SEE JANE WIN by Caitlin Moscatello deals with candidates,
their campaigns, and the victories for women in American politics between the
Spring of 2017 and now. Moscatello, a journalist who writes frequently about
gender and reproductive rights and politics, chose to profile four women:
Abigail Spanberger (running for Congress in Virginia); Catalina Cruz (a
Columbian-born Dreamer running for state assembly in New York); Anna Eskamani
(running for state office in Florida); and London Lamar (seeking a seat in
Tennessee’s state house). In general,
this is not a “how-to” book, but rather a (sometimes surprisingly dry) chronicle
of events with some limited analysis that is based primarily on a string of
interviews. Roughly ten percent of this text is devoted to notes and index,
although it would have been helpful if Moscatello had also added contact information
for the many organizations (IGNITE, Running Start, Onward Together, Emerge
America, Run for Something, Latino Victory, etc.) that she mentions. I honestly
thought that the presentation at our school by one of the organizers of the
Woman’s March in Chicago was more impactful for students. However, SEE JANE WIN received a
starred review from Kirkus and Booklist recommended it for teens,
saying, “Politically engaged teens of all genders will be drawn to these
inspirational women's stories and the ups and downs of running for office.”
