A Tyranny of Petticoats (A Tyranny of Petticoats #1)

Summary:

Criss-cross America — on dogsleds and ships, stagecoaches and trains — from pirate ships off the coast of the Carolinas to the peace, love, and protests of 1960s Chicago. Join fifteen of today’s most talented writers of young adult literature on a thrill ride through history with American girls charting their own course. They are monsters and mediums, bodyguards and barkeeps, screenwriters and schoolteachers, heiresses and hobos. They're making their own way in often-hostile lands, using every weapon in their arsenals, facing down murderers and marriage proposals. And they all have a story to tell.  With stories by: J. Anderson Coats, Andrea Cremer, Y. S. Lee, Katherine Longshore, Marie Lu, Kekla Magoon, Marissa Meyer, Saundra Mitchell, Beth Revis, Caroline Tung Richmond, Lindsay Smith, Jessica Spotswood, Robin Talley, Leslye Walto, and Elizabeth Wein. (Summary and cover courtesy of goodreads.com)

Review:

This would be a great book for middle school kids to have to read before bed.  Each short story is set in a different historical time period with badass female leads.  This was a fun one to pick up and read in short bursts, and read a few stories at a time.  Obviously some stories I like more than others, but it’s a little hard (and would be very long) to review them one-by-one.

A few standouts included “The Color of the Sky” based on the true events of Bessie Coleman, “City of Angels” about two factory workers during World War II, and “High Stakes” about a supernatural assassin.  Definitely recommend and definitely would recommend sharing with kids, but you would likely want to screen first as some are quite violent and/or have mature content.

Warning: Contains some violence (varies story to story).

Rating: 4 stars!

Who should read it? People who want to read about more badass women in a historical context.

Want to read the whole series?

• The Radical Element (A Tyranny of Petticoats #2)