12 Stories of Daredevils, Debutantes & Other Dauntless Girls

edited by Jessica Spotswood

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. Its a decision that must be
faced when youre balancing on the tightrope of
neurodivergence, finding your way as a second-
generation immigrant, or facing down American
racism even while loving America. And its the
only decision when youve weighed societys
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 On sale March 13, 2018
pass as white in 1920s Hollywood, or singing HC: 978-0-7636-9425-8
Also available in audio and as an e-book
in a feminist punk band in 1980s Boston. And
$17.99 ($23.99 CAN)
theyre asking you to join them.
Age 14 and up 320 pages

Illustration copyright 2018 by James Weinberg

 A Rallying Cry
from editor Jessica Spotswood

I n the current political climate, editing this anthology has felt

like an act of love and resistance. The election brought to light
a stunningly widespread lack of empathy for those who are not
straight and white and cisgender and male. Now, more than ever,
we need voices from girls in the margins and the intersections.

Photo by C. Stanley
We need reminders that, throughout U.S. history, these girls have
existed and resistedand that to reject racism, sexism, ableism, and
homophobia is a vital part of America.
Merriam-Websters definitions of radical include very different from the usual or
traditional and excellent, cool. I like to think our heroines in these twelve short stories are
both. Our radical girls are first- and second-generation immigrants. They are Mormon and
Jewish, queer and questioning, wheelchair users and neurodivergent, Iranian-American and
Latina and Black and biracial. They are funny and awkward and jealous and brave. They are
spies and scholars and sitcom writers, printers apprentices and poker players, rockers and
high-wire walkers. They are mundane and they are magical.
In their stories Daughter of the Book and Youre a Stranger Here, Dahlia Adler
and Mackenzi Lee tackle religion: Adlers Jewish heroine is seeking the religious education
denied to women in 1838, while Lees heroine is wrestling with her Mormon faith as her
community is again driven from their home. Adlers clever, determined heroine is one
to root for, while New York Times best-selling author Lees story features pitch-perfect
historical voice. Erin Bowmans The Magician and Megan Shepherds Lady Firebrand
are thrilling adventure stories about girls with dangerous, deeply held secrets. Anna-Marie
McLemores Glamour and Dhonielle Claytons When the Moonlight Isnt Enough
intertwine the ugly realities of American racism with magical realism and stunningly
beautiful prose. In Better for All the World, New York Times best-selling author Marieke
Nijkamp powerfully explores her first #ownvoices autistic character facing down the 1927
Supreme Court decision on Buck vs. Bell, determined to love and value herself in a society
that has failed her. In Sarvenaz Tashs The Belle of the Ball, the heroine fights sexism
and parental disapproval to pursue her goal of becoming a sitcom writer. In Land of the
Sweet, Home of the Brave, Stacey Lees winsome heroine explores what it means to love
America while encountering racism as a biracial Chinese-Japanese teen after World War
II. And Meg Medinas The Birth of Susi Go-Go and Sara Farizans Take Me with U
portray Cuban and Iranian immigrant girls wrestling with cultural identity while following
their dreams, whether those dreams involve an elusive pair of white leather go-go boots or
singing Prince covers in an eighties punk band.
It has been my privilege to work with these eleven tremendously talented authors, some
of whom are exploring pieces of their identities in fiction for the first time. I hope that in
some small way The Radical Element can help forge greater empathy and a spirit of curiosity
and inclusiveness. That, in reading about our radical girls, readers might begin to question
why voices like these are so often missing from traditional history. They have always existed.
Why have they been erased? How can we help boost these voices today?

#radicalelement
 The Radical Element
Contributors
DAHLIA ADLER is an associate
editor of mathematics by day, a blogger for
the B&N Teen Blog by night, and a writer
of kissing books at every spare moment
in between. Shes the author of Behind
the Scenes, Under the Lights, Just Visiting,
and the Radleigh University series and a
contributor to the historical young adult
anthology All Out. She lives and works in
New York City. You can find her on Twitter
@MissDahlElama.
ERIN BOWMAN is the author of
two Western novels for teens, Vengeance
Road and Retribution Rails. When not
writing about girls defying gender norms
in the late nineteenth century, she jumps
to science fiction, where she continues to
feature female characters railing against
the constraints of their societies. The Taken
trilogy is available now, and Contagion is
the start of a new duology. She lives in New
Hampshire with her family. You can find
her on Twitter @Erin_Bowman.
DHONIELLE CLAYTON is the
coauthor of the Tiny Pretty Things series
and the author of The Belles. She is chief
operating officer of the nonprofit We Need
Diverse Books and cofounder of the literary
incubator CAKE Literary. She lives in New
York City, where she is always on the hunt
for the best slice of pizza. You can find her
on Twitter @brownbookworm.
SARA FARIZAN is the author of
the Lambda Awardwinning If You Could
Be Mine and the non-award-winning but
super-fun Tell Me Again How a Crush Should
Feel. She lives in Massachusetts, misses
Prince and George Michael, and thanks you
for reading her work. You can find her on
Twitter @SaraFarizan.
MACKENZI LEE holds a BA in
history and an MFA in writing for children
and young adults from Simmons College.
She is the author of three young adult
historical novels, This Monstrous Thing, The
Gentlemans Guide to Vice and Virtue, and
Semper Augustus, as well as Bygone Badass
Broads, a collection of short essays about
incredible women from history. She loves
Star Wars, sweater weather, and Diet Coke.
On a perfect day, she can be found enjoying
all three. She lives in Boston, where she
works as a bookseller. You can find her on
Twitter @themackenzilee.
STACEY LEE is the author of Under
a Painted Sky, Outrun the Moon, and The
Secret of a Heart Note. She is a fourth-
generation Chinese American whose people
came to California during the heydays of
the cowboys. She believes she still has a
bit of cowboy dust in her soul. A native of
southern California, she graduated from
UCLA, then got her law degree at UC
Davis King Hall. After practicing law in
Silicon Valley for several years, she finally
took up the pen because she wanted the perk
of being able to nap during the day and it
was easier than moving to Spain. She plays
classical piano, raises children, and writes
YA fiction. You can find her on Twitter
@staceyleeauthor.
ANNA-MARIE Mc LEMORE is
the author of The Weight of Feathers, a finalist
for the 2016 William C. Morris Debut
Award, and When the Moon Was Ours, a 2017
Stonewall Honor Book that was long-listed
for the National Book Award. Her latest
novels are Wild Beauty and Blanca & Roja.
Glamour was written from her passion
for magical realism and her daydreams
about a queer Latina girl like her trying to
find a place in the shimmer of Golden Age
Hollywood. You can find her on Twitter
@LaAnnaMarie.
MEG MEDINA writes fiction for
children of all ages. Her work examines
how cultures intersect as seen through the
eyes of young people. She is the winner
of an Ezra Jack Keats New Writer Award
for her picture book Ta Isa Wants a Car
and a Pura Belpr Author Award for her
young adult novel Yaqui Delgado Wants to
Kick Your Ass. Her newest novel, Burn Baby
Burn, was named the 2016 Young Adult
Book of the Year by the New Atlantic
Independent Booksellers Association. It
was also long-listed for the National Book
Award and named a Kirkus Prize finalist. In
2014, she was named one of the CNN 10:
Visionary Women in America for her work
to support girls, Latino youth, and diversity
in childrens literature. You can find her on
Twitter @Meg_Medina.
MARIEKE NIJKAMP is the #1
New York Times best-selling author of This
Is Where It Ends and Before I Let Go. Better
for All the World introduces her first
#ownvoices autistic character. You can find
her on Twitter @Mariekeyn.
MEGAN SHEPHERD is the
New York Times best-selling author of the
Madmans Daughter series, the Cage series,
The Secret Horses of Briar Hill, and Grim
Lovelies. She lives on a historic farm in North
Carolina and has been coerced into many
Civil War history tours of Charleston and
Savannah by her husband. She personally
prefers haunted tours, pirate tours, or, even
better, haunted pirate tours. You can find
her on Twitter @Megan_Shepherd.
JESSICA SPOTSWOOD is the
author of the historical fantasy trilogy
the Cahill Witch Chronicles and the
contemporary novel Wild Swans. She is the
editor of A Tyranny of Petticoats: 15 Stories
of Belles, Bank Robbers & Other Badass Girls
and Toil & Trouble. She lives in Washington,
D.C., where she works as a childrens library
associate for the D.C. Public Library. You
can find her on Twitter @Jessica_Shea.
SARVENAZ TASH is the author
of The Geeks Guide to Unrequited Love,
an Amazon Best Book of the Year and
Publishers Weekly Best Summer Book, and
the Woodstock Festival romance Three Day
Summer. She received her BFA in film and
television from NYUs Tisch School of the
Arts, which meant she got to spend most
of college running around making movies
(it was a lot of fun). She has dabbled in all
sorts of writing, including screen writing,
Emmy Awardwinning copy writing, and
professional tweeting for the likes of Bravo
and MTV. She lives in Brooklyn with
her family. You can find her on Twitter
@sarvenaztash.
 15 Stories of Belles, Bank Robbers & Other Badass Girls
edited by Jessica Spotswood

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
HC: 978-0-7636-7848-7 Leslye Walton
PB: 978-1-5362-0025-6 Available in March 2018
Also available in audio and as an e-book Elizabeth Wein

The heroines are tough and memorable and full of heart, and
the concept is irresistible. Stock upthis one will practically
sell itself. Booklist (starred review)
A must-buy. School Library Journal (starred review)
These energizing, adventurous, and occasionally somber tales
will readily please fans of historical fiction. Publishers Weekly
Readers of historical fiction and adventure need look no
further. Kirkus Reviews
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
Childrens Books
A Tyranny of Petticoats provides adventure and entre to other
times and worlds. This anthology doesnt just spotlight the
experience of white girlsit also emphasizes the roles of girls
and women of color. Minneapolis Star Tribune
These are adventurous, historical, tough, and memorable
heroes . . . and they are all female. School Library Connection
At its best, A Tyranny of Petticoats motivates young readers to
pick up where these characters left off and to keep livingand
creatingtheir own stories. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
If youre looking for role models for young women, youre
bound to find something here to like. B&N Teen Blog

Illustration copyright 2016 by James Weinberg