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

by Jessica Spotswood (Editor), Dahlia Adler (Contribution by), Erin Bowman (Contribution by), Dhonielle Clayton (Contribution by), Sara Farizan (Contribution by)

Overview

In an anthology of revolution and resistance, a sisterhood of YA writers shines a light on a century and a half of heroines on the margins and in the intersections.

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 when 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 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.

Original stories by:
Dahlia Adler
Erin Bowman
Dhonielle Clayton
Sara Farizan
Mackenzi Lee
Stacey Lee
Anna-Marie McLemore
Meg Medina
Marieke Nijkamp
Megan Shepherd
Jessica Spotswood
Sarvenaz Tash

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780763699307
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	03/13/2018
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Sales rank:	1,047,859
Lexile:	840L (what's this?)
File size:	2 MB
Age Range:	14 - 17 Years

About the Author

Jessica Spotswood is the editor of A Tyranny of Petticoats, the companion volume to The Radical Element. She grew up near the Gettysburg battlefield, in Pennsylvania, but now lives in Washington, D.C., where she works for the District of Columbia Public Library system as a children's library associate.

Meg Medina, the 2023­­­­–2024 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature,is a Cuban American author who writes for readers of all ages. Her middle-grade novel Merci Suárez Changes Gears received a Newbery Medal and was a New York Times Book Review Notable Children’s Book of the Year, among many other distinctions. Its sequel, Merci Suárez Can’t Dance, received five starred reviews, while Merci Suárez Plays It Cool received four stars, with Kirkus Reviews calling it “a fabulous finale to a memorable trilogy.” Her most recent picture book, Evelyn Del Rey Is Moving Away, received honors including a Charlotte Zolotow Award and was the 2020 Jumpstart Read for the Record selection, reaching 2.24 million readers. She received a Pura Belpré Author Award Honor for her picture book Mango, Abuela, and Me. Her young adult novel Burn Baby Burn earned numerous distinctions, including being long-listed for the National Book Award and short-listed for the Kirkus Prize. Meg Medina received a Pura Belpré Author Award and a Cybils Award for her young adult novel Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass, which has been adapted and illustrated as a graphic novel by Mel Valentine Vargas. She also received an Ezra Jack Keats Writer Award for her picture book Tía Isa Wants a Car.

Meg Medina’s work examines how cultures and identity intersect through the eyes of young people, and she brings audiences stories that speak to both what is culturally specific and what is universal. Her favorite protagonists are strong girls.

When she is not writing, Meg Medina works on community projects that support girls, Latino youth, and literacy. She lives with her family in Richmond, Virginia.

Table of Contents

Introduction ix

1838: Savannah, Georgia: Daughter of the Book Dahlia Adler 1

1844: Nauvoo, Illinois: You're a Stranger Here Mackenzi Lee 25

1858: Colorado River, New Mexico Territory: The Magician Erin Bowman 46

1863: Charleston, South Carolina: Lady Firebrand Megan Shepherd 74

1905: Tulsa, Indian Territory: Step Right Up Jessica Spotswood 102

1923: Los Angeles and the Central Valley, California: Glamour Anna-Marie McLemore 128

1927: Washington, D.C.: Better for All the World Marieke Nijkamp 156

1943: Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts: When the Moonlight Isn't Enough Dhonielle Clayton 179

1952: Brooklyn, New York: The Belle of the Ball Sarvenaz Tash 207

1955: Oakland, California: Land of the Sweet, Home of the Brave Stacey Lee 236

1972: Queens, New York: The Birth of Susi Go-Go Meg Medina 257

1984: Boston, Massachusetts: Take Me with U sara Farizan 282

About the Contributors 305

Acknowledgments 309

Editorial Reviews

These are tales across time and cultures, offering diverse women as witnesses to historical times. Contributor Dhonielle Clayton sums up the necessity of such an anthology when she writes, "There are few stories about what nonwhite people endured [during World War II], and I wanted to explore that." A needed collection to broaden understanding of the many different faces of history.
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Twelve stories from acclaimed YA authors focus on women who, one way or another, have radical, groundbreaking experiences...Short story collections can be uneven, but this one has an admirable goal, and there is plenty to love.
—Booklist

Each story has an unique voice and tone, appealing to a variety of readers...This collection is extremely informative, intersectional, and inspirational, and will be sure to spark dialogue. Recommended for all young adult collections.
—School Library Journal

Anna-Marie McLemore, Meg Medina, Dahlia Adler, Dhonielle Clayton, Sarvenaz Tash, Sara Farizan, Marieke Nijkamp, Erin Bowman, Stacey Lee, and Mackenzi Lee each tell a story of young female resistance and revolution in history. It's super timely and empowering, this is one you'll want to carry around in your tote bag.
—Bustle (blog)

Perhaps this intriguing collection will encourage girls to embrace their best selves and to engage in radical actions of their own.
—Literacy Daily

The 12 stories, set in the U.S., run chronologically from 1838 Savannah to 1984 Boston and spotlight girls from a range of ethnic and social backgrounds.
—Shelf Awareness for Readers

With a focus on empowering girls and women to stand up for themselves and what is right, this title is definitely a needed entry in every collection.
—School Library Connection

From the Publisher

02/01/2018
Gr 7 Up—This historical fiction anthology features stories set from the early-1800s to the 1980s about radical young women from different religions, backgrounds, socioeconomic groups, abilities, races and ethnicities, sexual orientations, and cultures. Additionally, not one protagonist is quite like the other in her "radicalness." Each story has an unique voice and tone, appealing to a variety of readers. Particular standouts are Dhonielle Clayton's "When Moonlight Isn't Enough" and Marieke Nijkamp's "Better for All the World." Clayton tells the story of an African American family who has discovered the secret to immortality. They have lived for over a century, consistently leaving the country in times of war in order to avoid assisting in any war efforts. Nijkamp focuses on Carrie Allen, a young woman with autism and aspirations to become a lawyer in the late 1920s. She takes on the case of Carrie Buck, a woman who has been deemed unfit to reproduce and will be sterilized. Nijkamp sheds light through the eyes of someone who would likely be considered unfit to reproduce by her society, bringing an honesty and pain to the story. After each entry, the author adds a note detailing her personal connection, historical details and facts, and additional sources. While the entries themselves are all fictional, they are set against the backdrop of American history, highlighting issues that have not been readily represented. This collection is extremely informative, intersectional, and inspirational, and will be sure to spark dialogue. VERDICT Recommended for all young adult collections.—Kat Paiva, Rye Public Library, NH

School Library Journal

★ 2017-12-11
Editor Spotswood offers a collection of historical stories about young women, bold and brave, many who traverse territory slated only for men.Rebekah, who comes from an Orthodox Jewish family, defies the traditional patriarchal hierarchy of the faith when she secretly meets with her friend Caleb to study Torah, forbidden to women. When these secret meetings are discovered, Rebekah is forced to make the bold choice of allegiance to religious tradition or her desire to be educated in it. In the 19th-century Southwest, Ray is a Mexican girl who poses as a boy to work as a stevedore among men while cheating them at cards to raise funds to reunite with her long-lost family. In "Lady Firebrand," interracial friends Pauline and Rose conspire to undermine the Confederacy by acting as undercover saboteurs for the Union. Crossing genres into fantasy, Emma McGee is a young black girl whose family has discovered a potion that gives them immortality. As U.S. involvement in World War II heightens, Emma is torn between keeping her family's secret and her desire to serve in the Army Nurse Corps. These are tales across time and cultures, offering diverse women as witnesses to historical times. Contributor Dhonielle Clayton sums up the necessity of such an anthology when she writes, "There are few stories about what nonwhite people endured [during World War II], and I wanted to explore that." A needed collection to broaden understanding of the many different faces of history. (Anthology. 14-18)

Kirkus Review