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krichardson's review against another edition
4.0
The first part of this book focusing on the author's family and life growing up was very interesting. I also appreciated her telling about the challenges that she faced as a woman in politics. The last section was a little bland, maybe because I don't particularly remember the moments that she mentions going viral.
nina_rod's review against another edition
5.0
I consider Mazie Hirono my Senator, even tho I don’t live in Hawaii anymore. She does represent me and the ideals I was raised with in Hawaii and carry today. So I feel she represents me more than anyone else, so I am allowed to claim her.
Since Trump has been elected, I’ve seen Mazie on MSNBC growing more and more feisty in her interviews. This is such a departure from her usual Japanese-Hawaii polite decorum and I would sit up and take notice, thinking Damn, girl! Tell it like it is! And she would give interviews in her sing-song local Hawaii pidgin accent that was music to my ears.
Hirono graduated at the same high school as I. I met her once when I was working at a local television station. When she found out went to Kaimuki High, she told me she graduated from there too. It wasn’t the best high school compared to private school greats such as Iolani and Punahou high school [Obama’s alma mater), so I was surprised we had gone to the same high school considering her political accomplishments. She was the Hawaii state Lieutenant Governor at the time I met her. While listening to the book, I realized we were both on the high school Bulldog newspaper staff. Yay! Although I was never the editor!
I looked forward to reading her book. But while she was on TV, I loved listening to her local Hawaii accent. So I thought it would be a real treat to listen to the audiobook which she narrates.
Her local accent really wasn’t there so much. I think she must have had coaching on how to tone down the accent because her reading sounded forced. It’s like when I first went to college and I would try to tone down the local accent so friends and classmates would understand me. I would speak how I thought average Americans would speak, with some hilarity. Hirono spoke so slowly in the book, that I had to speed up the narration.
I loved getting to know the Senator, her unique immigrant story and the unconventional way she lived her life. She didn’t marry until she was in her 40s and never had children. This is incredible for its time knowing how Hawaii is and the pressures people have to get married and/or have kids. She was really ahead of her time to buck such trends. I love that her mother never pressured her and let Mazie do her own thing. I hope I can be that supportive in my own kids’ life.
Since Trump has been elected, I’ve seen Mazie on MSNBC growing more and more feisty in her interviews. This is such a departure from her usual Japanese-Hawaii polite decorum and I would sit up and take notice, thinking Damn, girl! Tell it like it is! And she would give interviews in her sing-song local Hawaii pidgin accent that was music to my ears.
Hirono graduated at the same high school as I. I met her once when I was working at a local television station. When she found out went to Kaimuki High, she told me she graduated from there too. It wasn’t the best high school compared to private school greats such as Iolani and Punahou high school [Obama’s alma mater), so I was surprised we had gone to the same high school considering her political accomplishments. She was the Hawaii state Lieutenant Governor at the time I met her. While listening to the book, I realized we were both on the high school Bulldog newspaper staff. Yay! Although I was never the editor!
I looked forward to reading her book. But while she was on TV, I loved listening to her local Hawaii accent. So I thought it would be a real treat to listen to the audiobook which she narrates.
Her local accent really wasn’t there so much. I think she must have had coaching on how to tone down the accent because her reading sounded forced. It’s like when I first went to college and I would try to tone down the local accent so friends and classmates would understand me. I would speak how I thought average Americans would speak, with some hilarity. Hirono spoke so slowly in the book, that I had to speed up the narration.
I loved getting to know the Senator, her unique immigrant story and the unconventional way she lived her life. She didn’t marry until she was in her 40s and never had children. This is incredible for its time knowing how Hawaii is and the pressures people have to get married and/or have kids. She was really ahead of her time to buck such trends. I love that her mother never pressured her and let Mazie do her own thing. I hope I can be that supportive in my own kids’ life.
caseyulrich555's review against another edition
5.0
I found myself really engaged throughout the book. Great story about a leader I didn’t know much about. And I appreciated hearing her immigration story and life in Hawaiian politics.
deirdrelistens2books's review against another edition
5.0
An enjoyable memoir about Mazie Hirono who I essentially knew nothing about before consuming. She immigrated to the US with her mother as a child and had quite of life navigating school in Hawaii, she experienced a lot of loss, accomplishments, health problems, and demonstrated a lot of empathy in her life. She learned much about perseverance from her mother. She was in elementary school when Hawaii became a state.
Most enjoyable bits were learning about her experiences in school and her home life. The last 20% of the book is a recap of her years in the senate during the trump years which is interesting but I’m not sure she needed all that stuff because even though she witnessed it, it was all these events we already knew about so I think it could have been a tighter memoir if she took out some of those sections.
But, that’s my pickiness. She is a smart woman who has worked hard to get where she is and a glass ceiling shatterer as the first Asian American woman elected to the US Senate. Her story deserves to be known by many.
Most enjoyable bits were learning about her experiences in school and her home life. The last 20% of the book is a recap of her years in the senate during the trump years which is interesting but I’m not sure she needed all that stuff because even though she witnessed it, it was all these events we already knew about so I think it could have been a tighter memoir if she took out some of those sections.
But, that’s my pickiness. She is a smart woman who has worked hard to get where she is and a glass ceiling shatterer as the first Asian American woman elected to the US Senate. Her story deserves to be known by many.
jcharlton's review against another edition
4.0
Very enjoyable read. Her immigrant to senator story is interesting to read. I’m glad I got to know her through the book.
rebekel89's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.5