Scan barcode
jandi's review
3.0
I really appreciate the motivation of the anthology. Each of the stories includes a short author bio, and thoughts on the theme, and a few of them really resonated with me. It would be nice to get to a world where being a woman in STEM does not make you stand out as if you were a unicorn. This would be a great read for a young girl, as it has strong female role models, as well as plenty of action.
There are some really good stories - I enjoyed particularly "Helen of Mars", "A Little Bit Truer", "The Key to the Stars", "The Mad Scientist's Daughter"and "Courage Is...". "A Little Bit Truer" really stood up for me, with its core theme of choice set in a very well constructed world. Too many of the stories for my taste rely heavily on the hacker girl against evil institutions - I guess I would have liked to see more "constructive" roles for girls with a knack for computers - how about programming ground breaking technology that makes people's lives better?
Revenues from sales of the book are donated to the Society of Women Engineers scholarship fund, so this book actively supports the cause it champions.
There are some really good stories - I enjoyed particularly "Helen of Mars", "A Little Bit Truer", "The Key to the Stars", "The Mad Scientist's Daughter"and "Courage Is...". "A Little Bit Truer" really stood up for me, with its core theme of choice set in a very well constructed world. Too many of the stories for my taste rely heavily on the hacker girl against evil institutions - I guess I would have liked to see more "constructive" roles for girls with a knack for computers - how about programming ground breaking technology that makes people's lives better?
Revenues from sales of the book are donated to the Society of Women Engineers scholarship fund, so this book actively supports the cause it champions.
eclectictales's review
3.0
I received a review copy of this book for review. You can read my full review of the book at my blog, eclectictales.com: http://www.eclectictales.com/blog/2015/09/11/review-brave-new-girls/
Brave New Girls was an interesting collection that definitely showcases young heroines who are smart and brave, standing up against corporations and constructing suits and programmes along the way. I was hoping for more characters specialising outside of engineering (but still in the sciences) but given the focus of the anthology and where the revenues are going, it’s just a minor thing I noticed. The point is these female protagonists are true to who they are, know what they can do, know what they want, and don’t allow other people to push them down or dampen their ambitions. The possibilities of what these characters can achieve is endless, and it’s an encouraging thought.
Having said that, like any anthology there are going to be hits and misses depending on what kind of stories you’re into. My favourite stories from this collection, or the ones that stood out, were Kimberly G. Giarratano’s “Graveyard Shift”, Lisa Toohey’s “Lyra”, Davien Thomas’ “Robot Repair Girl”, and Leandra Wallace’s “The Mad Scientist’s Daughter.” YA elements like romances and love triangles are on the down low in these stories, focusing instead on the main character, her friendships, her family, and perhaps a mere whiff of a love interest.
Overall I’m glad to have read Brave New Girls. The aim of this collection is fantastic and indeed the stories showcased in it is as the book blurb says. Readers of YA, science fiction, and books featuring great female characters will want to check out this book.
Brave New Girls was an interesting collection that definitely showcases young heroines who are smart and brave, standing up against corporations and constructing suits and programmes along the way. I was hoping for more characters specialising outside of engineering (but still in the sciences) but given the focus of the anthology and where the revenues are going, it’s just a minor thing I noticed. The point is these female protagonists are true to who they are, know what they can do, know what they want, and don’t allow other people to push them down or dampen their ambitions. The possibilities of what these characters can achieve is endless, and it’s an encouraging thought.
Having said that, like any anthology there are going to be hits and misses depending on what kind of stories you’re into. My favourite stories from this collection, or the ones that stood out, were Kimberly G. Giarratano’s “Graveyard Shift”, Lisa Toohey’s “Lyra”, Davien Thomas’ “Robot Repair Girl”, and Leandra Wallace’s “The Mad Scientist’s Daughter.” YA elements like romances and love triangles are on the down low in these stories, focusing instead on the main character, her friendships, her family, and perhaps a mere whiff of a love interest.
Overall I’m glad to have read Brave New Girls. The aim of this collection is fantastic and indeed the stories showcased in it is as the book blurb says. Readers of YA, science fiction, and books featuring great female characters will want to check out this book.
kspoonerfish's review
5.0
This book is great for teens that love science. I teach high school science and just put this in my classroom. The short stories have teens that use science to overcome dystopian societies, crack codes, create inventions, investigate cyberspace, repair robots, work with holograms and even save the honeybees.
ladilira's review
5.0
I prefer works of long fiction, but when asked to take a chance on this anthology of science fiction tales and advanced AI, I couldn’t resist the urge to know what lay inside.
I am happy to report that as I read, each story was better than the last. A truly well written assortment of quality writers that spoke to me as a current STEM student myself.
Readers will not be disappointed as robots, hackers, aliens and interstellar space travel fill these pages.
Need a quick read in-between classes? Or looking for something inspiring and fun? I highly recommend this collection.
While I liked all the stories, some stood out to me more than others. A Little Bit Truer by Valerie Hunter, a tale of a girl having to make a choice between her personal career ambitions and her absent mother’s desires, proved to be an emotional story for me. The choice between family and personal growth, haunts many of us and not all of us choose the same.
Lyra by Lisa Toohey, a creepy, suspenseful take on AI’s capabilities that can go to far. A computer on a mission, a deadly one at that. I was sucked into this story fast, instantly connecting with the protagonist and her horrible plight.
Fledging by Jason Kucharik, could have easily become a full-length story. A girl with skills that run from intelligence to bravery and her quest to seek the truth behind the secret organization she works for.
The Keys to the Stars by Stephen Kozeniewski, a short tale on alien invasion and the girl the Martians connect with. A fan of Kozeniewski’s longer works of sci-fi/horror, I was happy to see he kept in tune with the style I have grown to enjoy. A neither happy nor sad story, but one that leaves you wondering about the future to come and what that may hold.
There are many other stories in this collection and I enjoyed every single one. I highly recommend this collection for any Science Fiction lovers out there. In addition, the sale of this book goes to support funding scholarships from the Society of Women Engineers.
https://cellardoorbooks.wordpress.com
I am happy to report that as I read, each story was better than the last. A truly well written assortment of quality writers that spoke to me as a current STEM student myself.
Readers will not be disappointed as robots, hackers, aliens and interstellar space travel fill these pages.
Need a quick read in-between classes? Or looking for something inspiring and fun? I highly recommend this collection.
While I liked all the stories, some stood out to me more than others. A Little Bit Truer by Valerie Hunter, a tale of a girl having to make a choice between her personal career ambitions and her absent mother’s desires, proved to be an emotional story for me. The choice between family and personal growth, haunts many of us and not all of us choose the same.
Lyra by Lisa Toohey, a creepy, suspenseful take on AI’s capabilities that can go to far. A computer on a mission, a deadly one at that. I was sucked into this story fast, instantly connecting with the protagonist and her horrible plight.
Fledging by Jason Kucharik, could have easily become a full-length story. A girl with skills that run from intelligence to bravery and her quest to seek the truth behind the secret organization she works for.
The Keys to the Stars by Stephen Kozeniewski, a short tale on alien invasion and the girl the Martians connect with. A fan of Kozeniewski’s longer works of sci-fi/horror, I was happy to see he kept in tune with the style I have grown to enjoy. A neither happy nor sad story, but one that leaves you wondering about the future to come and what that may hold.
There are many other stories in this collection and I enjoyed every single one. I highly recommend this collection for any Science Fiction lovers out there. In addition, the sale of this book goes to support funding scholarships from the Society of Women Engineers.
https://cellardoorbooks.wordpress.com
shay23's review
5.0
So this is a collection of short stories and it's really awesome because they're all about badass girls. What's better than sci-fi settings and badass girls? Nothing I tell you! I had to read this because of the premise, I mean did you see the description? "Let’s show the world that girls, too, can be tomorrow’s inventors, programmers, scientists, and more." Yes, let's.
I'm bad at reviewing short story collections...I never know if I should review each individual story or want and then it's hard! Short stories are harder to review than full ones therefore this will be a short review.
Every story brings something new while keeping the theme of awesome girls in great, if sometimes, odd situations. You have the girl who just got out of jail after trying to rob this big company. The girl who's dad's were just killed and she's determined to prove it was murder. And so on and so forth. And guys, I know you love this, there's SO much diversity!
Obviously, some stories are slightly better than others but there wasn't one I disliked, if I were reviewing them separately on a scale of 1 to 10 none would get less than a five. I did have a couple favorites, Courage Is... by Evangeline Jennings, Lyra by Lisa Toohey, and Graveyard Shift by Kimberly G. Giarratano.
Basically, this was a really fun read that I had to read because it's all about girls being badass. I highly recommend it to girls who are badasses(haha) and anyone who loves sci-fi and short stories and diversity.
*I received a review copy of this book from one of the authors to review honestly*
I'm bad at reviewing short story collections...I never know if I should review each individual story or want and then it's hard! Short stories are harder to review than full ones therefore this will be a short review.
Every story brings something new while keeping the theme of awesome girls in great, if sometimes, odd situations. You have the girl who just got out of jail after trying to rob this big company. The girl who's dad's were just killed and she's determined to prove it was murder. And so on and so forth. And guys, I know you love this, there's SO much diversity!
Obviously, some stories are slightly better than others but there wasn't one I disliked, if I were reviewing them separately on a scale of 1 to 10 none would get less than a five. I did have a couple favorites, Courage Is... by Evangeline Jennings, Lyra by Lisa Toohey, and Graveyard Shift by Kimberly G. Giarratano.
Basically, this was a really fun read that I had to read because it's all about girls being badass. I highly recommend it to girls who are badasses(haha) and anyone who loves sci-fi and short stories and diversity.
*I received a review copy of this book from one of the authors to review honestly*
kasss's review against another edition
4.0
I started reading this anthology back in 2015 and then I put it down for 2 freaking years. Why?! My biggest regret is not writing little reviews for each of the separate stories I read back then. All I can say is: some stories spoke to me more than others, but on the whole I really enjoyed this anthology!
yubsie's review
4.0
This is a great collection of stories. It's fun to get to read about girls just being the best they can at every challenge they face. A great book for teen girls too, definitely recommended.
More...