blaming parents for failures or unhappiness. There’s no preaching and no story dragging, either. Really, it’s wonderfully written and just glides from start to finish. It can certainly teach a child a lot about how to successfully navigate childhood; how to get involved in all sorts of activities to discover one’s interests; how to stay true to oneself; and how to be a truly caring person, without being swallowed up by family problems.

(Note: I received a free ARC of this book from Amazon Vine.)

[Lawler Bottum · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was really good and I learned so many life lessons throughout it. It was such a cool expirence learning about Sylvia's life story.

[Amber Hiles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sylvia sounds like a very driven woman, but I am much more blown away by her as a young girl. It's fascinating how we are molded by our circumstances, and even though she endured some serious hardships, pressure made diamonds instead of rubble. What an inspiring story for today's youth. You don't have to wait for someone to do it for you, you can get out there, plan, and work hard! Be prepared!

[Joan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this straight through. It was very absorbing and I loved the exposure to a culture I don’t know nearly enough about. Sylvia clearly didn’t realize it herself but she had the innate ability to push herself ahead in tasks that brought her to adult’s attention. From her first experiences in the children’s room where she said she read every book, to her preparation to build herself up physically to play the timbales, she pushed herself to excel. While her mother challenged her by things like refusing to buy Girl Scout cookies until Sylvia gave a complete rundown of all the choices in detail, which taught her more than she realized about preparation, most of the successes she had in life was her own determination and intense preparation. Her first stop, to my pleasure, was usually the library. Like her, I remember reading my Girl Scout manual all the way through, although Girl Scouts never gave me the automatic friendships it seemed to have Sylvia. I found it interesting her comment that the recipe for the cookies have changed over the years as tastes have changed. I suspect that means less butter and sugar! She became an engineer at a time very few women went into engineering. She was surprisingly frank about the way the Latino culture as represented by her father, devalued women. While she had many run-ins with her father, you could feel the pleasure it gave her that her father would boast about her later in life. Recommended for girls and Hispanics but really, anyone.

[Xin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Random book on the children’s bio shelf I am planning to start doing from A to Z.

It is nice to read a book intended for children once in a while, as it instills hope and dream about the world. Acevedo’s life story is truly inspiring. Growing up as a Mexican American, her love for books and science led her to a non-traditional path of becoming a rocket scientist in a era where few women, white or colored, did anything other than homemaking. Of course as she talked about in the book, her heritage and involvement with girl scout all played an important part in who she became.

As a father of a girl myself, It was touching reading towards the end when she talks about her father, who never had high expectation of girls in her family, would pridefully tell people about her daughter who completed graduate degree from Stanford. Acevedo made all fathers proud.

While this was an enjoyable read, I feel like the book was a bit sugarcoated even for children. While it’s true your dreams and hard work is what matters the most, I wish the author discussed a bit more in depth about her adversities, because I don’t believe everything just magically worked out, especially as a minority during that era. Racism and discrimination against women are still very real today, and I think the book could also helped minority children a bit more by creating resiliency.

[Avery Swanstrom · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved it!

[Colleen Roussel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This autobiography of Sylvia Acevedo is such an inspiration, filled with the challenges of growing up in New Mexico in the 1960s. At an early age, Sylvia realized that her interests were not the same as what was expected of a young girl at that time. She grew up with a close family, extended family, church family, and fellow Mexican-Americans. Sylvia's culture expected young girls to grow up and marry taking care of the house and children, but her heart was not into that way of life for herself, she wanted adventures. Sylvia was introduced to the Girl Scouts at a young age, and it changed her life. Sylvia learned life skills that built her confidence and self-efficacy as she pursued higher education. She continued to push through every challenge that she was faced with to become an industrial engineer. This is a great book of inspiration for children of all ages. Challenges are everywhere but it is the creativity of a person’s heart that helps guide them to their true path in life.

[Brittany · Rating 4 out of 5]

An incredible book, an incredible role model with so much to teach the generation ahead. From Head Start, to Girl Scouts, to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory - her practical, down-to-earth memories make you feel like you, instinctively, share in each step of her journey, even though the story is quite uniquely hers. BEAUTIFUL, must have. great for book clubs!

[Elsie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great YA bio - cultural and female empowerment. Well-written and logical progression explaining how choices made in her youth led to her career and her current position as CEO of the Girl Scouts of the USA. This was another preview copy I picked up at TLA and I will be purchasing it for my library. I already have several patrons in mind to whom I will be recommending it.

[Jennifer Mangler · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really loved how Acevedo wrote about her childhood. There was so much vivid detail and it really came to life. I wish there had been more about her high school and college years, and I'd really like to know more about her career. I rarely think that a book needs more, but this one does.

[Flannery · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars
My friend was reading this on a trip so I decided to try it out and I'm glad I did

[Avery Eldeen]

I think that this book shows that you can achieve your goals no matter what.

[Eva Cano]

Amazing book over all, I HATE the dad :)

[London Moon · Rating 4 out of 5]

it was a sad book especially when her parents got into fights and because they were treated very differently.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I checked out this book because it came up in the library's catalog when I tried searching for and requesting a book by the Sylvia Acevedo in my SCBWI chapter. When I brought it home and took a good look at it, I was very surprised by the photos on the back cover, the one of her in the 1960s era Brownie Girl Scout uniform and the more recent one, because the Sylva Acevedo I know never told me she was a rocket scientist, she doesn't look like either picture, and she isn't old enough to have been a Brownie in the 1960s. Who knew there were multiple Sylvia Acevedos writing books for young people?

Because Path to the Stars proved to be the "wrong" book, I almost didn't read it. But I'm very glad I did. It wasn't until I opened it and saw the spacing between lines that I even realized it was written for children. It's a wonderful vehicle for any young person, especially a girl, and extraspecially a Latina, about the possibility of achieving one's potential, given enough courage and the right opportunities.

This remarkable woman, who I had never heard of before (well, I had heard of another Sylvia Acevedo) overcame considerable odds, such as a family of modest means, including a mother who had virtually no formal education and spoke no English and a father who was--well, let's just say he was a less than perfect father; although he was a well-read and educated scientist, he had very old-fashioned ideas about a woman's proper place in society. He believed women should do no more than marry, keep house, care for children, and leave all the driving to their husbands. But Sylvia, who loves math and science, refused to take home economics in seventh grade, learned how to keep an automobile engine in good repair, refused to have a quinceanera, aspired to play basketball, insisted on playing drums in her high school marching band, and decided in fourth grade that she was going to go to Stanford University. She also indirectly led her mother and younger sister to develop some important new skills and grow as people. And this was all because a second grade classmate invited her to a Brownie meeting. Through Girl Scouts, attending troop meetings, participating in activities, camping, earning badges, selling cookies, and making sit-upons, Sylvia learned to discipline and order her life, plan ahead for problems, and set and achieve longtime goals. Not only did she become a stronger person, but she even managed to improve the effectiveness of her entire family. I had to check the verso of the title page to make sure the Girl Scouts organization had no part in publishing the book.

I loved the way Acevedo explains the world of the 1960s to children. In those days, telephones were attached by cords to the walls, television programs could only be seen at the time they were broadcast, computers took up entire rooms, the library was our Internet and human librarians were our Google. As a former Girl Scout, I enjoyed reading the descriptions of my old handbook and the references to the Promise and Laws I memorized years ago, before those Laws were revised. I particularly loved the poignant scene where Sylvia's father, who normally avoided much interaction with her, took her into the bathroom and taught her, in front of the mirror, how to tie her Brownie uniform's orange tie. "I thought we would be done once I'd knotted the tie to my father's satisfaction, but I was wrong. My father had been a commissioned officer in the United States Army, and he took my uniform seriously. He told me I had to be worthy of it, to keep it looking sharp. Was I ready to honor this uniform? In answer, I held up my hand in the two-fingered [Brownie] Girl Scout salute."

I found this a deeply satisfying book and would recommend it to readers young and old.

[Suzanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anyone who has ever dreamed of accomplishing something important will empathize with Sylvia's life story. Her memoir covers her life from her time before she started school to her work at JPL. The growth of her skills in mathematics began at the same time as her first lessons in English, which her mother arranged for her before she started school. Details about her life (in school and out), show a girl who learned from every experience. She learned to excel in class, to balance the expectations of her parents with their traditional upbringing and what she wanted for herself, and to work toward her goals. Her participation in the Girl Scouts taught her important skills like budgeting, planning, and organization.

Changes over time in gender roles, treatment of minority groups, and other social standards show up in the vignettes from Sylvia's years in school and college. The modified basketball rules for female players is one example; the reluctance of the band director to let her play the timbales is another. Each time she met an obstacle, whether it was her father's demand that she save up $5 before getting a library card (in case she damaged a book), or building up the muscles to carry those drums, Sylvia found a way to succeed.

Personally, even though I am not from the same ethnic background as Sylvia, I identified with so many of the situations she described in this memoir. The drive to attend college, the interest in math and science (even though they were not considered girly subjects), even making new friends in the Brownies was very familiar. And when she talked about reading every biography in her school library and looking up to the famous women she discovered in those books, I nearly jumped out of my seat because I had done the same thing. During fourth grade I read every single book in that Childhoods of Famous Americans series!

This is a wonderful book for anyone interested in biographies/memoirs of successful women and LatinX individuals. Girl Scouts and STEM are also valuable topics that run throughout the story. Sylvia's math and organization skills helped her reach her goals of college, a career in industrial engineering, and the opportunity to work on the Solar Polar Solar Probe and the Voyager mission. Highly recommended for middle grades and up.

I read an advance copy provided by the publisher for review purposes.

[Christina Getrost · Rating 4 out of 5]

Terrific middle school-level biography. Acevedo was one of the first Latinx (and women) to get a masters degree in engineering from Stanford University. She was a rocket scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, worked for the Obama administration, and became CEO of the Girl Scouts USA. She tells of her childhood in New Mexico with Mexican immigrant parents (both became US citizens), getting help from joining Head Start, how much she loved math, how the sudden illness of her younger sister severely affected the family. Ever a tomboy, playing drums and basketball, she joined Girl Scouts as a Brownie and it taught her many things, including how to plan ahead--her father was never a "handyman," he was a nerdy chemist who neglected things like basic car maintenance, so after a harrowing cross country trip to the 1968 Mexico Olympics when their car died on the way, she took a class in auto mechanics (in 8th grade!) so that she could maintain their car. Girl power! Her story is one of inspiration, perseverance, love of family, cultural conflict, and learning self-confidence. Good book to hand to young girls looking for inspiration.

[Marines Lopez · Rating 5 out of 5]

La historia es sobre una ingeniería astronáutica y la directora de las Girl Scouts estados unidos, ella se llama Silvia y ella cuenta básicamente su historia de vida y es muy interesante porque cuenta que ella era una niña diferente porque en esa época las mujeres se casaban y se convierten en amas de casa pero ella quería ir a la universidad y ser una ingeniera. También cuenta de cómo descubrió las Girl Scouts y también todos los problemas que tiene en su vida. En la historia no hubo plot twists y creo que eso es porque es una historia de vida entonces no hay tantos plot twists. Los personajes principales de la historia son la familia de Sylvia o sea Sylvia, Mario, Laura, Armando, su mamá y su papá. Sylvia es ella, Mario es su hermano mayor, Laura es su hermanita pequeña, Armando es su hermano pequeño, ahh y casi me olvido de Fito que es su perrito. Yo creo que la parte más importante del libro es cuando Sylvia se convierte en Girl Scout y cuando va a la universidad Stanford. Yo creo que este libro me ayudó a que me gustara leer porque este libro ya lo habia leido pero no le había hecho review y ahora que lo leí por segunda vez me di cuenta de que este libro me hizo disfrutar mucho más la lectura. Yo creo que el estilo de la autora es muy detallista porque lo cuenta muy detallista porque la autora es Sylvia entonces puede explicar todo muy bien porque fue su vida. Y la voz de la autora creo que sabe cuando tiene que escribir algo chistoso y cuando la historia está más seria y tiene que escribir mucho más seria. Yo creo que le recomendaría este libro a Xime porque creo que a ella le gustan las historias de vida.

[Alexa Hamilton · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sylvia Acevedo gives an extremely detailed look at her life, starting from when she was very young. It is easy to follow writing, with a lot of discussion of her family background and the choices that her parents make for her for many years. Eventually, she joins the Brownies and it changes her life. She learns that she can control parts of her life that her parents don't--save money, fix the car, make plans and keep them. While Sylvia loves her parents, she wants to do better than them.

There is a huge amount about her relationship with her parents here, especially her father who is very set in his ways about how boys and girls should act. She points out often that is was a different time and "it was just the way things were," although it's also abundantly clear that she hated the way things were and she actually made changes for herself to get the life she wanted. She decided not to take home ec in junior high, even though it was essentially required for all girls. She studied math and science, she became an engineer.

I think Sylvia's story is incredibly important, and I'm so glad that it is being published simultaneously in Spanish. But I wish there was a little less about her early, pre-school years and more about her teen/college years, and a little bit more emotion and discussion of the fact that the way things were wasn't always what was best. You get that in the end, but it takes a long time.

[Vicki Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very inspirational.

[Christi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a compelling and amazing memoir. I totally recommend it!

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a personable, well-written story that covers a lot of ground. Little Sylvia feels alone when her family moves away from their home on a dirt road in a Hispanic area to a mostly Anglo area. When a classmate asks her to go to a Brownie scout meeting, she finds acceptance and support and a wide world of opportunities. I loved how the troop leaders also helped Sylvia's mother bloom. Syvia has to deal with poverty, home troubles, and traditional cultural expectations for Hispanic women, but with the practical life skills learned from scouting and the encouragement of her mother, teachers, and scout leaders she becomes ready to blast off to her dreams. I especially loved the last few chapters of how she goes to college and works at jobs where she is the only woman. This book is important for girls, but boys can learn and be inspired from it, too. This is a remarkable story for anyone.

[Ina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think the reason I can only give this book three stars is that there was too much time spent on her early life as a poor immigrant girl growing up in a border town. While the story was well written and, of course, we want to know about the beginning of the author's journey, this story felt unbalanced. I craved more about the middle part of her journey, her college triumphs and struggles and getting her first job. While I looked forward to her early connection with Girl Scouts, the events she describes feel glossed over and I was hoping for a more emotional connection to the importance of those early years as a Girl Scout. Yes, being a girl scout opened her eyes to many things and changed her life, but I found the story just a little flat and was hoping for more.

[Maryna Lysun · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is very interesting how the author was obsessed with being in charge of the situation as a kid. I think this feature enabled her tremendous success. I noticed that the book focuses on everyone who encouraged or helped Sylvia. I did not see any radical discrimination in the book.
I wonder what her dad thought about the book. His character is really weak in the book. On one hand, he cannot do anything right. At the same time, he wins suits against American government. It just doesn't add up.
Also, I'm very impressed with her mom. She is even more interesting than Sylvia. Her growth over the years is remarkable.

[Cat · Rating 5 out of 5]

So inspirational! I was a Girl Scout leader for 5 years- Juniors and Cadetes- and can say all of my girls, now all long grown up (daughter included) have done pretty well in their lives, too! I think Ms. Acevedo's book should be on every shelf to inspire more girls to purse their dreams and interests. Girl Scouts has always offered so many opportunities for girls who may not always have options or exposure to ideas. Schools and family can only do so much. It's always nice to find positive role models who were also Girl Scouts! I hope some Scout troops find this book and maybe talk it up to their girls! Great book!

I received a Kindle ARC in exchange for a fair review from Netgalley.

[Sharon Tyler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Path to the Stars: My Journey from Girl Scout to Rocket Scientist by Sylvia Acevedo is a memoir for young readers about a Latina rocket scientist whose early life was transformed by joining the Girl Scouts and who currently serves as CEO of the Girl Scouts of the USA. A meningitis outbreak in their underprivileged neighborhood left Sylvia Acevedo’s family forever altered. As she struggled in the aftermath of loss, young Sylvia’s life transformed when she joined the Brownies. The Girl Scouts taught her how to take control of her world and nourished her love of numbers and science. With new confidence, Sylvia navigated shifting cultural expectations at school and at home, forging her own trail to become one of the first Latinx to graduate with a master's in engineering from Stanford University and going on to become a rocket scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Path to the Stars is a memoir that talks about family problems, and other issues that Sylvia faced in her life, but does not focus on them. Nor does it have a bragging tone to it, which sometimes happens. Insted, this is an honest and straightforward story of one person's life and how hard work and encouragement can make a difference. I was a Girl Scout myself, so I was very interested to see how something that played a role in my own life affected someone else, particularly someone with such amazing accomplishments. I was not disappointed with this read in any way. I liked the honest way she shared her childhood, laying no blame on her parents but sharing the way their family life and particularly her father's beliefs affected her. I liked seeing how she worked for changes in her own life, and her own future, that varied from the beliefs that she did not agree with. A good deal of the book focuses on those formative years, which makes sense since this book is aimed at the middle grade market, but I would love to see a later book for young adults, and new adults, that focuses more on the college years and later. I also have to say that I liked her not to the readers at the end of the book, and the information about the Girl Scouts that she included afterword. I also like the pictures that she included.

Path to the Stars is a wonderful memoir for middle grade readers, and everyone else.

[Río · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

I enjoyed reading this book and learning about Sylvia Acevedo's childhood. A big part of the lower rating is that the story is not really about her "journey from girl scout to rocket scientist" as the tagline states. Sylvia shares about her childhood in a clear, smooth flow that is easy to read, but she does not become a girl scout until halfway through the book and only briefly discusses some of her advanced education at the end of the book.

This book quietly brings up racism, addresses sexism that Sylvia experienced in her family, and how she loved math from an early age, which ultimately propelled her into rocket science. While not explicitly about these topics, it is clear that Sylvia faced a lot of challenges in her pursuit of knowledge.

The first half of the book is about the setting into which Sylvia was born and the formative events of her early years that shaped the trajectory of her life.
The second half of the book, after she actually joined girl scouts, Sylvia frequently references back to the skills she learned in the organization (confidence, attention to details, working hard, etc.). The story ended with notes about Sylvia's experience of getting into college and pursuing higher education, in addition to sharing more examples of sexism and racism she encountered there. One downside of the portion relating to her time working with rocket science was a bit rushed, as though she had a page limit and had already used up her words talking about her childhood.

To be clear, this is not a bad book. I enjoyed the stories, it is just not as much about girl scouts and rocket science as it is about learning to live amidst two cultures, the impact of one's early environment, and the challenges of pursuing education as a female. While not what I expected, I still enjoyed this book and would recommend it to others learning about successful latinx people. It is interesting to hear about the many little experiences she had and how they helped to prepare her for her future.

[Cindy Hudson · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a young girl growing up in Las Cruces, New Mexico, Sylvia Acevedo pushed back on social and cultural norms that told her a girl could only grow up to be a wife and mother. She liked math, and she liked figuring things out, which helped her do well in school.

After Acevedo became a Girl Scout and started earning badges, she began to realize that she could learn to do anything she was interested in. Her personal drive, as well as her curiosity, led her to bring more stability and planning to her home even though her parents weren’t good at those things. As she set her sights on college, Acevedo knew she would have to earn multiple scholarships to make college, and then graduate school, possible.

Acevedo talks about her experience growing up bilingual and poor in New Mexico, and how she eventually earned college degrees, became a rocket scientist, then went on to lead the Girl Scouts of America in her memoir Path to the Stars: My Journey from Girl Scout to Rocket Scientist. It’s an interesting story that I expect will inspire girls to dream big and learn how to reach their goals.

I particularly like Acevedo’s linking of earning Girl Scout badges, which meant she had to break down what she wanted to achieve into doable steps, to her ultimate realization that she could approach anything she wanted in life that way. It’s a lesson that can resonate at any age.

I recommend Path to the Stars for readers aged 10 to 14.

The publisher provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

[TammyJo Eckhart · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was interested in this book because I used to be a Girl Scout. My journey was different that Acevedo because of our locations and family ethnicities but we both grew up in homes where parents didn't plan well for the future and frankly didn't have much to begin with. I appreciated that this book gave us her family background but to blunt: the Girl Scouts really needed to enter the biography sooner and be a focus longer.

Acevedo touches upon some cultural, economic, and domestic realities that are may be hard for some people to read. There were moments when I wanted to say "Move on" and then moments where I wanted to say "Wait, you need to dig into that more deeply." Perhaps because the tone and language of the book are more geared toward children, tweens, and possibly teens, this affected the topic and the time spent on them but some of these events will sadly impact her readers. Lingering on issues of domestic violence for example might encourage girls (and boys) to step forward while the chapters about her younger sister's illness seemed to drag.

I made it to Cadettes and then our troop simply disappeared after a year because there were only two of us interested in continuing but not enough to drive to the nearest surviving troop. So I was very pleased to read that current CEO of the Girl Scouts went through a similar event in her life. I wasn't a failure because we couldn't keep enough others interested fi the CEO also couldn't claim the highest ranks of the organization as a girl.

Over all I just wanted more focus on scouting and how it impacted her.