Friday, April 27, 2018

The Radical Element : 12 Stories of Daredevils, Debutantes, & Other Dauntless Girls



A purple cover with graphic designs of a girl in a dress with an umbrella, playing cards, old time film reel and camera, a guitar and clouds. In the center is a dark silhoouete of a girl's windblown head, she's looking off into the distance. The title is in gold. On very top "12 Stories of Daredevils, Debutantes, & other Dauntless girls. Center title (girls head between the tmwo words) 'The Radical Element'. Below 'edited by Jessica Spotwood'.

Publishing: March 13th, Candlewick Press
Pg Count: 320 pgs, hardcover
Find the Editor: goodreads

"To respect yourself, to love yourself—should not have to be a radical decision. And yet it remains as challenging for an American girl to make today as it was in 1927 on the steps of the Supreme Court. It's a decision that must be faced whether you're balancing on the tightrope of neurodivergence, finding your way as a second-generation immigrant, or facing down American racism even while loving America. And it's the only decision when you've weighed society's expectations and found them wanting. In The Radical Element, twelve of the most talented writers working in young adult literature today tell the stories of the girls of all colors and creeds standing up for themselves and their beliefs—whether that means secretly learning Hebrew in early Savannah, using the family magic to pass as white in 1920s Hollywood, or singing in a feminist punk band in 1980s Boston. And they're asking you to join them." - Nabbed from Goodreads Blurb

This is book two in the Tyranny of Petticoats series. I dearly hope that there are more books to come. I have loved historical fiction since I was a little girl and was introduced to The American Girl series and so this anthology series naturally has a special place in my heart. And I am pleased to be able to say that The Radical Element is just as great as it's predecessor. (link to my thoughts on the first book here). The Radical Element includes a variety of heroines, settings, and themes. Each author delivers. And the works combined create a multi-colored tapestry of the young, female face of American history. And the anthology includes in their diversity a face that is often over looked and especially so in American History.

The Disabled Girl.

It's only in the past decade or so that I've noticed a real turn in the way that persons with disabilities are portrayed and how much people are trying to actively represent people of all dis/abilities in their works. However, there's still quite a ways to go. Me Before You, anyone? (There's a reason this disabled girl has not blogged about that book on her book blog. lol). When I was a kid and my love for historical fiction was probably at it's apex - there weren't any disabled characters. Hell, there weren't many disabled characters ever. So to find in my hand an anthology that has intentionally main characters who are disabled and female and in history - well...my tween self was pretty damn excited. There was inner-tween squealing and hand clapping going on in the back of my head.

I appreciate that there is a representation of both a visible disability and a invisible disability. It's no spoiler since it's literally in the description blurb above ('balancing the tightrope of neurodivergence'). In years of never getting any representation and then to get it in one of my favorite genres...it makes me a happy girl. Both stories are void of any of the ableist traps. I won't lie - one is a bit cheesy, but I'll take it!

With short stories it's hard to give out information without giving out the majority of the plot..and essentially the whole story. I think with an anthology of short stories it's best if you keep it well...short! The anthology gives everyone a little bit of everything. It spans to the eighties. It is inclusive. You even get a little bit of each genre within the genre...with in the genre. Magical realism, mystery, law drama, etc.

The Radical Element continued to give me what I loved about the first installment and it gave me more.
And I want more. I think you'll want more too. And when I say I want more - I mean, I want more inclusion in the fiction I read. More accurate, un-ableist stories.

Until next time,

Jess