Wild Ride: My Journey from Cancer Kid to Astronaut

by Hayley Arceneaux

A young reader’s adaptation of the story of the youngest American to ever orbit the Earth—cancer survivor Hayley Arceneaux—who shows us all that when we face our fears with hope and faith, the extraordinary is possible

“It may be hard to believe while I’m gravity-bound on my bedroom floor, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned in my time on Earth, it’s that as long as you keep saying yes, everything is possible,” says Arceneaux.

In this adaptation of her heartfelt memoir, especially inspiring for middle-grade readers, Arceneaux shares the details of her wild ride with never-before-told stories written especially for kids coming to this edition. Arceneaux not only tells readers what it was like to go to space—from training in a fighter jet to lifting off in a Dragon capsule—but she also offers stories from her things that she faced at the hospital when going through cancer treatment, what she had to overcome when she went back to school, and the courage it took to dream big dreams for her teenage and adult years.

For students navigating a time of uncertainty, and for the adults and educators who seek to offer them hope, Arceneaux’s uplifting story is one that will inspire kids for years to come. She offers wisdom and courage to anyone fighting against the odds, and shows us that dreaming is always possible.

Genres: Memoir, Space, Biography Memoir, Nonfiction, Middle Grade, Audiobook, Childrens

208 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2023

Reviews

[Audrianna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is amazing!!! I personally love it because this is my idol and plus I do fundraisers for St Jude just like her! She is an amazing person I love to read about her and just talk about her she is a very inspirational person! About this book: This book is about a girl named Hayley Arceanux and when she was 10 she got diagnosed with osteosarcoma then it talks about how she got through it. And when she got older now works there fundraises and goes to space and she talks about the journey! I love this book I would so recommend. It shows that you should have hope and NEVER GIVE UP!!

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this book in exchange for an honest review.
This young reader version of Wild Ride is such an inspiring story. It's very well told and packs a lot of information in the book. Hayley is such an amazing woman and is a great role model for kids, especially giving hope to those kids with cancer.
Exciting and enjoyable read for everyone!

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hayley Arceneaux’s memoir, Wild Ride, is an inspirational story of her journey from being diagnosed with bone cancer at age 10 to traveling to space aboard SpaceX’s rocket. She explains her cancer journey and the importance of hope and perseverance in overcoming adversity and challenges of any kind. Her life lessons are valuable to everyone.

Hayley begins the book by reminiscing when she was selected to represent St. Jude’s in a fundraising rocket launch sponsored by Jared Isaacman. Then she describes a happy early childhood with her close-knit family in Louisiana, until she experienced mysterious pain in her leg. When her mom took her to the pediatrician, she knew something was wrong and sent them to St. Jude Children’s Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. Hayley and her mom spent 11 months in Memphis, as she had multiple surgeries to remove the cancer and install a prosthesis, followed by grueling physical therapy. Hayley was so impressed by her care at St. Jude’s that she immediately became an ambassador, giving speeches to raise funds.

Hayley’s prosthesis broke and she had to return to St. Jude’s to have a second prosthesis implanted and additional rehabilitation. Subsequently Hayley had to give up her goal of becoming a cheerleader and she always was concerned about activities that could cause her prosthesis to break. Hayley focused on schoolwork so that she could return to St. Jude’s someday as a physician assistant (PA). When Hayley graduated from PA school, she was unable to get hired at St. Jude’s so she worked in an emergency room in Baton Rouge for four years.

Hayley was thrilled when she was hired at St. Jude’s and bought a house in Memphis. Shortly thereafter she learned that her father had terminal cancer. Then Hayley began astronaut training and realized that she would have to take a leave of absence from her professional job. Hayley described the astronaut training and her three fellow astronauts, whom she became close to. She detailed the three-day flight and shared stories that weren’t in the original edition.

Wild Ride is very easy-to-read, engrossing, and motivational. This Young Readers edition doesn’t contain any of the profanity that was in the original version so I highly recommend this book for readers of all ages. This book should be in every school and public library's collection. The author’s story is so inspiring and helpful to use in encouraging someone going through a challenging situation.

I received an advance review copy (ARC) from NetGalley and Convergent Books for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Sharon Dene · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book for kids to read. And as they get older they can read the longer version of it. I'm like how she told the important parts of her life in this book and how she had all this courage to go on. I think kids should read this book especially if they have cancer. It's not the end of all. They can do so much more in life. You think tragedy is a hard thing, but you learn through it and you survive through it. I think children who have cancer have a better outlook and life and more positive ways of thinking. They know it can kill them. But there's more treatment now so they can go on with their Lives. Saint Jude' Does so much for cancer research? And they are amazing because they're curing a lot of these cancers now. This girl when she had the cancer. She really wanted to work for Saint Jude. Because she really knew they cared about their patients. One amazing story how you could go back to a place you love because they cured you. I think this book is really inspirational for people who have cancer as a child and shows you how much they progressed in life.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having read and reviewed the original version of Wild Ride, I was super excited when the publisher contacted me asking if I would like an opportunity to read a new edition adapted for young readers.

This is a memoir focused on maintaining hope and happiness despite immense difficulties. I found it to be an easy-to-read and captivating overview of Hayley’s experience with childhood cancer, her journey to working for St. Jude, and her opportunity to go to space.

I think I would have loved the young readers adaptation as a kid. It really encourages empathy for what other kids might be going through (rather than a distancing pity). It also shows that it is possible to have a full and exciting life despite life-changing challenges. Plus, who doesn’t dream of being an astronaut at some point growing up?

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a digital ARC.

[Gabrielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this younger reader adaption of Wild Ride. Arceneaux made a brilliant effort to explain terms, incidents, situations, and other complexities to the younger readers, after reading Wild Ride itself I was concerned the younger readers wouldn’t understand a lot of what was happening. There were a lot of difficult terminology which I didn’t think the younger readers would understand. Arceneaux immediately put my worries at ease as I read this book. For younger readers, this book was made fun and exciting, while still addressing the scary and difficult situations which life threw at the author. This fine and perfectly achieved balanced truly made this book a perfect read for younger people. Well done Hayley for achieving this! I know younger readers will adore this book.

[Danielle Russell · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was such a good book. I am in awe of how amazingly strong Hayley Arceneaux is. Reading this book has made me want to check out the original version.

This memoir is about Hayley, a young woman who was diagnosed with bone cancer as a child. Thanks to St Jude's, she was able to get the care she needed to beat cancer. As an adult, she enjoyed getting to travel around to different countries, but then she got the opportunity of a lifetime... she was able to go on a civilian mission to SPACE.

I hadn't heard of Hayley before reading this book, but I can tell she's an incredible young woman.


Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a free digital copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.

[Cher Choi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written by 8yo boy living in nyc:

It shows clear and rich details that I can completely understand and it’s just so fun that after I read it, I got even more digged into space activity. Also, I feel like i might become a saint jude pa because I want to stop cancer so people can have a better life. Or, I might become a scientist so I can find the cure to cancer. I hate cancer, but as Hayley said, bad things may be something in a path of a good way. Also, my teacher tells me that bad things happen so you can find the good things in it. The fact that I watched the inspiration 4 mission and training on Netflix got me even MORE geared up.

Hayley, I hope you can read this.


Lots of love,
Love, Hudson

[Dana Berglund]

I no longer give star ratings to people's memoirs.
This was a very good adaptation for older kids, though I'm curious what the adult version is like. Hayley is an almost excessively optimistic person who can squeeze lemonade from any lemon. She doesn't gloss over how hard it was to have cancer as a kid, but the book is all about getting through it and finding the joy. Then she's been both lucky and privileged to have had opportunities to do amazing things... and made the most of every opportunity given. Space!

[Laurie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I saw this young author on the news yesterday and knew I had to read her story.It was a quick and fascinating memoir!
It is geared for a young reader, but it packs a punch and as an adult,I just loved this journey Haley shares.
The message is clear: "Live life for each and every moment and NEVER give up!"
Before sharing with your children, open up this magnificent memoir.
Thank you to @NetGalley and @Convergent Books for this amazing ARC and allowing me to read and provide mu own review.

[Karthika · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very inspirational. Written in easy English for young readers

[Harper · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an awesome book! I couldn't stop reading. Every day, I looked forward to reading this book. This is a really good book. I would definitely recommend this book to other people.

[Mariana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Muy padre

[Josiah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best book for space nerds 10/10 must read book of the year

[Andrea K · Rating 5 out of 5]

Too good to put into words, give this 200 star if I could, 🩷❤️🧡💛💚🩶🖤💜💙🩵🤍🤎💔❤️‍🔥❤️‍🩹💗💓💞💕💖💘💝= all the emotions I felt while reading this book. I loooooooooooooooooooooove this book period.

[TL Westlake · Rating 5 out of 5]

A truly remarkable story! I feel this story is impactful for students in middle grade and up as it speaks to perseverance and the will to push through the hard things life throws our way. I have since followed the author on social media. Students and families will find this inspirational story powerful.

[Lesli · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm thinking this would have been better if it was the original not adapted for young readers.
I wanted to like this book, I wanted to be excited to read about the first disabled person in space or the first cancer survivor in space but when I realized she was flying with SpaceX my interest waned.