Title: Becoming Myself: Reflections on Growing Up FemaleAuthor: Willa Shalit
ISBN: 1-4013-01139-8
Recommended Grade Level of Reader: 9th and Up
Publisher: Hyperion
Media Type: Book
Copyright: 2006
Genre: Non-Fiction
Reader's Annotation: It’s hard growing up female, but somebody has to do it. Stories, insights, and lessons from women who know.
Plot Summary: Becoming Myself is a collection of short stories written by famous women about growing up female. The premise, as Willa Shalit states in the introduction, is that the women write about significant memories from growing up. While some of the writers focus on a specific memory, it seems that each memory relates to an important issue relating to women. Kate Winslet's story, for example, deals with the issue of body image. A few of the women are more prominent figures in popular media such as Jamie-Lynn Sigler and Julie Stiles. Many of the lesser known individuals like Taina Bien-Aime and Ma Jaya, however, discuss relevant issues and present insightful ideas.
Evaluation: (B) Many of the stories were relevant to my life or at least provided meaningful insight. Not all of the stories, however, were entertaining or particularly significant. It seemed as if some of the celebrities were included in order to provide for diversity in ages, specifically younger 20-something women, which resulted in somewhat shallow, irrelevant, or uninspiring passages. Overall, the book provided inspiration and encouragement for overcoming common issues faced by women.
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