ALA Booklist

Here's a welcome addition to STEM shelves. Teenagers Gonzales and Houser met at a Girls Who Code computer camp in 2014, and, for a final project, they created the game Tampon Run, which aims to break down menstruation taboos. To the girls' surprise, the game took off, and soon they were minicelebs in both pop culture and the tech world, with lots of opportunities. Their experiences are recounted in alternating chapters. Sophie, the girl terrified of public speaking, finds her voice, while Andrea, who comes from a strict Filipino household, must deal with making her own choices. (Though their story lines are distinct, the girls tend to sound the same.) The paucity of women in computer science is a thread, but there are plenty of mentors here, women and men, urging the duo on. Readers who come to this knowing nothing about coding will get an introductory primer d, at the book's conclusion, the opportunity to try coding on their own. This shows both the ups and downs of success and celebrity, and the wisdom of keeping options open.

Voice of Youth Advocates

High school students and authors Gonzales (Andy) and Houser describe their paths to finding a career that will satisfy their needs and passions. They both had been questioning what direction their lives would take. Gonzales felt constrained by her Filipinos parents’ view that their children had to choose one of three paths: doctor, lawyer, or engineer. The computer technology field, being a type of engineering, would satisfy them. Houser, sure of herself academically, was full of insecurities whenever she had to speak in front of a group, often becoming paralyzed with fear. Both signed up for a summer program with Girls Who Code (GWC), a group that encourages females to learn coding and pursue tech careers in a male-dominated field. For a final project with GWC, they teamed up to develop a game they called Tampon Run, a response to the discomfort of openly discussing menstruation. It quickly goes viral. A round of publicity follows, including mentions on Late Night with Seth Meyers and Conan, articles in Time and Seventeen, and an unpleasant radio interview on the SiriusXM Jay Thomas Show. Silicon Valley comes calling. Gonzales and Houser are impressed with the encouragement and mentoring they receive from female entrepreneurs at the tech companies, as well as the collaborative efforts they encounter to finalize a product. There is a coding appendix with definitions and instructions for beginners. Sometimes advice is best served by peers, and readers of this memoir may come away with the belief that they, too, should try whatever path interests them, whether it involves career choices or self-improvement. This is a good text to add to STEM shelves needing female-centered information.—Jane Van Wiemokly.

Horn Book

Having achieved internet fame in high school with their video game Tampon Run, Gonzales and Houser take turns chronicling their experience, hoping to inspire girls to join the male-dominated fields of technology and entrepreneurship. With black-and-white photographs and relatable details, such as dealing with nerves and parental expectations, the authors make coding, collaboration, and ambition accessible and appealing. An appendix offers basic coding training.

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

In this impressive debut, Gonzales and Houser enthusiastically and sympathetically recount how they met as high school students and created a stigma-cracking video game during a seven-week Girls Who Code course in 2014. A lighthearted attack on the -menstrual taboo,- their game, Tampon Run, had roots in a quest for social impact; this book, told in alternating voices, extends that by encouraging more girls to learn how to code. Houser originally hoped that coding would enable her to share great ideas without public speaking, while Gonzales wondered if she really wanted to become an engineer, as her Filipino immigrant parents hoped. Successful beyond their wildest imaginings, their game drew Houser and Gonzales further into the tech world, where over the next year, they competed with college students, learned to promote and adapt their product, interned at venture-capital-backed start-ups, and wrestled with their self-images. Their accomplishments (including this narrative, written while they attend college), intelligence, humanity, creativity, seriousness of purpose, and humor will stick with readers, and inspire them. Ages 13-up. Agent: Mackenzie Brady Watson, New Leaf Literary & Media. (Mar.) -

School Library Journal

Gr 8 Up-The authors, two extremely talented teenagers who met at a summer learning program called Girls Who Code, were tired of seeing young men receive most of the encouragement to pursue STEM jobs. They were also done with men driving conversations about women's bodies. Gonzales and Houser decided to do something about it. The empowering video game they created, Tampon Run, quickly went viral and ultimately changed their lives forever. This book aims to provide students with the inside scoop on coding and what life is like for women in STEM industries. Through alternating chapters, readers discover a bit about each author's background and how she came to attend Girls Who Code. The inspiration and reason behind their magnum opus are also explored. Gonzales's and Houser's writing styles are conversational and work well to dispel the aura of inaccessibility that often surrounds works on technology. (Houser talks at length about her social anxiety, and Gonzales discusses the pressures she felt as a child of two Filipino immigrants.) Curious teens will enjoy a section at the end on getting started in coding. Gonzales and Houser never make their story sound easy, but they do show readers that success in STEM fields is more than possible for women. VERDICT Inspiring and hopeful; a great addition to libraries with novice and expert coders alike. Elaine Baran Black, Georgia Public Library Service, Atlanta

Kirkus Reviews

The teens behind the web video game "Tampon Run" tell how they got started in programming.This is a first-person account of how Filipina Andrea "Andy" Gonzales from the East Village and the Bronx and white Sophie Houser from the Upper West Side met at the Girls Who Code summer program and joined forces to create a video game that received viral media attention. The chapters are organized chronologically and, inside each, switch between the two authors' lively narrations. First, they introduce themselves and their backgrounds with programming: Sophie was a high achiever crippled by self-doubt and terrified of public speaking who was drawn to the GWC program to learn a new way to express herself; Andy was a lifelong gamer and programmer's daughter who had already attended coding programs by the time she attended GWC. What brought the two together for their project was a desire to combine social commentary with their coding, resulting in their successful game. The game (and networking opportunities from GWC) has brought them attention and many more opportunities, but it also took more time and energy than they had to spare. By book's end, they find themselves evaluating their futures with technology. The psychology of self-doubt and value of persistence are well-presented—the co-authors stress that the greater the frustration, the better the payoff. Tech-centered empowerment for those who feel voiceless. (coding appendix with glossary, sample code, resources) (Memoir. 12-17)