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Boundless
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. Scholastic Focus is the premier home of thoroughly researched, beautifully written, and thoughtfully designed works of narrative nonfiction aimed at middle-grade and young adult readers. These books help readers learn about the world in which they live and develop their critical thinking skills so that they may become dynamic citizens who are able to analyze and understand our past, participate in essential discussions about our present, and work to grow and build our future. 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 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.
240 pages, Hardcover
First published March 7, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
June 30, 2024
"Boundless" is a captivating and inspiring nonfiction biography that chronicles the journey of world champion high jumper and US Olympian, Chaunté Lowe.
Chaunté's story begins with her impoverished childhood in Paso Robles, California, where she faced numerous challenges, including food insecurity, homelessness, and witnessing domestic abuse. Despite these overwhelming obstacles, Chaunté found inspiration in the Olympic achievements of Flo Jo, which ignited her passion for running and athletics.
With the support of a small but dedicated community of friends, family, and coaches, Chaunté worked tirelessly both in the classroom and on the sports field. Her fierce determination and resilience propelled her to overcome every hurdle, ultimately leading her to the Olympic medal podium, where she won a bronze medal.
"Boundless" is a story about athletic achievement, perseverance, hope, and the power of dreaming big. Chaunté Lowe's personal narrative is filled with loss and survival, making it a moving and relatable story for anyone who has ever dared to hope for a better future.
I liked the biography for its engaging and well-written account of Chaunté Lowe's life. The memoir effectively highlights her incredible resilience and determination, making it a compelling read. While the religious aspects of her life are present, they are integrated in a way that reflects her personal experiences without being overly preachy, recognizing that faith played a significant role in her journey.
Chaunté's story begins with her impoverished childhood in Paso Robles, California, where she faced numerous challenges, including food insecurity, homelessness, and witnessing domestic abuse. Despite these overwhelming obstacles, Chaunté found inspiration in the Olympic achievements of Flo Jo, which ignited her passion for running and athletics.
With the support of a small but dedicated community of friends, family, and coaches, Chaunté worked tirelessly both in the classroom and on the sports field. Her fierce determination and resilience propelled her to overcome every hurdle, ultimately leading her to the Olympic medal podium, where she won a bronze medal.
"Boundless" is a story about athletic achievement, perseverance, hope, and the power of dreaming big. Chaunté Lowe's personal narrative is filled with loss and survival, making it a moving and relatable story for anyone who has ever dared to hope for a better future.
I liked the biography for its engaging and well-written account of Chaunté Lowe's life. The memoir effectively highlights her incredible resilience and determination, making it a compelling read. While the religious aspects of her life are present, they are integrated in a way that reflects her personal experiences without being overly preachy, recognizing that faith played a significant role in her journey.
December 12, 2022
Inspiring memoir of Olympian high jumper Chaunte Lowe. I liked her no-nonsense, go-getting approach to rise above her difficult childhood. Very straightforward but enough personal anecdotes to interest any reader.
January 12, 2023
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
In this memoir of her early life, Lowe discusses the challenges that she faced growing up in the small town of Paso Robles, California. Her mother worked hard to make ends meet, and to provide a life for Lowe and her two half sisters. When Lowe was just four, she saw Florence Griffith Joyner compete in the Olympics, and wanted to eventually acchieve that level of excellence and celebrity. She did have a few opportunities to participate in sports, but faced a series of challenges. While her mother did her best to provide for her daughters, the family was food insecure and sometimes were unhoused. A disastrous marriage left her mother injured and once again evicted from her apartment. A constant in Lowe's life was her paternal grandmother, who took her on various outings and stepped in when she needed a stable living environment. Once Lowe didn't have to worry about food or a bed to sleep in, she was able to work on her athletics in middle school, excelling at several different track events, but especially the high jump. She worked hard in school, volunteered at a local rec center, and got a paying job in order to earn money so that she could be on sports teams as soon as she was able to. Her goal was to get a college scholarship so that she could get an education and have different opportunities as an adult. She managed to do this, and was a member of the 2004 Olympic team.
Strengths: At the beginning of the calendar year, the library lesson often involves talking to students about goal setting. It's alarming how many student never examine their purpose or goals in order to make progress on them. They don't even seem to think that they need to turn in classwork! Lowe is a positive example of having goals early on and working toward them despite significant obstacles. Lowe is frank about issues like having tattered clothing, having to visit the local food pantry, and feeling awkward about getting free lunch at school, although hunger was a frequent problem for her. She does describe a supportive network of friends and family who tried to help, and focuses on her education as a path to a better future. This is a great message that many of my students need to hear.
Weaknesses: I wish this had been a bit more focused in its approach, and had ended with more information about Lowe's career. I doubt that any of my students will have heard of her, since they were not born in 2004.
What I really think: The teachers at my school have been asking students to do more with memoirs, and sports figures are always a popular choice. This investigates issues surrounding poverty but also emphasizes Lowe's resiliency in a way similar Wilson's Brown Girl Dreaming, Ogle's Free Lunch, Johnson's Reaching for the Moon, and Noah's Born a Crime.
In this memoir of her early life, Lowe discusses the challenges that she faced growing up in the small town of Paso Robles, California. Her mother worked hard to make ends meet, and to provide a life for Lowe and her two half sisters. When Lowe was just four, she saw Florence Griffith Joyner compete in the Olympics, and wanted to eventually acchieve that level of excellence and celebrity. She did have a few opportunities to participate in sports, but faced a series of challenges. While her mother did her best to provide for her daughters, the family was food insecure and sometimes were unhoused. A disastrous marriage left her mother injured and once again evicted from her apartment. A constant in Lowe's life was her paternal grandmother, who took her on various outings and stepped in when she needed a stable living environment. Once Lowe didn't have to worry about food or a bed to sleep in, she was able to work on her athletics in middle school, excelling at several different track events, but especially the high jump. She worked hard in school, volunteered at a local rec center, and got a paying job in order to earn money so that she could be on sports teams as soon as she was able to. Her goal was to get a college scholarship so that she could get an education and have different opportunities as an adult. She managed to do this, and was a member of the 2004 Olympic team.
Strengths: At the beginning of the calendar year, the library lesson often involves talking to students about goal setting. It's alarming how many student never examine their purpose or goals in order to make progress on them. They don't even seem to think that they need to turn in classwork! Lowe is a positive example of having goals early on and working toward them despite significant obstacles. Lowe is frank about issues like having tattered clothing, having to visit the local food pantry, and feeling awkward about getting free lunch at school, although hunger was a frequent problem for her. She does describe a supportive network of friends and family who tried to help, and focuses on her education as a path to a better future. This is a great message that many of my students need to hear.
Weaknesses: I wish this had been a bit more focused in its approach, and had ended with more information about Lowe's career. I doubt that any of my students will have heard of her, since they were not born in 2004.
What I really think: The teachers at my school have been asking students to do more with memoirs, and sports figures are always a popular choice. This investigates issues surrounding poverty but also emphasizes Lowe's resiliency in a way similar Wilson's Brown Girl Dreaming, Ogle's Free Lunch, Johnson's Reaching for the Moon, and Noah's Born a Crime.
September 17, 2024
This story that would be perfect for a middle schooler or high schooler is a focused, brief autobiography of Lowe who experienced poverty and a disrupted upbringing but kept her eye on excelling in track and field, saying to herself when she was very young that she wanted to be an Olympian after seeing FloJo on the screen.
Her mom tried to care for the family but it ultimately meant she moved to a few other family members' homes before living with her grandmother and taking advantage of opportunities to do track in California away from her mother. Her laser-like focus meant she wanted to get a track scholarship and succeed in the sport while studying hard and being surrounded by the love that she gave and was given back to her. Her positive outlook didn't fail her even in the darker times.
Page 26 when she meets her grandmother: "Driving the point further home, the woman pointed at me yet again and said, "I know my family, and that little girl right there is my granddaughter." Feeling that this woman was deeply mistaken, I waited for my mom to correct her. Then to my shock, my mom said, "Yes, Mrs. Booker, I think she is."
"All the happiness of new love faded when he began to drink heavily and started beating her. The last time he used her as his punching bag was so brutal that he left her bleeding with a fractured skull and spiraling into a deep depression."
"Mrs. Yarborough," I said. "Does it have to be creative writing? can I write a nonfiction story?" Taking a minute to think about my question, she said, "Yes, if you're excited about writing it, I can't wait to read it."
Her mom tried to care for the family but it ultimately meant she moved to a few other family members' homes before living with her grandmother and taking advantage of opportunities to do track in California away from her mother. Her laser-like focus meant she wanted to get a track scholarship and succeed in the sport while studying hard and being surrounded by the love that she gave and was given back to her. Her positive outlook didn't fail her even in the darker times.
Page 26 when she meets her grandmother: "Driving the point further home, the woman pointed at me yet again and said, "I know my family, and that little girl right there is my granddaughter." Feeling that this woman was deeply mistaken, I waited for my mom to correct her. Then to my shock, my mom said, "Yes, Mrs. Booker, I think she is."
"All the happiness of new love faded when he began to drink heavily and started beating her. The last time he used her as his punching bag was so brutal that he left her bleeding with a fractured skull and spiraling into a deep depression."
"Mrs. Yarborough," I said. "Does it have to be creative writing? can I write a nonfiction story?" Taking a minute to think about my question, she said, "Yes, if you're excited about writing it, I can't wait to read it."
August 26, 2023
⭐️⭐️⭐️/5. This is a nice young readers memoir of Olympian high jumper Chaunte Lowe. Her childhood was rough, with her mother unable yo keep stable work and the family being split up or unhomed at times. From the time she met her, Chaunte’s constant was her paternal grandfather (her father was incarcerated), who helped shape her dreams of Olympic glory. A little too simplified at times, this will find readership but won’t fly off the shelves. Recommended for grades 5-7.
March 27, 2023
A very inspiring story of a young girl born in poverty whose life is altered when at the age of 4 she watched Florence Griffith Joyner win the Olympic Gold Medal. As she faces homelessness and living in a car with her mother she never lost sight of her dream. The book concludes when the author wins an Olympic Gold medal.
July 6, 2024
Boundless is an incredible memoir written by an amazing person! Chaunté overcame a very hard childhood to become an Olympian, something very few people are able to accomplish. Chaunté worked so hard to achieve her dreams, and this story will inspire young readers to set goals and work towards them!
February 20, 2023
This was a fascinating story. Chaunte Lowe's story is a heartbreaking and incredible one. However, the book was clunky, repetitive, and didn't flow. I read the ARC, so these things may have changed in the final proof.
August 21, 2024
A QUICK but POIGNANT Olympics themed READ
I read this aloud to my daughters (ages 8 and 10). We adored this story of perseverance and love. Chaunté Lowe describes the people in her childhood with such tenderness, she survived a traumatic childhood and reflects on it with such tender hope and love. There were chapters that were hard to read aloud due to the difficult topics (domestic abuse, poverty, hunger, homelessness), yet it was written for young ears, very few middle grade books can talk about serious topics in a very age appropriate way. I think kids really want to hear hard, true things without an PG rating, and this book did just that.
The author didn’t focus exclusively on the calamity of her childhood (although she completely could have) but instead highlighted how she navigated awful circumstances with high character, goal making, positive self-talk, collaboration with others, bravery, gumption and grit and shared a lot of relatable and funny stories along the way.
Chaunté Lowe is the ultimate female hero and this is an incredible book to read aloud. We chose it for our Young Ladies (ages 8-12) book club pick because of the excellent message it sends, we all have whispers of hopes in our hearts, and this is how one young woman turned these whispers into realized goals. And in celebration of the 2024 Paris Olympics, it was exactly what I was looking for in a read-aloud.
Expect to cry, keep tissues handy!
I read this aloud to my daughters (ages 8 and 10). We adored this story of perseverance and love. Chaunté Lowe describes the people in her childhood with such tenderness, she survived a traumatic childhood and reflects on it with such tender hope and love. There were chapters that were hard to read aloud due to the difficult topics (domestic abuse, poverty, hunger, homelessness), yet it was written for young ears, very few middle grade books can talk about serious topics in a very age appropriate way. I think kids really want to hear hard, true things without an PG rating, and this book did just that.
The author didn’t focus exclusively on the calamity of her childhood (although she completely could have) but instead highlighted how she navigated awful circumstances with high character, goal making, positive self-talk, collaboration with others, bravery, gumption and grit and shared a lot of relatable and funny stories along the way.
Chaunté Lowe is the ultimate female hero and this is an incredible book to read aloud. We chose it for our Young Ladies (ages 8-12) book club pick because of the excellent message it sends, we all have whispers of hopes in our hearts, and this is how one young woman turned these whispers into realized goals. And in celebration of the 2024 Paris Olympics, it was exactly what I was looking for in a read-aloud.
Expect to cry, keep tissues handy!
September 8, 2024
I have to say the only reason I didn’t give this a 5 star… is because I wanted more.. I cried when her grandma came to her event…whew.. I’ve never even heard of this young lady. But after I read this book.. I definitely did research on her!!!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 18, 2023
So good.
She really followed her dreams, even through hardships.
She really followed her dreams, even through hardships.
November 16, 2023
This older elementary/middle school targeted memoir was very inspiring!
February 29, 2024
This book had a slow start, but was very interesting. As Chaunte developed her track skills and learned how to overcome both circumstances and pain, the story became more and more interesting.
March 15, 2024
3.5 There wasn’t many times she felt like giving up, but it was a good book. I was still curious about the mom though.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews