Bibliographic Information:
- Title: Dissenter on the Bench: Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Life & Work
- Author: Victoria Ortiz
- ISBN: 054497364X
- Copyright Date: June 4, 2019
Genre: Nonfiction/Biography/Memoir/History
Format: Book
Awards/Honors: Sydney Taylor Book Award 2020 Silver Medal
Reading Level/Interest Level: Teen Ages 13-18 (Goodreads.com, 2019).
Plot Summary: Dissenter on the Bench: Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Life & Work is a biography that interweaves Ginsburg’s life with some of her landmark court cases. Ginsburg, a champion of civil liberties and human rights, often dissented with the opinions of the other justices on the U.S. Supreme Court. She did not always win her cases, but she made sure that her opinion was heard.
The biography of Ginsburg’s life includes her childhood, Jewish upbringing and religious views, education, and marriage to Martin Ginsburg. The book explains the discrimination she faced as a female in law school and in the law profession. Also included is an explanation of how the court system works and how certain cases reach the Supreme Court. Ginsburg was a supporter of free speech, marriage equality, gender equality, benefits discrimination, and other topics. In her later years, Ginsburg became a media and cultural icon.
Author Background: Victoria Ortiz is an attorney and the former dean of students at several law schools. She is a translator and the author of a wide variety of nonfiction books for adults, teens, and children. These include Dissenter on the Bench, a Spanish-language casebook for law students and legal professionals, a YA biography of Sojourner Truth, and translations from French and Spanish into English, as well as English into Spanish, of short fiction, poetry, and nonfiction, for adults and children (Victoria Ortiz, N.D.)
Victoria Ortiz graduated from Barnard College and the City University of New York Law School. She has worked as a high school teacher, college teacher, attorney, and as dean of students at several law schools. She has also worked as a tri-lingual tour guide at the United Nations. Ortiz has traveled extensively. Ortiz currently lives with her wife in Berkeley, California (Victoria Ortiz, N.D.)
Critical Evaluation: Dissenter on the Bench: Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Life & Work is a well-written, fast paced, engaging, biography about Ginsburg. The writing is clear and straightforward. The book intertwines Ginsburg’s life story with court cases that she presided over. The story jumps around a lot among different time periods but is easy to follow. The cases chosen as examples throughout the book deal with teenagers and young adults and most teens will find this interesting. There are many photographs of Ginsburg, her family, and friends throughout the book, as well as pictures of people she represented. The back of the book contains appendixes with The Bill of Rights, structure of the Federal Court system, notes about each court case presented in the book, and a bibliography. This book is a must read for fans of RBG or for any teens who want to learn more about the justice system, U.S. Supreme Court, and the fight for equality and civil liberties.
Creative Use for a Library Program: For a library program, I would pair this book with a showing of the movie RBG. RBG is a 2018 documentary about the life and career of Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Following the film, we could have a discussion on the importance of Ginsburg’s life and career, and how she impacted decisions on the Supreme Court.
Speed-Round Book Talk: Do you need to read a biography for school? Dissenter on the Bench is the perfect choice! This short, well-written, fast moving book will keep you engaged and you will have your assignment done in no time. Learn about the life and career of media and cultural icon, Notorious RBG, in this book that is loaded with history, court cases, and photographs.
Potential Challenge Issues and Defense: I do not foresee any challenges to this book other than by people who are critics of Ginsburg’s policies . There are people who thought she was not forward thinking enough on racial equality and that the feminist movement, which RBG supported, represents primarily white, middle-class women. Others argue that this is not the case and Ginsburg did help advance racial equality and although was a feminist, she did a lot to advance women’s rights.
Reason for Inclusion: I included Dissenter on the Bench because Ruth Bader Ginsburg is an American icon and all teens should learn about her impact on decisions on the Supreme Court. This book is written specifically for young adults so it will be easy for them to follow. The chapters are short and the book contains photographs of Ginsburg and her family throughout the years. Teens will relate to the court cases that are used as examples of Ginsburg’s work since most are about young people and their civil rights.
References:
The Kennedy Center. (2020, September 23). Ruth Bader Ginsburg on dissenting opinions. [Video]. YouTube. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nNelafVThg&ab_channel=TheKennedyCenter
Today. (2020, September, 19). Remembering Ruth Bader Ginsburg, in her own words. [Video]. YouTube. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGU6DrxTf88&ab_channel=TODAY
Victoria Ortiz Author. (N.D.) Victoria Ortiz. Retrieved from http://www.victoriaortizauthor.com/
Debby's YA Mini Library Collection 