Reviews for Sixteen Years in Sixteen Seconds: The Sammy Lee Story

The average rating for Sixteen Years in Sixteen Seconds: The Sammy Lee Story based on 2 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2020-09-19 00:00:00 Shanon Oneill This inspirational biography is about Sammy Lee, a Korean American living in California in a time where discrimination against minorities was prevalent in many public spaces. Sammy Lee finds a passion in diving and although he is only allowed at the pool on certain days because of his skin color, he remains determined to pursue his passion. The story narrates the struggles Sammy Lee faces in both balancing his own passions with his parent's expectations and the racial discrimination he must overcome as he pursues his goal to be an Olympic diver. A quote from his father, "In America, you can achieve anything if you set your heart to it" becomes a significant source of encouragement as he is perpetually met with challenging obstacles. This book's portrayal of Lee's perseverance, passion, and resilience through it all is nothing short of inspiring. Paula Yoo uses Lee's story to tell the story of how racism in the U.S. not only affected the African American community, but also the Asian American community. In the end, Sammy Lee's determination to succeed leads to his title of first Asian American to win an Olympic medal. He not only achieves his own goal of becoming an Olympic medalist, but his achievement realizes the quote of his father that anything is achievable with hard work. To this day, Sammy Lee's story can be read not only to inspire young children to overcome their own hurdles in achieving their dreams, but also to model to young Asian Americans an admirable response to racial discrimination. As an Asian-American myself, it was refreshing to read a story that introduced the multi-faceted pressures and adversity faced by by many children of Asian descent, and I would recommend it for any book collection seeking Asian-American diversity!

Review # 2 was written on 2021-01-29 00:00:00 coy knight This inspiring picture book biography shares the story of Sammy Lee, a second-generation Korean immigrant who overcame discrimination and tremendous societal barriers to learn how to dive. He became the first Asian American to win a gold medal at the Olympics. The illustrations are sepia-toned and somewhat dark, and there is a lot of text, so this is best for elementary-aged children and older. I am glad that I discovered this, and will keep it in mind as a recommendation for sports-related books and Asian American biographies. This would also be great for an Olympics-themed display.