Jane Yolen and Heidi E. Y. Stemple Show the Cards of Historical Misfits in Bad Girls.

Reviewed by: Kelley Crawford

From Cleopatra to Bonnie Parker, history has been peppered with girls who have assertive attitudes, unconventional rules, and a rather large taste for danger. Mother-daughter writing team (Yolen and Stemple) take on the biographical task of describing and analyzing the lives of twenty-four of these so-called unscrupulous women in their new book Bad Girls. Each chapter is dedicated to the upbringing of the bad girl in question as well as her acts of “treachery.” In-between each chapter is a comic (illustrated by Rebecca Guay) that has Yolen and Stemple questioning whether these women were really merciless or just trying to make it in a world of unlucky circumstances. No matter what the reason, learning about women like Countess Bloodbath (bathing in virgins’ blood to stay young) and Typhoid Mary (serving up death along with her peaches and cream) wets the appetite for a little misbehaving.

By covering twenty-four women in this one hundred and forty-seven page book, Yolen and Stemple are only able to skim the surface when it comes to these women in history. Each chapter I found myself wanting to learn more about these women than what the three-page (on average) summary offered. With that said, their bibliography is impressive, their enthusiasm is noteworthy, and their overall tone in Bad Girls make this a fast, enjoyable, and interesting read.

Bottom line: A stimulating spring board of information that makes the reader want to know more.

Audience: If you liked Craig Thompson’s Habibi  or Ji-Li Jiang’s Red Scarf Girl then you will enjoy Bad Girls.