12/14/2015
Fifteen female authors including Andrea Cremer, Kekla Magoon, Marissa Meyer, and Elizabeth Wein deliver a delightful selection of historical tales set in North America and featuring strong-willed, capable women. In J. Anderson Coats’s harrowing “Mother Carey’s Table,” 16-year-old Joe dresses as a boy to accompany her father aboard a pirate ship. In Marie Lu’s “The Journey,” set in 1723, an Inuit teenager, Yakone, attempts a dangerous cross-country journey after her parents are murdered. Helen, an heiress in 19th-century Chicago, flees to the Wyoming frontier to escape a forced marriage in Beth Revis’s “Pearls.” And in Y.S. Lee’s “The Legendary Garrett Girls,” two sisters fight to protect the bar they run in 1898 Alaska. Other stories are set in Civil War–era Washington, D.C., Indiana during the Great Depression, post-WWII Los Angeles, and Chicago during the 1968 Democratic National Convention riots. Historical figures like pilot Bessie Coleman, voodoo priestess Marie Laveau, and robber Bonnie Parker make cameos, while author notes help contextualize the stories. These energizing, adventurous, and occasionally somber tales will readily please fans of historical fiction. Ages 14–up. Agent: Jim McCarthy, Dystel & Goderich Literary Management. (Mar.)
Brassy bank robbers, brave trailblazers, and ball-busting débutantes make all sorts of noise in this collection of 15 stories...Each individual story is thoroughly researched, and each includes an author's note explaining the context. The heroines are tough and memorable and full of heart, and the concept is irresistible. Stock up—this one will practically sell itself.
—Booklist (starred review)
Fifteen notable YA authors come together to write enthralling short historical narratives starring ambitious young women...Each entry is strong on its own, and the characters’ voices are unique in each tale. Teens will be hard-pressed to choose a favorite, and even those who are not fans of historical fiction might find a genre-blended tale worth reading. Overall, the pacing for each selection is steady, and the conclusions have enough punch to make the characters and their situations memorable. A must-buy. This collection will be sure to spark an interest in anyone who wants to indulge in strong and introspective young women living in a variety of historical time periods.
—School Library Journal (starred review)
These energizing, adventurous, and occasionally somber tales will readily please fans of historical fiction.
—Publishers Weekly
There is range and balance in tone, voice, and approach, a challenge for anthologies. Placing the stories in historical order allows readers to move smoothly through, and a helpful author's note follows each selection. Readers of historical fiction and adventure need look no further.
—Kirkus Reviews
Fifteen short stories by notable YA female writers move across the U.S. in geography and time, from a seafaring adventure in 1710 to the search for gold in Alaska in 1898 to the civil rights movements of the 1960s...this anthology moves skillfully between humor and thoughtfulness as it traverses the many paths taken by women throughout American history.
—Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
"A Tyranny of Petticoats" provides adventure and entrée to other times and worlds. This anthology doesn't just spotlight the experience of white girls—it also emphasizes the roles of girls and women of color.
—Star Tribune
These are adventurous, historical, tough, and memorable heroes…and they are all female. This title would be a great historical fiction addition to school libraries with its strong plotlines and strong female characters.
—School Library Connection
Overall this collection serves not just to entertain and educate young adults. It also seeks to place their own experiences on a spectrum of teen contributions to history. And, at its best, “A Tyranny of Petticoats” motivates young readers to pick up where these characters left off and to keep living — and creating — their own stories.
—Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
No two stories are alike. No two characters either. No two settings for that matter, as these stories crisscross the continent. But if you’re looking for role models for young women, you’re bound to find something here to like.
—B&N Teen Blog
★ 04/01/2016
Gr 9 Up—Fifteen notable YA authors come together to write enthralling short historical narratives starring ambitious young women. The contributors include Leslye Walton, Marie Lu, Beth Revis, Elizabeth Wein, Kekla Magoon, and Robin Talley. The stories are arranged chronologically—from British North America in 1710 to Chicago in 1968—and address several eras in American history. Throughout, strong female leads have resilient motives and less than genteel demeanors. In addition, there are no happily ever after endings, but most do leave room for hope. Topics range from societal expectations to racial issues to less than eligible suitors to sexuality to women's contributions to historical movements. Furthermore, most stories are woven with various folklore and myths and are inspired by real people or events. Each entry is strong on its own, and the characters' voices are unique in each tale. Teens will be hard-pressed to choose a favorite, and even those who are not fans of historical fiction might find a genre-blended tale worth reading. Overall, the pacing for each selection is steady, and the conclusions have enough punch to make the characters and their situations memorable. VERDICT A must-buy. This collection will be sure to spark an interest in anyone who wants to indulge in strong and introspective young women living in a variety of historical time periods.—Briana Moore, School Library Journal
Bahni Turpin takes command in this tour-de-force narration of 15 stories by 15 authors about bold American girls. Set in every era from the seventeenth century through the 1960s, and in such varying locations as an Alaskan ice flow and a pirate ship—the stories range from real-life verisimilitude to complete fantasy, with many falling somewhere in between. All are powerful. Turpin gives no sign that the range of characters, eras, situations, and emotions is anything other than easy. She channels, complete with believable accents and intonations, an Inuit girl running for her life, the Three Fates temporarily transformed into prairie girls, a 1960s hippie protester, and a nineteenth-century gorgon murderess, among many others. This is addicting listening for young adults and adults alike. A.C.S. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine
2015-12-22
This group of 15 original short stories, penned by a mix of authors both well-known and relatively new, places young women of racially diverse backgrounds at the centers of fictional narratives throughout American history. The stories present protagonists using physical skills such as J. Anderson Coats' Joe, disguised as a boy on a pirate ship, or Marie Lu's Yakone, mushing through the Alaskan wilderness; however, primarily, it is their wits and daring that get them through. Some of the stories are historical fantasy, such as one about three Mexican sisters that places the Fates in post-annexation Texas, by Leslye Walton. Andrea Cremer offers a tale from the Civil War era that positions supernatural creatures on either side. Another, more traditional story from that same time by Caroline Richmond finds a teen spy at odds with her own family. The collection is enhanced by the unexpected, such as one from Kekla Magoon about the Black Panthers in a surprising setting. A few stories are based on actual people and events, but what each story does best is anchor the narrative securely in its time. The young women do heroic things, but there is little that is anachronistic. There is range and balance in tone, voice, and approach, a challenge for anthologies. Placing the stories in historical order allows readers to move smoothly through, and a helpful author's note follows each selection. Readers of historical fiction and adventure need look no further. (Historical short stories. 14 & up)
