Shon Review: A Tyranny of Petticoats: 15 Stories of Belles, Bank Robbers & Other Badass Girls

Title / Author: A Tyranny of Petticoats: 15 Stories of Belles, Bank Robbers & Other Badass Girls
by Jessica Spotswood (Editor), Elizabeth Wein, Beth Revis, Marie Lu, Andrea Cremer, Caroline Richmond, J. Anderson Coats, Marissa Meyer, Katherine Longshore, Saundra Mitchell, Robin Talley, Y.S. Lee, Kekla Magoon, Leslye Walton, Lindsay Smith
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Year Published: March 2016
Page: 368
Genres: Historical Fiction, Young Adult, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Steampunk
Source: For Review
Rating: 2.75/5 stars

Available for Purchase:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository

Synopsis

From an impressive sisterhood of YA writers comes an edge-of-your-seat anthology of historical fiction and fantasy featuring a diverse array of daring heroines.

Criss-cross America — on dogsleds and ships, stagecoaches and trains — from pirate ships off the coast of the Carolinas to the peace, love, and protests of 1960s Chicago. Join fifteen of today’s most talented writers of young adult literature on a thrill ride through history with American girls charting their own course. 

They are monsters and mediums, bodyguards and barkeeps, screenwriters and schoolteachers, heiresses and hobos. They're making their own way in often-hostile lands, using every weapon in their arsenals, facing down murderers and marriage proposals. And they all have a story to tell.

My Thoughts...

Collection of short stories from fifteenth bestselling young adult authors. With that many bestselling authors in one book, you would think that this book would be a slam dunk. It was not.
From the title of the book and the tagline I was expecting something more from this book. With words like bank robbers and badass girls and petticoats I was imagining 15 short stories set in the wild wild west. There is a picture of a six shooter on the cover, for crying out loud.

Instead I got stories about the Alaskan frontier, voodoo queen, shape shifters/monsters, witches, warlocks, goblins, vampires, slavery and Civil War (The American Civil War not Captain America: Civil War).

I almost stopped reading after the first couple stories. They weren’t "badass girls". This was not what I wanted or expected. But luckily, I kept reading and there were some pearls in this book. See my individual rating of each story below.

Mother Carey's Table - J. Anderson Coats
Rating: 1/5 stars

The Journey - by Marie Lu
Rating: 1/5 stars

Madeleine's Choice by Jessica Spotswood
Rating: 1/5 stars

El Destinos by Leslye Walton
Rating: 1/5 stars

High Stakes by Andrea Cremer
Rating: 1/5 stars

The Red Raven Ball by Caroline Tung Richmond
Rating: 2.5/5 stars

Pearls by Beth Revis
Rating: 3/5 stars

Gold of the Roots of the Grass by Marissa Meyer
Rating: 2/5 stars

The Legendary Garrett Girls by Y. S. Lee
Rating: 2.5/5 stars

The Color of the Sky by Elizabeth Wein
Rating: 2/5 stars

Bonnie and Clyde by Saundra Mithchell
Rating: 2.5/5 stars

Hard Time by Katherine Longshore
Rating: 2/5 stars

City of Angels by Lindsay Smith
Rating: 2/5 stars

Pulse of the Panthers by Kekla Magoon
Rating: 2/5 stars

The Whole World is Watching by Robin Talley
Rating: 2/5 stars