A review by circularcubes
A Tyranny of Petticoats: 15 Stories of Belles, Bank Robbers & Other Badass Girls by Jessica Spotswood
3.0
3.5
Honestly, I was pretty disappointed by this anthology. I thought that I'd love it, given the premise: an anthology of short stories set in various historical time periods, featuring diverse young women protagonists. Except... except a lot of things got in the way of my enjoyment.
The first thing that really frustrated me was the amount of fantasy that was in this anthology. I thought this was going to be a collection of historical fiction short stories, but when four of the first five stories contained significant fantasy aspects, I actually started to question the kind of anthology I was reading. The rest of the book laid off on the fantasy, but I was irked nonetheless. (Yeah, yeah, it's a young adult collection - what was I expecting? Well - stricter guidelines about the stories they included for one).
The second thing that frustrated me once I finished the novel was the fact that it billed itself as diverse, but the author line-up is overwhelmingly white. Yes, half of the stories featured protagonists of color - 4 with black protagonists, 1 about gens de couleur libres - black/white mixed race folks, 1 with a Native American protagonist, 1 set in Texas with Hispanic protagonists, and 1 with a Chinese-American narrator. However, of the 15 authors, 3 are of Asian descent (none of whom wrote the sole story with an Asian protagonist) and 1 is biracial (black/white). A google image search of the authors showed that the rest of the group appeared to be white. I think it's important for white authors to write stories about people of color, but... how hard would it have been to have featured more authors of color telling stories about young women of color? There's literally an entire movement - #ownvoices - about this issue. As a Chinese-American woman, it irks me to no end that only two of the "diverse" stories in this collection meet this criteria - Kekla Magoon, a biracial woman, writing about a black protagonist and Robin Talley, a queer woman, writing about a black queer woman (albeit - Talley is a white woman, so... meh). I loved Lindsay Smith's story, but I can't find evidence online that she identifies as a queer woman, so even though it was one of my favorites, I don't think its #ownvoices.
So - overall, I was pretty disappointed in this. Some stories are great, but the overall collection felt badly planned to me. I wish the book was stricter about limiting the amount of fantasy that was in this collection, and I wish they'd taken the time to find authors of color writing about protagonists of color.
Short summaries of my thoughts on each story below - beware of spoilers!
+ means I enjoyed it, - means I didn't like it, and ~ means it was so-so
Mother Carey's Tale by J. Anderson Coats+ - This story about a young black pirate gets the collection off to a good start - the magical realism was pretty beautifully done (also, I'm a sucker for pirates, always).
The Journey by Marie Lu~ - Not my favorite, not the worst. I was definitely getting Julie of the Wolves kinda vibes and - guess what? That's what inspired the story in the first place.
Madeleine's Choice by Jessica Spotswood+ - I really loved getting a glimpse of the world of Louisiana's gens de couleur libres. The love triangle is a little bland, but I loved the way that colorism, racism, and classicism played huge roles in the community described in the story. Also, I loved the backstabbing friend.
El Destinos by Leslye Walton~ - Interesting concept but it just didn't work for me. Immortal beings and gods falling for mortals is one of my least favorite tropes (I'm looking at you, Tenth Doctor). I thought the idea of the Three Fates being consistent across cultures and places was faintly interesting, but it just didn't work with the first person narration. This would have been better explored in a novel, without the Fates themselves as protagonists. Also... I'm pretty sure it should be Los Destinos, plural...
High Stakes by Andrea Cremer- - I really hated this story, on a multitude of levels. The historical setting does almost nothing for the plot, I didn't understand the point of why all these magical creatures gather together every so often, and I was offended at the way slavery is treated in the plot. The djinn did not need to die. He really didn't. Reminds me of Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, and that is absolutely not a good thing. Also, what was up with her hands? She had snake tattoos that came to life? To bit people? What? What? What?
The Red Raven Ball by Caroline Tung Richmond~ - Not at all interesting.
Pearls by Beth Revis+ - I was losing faith in the anthology at this point, then Beth Revis saved it with this great short story.
Gold in the Roots of the Grass by Marissa Meyer+ - I really loved this story, even though the fact that it's not #ownvoices irks me to no end. This is one of the stories with fantasy elements that worked for me, and even though the romance is super fluffy, I just really liked it.
The Legendary Garrett Girls by Y.S. Lee~ - Not the best, not the worst.
The Color of the Sky by Elizabeth Wein+ - Oh man, I freaking loved this story. It's heartbreaking, it shows the cruelty and racism of the time while also giving readers a little bit of hope for the future. That ending line. Perfect.
Bonnie and Clyde by Saundra Mitchell~ - Cute, fluffy, short.
Hard Times by Katherine Longshore~ - Another fine story.
City of Angels by Lindsay Smith+ - One of my favorites from this collection. I loved everything about it, including the ending. I love that the romance isn't of the "and they lived happily together forevermore" variety. I would happily read a novel with this protagonist.
Pulse of the Panthers by Kekla Magoon+ - A decent story that's pushed into a + for me because it's one of the few #ownvoices in this collection.
The Whole World is Watching by Robin Talley~ - I didn't hate it but I didn't love it. I think Talley might be the only queer author in this collection, so yay, but she wrote about a black lesbian(bisexual?) woman in the 1960's so... mehhh.
Honestly, I was pretty disappointed by this anthology. I thought that I'd love it, given the premise: an anthology of short stories set in various historical time periods, featuring diverse young women protagonists. Except... except a lot of things got in the way of my enjoyment.
The first thing that really frustrated me was the amount of fantasy that was in this anthology. I thought this was going to be a collection of historical fiction short stories, but when four of the first five stories contained significant fantasy aspects, I actually started to question the kind of anthology I was reading. The rest of the book laid off on the fantasy, but I was irked nonetheless. (Yeah, yeah, it's a young adult collection - what was I expecting? Well - stricter guidelines about the stories they included for one).
The second thing that frustrated me once I finished the novel was the fact that it billed itself as diverse, but the author line-up is overwhelmingly white. Yes, half of the stories featured protagonists of color - 4 with black protagonists, 1 about gens de couleur libres - black/white mixed race folks, 1 with a Native American protagonist, 1 set in Texas with Hispanic protagonists, and 1 with a Chinese-American narrator. However, of the 15 authors, 3 are of Asian descent (none of whom wrote the sole story with an Asian protagonist) and 1 is biracial (black/white). A google image search of the authors showed that the rest of the group appeared to be white. I think it's important for white authors to write stories about people of color, but... how hard would it have been to have featured more authors of color telling stories about young women of color? There's literally an entire movement - #ownvoices - about this issue. As a Chinese-American woman, it irks me to no end that only two of the "diverse" stories in this collection meet this criteria - Kekla Magoon, a biracial woman, writing about a black protagonist and Robin Talley, a queer woman, writing about a black queer woman (albeit - Talley is a white woman, so... meh). I loved Lindsay Smith's story, but I can't find evidence online that she identifies as a queer woman, so even though it was one of my favorites, I don't think its #ownvoices.
So - overall, I was pretty disappointed in this. Some stories are great, but the overall collection felt badly planned to me. I wish the book was stricter about limiting the amount of fantasy that was in this collection, and I wish they'd taken the time to find authors of color writing about protagonists of color.
Short summaries of my thoughts on each story below - beware of spoilers!
+ means I enjoyed it, - means I didn't like it, and ~ means it was so-so
Mother Carey's Tale by J. Anderson Coats+ - This story about a young black pirate gets the collection off to a good start - the magical realism was pretty beautifully done (also, I'm a sucker for pirates, always).
The Journey by Marie Lu~ - Not my favorite, not the worst. I was definitely getting Julie of the Wolves kinda vibes and - guess what? That's what inspired the story in the first place.
Madeleine's Choice by Jessica Spotswood+ - I really loved getting a glimpse of the world of Louisiana's gens de couleur libres. The love triangle is a little bland, but I loved the way that colorism, racism, and classicism played huge roles in the community described in the story. Also, I loved the backstabbing friend.
El Destinos by Leslye Walton~ - Interesting concept but it just didn't work for me. Immortal beings and gods falling for mortals is one of my least favorite tropes (I'm looking at you, Tenth Doctor). I thought the idea of the Three Fates being consistent across cultures and places was faintly interesting, but it just didn't work with the first person narration. This would have been better explored in a novel, without the Fates themselves as protagonists. Also... I'm pretty sure it should be Los Destinos, plural...
High Stakes by Andrea Cremer- - I really hated this story, on a multitude of levels. The historical setting does almost nothing for the plot, I didn't understand the point of why all these magical creatures gather together every so often, and I was offended at the way slavery is treated in the plot. The djinn did not need to die. He really didn't. Reminds me of Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, and that is absolutely not a good thing. Also, what was up with her hands? She had snake tattoos that came to life? To bit people? What? What? What?
The Red Raven Ball by Caroline Tung Richmond~ - Not at all interesting.
Pearls by Beth Revis+ - I was losing faith in the anthology at this point, then Beth Revis saved it with this great short story.
Gold in the Roots of the Grass by Marissa Meyer+ - I really loved this story, even though the fact that it's not #ownvoices irks me to no end. This is one of the stories with fantasy elements that worked for me, and even though the romance is super fluffy, I just really liked it.
The Legendary Garrett Girls by Y.S. Lee~ - Not the best, not the worst.
The Color of the Sky by Elizabeth Wein+ - Oh man, I freaking loved this story. It's heartbreaking, it shows the cruelty and racism of the time while also giving readers a little bit of hope for the future. That ending line. Perfect.
Bonnie and Clyde by Saundra Mitchell~ - Cute, fluffy, short.
Hard Times by Katherine Longshore~ - Another fine story.
City of Angels by Lindsay Smith+ - One of my favorites from this collection. I loved everything about it, including the ending. I love that the romance isn't of the "and they lived happily together forevermore" variety. I would happily read a novel with this protagonist.
Pulse of the Panthers by Kekla Magoon+ - A decent story that's pushed into a + for me because it's one of the few #ownvoices in this collection.
The Whole World is Watching by Robin Talley~ - I didn't hate it but I didn't love it. I think Talley might be the only queer author in this collection, so yay, but she wrote about a black lesbian(bisexual?) woman in the 1960's so... mehhh.