Part Biography, Part History, Totally Inspirational

Growing up, Maya Lin loved to spend time outside and build houses out of paper. She also loved to watch her father use clay, and she later learned how to use it to make things. Although she initially chose zoology as her college major, those loves ultimately led her to study architecture and become an architect. In her senior year at Yale University, she entered a competition to design a Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington DC. She was shocked to learn that she won the competition, and equally shocked at the criticism that followed. This was the first of several historically significant memorials and land sculptures Lin has designed. This is a biography about the life, inspiration, and achievements of Maya Lin.

BTSYA / Teen Reader (15):
There are many things I like about this book. First, it gave lots of information about Lin's most widely known monument. Before reading this book, I didn’t know about the criticism of Lin’s original design or that Lin was a student at Yale when she came up with the idea of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Similarly, I also liked learning about Lin and the backstory of her motivation to create many different memorials and structures that are famous today.

I also found the book a bit frustrating to follow. I didn't like the continuously changing time periods, moving backward and forward, but not in chronological order.  

All that said, I recommend this book to ages 11 and older because of how informative it is. I would definitely give this book to someone else.

Budding architects and artists, history lovers, and those who are always looking for inspirational stories will find themselves captivated by Maya Lin, her methods, her perseverance, and her work.

None noted.