Boundless

by Chaunté Lowe (Author)

Reading Level: 4th − 5th Grade

World champion high jumper Chaunté Lowe pens the captivating story of her journey from an impoverished childhood full of big dreams and devastating hurdles, to becoming a bronze medal-winning US Olympian.

Everything seemed set against Chaunté Lowe. Growing up with a single mother in Paso Robles, California, where she experienced food insecurity, homelessness, and domestic abuse, Chaunté couldn't imagine a future that offered a different sort of life. But then, one day, she turned on the TV and there was Flo Jo, competing in the Olympics and shattering records in track and field. Almost immediately, Chaunté knew what she wanted to do. She started running.

With the help of a small community of friends, family, and coaches, Chaunté worked as hard as she could - both in the classroom and out on the sports field - and through her own fierce determination and grit, she overcame every imaginable obstacle, eventually propelling herself to the place she always dreamed about: the Olympic medal podium.

Boundless is a story that will move anyone who's ever had a big dream, ever dared to hope for a better future, and ever believed that nothing was impossible. In her own words, Chaunté presents her remarkable and inspiring story of loss and survival, perseverance and hope.

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Kirkus Reviews

An inspiring read for aspiring athletes and other dreamers.

Publishers Weekly

Athlete, medalist, and four-time Olympian Chaunté Lowe (b. 1984) vividly recounts her Paso Robles, Calif., childhood and arc toward the Olympics in a focused autobiography. She kicks off with an early memory of how watching Florence Griffith Joyner compete in the 1988 Seoul Olympics sparked her own early desire to become an Olympian and her subsequent focus on athletic pursuits. Forthright recollections offered in well-paced chapters detail Lowe's sibling dynamic as the youngest of three sisters, awareness of her family's financial precarity, and growing relationship with her supportive paternal grandmother, a vocalist who encourages her to embrace education and work toward a scholarship ("The life that you're living now is not the life you have to have when you grow up"). Alongside experiences of housing insecurity and witnessing her stepfather's violence, chapters distill Lowe's eventually joining a recreation track team, living with her maternal grandmother in Riverside, Calif., and her road to the 2004 U.S. Olympic high jump team. Themes of individual drive, family, and teamwork appear throughout this galvanizing memoir, whose emotionally direct telling is rooted in determination and hope. Ages 8-12. (Mar.)

Copyright 2023 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes

 

Chaunté Lowe

Chaunté Lowe is one of only two women in American history to compete on four U.S. Olympic teams, while also holding the title of "Mother of Three." Lowe has assured herself a place in history as one of, if not the most celebrated female high jumper the U.S.A. has ever seen, by breaking both the indoor and outdoor American Records and winning twelve U.S. National Championships. As a World Champion, and World Medalist, Chaunté has represented our country well. These accomplishments, integrity, philanthropy, and perseverance have earned her the honor of being inducted into four separate halls of fame. A dynamic public speaker, Chaunté artfully draws in her audience with attention-grabbing stories that both teach and inspire. Her enthusiasm for engaging her audience is infectious and leaves her listeners hanging on her every word. She is funny, relatable, and authentic. Some of her clients include: Nike, T.D. Ameritrade, Hilton, Charles Schwab, Indeed, Cox, Morgan Stanley, Wyndham, Devry, and more. Her many features include The Today Show, CNN, Sports Illustrated, New York Times, the Huffington Post; ESPN, Vogue, Glamour, OWN, N.B.C., and NPR.

Classification
Non-fiction
ISBN-13
9781338741520
Lexile Measure
950
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Scholastic Focus
Publication date
March 20, 2023
Series
-
BISAC categories
JNF007120 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Biography & Autobiography | Women
JNF019000 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Family | General
JNF007100 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Biography & Autobiography | Sports & Recreation
Library of Congress categories
United States
JUVENILE NONFICTION / Biography & Autobiograp
Jumping
Olympic athletes
JUVENILE NONFICTION / Family / General (see a
African American women track and field athlet
Lowe, Chaunte

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