The Woman in the Moon: How Margaret Hamilton Helped Fly the First Astronauts to the Moon. Richard Maurer. 2023. 272 pages. [Source: Library] [Link to cover image] [middle grade; young adult]
First sentence: One evening in the late 1950s, Massachusetts senator John F. Kennedy and his brother Robert were enjoying a relaxing dinner with their companion, a brilliant, eccentric inventor named Charles Stark "Doc" Draper.
Premise/plot: The Woman in the Moon by Richard Maurer is a biography of Margaret Hamilton, a mathematician who 'helped fly the first astronauts to the moon.' That is the sum of it; Margaret Hamilton wrote computer codes--routines and subroutines, the software that was integral to the space program.
My thoughts: When I saw the cover (linked above), I initially thought I was committing to a smaller book--not physically smaller--but a picture book. This is a biography for upper elementary OR middle school OR possibly high school. I think it is not so much the complexity of the subject matter that determines the ideal audience as it is the interest level of the reader. In other words, the more you are interested in math, science, history--the space race--the better this one will "read." If you have zero interest in the subject, then chances are you'll find it 'dull' and 'dry.'
I do have an interest in history and the space race. I just don't have an interest in math and science. I found this to be a little too technical for me. Reading is subjective and if my mind was wired differently--to appreciate more technical sciences--then perhaps I would have found it fascinating. It is not the fault of the author.
My favorite bits were the sections that focused on her personal life.
© 2023 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews
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