I received an early copy of this book from the publisher via Library Thing in exchange for an honest review.

A while back I received an ARC of The Radical Element edited by Jessica Spotswood which is a collection of historical fiction short stories that focus on dauntless girls in history. Overall I gave this 4/5 stars, but here are my individual thoughts on each story.

Daughter of the Book by Dahlia Adler: 4/5 ⭐️
This story I found to be really interesting because I've never read anything with a Jewish main character and I really liked having a look into the religion. I thought this was a sweet little story about going for your dreams and I enjoyed it.

You're a Stranger Here by Mackenzi Lee: 3/5 ⭐️
I'm a big Mackenzi Lee fan but I was surprised at how much I didn't like this story. I just didn't find it to be interesting and couldn't get into it at any point in time, but I did partially enjoy it because I do love Mackenzi's writing style.

The Magician by Erin Bowman: 4/5 ⭐️
This was a nice little story that I thought did a great job showing how unfair it was to be a woman back in history because of the ignorance of others. This followed a girl who was disguised as a boy for almost all her life and how she's working to find her true family, and I very much liked it.

Lady Firebrand by Megan Shepherd: 4/5 ⭐️
This story really stood out to me because the main character was disabled and you don't see that very often. I liked this because it's a perfect example of how girls can do way more than society thinks, even if they're stuck in a wheelchair.

Step Right Up by Jessica Spotswood: 5/5 ⭐️
This was my favorite in the collection and it makes me want to read more by this author. This story had so much in it that was to love from the main character to the humor and to the overall story. I just loved how it was written and feeling that was behind the story.

Glamour by Anna-Marie McLemore: 3/5 ⭐️
This story confused me a little bit which is why I didn't like it as much as the others. I enjoyed it but when big details were revealed with no build up I found myself wondering if I had missed something, but overall it was a nice read.

Better for All the World by Marieke Nijkamp: 4/5 ⭐️
This story I really liked because, from what I gathered, the main character had anxiety or something of that sorts and I just loved the representation it brought with it. It follows a girl following a court case that is arguing for a woman to be unrightfully sterilized and I just found the story to be so interesting.

When the Moonlight Isn't Enough by Dhonielle Clayton: 4/5 ⭐️
This was a nice little story with a bit of fantasy thrown in that I really enjoyed. It shows more about how girls were underestimated but deserved so much more and how one girl fought against her parents to do what she knew was right.

The Belle of the Ball by Sarvenaz Tash: 4/5 ⭐️
I liked this cute little story because it followed an aspiring writer who wanted to create episodes for shows like I Love Lucy someday and even more so wanted to prove a man wrong when hearing him say that women aren't funny.

Land of the Sweet, Home of the Brave by Stacey Lee: 4/5 ⭐️
This was another story with great representation that also featured the main character putting some very ignorant girls back in their place. It was an enjoyable story about going for what you want to go for even in the outcome may be scary.

The Birth of Susi Go-Go by Meg Medina: 3/5 ⭐️
This story was very well written and had a great story to it, but I just personally didn't find it that interesting. Although it wasn't something for me, it was a very nicely written piece that spoke about being who you want to be.

Take Me With U by Sara Farizan: 3/5 ⭐️
This final story was just like the previous one. I enjoyed reading it and the story but it just wasn't very interesting to me. It had a nice story, but the thing that made me like it the most was the casual LGBT representation that was thrown in at the end. ( )

This is a shortened version - read the full review on my blog.

LGBTQAI : Sapphic main and side characters in a couple of stories, and a transgender man LI in one
Sex on page: No

I received an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I have so much love to give to this anthology.

At first glance, I loved the way the stories are in a chronological order, and the year setting is clearly stated right before every story. Then I started reading, and I’m not kidding when I say that I fell in love with every single one of these heroines. The quality of writing in this anthology was through the roof – I was taken in by every single story. I also loved the author’s notes at the end of each story, which included many things: the real historical context, the research that went into the stories, how the experience of the characters relates to the authors’ experiences, and sometimes even recommended further reading.

As soon as I finished reading, I went on Goodreads to look up the other books by these authors and add most of them to my TBR.

While I kinda wish more of the stories had queer characters, I still didn’t mind in this case since the religious, racial and neurodivergent diversity was amazing. Many of the stories didn’t have romance at all, or there were hints of future romance, but the ambition of the girls took priority (for now). Still, there were some great male (future) love interests that I fell in love with.

(See my blog for individual short reviews of all 12 stories.)

Final rating: 📚📚📚📚📚/5 ( )

(This review can also be found on my blog.)

These are such lovely stories! They’re all about complex, interesting women in history and there’s so much representation. There are trans characters and disabled characters and women of color and much more. When most of these stories came to an end, I was left wanting more. I was surprised to find them over. They’re not really tied up in neat little bows, they mostly end with you feeling like you’re at the precipice of a greater story. Any one of these feel like they could be effectively made into a full-fledged novel, and it was hard for me to forget that they were short stories.

The beds of civilization shifted in favor of men.

My rating for each story:

Daughter of the Book by Dahlia Adler ⭐⭐⭐
You’re a Stranger Here by Mackenzi Lee ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Magician by Erin Bowman ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Lady Firebrand by Megan Shepherd ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Step Right Up by Jessica Spotswood ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Glamour by Anna-Marie McLemore ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Better For All the World by Marieke Nijkamp ⭐⭐⭐⭐
When the Moonlight Isn’t Enough by Dhonielle Clayton ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Belle of the Ball by Sarvenaz Tash ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Land of the Sweet, Home of the Brave by Stacey Lee ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Birth of Susi Go-Go by Meg Medina ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Take Me With U by Sara Farizan ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

My average rating was 4.16 stars, rounded down to 4. I’m thinking I’ll have to go back and read Jessica Spotswood’s first edited collection of short stories, which I hadn’t gotten around to yet. I’d definitely recommend this to historical fiction readers, lovers of YA, and anyone excited to see diverse women in fiction. ( )

This is a historical fiction collection of short stories focusing on girls who made "radical" decisions for their time. The radical decision can be something as simple as deciding to pursue higher education or passing as white. I thought the collection was a bit boring. The featured girls were a bit lackluster. Unfortunately, this book just wasn't for me. ( )