The Beloved World of Sonia Sotomayor by Sonia Sotomayor
Published by Delacorte Press on September 4th 2018
ISBN: 1524771147
Pages: 352
Goodreads

Sonia Sotomayor has adapted her adult memoir story for teen readers in The Beloved World of Sonia Sotomayor. The Supreme Court justice relates stories of growing up as part of a close-knit Puerto Rican family in the Bronx. She recounts the challenges of living with Type 1 diabetes and the tragic death of her father. Readers will be inspired by the chapters devoted to Sotomayor’s college years at Princeton and Yale Law School as well as her work in the District Attorney’s office in New York. Throughout the narrative, Sotomayor pays tribute to those who supported her along the way including her Abuelita and her mentor, Judge Joseph Cabrenes. She also describes micro-aggressions and macro-aggressions she encountered throughout high school, college, law school and in the workplace. Sotomayor’s hard work, determination ethics and civic work serve as a model for teen readers.  Unfortunately, awkward sentence structure, invented dialogue and several grammatical errors prevented it from being a Cream of the Crop contender. Several times “till” is used instead of “until,” and “I” is used as an object on page 36 instead of “me.” There is also a reference to “drunken Indians” in a college anecdote, which was problematic.

Grades 6-12

Reviewed by Cathy Potter- Falmouth Middle School, Falmouth