A review by luciereads
The Radical Element: 12 Stories of Daredevils, Debutants, and Other Dauntless Girls by Jessica Spotswood
4.0
I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review.
Based on the first few stories I wasn't sure I was going to like this anthology but it appears the best ones were just later on. I really enjoyed this anthology and how all the authors took the whole premise of "The Radical Element" and used it to expose stories many of us might not know. I appreciated how all the girls featured were "radical" in small ways, most of them didn't do anything super crazy, but they were independent thinkers and able to rebel in their own small ways. A lot of these stories covered topics I didn't know too much about as well, which has spurred further research on my part and I can imagine it would do the same for many other readers. Individual reviews for each story are below:
Daughter of the book by Dahlia Adler - 3 stars
I really never thought about how Jewish education might've been for girls
You're A Stranger Here by Mackenzi Lee - 3 stars,
This was just kind of boring for the most part and by the time I started getting into the story it was over.
The Magician by Erin Bowman - 3.5 stars, I didn't really like the main character at all, but the story kept me pretty engaged and the writing was well done until the last line which felt very out of place
Lady Firebrand by Megan Shepard - 3.5 stars, An interesting idea but the story was just too much crammed into to few pages.
Step Right Up by Jessica Spotswood - 4 stars, The best story yet, I really liked the descriptions of the circus and this did bring tears to my eyes.
Glamour by Anna Marie McleMore - 5 stars, The best story by far! I really loved this one, and it features everything I love: magical realism, beautiful writing, and diversity
Better For All The World by Marieke Nijkamp - 4 stars, A good story and taught me something about eugenics which I know very little about. I also appreciate that this story was told from the perspective of someone on the autism spectrum.
When Moonlight Isn't Enough by Dhonielle Clayton - 4 stars, an interesting story and I appreciated the authors note for this one.
The Belle of The Ball by Sarvenaz Tash - 4 stars, I appreciated the I Love Lucy reference
Land of The Sweet, Home of The Brave by Stacey Lee - 4 stars, short and sweet (heh)
The Birth of Susi Go-Go by Meg Medina - 4 stars, This was definitely one of the "quieter" stories, but I thought it was interesting to have a glimpse of a a girl in the Cuban exile community in the 70s
Take Me With U by Sara Farizan - 4 stars, A great end to the anthology.
Based on the first few stories I wasn't sure I was going to like this anthology but it appears the best ones were just later on. I really enjoyed this anthology and how all the authors took the whole premise of "The Radical Element" and used it to expose stories many of us might not know. I appreciated how all the girls featured were "radical" in small ways, most of them didn't do anything super crazy, but they were independent thinkers and able to rebel in their own small ways. A lot of these stories covered topics I didn't know too much about as well, which has spurred further research on my part and I can imagine it would do the same for many other readers. Individual reviews for each story are below:
Daughter of the book by Dahlia Adler - 3 stars
I really never thought about how Jewish education might've been for girls
You're A Stranger Here by Mackenzi Lee - 3 stars,
This was just kind of boring for the most part and by the time I started getting into the story it was over.
The Magician by Erin Bowman - 3.5 stars, I didn't really like the main character at all, but the story kept me pretty engaged and the writing was well done until the last line which felt very out of place
Lady Firebrand by Megan Shepard - 3.5 stars, An interesting idea but the story was just too much crammed into to few pages.
Step Right Up by Jessica Spotswood - 4 stars, The best story yet, I really liked the descriptions of the circus and this did bring tears to my eyes.
Glamour by Anna Marie McleMore - 5 stars, The best story by far! I really loved this one, and it features everything I love: magical realism, beautiful writing, and diversity
Better For All The World by Marieke Nijkamp - 4 stars, A good story and taught me something about eugenics which I know very little about. I also appreciate that this story was told from the perspective of someone on the autism spectrum.
When Moonlight Isn't Enough by Dhonielle Clayton - 4 stars, an interesting story and I appreciated the authors note for this one.
The Belle of The Ball by Sarvenaz Tash - 4 stars, I appreciated the I Love Lucy reference
Land of The Sweet, Home of The Brave by Stacey Lee - 4 stars, short and sweet (heh)
The Birth of Susi Go-Go by Meg Medina - 4 stars, This was definitely one of the "quieter" stories, but I thought it was interesting to have a glimpse of a a girl in the Cuban exile community in the 70s
Take Me With U by Sara Farizan - 4 stars, A great end to the anthology.