A review by debz57a52
Bad Girls: Sirens, Jezebels, Murderesses, Thieves, & Other Female Villains by Jane Yolen, Rebecca Guay, Rebecca Guay

3.0

This is a good introduction to middle grade readers about women in history who are known for the kinds of crimes that make them infamous.  Each little biography is told in an engaging way, without too much fluff to slow down the pace or muddy the waters of engaging reading, and they vary from two to four pages.  What I really appreciated, but not really until about mid-way through the book, is that each chapter is followed by a one-page comic strip showing Jane Yolen and Heidi Stemple talking about the women in question.  They intentionally show discussions about context - how and why a woman might commit a crime in an era before our own - and conflicts in equality, shed light on possible parenting and mental health shifts, and debate the relative guilt or innocence of women as their crimes come to light.  It's an interesting repetend, and I found myself looking forward to seeing how they framed each piece as I finished it.  Overall, a fun little book.