Finding Wonders by Jeannine Atkins – Mini Spoiler Free Review

Title: Finding Wonders: Three Girls Who Changed Science
Author: Jeannine Atkins
Genre: Middle Grade Historical Biography (Written in Verse)
Publication Date: November 1st, 2016
Pages: 208 (Hardcover
Publishers: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Rating:

A novel in verse about three girls in three different time periods who grew up to become groundbreaking scientists.

Maria Merian was sure that caterpillars were not wicked things born from mud, as most people of her time believed. Through careful observation she discovered the truth about metamorphosis and documented her findings in gorgeous paintings of the life cycles of insects.

More than a century later, Mary Anning helped her father collect stone sea creatures from the cliffs in southwest England. To him they were merely a source of income, but to Mary they held a stronger fascination. Intrepid and patient, she eventually discovered fossils that would change people’s vision of the past.

Across the ocean, Maria Mitchell helped her mapmaker father in the whaling village of Nantucket. At night they explored the starry sky through his telescope. Maria longed to discover a new comet—and after years of studying the night sky, she finally did.

So this review won’t be the same as my usual reviews because this isn’t a normal book. I’m not going to talk about the characters besides saying that they are all awesome women who were brave and made a difference in science. I’m also not going to talk about the plot like usual as I don’t do that for books that are about things that really happened, I’m not going to judge someone’s life, that’s just off to me.

This is the first book that I have ever read that was in Verse and I really enjoyed it. It made it a really quick and easy read. At the end of the book, the author explains that she took the facts of what happened in each girls life and then just filled in the gaps that weren’t recorded in history and I really enjoyed this. I love learning things but at the same time, I’m not going to sit down and read a text book or something like that, so reading it this way was great! I got to learn about some amazing girls and their lives but at the same time, it felt like a fiction novel.

I’m pretty sure this book is counted as middle grade as well so that also added to the ease of reading the book as all the terms that were used were easy to understand. As the girls in the book were around 15 at the time, there were never any scientific terms that I have no idea of the meaning of. So I also enjoyed that as I have read some Sci-Fi books and had no idea what I was reading as I haven’t done any scientific studies higher than High School Biology, so I only know the basics.

I also enjoyed the slight hints that the author added to slightly link the books together in the first story I didn’t notice this, but in the second one there were little hints of moths and then in the third, there were little parts talking about painting moths & fossils. Those little touches were fun.

And just to add something from my normal reviews, I really like the cover! It is gorgeous and I also love the colours of the hardback itself, I love the combination of the bright pale green & dark blue!

I highly recommend this book! It is a quick easy read and you get to learn something at the same time! It’s beautifully written and about some amazing girls!

HAVE YOU READ THIS BOOK? WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON IT?!
IF YOU ARE GOING TO SHARE SPOILERS IN THE COMMENTS THEN PLEASE WARN IT SO OTHERS DON’T GET SPOILED!

FACEBOOK    /    TWITTER    /    PINTEREST    /    INSTAGRAM  / GOODREADS / LITSY: DUSKANGELREADS

ALSO, DON’T FORGET MY GIVEAWAY IS STILL GOING ON! JUST CLICK THE PIC OR HERE TO GET TO THE GIVEAWAY POST TO FIND OUT HOW TO WIN A PAPERBACK OF ONE OF THE PICTURED BOOKS!