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A review by letstalkaboutbooksbaybee
The Radical Element: 12 Stories of Daredevils, Debutants, and Other Dauntless Girls by Jessica Spotswood
4.0
A feminist historical fiction anthology of short stories, The Radical Element is about as diverse as they come. Race, religions, sexualities, time periods. They’ve got it all. I really enjoyed the first anthology by the same editor, and I’m happy to say I enjoyed this one as well.
-Daughter of the book by Dahlia Adler: 5/5 stars.
Set in 1830’s Georgia, this is the story of a young Jewish girl named Rebekah who desperately wants to learn more than joe to see a dress. Unfortunately her parents think she only need to learn homemaking skills, so she enlists the help of her friend Caleb to teach her all that he learns. I really liked the atmosphere and I even learned a tiny bit about Jewish culture by reading this one.
-You’re a stranger here by Mackenzi Lee: 4/5 stars
Set in Illinois in 1844, this short story starts off with the Prophet Joseph Smith being murdered and young girl Vilatte and her Mormon community are thrown into chaos. Apparently the bare bones of this story actually happened, and his death caused their community to head out towards Utah, where a large Mormon community still resides.
-The Magician by Erin Bowman: 3/5 stars
Set in 1858 New Mexico, Ray is a young girl pretending to be a boy on an expedition to Colorado. She cheats at cards to make money but someone finds out and is kind of blackmailing her. I think this was just too short to fully develop for me.
-Lady Firebrand by Megan Shepherd 4/5 stars.
Set in 1863 South Carolina, Rose and her maid, Pauline, who happens to be a free black woman during the civil war, go on a vigilante spree to sabotage confederate soldiers in the dead of night disguised as a man. I liked the fact that our main character is disabled but still being a fearless rebel. But I just didn’t connect with the story that much
-Step right up by Jessica Spotswood 2/5 stars
1905 Tulsa, Ruby Porter loves to walk along rooftops and do daredevil stunts. She’s a born performer who long’s to live in a circus. She also happens to be in love with her best friend. Both things are not proper in Oklahoma at that time and she desperately wants to get out of her small town and away from her abusive uncle. This one was just okay, I felt like it was rushed and a little too perfect of an ending
-Glamour by Anna-Marie McLemore 3/5 stars
1923 LA, and Grace wants to be a star in Los Angeles. However she is Mexican which poses a slight problem as the US is stupidly racist. Luckily she has a magical glamour that she can cast to hide her real identity and appear fair skinned and blonde. But it’s exhausting pretending to be something you’re not. I wasn’t expecting magical realism in this story so I guess it’s my fault that I didn’t like this one as much.
Better for all the world by Marieke Nijkamp: 3/5 stars
-1927 Washington DC, Carrie Allen wants to be a lawyer so badly that she finds herself sitting in the courtroom of a trial where an “undesirable” feeble-minded woman pleads her case to not be sterilized. Carrie herself also has mental illness, although she’s desperately trying to hide her oddities from everyone she meets. I liked learning about the Supreme Court case in this one, but I couldn’t connect to the characters. But I do think there’s a lot of great content in this short story.
When the moonlight isn’t enough by Dhonielle Clayton 4/5 stars
-1943 Massachusetts, Emma is catching moonlight in mason jars. Her family drinks it to stay immortal and they don’t bother themselves with getting into the business of the War. But Emma wants to. She wants to help. She doesn’t want to keep her head down and be complacent. This really made me want to read more from this author even though magical realism isn’t my favorite genre.
The belle of the ball by Sarvenaz Tash: 3.6/5 stars
-1952 Brooklyn, Rosemary wants to be a comedy writer . But women aren’t funny in the 50s, or so everyone says. Plus her mother really wants her to focus on her cotillion. This one was just alright for me. The plot was kind of dull tbh.
Land of the sweet, home of the brave by Stacey Lee: 3/5 stars
-1955 California, Lana is going to audition to be the mascot for a sugar company, despite her skin being more tan than any of the previous sugar maidens have ever been and her being Asian American a few years after the war. This was just a little short and not developed enough for my liking.
The birth of susi go-go by eg Medina: 3/5 stars
-1972 Queens, Cuban immigrant Susana must come to terms with how to hold onto her roots and process the upheaval that she’s gone through in her life, and how to merge that into becoming a “normal” American teenager. I wish there was more to this one.
Take me with u by Sara Farizan: 4:5 stars
- 1984 Boston, this story follows a teenage Iranian refugee who is placed with her aunt and uncle. She discovers Prince and his music and joins a girl band, which her aunt disapproves of. This one was fun but also very sad
-Daughter of the book by Dahlia Adler: 5/5 stars.
Set in 1830’s Georgia, this is the story of a young Jewish girl named Rebekah who desperately wants to learn more than joe to see a dress. Unfortunately her parents think she only need to learn homemaking skills, so she enlists the help of her friend Caleb to teach her all that he learns. I really liked the atmosphere and I even learned a tiny bit about Jewish culture by reading this one.
-You’re a stranger here by Mackenzi Lee: 4/5 stars
Set in Illinois in 1844, this short story starts off with the Prophet Joseph Smith being murdered and young girl Vilatte and her Mormon community are thrown into chaos. Apparently the bare bones of this story actually happened, and his death caused their community to head out towards Utah, where a large Mormon community still resides.
-The Magician by Erin Bowman: 3/5 stars
Set in 1858 New Mexico, Ray is a young girl pretending to be a boy on an expedition to Colorado. She cheats at cards to make money but someone finds out and is kind of blackmailing her. I think this was just too short to fully develop for me.
-Lady Firebrand by Megan Shepherd 4/5 stars.
Set in 1863 South Carolina, Rose and her maid, Pauline, who happens to be a free black woman during the civil war, go on a vigilante spree to sabotage confederate soldiers in the dead of night disguised as a man. I liked the fact that our main character is disabled but still being a fearless rebel. But I just didn’t connect with the story that much
-Step right up by Jessica Spotswood 2/5 stars
1905 Tulsa, Ruby Porter loves to walk along rooftops and do daredevil stunts. She’s a born performer who long’s to live in a circus. She also happens to be in love with her best friend. Both things are not proper in Oklahoma at that time and she desperately wants to get out of her small town and away from her abusive uncle. This one was just okay, I felt like it was rushed and a little too perfect of an ending
-Glamour by Anna-Marie McLemore 3/5 stars
1923 LA, and Grace wants to be a star in Los Angeles. However she is Mexican which poses a slight problem as the US is stupidly racist. Luckily she has a magical glamour that she can cast to hide her real identity and appear fair skinned and blonde. But it’s exhausting pretending to be something you’re not. I wasn’t expecting magical realism in this story so I guess it’s my fault that I didn’t like this one as much.
Better for all the world by Marieke Nijkamp: 3/5 stars
-1927 Washington DC, Carrie Allen wants to be a lawyer so badly that she finds herself sitting in the courtroom of a trial where an “undesirable” feeble-minded woman pleads her case to not be sterilized. Carrie herself also has mental illness, although she’s desperately trying to hide her oddities from everyone she meets. I liked learning about the Supreme Court case in this one, but I couldn’t connect to the characters. But I do think there’s a lot of great content in this short story.
When the moonlight isn’t enough by Dhonielle Clayton 4/5 stars
-1943 Massachusetts, Emma is catching moonlight in mason jars. Her family drinks it to stay immortal and they don’t bother themselves with getting into the business of the War. But Emma wants to. She wants to help. She doesn’t want to keep her head down and be complacent. This really made me want to read more from this author even though magical realism isn’t my favorite genre.
The belle of the ball by Sarvenaz Tash: 3.6/5 stars
-1952 Brooklyn, Rosemary wants to be a comedy writer . But women aren’t funny in the 50s, or so everyone says. Plus her mother really wants her to focus on her cotillion. This one was just alright for me. The plot was kind of dull tbh.
Land of the sweet, home of the brave by Stacey Lee: 3/5 stars
-1955 California, Lana is going to audition to be the mascot for a sugar company, despite her skin being more tan than any of the previous sugar maidens have ever been and her being Asian American a few years after the war. This was just a little short and not developed enough for my liking.
The birth of susi go-go by eg Medina: 3/5 stars
-1972 Queens, Cuban immigrant Susana must come to terms with how to hold onto her roots and process the upheaval that she’s gone through in her life, and how to merge that into becoming a “normal” American teenager. I wish there was more to this one.
Take me with u by Sara Farizan: 4:5 stars
- 1984 Boston, this story follows a teenage Iranian refugee who is placed with her aunt and uncle. She discovers Prince and his music and joins a girl band, which her aunt disapproves of. This one was fun but also very sad