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hamckeon's review against another edition
3.0
This book was quick and fun. The tone was entertaining, though I question the 9 and up age level I saw for it on Amazon. I wanted more from each chapter. However, I did like the graphic pages at the end where the authors debate whether these women were "bad" and brought up points about the historical and cultural contexts.
maryehavens's review against another edition
3.0
Easy to read, includes list of sources for further reading (although some are Wikipedia and About.com but I'll give those a pass since it's for kids), has a few femme fatales I had never heard of before. I'm not sure how I feel about the strip between mother and daughter. Kind of interesting, kind of distracting. I do like Yolen so I'm willing to give a bit of a pass! :)
moonpie's review against another edition
3.0
Bad Girls skews younger than I expected; it was shelved in the YA section at my library but I think it's more suitable for late elementary to middle schoolers (tweens, early teens) than high schoolers. I tend to forget Yolen has written for a huge range of ages.
This is a collection of brief overviews of historical "bad girls" -- murderers, gangsters, poisoners -- that are written by Jane Yolen and her daughter Heidi Stemple. For each woman there's a gorgeous portrait by the book's illustrator, Rebecca Guay, then there are two or three pages of text, then a page full of a comics-style panels featuring Yolen and Stemple debating the guilt or innocence of the woman who was just discussed.
In theory the break between the women's stories is great for tweens, like the questions at the back of book-club-oriented paperbacks but meant to be funnier and less structured. At least that's my interpretation of the comics. In practice it's hit-or-miss. I could have skipped all those pages without missing out on anything. It was cute at first but by the end of the book I was wishing they'd used those pages to give a little more detail on the women who were featured.
I liked Yolen and Stemple's friendly, approachable tone throughout the collection. The mini-biographies themselves were interesting and I wish they'd been longer, although after thinking it through the abbreviated versions of these stories are probably just right for the intended (younger) audience.
Rabbit actually read this one before me and liked it enough to reread a few chapters when she saw it laying around, so A+ from the tween set.
This is a collection of brief overviews of historical "bad girls" -- murderers, gangsters, poisoners -- that are written by Jane Yolen and her daughter Heidi Stemple. For each woman there's a gorgeous portrait by the book's illustrator, Rebecca Guay, then there are two or three pages of text, then a page full of a comics-style panels featuring Yolen and Stemple debating the guilt or innocence of the woman who was just discussed.
In theory the break between the women's stories is great for tweens, like the questions at the back of book-club-oriented paperbacks but meant to be funnier and less structured. At least that's my interpretation of the comics. In practice it's hit-or-miss. I could have skipped all those pages without missing out on anything. It was cute at first but by the end of the book I was wishing they'd used those pages to give a little more detail on the women who were featured.
I liked Yolen and Stemple's friendly, approachable tone throughout the collection. The mini-biographies themselves were interesting and I wish they'd been longer, although after thinking it through the abbreviated versions of these stories are probably just right for the intended (younger) audience.
Rabbit actually read this one before me and liked it enough to reread a few chapters when she saw it laying around, so A+ from the tween set.
typesetjez's review against another edition
3.0
This book gives good information on many "bad girls" in history, but ultimately, it's not enough for this reader. The authors do well to include a list of resources at the end that readers could check out if they wanted more information, but for all the research done, there is very little information available on each woman. Honestly, I feel like I just read a few Wikipedia overviews. The subjects of some of these girls might put this book in YA (and, indeed, I read it for my YA class), but the tone, writing style, and widely spaced text feel very Juvenile (possibly middle grade?).
The real retracting quality of this book, especially for the intended audience (be it YA or JFIC), is the comic interludes depicting the authors discussing the subjects in everyday scenarios. I feel like the authors wanted to reach out to a younger audience by including graphic novel style pages, but I doubt the content of these pages will actually appeal to younger readers (appropriate format is not appropriate content!). Additionally, it should be noted that this is not a graphic novel. The comic pages do not actually tell the story and are merely supplementary, making this an illustrated text (again, very JFIC, not YA).
The real retracting quality of this book, especially for the intended audience (be it YA or JFIC), is the comic interludes depicting the authors discussing the subjects in everyday scenarios. I feel like the authors wanted to reach out to a younger audience by including graphic novel style pages, but I doubt the content of these pages will actually appeal to younger readers (appropriate format is not appropriate content!). Additionally, it should be noted that this is not a graphic novel. The comic pages do not actually tell the story and are merely supplementary, making this an illustrated text (again, very JFIC, not YA).
sjj169's review against another edition
2.0
Society has long looked at tough, smart, ambitious women and written them off as bad. But whether it's a criminal act or a moral lapse, wrongdoing needs to be viewed within the context it occured. Then again, bathing in blood, poisoning pesky husbands, and axe-murdering your parents doesn't usually win a girl any fans!
You would think with my reading tastes I would have been all over this book. It's written in short chapters that just gloss over the woman in history's story though and at the end I have no idea why the authors thought it would be cute to place little dialogues of them discussing the woman from the chapter. It was just plain stupid. I don't even think most kids are going to like that part. Then you have a graphic image post but again. Just stupid.
These strong, some misunderstood, some really whacko women made up our history. I would love a book that actually did them justice.
Some that were included but not done to their full glory were:
Cleopatra
Lizzie Borden
Bonnie Parker
I'm kinda meh about the book but it did make me want to learn more about most of these women.
You would think with my reading tastes I would have been all over this book. It's written in short chapters that just gloss over the woman in history's story though and at the end I have no idea why the authors thought it would be cute to place little dialogues of them discussing the woman from the chapter. It was just plain stupid. I don't even think most kids are going to like that part. Then you have a graphic image post but again. Just stupid.
These strong, some misunderstood, some really whacko women made up our history. I would love a book that actually did them justice.
Some that were included but not done to their full glory were:
Cleopatra
Lizzie Borden
Bonnie Parker
I'm kinda meh about the book but it did make me want to learn more about most of these women.
lucysreading's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.25
shalulah's review against another edition
4.0
Very fun roundup, though the bios were slightly simplistic. The comics featuring the authors (inserting themselves, their opinions, and bad jokes into the narrative mix) were weirdly charming.