Enjoy fast, free delivery, exclusive deals, and award-winning movies & TV shows with Prime
Try Prime
and start saving today with fast, free delivery
Amazon Prime includes:
Fast, FREE Delivery is available to Prime members. To join, select "Try Amazon Prime and start saving today with Fast, FREE Delivery" below the Add to Cart button.
Amazon Prime members enjoy:- Cardmembers earn 5% Back at Amazon.com with a Prime Credit Card.
- Unlimited Free Two-Day Delivery
- Streaming of thousands of movies and TV shows with limited ads on Prime Video.
- A Kindle book to borrow for free each month - with no due dates
- Listen to over 2 million songs and hundreds of playlists
- Unlimited photo storage with anywhere access
Important: Your credit card will NOT be charged when you start your free trial or if you cancel during the trial period. If you're happy with Amazon Prime, do nothing. At the end of the free trial, your membership will automatically upgrade to a monthly membership.
-44% $9.99$9.99
Ships from: Amazon Sold by: Cos4Less
$7.52$7.52
Ships from: Amazon Sold by: Martistore
Learn more
1.27 mi | ASHBURN 20147
Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.
Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.
Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.
Audible sample Sample
My Corner of the Ring Hardcover – Illustrated, June 4, 2019
Purchase options and add-ons
In this Lean-In style inspirational memoir, twelve-year-old Jesselyn Silva offers a ringside seat to girl power and what it takes to win in the ring and in life: punch by punch. My Corner of the Ring shows kids what it means to be true to yourself and stick with your dreams even when facing adversity and ridicule. Supported by her single dad, Jesselyn (JessZilla in the ring) first donned her boxing gloves at seven years of age, making her one of very few female boxers in the country. My Corner of the Ring charts Jesselyn's oft times exhilarating and heartbreaking journey to success in a male dominated sport where she struggles to find partners to spar with and combats the viewpoint that no one wants to see a girl fight. Despite an inhospitable environment, Jesselyn still has her sights set on the Olympics. With the help of her very dad, Pedro, who has instilled in her a strong work ethic, she just might make it. It is an exciting and motivational read that will provide kids with the roadmap and encouragement to accomplish whatever goals they set for themselves. Jesselyn's positive can-do attitude and determination make this a must read.
- Reading age10 years and up
- Print length256 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- Grade level5 - 6
- Lexile measure820L
- Dimensions5.81 x 0.89 x 8.56 inches
- PublisherG.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers
- Publication dateJune 4, 2019
- ISBN-100525518401
- ISBN-13978-0525518402
Editorial Reviews
From School Library Journal
Review
“Jess is a great example to other young athletes. Readers will be impressed by her drive to succeed as a female boxer in this inspiring memoir.” —Booklist
“This memoir will undoubtedly inspire and motivate teens to set goals and challenge themselves. An invaluable addition to public and school library biography collections.” —School Library Journal
"Jess is a smart, strong Latinx girl with a fierce determination, and readers will root through her wins and losses, ups and downs, all the way to the 2018 Junior Olympics... young girls will be able to relate to Jess and will be inspired by her fighting spirit. Her loving relationship with her father and the support of her coach give an emotional weight to the story. Readers will come away believing nothing is more important than knowing you have people in your corner." —Kirkus Reviews
“This autobiographical account of [Jesselyn’s] journey to date is matter-of-fact yet absorbing as she negotiates the physical and mental challenges of boxing and also the cultural challenges of being a girl in a sport with very few women. . . Reluctant readers will especially appreciate the combination of compelling subject and accessible prose...and maybe intrigued enough to strap on a pair of gloves themselves.” —The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
About the Author
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
“This is the only blood I want to see from you today.”
Then came the yank.
I stared at the baby tooth Papi had just pulled from my mouth, small and delicate like a little pearl in his large hand, and I thought that pinch of pain was probably nothing compared with what was about to happen.
“Your mouthpiece should fit better now without that wiggly tooth,” Papi said, tucking it into his jeans pocket for safekeeping. My father was good at keeping calm in moments when he knew I was nervous.
It was a cool fall day in Edgewater, New Jersey, but inside Jim’s Gym (commonly referred to as The Jim) it was a steam bath. Guys had stopped their training routines to watch “the girl” box. “The girl” . . . as if I were some carnival curiosity.
“The girl is gonna get trounced,” I heard a teenaged boy say to his friend as I walked to the boxing ring.
I wanted to make some in-your-face comeback, but I stayed silent. I mean, he was probably right. I’d been training for only two months, and what business did I have fighting a ten-year-old boy when I had so little experience? Plus, I was only seven years old, and because I was tiny for my age, I looked even younger. People told me I was too young, too little to box. But what did they know?
What they didn’t know was that I’d never shied away from a challenge. In fact, the harder the challenge, the better. Papi said that when I was a baby, whenever anyone tried to help me, I’d say, “No, me, I do it!” It became a joke in the family. I don’t know where bravery comes from. Maybe you’re just born with it. For me, bravery happened because I didn’t like the feeling of being afraid; I much preferred the feeling of being strong, so when I thought something might be scary, I would go after it and tackle it head-on before it got the better of me. I guess if there were actually ever a monster under my bed, that monster would be in trouble.
I remember when I first got into boxing, coming to it with a rush of adrenaline, nervousness, and excitement. Watching two people box was like nothing I’d ever seen before: two people facing their fears and being brave. Maybe that’s why they call the boxing ring “the playground.” Grown men came here to get their noses busted and their egos shattered, but they also came to play with their fears. I knew why most people thought this was no place for a little kid, but to me it was the best playground I’d ever been to in my entire life.
But when you’re in the ring, facing your opponent, even the toughest person gets the butterflies.
Another teenaged boy cracked a joke that I couldn’t hear—just the peal of laughter that followed.
Focus. Focus.
“They’re just messin’ with your head, Jess.” That was my trainer, Paulie. He was fitting me with the smallest boxing equipment he could find. Paulie was my very first boxing coach. He was this tough middle-aged African American guy with all-white hair and baggy pants. I liked him a lot—even though he cursed a lot.
“Here. It’s my niece’s headgear.” He placed it loosely over my head. “Can you see okay?” He already knew the answer.
His niece was fifteen.
Even when I tucked all of my long brown hair under the helmet, it was still loose.
“No,” I mumbled. I was barely able to see past the rim. “Good!” He gave a firm tap on my head.
I had watched Ali face off against Frazier in an old fight on TV, and they weren’t wearing headgear. From my angle now, that seemed crazy.
Paulie hollered to the group of boys, “Jess is ready for a throwdown!” I thought I was ready to take someone down, but judging by my dad’s body language, I could tell he wasn’t so sure. There was a 50 percent chance of a throwdown, 50 percent chance I got between the ropes and forgot everything I had learned.
I’d never sparred with a boy before, and I’m pretty sure my opponent had never sparred with a girl. Actually, I’d never sparred with anyone before. When you first start training, you shadowbox. At seven years old, that’s all I’d ever done—box my own shadow. A few jabs with the coach, some basic practice rounds with a couple other kids, but nothing close to a one-on-one match.
The boy I was about to spar with had a funny little cupcake of an Afro and was older by three years, and stronger; he was also much taller than I expected, which meant my uppercuts might not hit exactly where I wanted them to. I’d have to adjust. I’d learn on the fly.
“Here she is,” I heard his coach say to the boy on the other side of the ring, gesturing in my direction. The boy was pacing back and forth in his corner like a garbage-tipping raccoon, his back to me. Anxious, unsure. He nodded to his coach a few times before looking over. But the moment he saw me, he chuckled in relief. Then something crossed his mind and his face froze. What if he lost to me? A little girl! I guess it would have been harder for him to lose to me than for me to lose to him. Secretly, everybody fears the underdog. I was definitely the underdog.
Still, he was sweating it. I could see it glistening on his forehead. Or maybe it was just the Vaseline on his face. I figured he was probably wondering how to hit a girl—low and tough, but not too tough. Actually I really had no idea what he was thinking. It looked like we were both a little anxious, but for different reasons. If I won, it would be a shocker, and if he lost, it would be a shocker.
“Don’t be nervous, Gregie! You got this!” his mother, dressed up for the occasion, cheered below the ropes.
Papi adjusted my gloves and slipped in my mouthpiece as I listened to last-minute advice from Paulie: Make sure you bring the punches back to your face, where you can block better, make sure to keep your head constantly moving, don’t be a still target, you wanna be moving and avoid punches. But it went in one ear and out the other. The wobbly headgear made me feel like a bobblehead figurine. And that’s the last thing I wanted to feel like: one solid strike and my head would pop off.
Product details
- Publisher : G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers; Illustrated edition (June 4, 2019)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 256 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0525518401
- ISBN-13 : 978-0525518402
- Reading age : 10 years and up
- Lexile measure : 820L
- Grade level : 5 - 6
- Item Weight : 12.8 ounces
- Dimensions : 5.81 x 0.89 x 8.56 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #1,552,335 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #288 in Children's Olympics Books
- #1,454 in Children's Hispanic & Latino Books
- #2,593 in Children's Multicultural Biographies
- Customer Reviews:
Customer reviews
Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.
Learn more how customers reviews work on Amazon-
Top reviews
Top reviews from the United States
There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.
She actually said that Jesselyn Silva had her on the first sentence in the book. She appreciated the glossary in the book as she can use it for a teaching tool.
This book is very appreciated by a girl who boxes, promotes boxing and has fought at the Golden Gloves. Thank you Jesselyn for your spirit and your book.