Throw Like a Girl: How to Dream Big & Believe in Yourself

by Jennie Finch, Ann Killion

The evidence is overwhelming: sports help girls grow into strong women. Both scientific studies and anecdotal evidence confirm that athletic girls not only grow up to be healthier; they learn teamwork, gain inner confidence, and grow into society's leaders. Sports help preteen and teenage girls make the right choices in a society that is sending them incredibly mixed messages about who they are supposed to be. Yet no one is speaking directly to these girls. Jennie fills the role of girlfriend, big sister, team captain, and mentor. A smart, credible, and accomplished voice from an athlete who is strong and feminine, fiercely competitive, and fashionably cool, Jennie is someone young women will listen to and take to heart. Jennie's message: Believe in yourself. Go for it, girls.

Genres: Nonfiction, Sports, Biography, Biography Memoir, School

224 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2011

Reviews

[Grace Punke · Rating 5 out of 5]

" Dream big and Believe in yourself" Jennie Finch is a famous softball player who no one believed in her at the beginning. Jenny lived in California. Her parents were fans of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Her dream and her mothers dream was for her to play on the baseball team from when she was five years old.
One winter day Jennie and her parents went to Jennie's grandparents house and they were all throwing the snow around and having fun when all of the sudden Jennie threw a snowball so hard and fast that no one even knew where it landed. Her parents just looked at her in awe. I admire Jenny's father for enrolling Jennie in softball. He knew that Jennie was an strong, eager to learn, and persistent girl.
I think anyone that likes sports should read this book because It is not just about softball. It is about a girl who had a big dream and make it come true with hard work. It also teaches us that people in sports are more successful in life because in sports we gain teamwork skills, healthier eating, inner confidence,and many more positive things. Sports also develop some of our society leaders.
Jennie is a great girl who can teach many people many things from her experience of becoming a better softball player and a better person from her years of highschool softball all of the way up to the olompix. I would recomend this book to anyone. Everyone should read this book because the story of Jennie is increadinble and it leaves people feeling like they want to be like Jennie and make a dream and achieve it.

[Addy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vicki Peterson said:Okay, Jennie Finch is officially the coolest person in the universe. This isn't just a memoir or an autobiography. It's more like a shout out to athletic girls all over the country (that includes me), encouraging us to "Dream and Believe" (Finch's motto). In between these inspirational chapters, Finch inserts small bits of her incredible life, and shares what she was thinking as her life unfolded. She tells the reader how excited she was when she got her first pair of metal cleats. She talks about when she was a pitcher/first baseman for the Arizona Wildcats, and describes how a sports psychologist ended up installing a "tiny toilet" in the U of A dugout.

This is an absolute must read for any girl interested in softball, or girls who play any athletics.

Addy Smith: I totally agree! I have found out so much about jennie, as well as her viewpoints and character! She is my role model. There is SO much encouraging advice and words of wisdom coming from someone who has fought our struggles! I <3 Jennie Finch and I would LOVEEE to meet her or go to one of her camps someday!...someday

5+++++++++ STARS!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, Jennie Finch is officially the coolest person in the universe. This isn't just a memoir or an autobiography. It's more like a shout out to athletic girls all over the country (that includes me), encouraging us to "Dream and Believe" (Finch's motto). In between these inspirational chapters, Finch inserts small bits of her incredible life, and shares what she was thinking as her life unfolded. She tells the reader how excited she was when she got her first pair of metal cleats. She talks about when she was a pitcher/first baseman for the Arizona Wildcats, and describes how a sports psychologist ended up installing a "tiny toilet" in the U of A dugout.

This is an absolute must read for any girl interested in softball, or girls who play any athletics.

[Maegan · Rating 5 out of 5]

i loved this book. i am a softball player so it meant a lot. Jennie finch is a wonderful person along with athlete. she is my idol. i don't know her in real life but i think a lot of what she put in her book a lot of athletes have gone through. if i were to rate this book i would give it a 10/10 normally people would just be saying that to be saying that but if you read this book than you would know why its a 10/10. hopefully you enjoy this book. (you will)!.

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Being a softball player myself it's nice having other women to look up to who have played the sport. Jennie Finch is one of those women who you can look up to. Getting a view into her career of softball, and challenges she's faced, it proves hard work pays out and not everything in life is easy. It's also very relatable to a bunch of girls out there when she touches upon the subject of how we view our bodies. We wish to look a certain way, we want to be skinny, and compare ourselves to others. A lot of girls aspire to be like Jennie and want to have an opportunity to live their dreams by wanting to make it to the USA level. I would recommend this book to every girl out there.

[Carley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Throw Like a Girl is a decent book with many inspiring and motivational aspects to it. At times, it becomes a little sloppy and less exciting, but it has some good life lessons that can be taken away from it. I would recommend this book to any young athletes. This book is intended for female teenagers, but can be read by almost anyone as it doesn’t just focus on the sport of softball. I give this book ⅗ stars. - Carley U.

[Lexie Handley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oldie but goodie.

[Megan Helmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book I plan to gift to my own girls and other softball loving girls. Suitable for any age and any sport but I think they’d get the most out of it by about 13 on up.

[Makenzie Riggs]

i loved thos book. Even though i dont play softball i still really liked it! i would read this book again. It gave alot ofinformation that i did not know about her.

[alissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a good book. Enjoyed her story.

[Taylor Stephens · Rating 5 out of 5]

my book throw like a girl , was awesome but i already knew that it was going to be awesome because its about one of the most awesome softball players. its about a girl named jennie finch and it talks about her life and how she got to be such an awesome softball player. i would definetly recommend this book to number one , girls who like softball , number two , girls who looove reading books that are about people who have struggles growing up but grow up to be an accomplished girl and a girl who little girls look up too. the ending of this story really has a great purpose because it really gives us girls confidence to do what we really try to do and work hard to be able to do. so this is my critiqe about this book and i really look up to this book because it is awesome and i think that it gives girls some good confidence to do what we want to do and i just think that its awesome !

[Eva L · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would definitely recommend this book to other girls. It is very inspirational for young girls especially those into sports. Jennie Finch has many inspirational quotes and tips in the book which can help girls in rough times. This book could be inspirational to anyone, but it is based off of Jennie Finch's life and is mainly inspirational to girls.

[Mariella · Rating 5 out of 5]

'Throw like a girl' by Jennie Finch with Ann Killion, is an autobiography about famous softball player Jennie Finch. It's all about her journey, her accomplishments and struggles. I was taken along with the fears. The excitement. This is a wonderful book

[Alex Kent · Rating 4 out of 5]

Over the past couple of weeks, I read Throw Like a Girl: How to Dream Big and Believe in Yourself by Jennie Finch. Jennie’s purpose in this book was to show girls how to believe in themselves to get them to where they want to go. This book tells me about Jennie’s hardships, self-image struggles, achievements, and what kept her going. This book is so important because it shows real problems that athletes face, especially teenage girls.
In this book, the positives outweigh the negatives. One of my absolute favorite things about this whole book is, it shows the real Jennie. I knew about Jennie Finch when starting this book. I knew she was one of the best pitchers our country had seen, with multiple championships under her belt. What I didn’t know were the challenges she encountered on that journey. She made it known that it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows, which I think was the most inspiring part. She had days where she didn’t want to be on the field, where she was exhausted, and most of all she just wanted to hang out with her friends. “Sometimes it seemed too much, especially when I learned from my friends at school on Monday about some fun I missed over the weekend when I had been on the softball field.” (Finch, 2013, p. 66). She felt conflicted a lot trying to compromise with her friends since she was on the softball field nearly every weekend. Another strong positive I saw in the book was the tips that she gave. On every page, there was something inspiring to fit almost everyone's situation. “Work on what’s on the inside–the things that make you passionate and happy and fulfilled.” (Finch, 2013, p. 44). Here Jennie is saying that if you work on yourself first you will find yourself feeling more content in your own skin, which I think is very important.
With the amazing things about this book, there also come lousy things. One of the biggest things that affected me when I read this book was how much it repeated. Sometimes I found it hard to stay interested when it repeated the same point so many times. “I towered over boys and was certain that I’d never find someone to marry” (Finch, 2013, p. 43). Another lousy that I personally felt about this book was the part about dieting. This book was published in 2013 when dieting was normalized. In today’s day and age, talking about hardcore dieting is not as accepted as it once was. I believe this is because eating disorders are becoming more normalized, which is a huge step for our society. It too is a disease that affects people and can easily be triggered. I have not suffered from this disorder but I would not want anyone who has, to be affected by getting encouraged to diet.
This is a very strong-willed piece of writing. It is truly motivating to anyone who would choose to read this book. With that being said, I think this book would appeal more to females, specifically pre-teenagers or teenagers. I think this because it talks a lot about the comparison of girls when being seen through a boy’s eyes. “Girls are bombarded with images of what is “beautiful” They hear boys talking about who’s “hot.”... “They���re not realistic for anyone to shoot for.” (Finch, 2013, p. 43). Helping young girls and teenagers see that putting yourself down about your appearance is detrimental. While it might not completely change the way they view themselves, building those positive words in their brain will only help them in the long run.
Overall, I would highly recommend this book to girls who are in sports and may be struggling with uncertainty within themselves. The purpose of Jennie’s book, Throw Like a Girl: How to Dream Big and Believe in Yourself is so genuine and gets her point across well. Everyone should be treated with the same respect, including your self-respect. Confidence will get you places, so believe in yourself. If someone has an opinion on you that puts you down, get right back up and show them that what they said does not affect you. Other people’s words have no influence on who you really are. A world with young girls having confidence is a perfect world for me.

[Hannah Schroeder · Rating 5 out of 5]

For most novels, both favorable and unfavorable reviews can be written, depending on the reviewer's criteria. I recently read a nonfiction book which contains both "great" and "lousy" parts. There are many "greats" or good parts of this book and a few "lousy" or bad parts. Nonfiction writing is based on facts, real events, and real people, such as memoirs, autobiographies, biographies, or histories.

This is the story of a woman named Jennie Finch inspires people to dream big and never give up. Today I'm going to be giving a summary, talking about the greats, and lousies, and telling you why I recommend this book. This book is called Throw Like a Girl: How to Dream Big & Believe in Yourself. Jennie was born September 3, 1980, in California. Jennie is the youngest and  the daughter of Doug and Bev Finch. Jennie values her family and gives them a lot of credit for her accomplishments. Over the years, Doug, Jennie's father, worked with Jennie for countless hours. Doug did everything he could to hasten his daughter's growth. He constructed a batting cage in the backyard and would sit on an upturned bucket for hours as she threw at him. He would even convert a small trampoline into a pitch-back for her to use in the evenings after work. He eventually became her personal coach. Jennie went on to play softball in the Olympics for a number of years after that.

Let me tell you how her journey started. One day during winter Jennie, her parents, and her grandparents were playing in the snow when Jennie whipped a snowball so far that nobody could even tell where it landed. Her parents were simply in shock when they saw this happen. From this happening, Jennie's dad instantly knew that Jennie was meant to play softball. He knew what Jennie was capable of with her strength, curiosity, and perseverance at such a young age. Jennie's parents signed her for her first t-ball league shortly after her fifth birthday. She was excited to play like her brothers, but because girls were playing too, it was even more awesome.

I'm going to talk about the "greats. The "greats" from reading this book I discovered that girls who take part in sports develop into healthy adults and develop abilities to work together, have self-confidence, and become leaders in their surroundings. Girl athletes turn into powerful, independent women. In a world that constantly puts girls down and rips them apart, sports can help them by being a safe place and saving them. It's best at helping teens and younger girls. As a girlfriend, big sister, team leader, and mentor, Jennie accomplishes it all. "A great pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do." (Finch Jenny, 2011, p. 6). 

I'll talk about the "lousy" parts of this book. If I were to choose one thing, it would be that this story gets less entertaining when she talks about the installation of the bathroom in her dugout. But, that is the only bad thing about this book. "Today they installed our first bathroom in our USA dugout. It took months..." (Finch Jenny, 2011, p. 189). 


I'm going to tell you why I recommend reading this book. Jennie is a talented and competitive athlete who motivates girls like myself. Since I also play softball, it's helpful to have other female players as role models. Understanding her softball career and the challenges she has faced shows that life is not always easy and that persistence pays off. Many females will also be able to connect to her discussion of how we view our bodies. We wish to seem a certain way. We strive to be thin and measure ourselves against others. Many girls aspire to be like Jennie and hope to fulfill their dreams of competing at the USA level. I would recommend this book to every girl out there. In conclusion today I gave you a summary, talked about the greats, lousies, and told you why I recommend this book.

[Tara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a autobiography about Jennie Finch and her life growing up to where she is today. Jennie Finch was a professional softball player. In this autobiography, Jennie reveals the ups and downs of her childhood. She also reveals her fight to become the person she is today. Jennie Finch’s motto was to believe in yourself, especially girls. She would tell people, go for it. Jennie fell in love with the game of softball from a young age and decided to pursue her dream as a career for a little while. Jennie had the opportunity to go to the olympics twice. She was an outstanding pitcher and softball has really shaped her life and herself as a human. In the story, it explains the battles Jennie fought and how she did so. This book was mainly written to show others that their are going to be obstacles but it is up to you to get around them. Overall, Jennie’s autobiography shares her firsthand experiences with the world to inspire them to dream big and work for it. After playing the game of softball, Jennie got married and began a family. Today, she is still involved in the sport as she has not lost the interest and love for it. It is important for Jennie to encourage others to go for it and don’t give up.
The autobiography, “Throw Like a Girl” by Jennie Finch was definitely worth the read. Having played the game of softball, this book was very easy for me to relate too. Although it mainly revolves around the sport of softball, the lessons she teaches is useful to those of other sports as well. This book taught me major life lessons that I will not forget. I never found myself becoming bored of the book. In fact, I was always eager to read on. Although it was an autobiography and was very informational, the author, Jennie Finch told a wonderful story. I appreciate the way she structured and wrote her book as it was very intriguing and did not become flat and dry at any point. I would recommend this book to those especially who play sports as it will help to answer those questions that not many people can. She gives life lessons and offers a great read. Overall, I enjoyed reading this book as it was very relatable for me, therefore, I would recommend this wonderful book about Jennie Finch.

[Bri · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the young adult non fiction book Throw Like a Girl by Jennie Finch, Jennie is an amazing gold medalist softball player. Jennie learns if you put your mind to something and you really want it to happen it will happen. Jennie’s dad told her that all during her life. She also knows that being competitive in life is a great thing it will help you in life. Jennie was wanting to be just like her brothers who both played MLB and so did her dad.
Jennie is a wonderful softball player as well as a mom and a wife. Growing up Jennie and her family were huge LA Dodgers fans and they went to every game they possibly could. Jennie started pitching when she was just 7 years old and she was the fastest on the team. No one really believed that she would be a big softball star except for her dad. He was the only one and she didn't let that stop her that pushed her even farther to set out for what she wanted to do in life. jennie Finch has literally done and accomplished everything there is to do on a softball field, yet her fire for the sport and the girls who play it continues to burn bright.Today, outside of time spent with family, Finch focuses the bulk of energy on promoting the sport that has given her so much, and she continues to have a passion for helping younger players improve their games as well as their confidence. She also runs camps, tournaments and makes special appearances across the country, all in the name of fastpitch.
For most anyone else, the responsibility of all this may seem a bit daunting, but for Finch, now a mother of three, she wouldn’t have it any other way.Recently, Finch sat down with DICK’S Sporting Goods to talk about her past, her present and the future of fastpitch softball.she is one of the best softball players of all. she struck out a MLB player. with her 70 Mph fastball that does not seem fast but that is crazy fast for softball. In my opinion Jennie Finch is the greatest softball player out there right now and she does not let anyone stand in her way when she puts her mind to things.

[Rita KHALIL · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about sports and how girls get confident into playing sports and competing and growing as a person. It motivates girls and inspires girls to never be afraid. Sports gains girls self confidence and it makes girls healthier physically and emotionally. Jennie a girl who does sports, she is also a leader a mentor, an older sister, and a girlfriend. Jennie is avery inspiring girl who wrote this book to tell other girls to go for it and to be confident. I really enjoyed reading this book because it inspired me never to be scared and to always do what I want no matter if I am good at it or not and Jennie also explains how sports has such a positive impact to it such as being healthier and being stronger and making better choices in life etc. It really opened my eyes and sent the message to me that other girls and myself should join a type of sport that we are intreated in whether is soccer or basket ball or tennis etc. Its seems to me that so many girls like doing sports and are inserted in being part of a team and learning different thing but the one thing thats stopping them is that they are scared, they are scared that they are not good enough, they are scared to loose, they are scared to be made fun of because they way they play and so many other things and I really think that this book gives them that extra little push that they need to be motivated and start their journey with sports. This book really made an impact in my life and not just sports, it also tells girls in general to do what they love and to not be scared of anything. I rate this book a 5/5.

[Madelyn E. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think that this book is a very inspiring book for young girls or athletes. It really helps someone know how you can work hard for something you love. It shows readers that any dream can come true if you work for it. Jennie Finch says in the reading how her dream was to play on the Dodger's stadium field and it came true when she was asked to pitch at their field for a T.V. show. She also writes about her tough times when one of her travel ball team coaches didn't believe in her to pitch in a game, so she proved him wrong when she played his team on a different travel ball team. Her coach gave her the chance to pitch for them in that game, and she took the chance and played the best she could by striking their batters out. Jennie was also able to play on the USA Olympic softball team with the woman that was her hero ever since she was a little girl. To sum it all up, these are all of the ways that Jennie Finch was able to inspire young girls with her softball.

[Kristine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is great for young softball players and all girls in general. It explains how Jennie felt rowing up and how hard she had to work to get where she is. The book discusses self image, exercising, and mental toughness. It is a very easy book to read and the chapters are short, which makes it an easy read. It is more of a self-motivational book rather than a softball book, however it is very inspiring and could be a game changer for a young lady who is thinking of quitting either because of a coach or a team. This book hit home for my daughter because she went through similar struggles as did Jennie Finch. I loved the motivation this book gives to young female athletes. I’d highly recommend it for a young girl who doesn't play sports. It is a good book for all young girls.

[Ava Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this book a lot. I play softball myself and I found a lot of things in this book that I could relate to. I liked how she explained that she grew up playing softball and she got pushed when she was a little girl. And now she plays on a college team. It also showed even if you have family with kids you still can live out your softball dream. It shows how much she progressed throughout the years of being pushed to her limits and she talks about how successful she was with playing softball. She got pushed everyday by her dad throughout middle school and travel teams and high school. After reading this book, it made me set higher goals for myself.

[Marisol · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book Throw like A girl by Jennie Finich a book about sports. Its 224 pages long, and it talks about hard work a passion. I learned a lot from this book, because I love sports and she talks about passion for the game. Jennie is a big role model for girls that play softball all around the world. Se played for team Usa, but before she played for the University of Arizona. She played softball all her life, and it talks about what she went through when she was a kid.

[McKayla Mitchell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book follows the life of Jennie Finch who is an olympic gold medalist in softball. In Throw Like a Girl, Jennie Finch talks about her life and the struggles she's had to get to where she is now. I loved that the book followed her childhood all the way up to where she is now. But, my favorite thing about this book was that it wasn't just an autobiography, but she gives helpful advice to not just athletes, but anyone. I would recommend this book to anyone, especially young athletes.

[Caelin C · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been forgetting to publish my goodreads updates, but I have been reading. I really enjoyed this book because I felt like I could connect with it. The last parts that I read had to do with dealing with pressure from parents and other outside sources. That one hit pretty close to home. I would definitely recommend this book to any athlete no matter the sport, yeah she talks about softball quite a lot, but I think all competitive athletes could relate to the things that he wrote in her book.

[Isabelle Flores · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked the book. My brother plays baseball, so I wanted to see the point of view from a softball player. She didn’t just talk about what she did in softball and about it, but she talked about how you should always try your best. Teaches you to be a good softball player and a good person. I definitely recommend this book especially for athletes.

[Taylor Neuzil · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a really helpful and entertaining book for anyone who likes/plays softball. Jennie Finch writes about her personal experiences, (good and bad), tips, dieting, and how she overcame her lack of confidence when playing softball which evolved her into her best self when she plays the sport she loves.

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book and loved that it is so relevant through all years of living!!!
I loved all of the quotes and it really feels like a book any age human could read and relate to it. It’s a life cheering on book! Thanks Jennie for being an advocate for women and women in sports!! You too are a trailblazer making the sports world a bit easier for my growing nieces!!!

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

After spending some time with Jennie at the AUSL kickoff, she casually mentioned her book while doing a live podcast. Don't know how I missed it but was glad to read it now. Didn't love the narrator but love what Jennie stands for, her faith, her positivity and all she's doing for women's softball. She's equally as great as she was in 2002 when I saw her pitch in OK City.

[Payton M. C8B · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really good book to teach you that if someone knock you down you kave to pick yourself up and keep going.The one thing I don't really like is that it's not in chronological order but other than that it was a amazing book.

[Ava J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the book, Throw Like a Girl by Jennie Finch is about Jennie, who plays softball and how she reaches for her goal to become a champion pitcher in the Olympics. She also has to encounter competition along the way and has to work her hardest. Jennie Finch reminds us to never let jealousy and discouragement get in the way of your goals no matter the size. Readers who like to read auto-biography or likes to play softball would enjoy this book and the journey of Jennie Finch.