Brazen: Rebel Ladies Who Rocked the World by Pénélope Bagieu

Reader Friends-have you heard that boys won’t read books with girls on the cover? It’s baloney. You just have to hand them a book, tell them it’s amazing, and watch the magic happen. I borrowed this from the Library for me to read and once I brought it home, I had to repeatedly track it down because The Kid couldn’t put it down. Now, I’ve seen it shelved in various places at different Libraries. Some put it in Adult, some YA, and some just have dedicated graphic novel sections. According to the publisher First Second, it’s aimed at ages 14-18, well, The Kid is 10 and we don’t follow the rules.

Brazen covers the lives of 29 amazing and history-making women. There are some pretty well known women like Nellie Bly and Mae Jemison, as well as some that were new to me like Frances Glessner Lee and Sonita Alizadeh. I really enjoyed the section on Giorgina Reid, the woman who helped save a lighthouse in Montauk by terracing the side of the cliff it was built on to help prevent erosion. Like many of the stories, if men had taken her seriously, the world would be a much better place. And have less erosion.

The artwork is absolutely delightful. The story panels use a limited number of colors and they change from story to story. At the end of each section there is a two page drawing of the featured subject and I had to remind myself several times that I couldn’t rip them out and frame them-I don’t think the Librarian would be very happy with me. They are so bright and vibrant and just beautiful.

I really loved this book-it covers so many different women from different time points in history and places around the world. There are artists, scientists, activists, musicians, and athletes-a little something for everyone.

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