Megan Rapinoe: Athletes Who Made a Difference

When Megan Rapinoe retired from professional soccer in 2023, she left behind one of the most extraordinary careers in the sport. Rapinoe won an Olympic gold medal, two FIFA Women’s World Cups, and the FIFA Player of the Year award. These accomplishments coincided with victories off the field as well. An advocate for LGBTQIA+ rights and equal pay for female athletes, Rapinoe inspired countless people who may not have felt welcome in professional sports. In this book, readers will follow Rapinoe’s illustrious career, from her beginnings as a promising junior athlete to her many achievements as an Olympic athlete.

Megan Rapinoe: Athletes Who Made a Difference is divided into three short chapters, and the last four pages are filled with a glossary, citations, and an index. Chapter One describes Rapinoe’s childhood, where she discovered her passion for soccer and joined her first team. Readers will learn how Rapinoe’s love for the sport persisted through numerous obstacles. Her family lived two and a half hours away from where her team practiced, and the round trip was 350 miles. Although the journey was difficult for Rapinoe and her family, her team made it to the finals of the US Youth Soccer National Championships – the first of many accomplishments for Rapinoe.

Chapter Two follows Rapinoe’s college career. In her first season with the Portland Pilots, Rapinoe scored seven game-winning goals, helping the team win the NCAA Women’s Soccer Championship. This victory led to a life-changing phone call: Rapinoe was invited to join the US Women’s Senior National Team.

Chapter Three follows Rapinoe’s professional career. At this time, Rapinoe discovered that she and many of her teammates were gay, but they hid their identities from the press and their fans. Rapinoe soon made her identity public and became an advocate for LGBTQIA+ rights. “[Coming out] can be a difficult, emotional process,” Anderson writes. “Megan hoped that coming out would set a positive example for others.”

The book is presented as a comic book, with one to three brightly colored panels per page. The characters’ dialogue appears in word balloons, but most of the information is presented through captions in the corner of the page. The information is spread over the pages, so young readers are not overwhelmed by the text. Each caption contains one to three sentences. The syntax is simple and accessible, though the book uses several soccer terms such as “cross” and “penalty kick.” Readers unfamiliar with soccer can consult the book’s glossary for the meaning of each term.

Megan Rapinoe: Athletes Who Made a Difference is a thoroughly researched introduction to a monumental figure. Casey Ella Fredrick’s kinetic illustrations of Rapinoe’s many games will excite soccer fans, but the book is a valuable read for any reader. Rapinoe’s story demonstrates to young readers the importance of standing up for what is right and speaking out when they are being treated unfairly.

Sexual Content  

• None 

Violence  

• None 

Drugs and Alcohol  

• None 

Language  

• None

Supernatural 

• None 

Spiritual Content  

• None