Rejected Princesses: Tales of History's Boldest Heroines, Hellions, and Heretics

Dey St.

Rejected Princesses:  Tales of History's Boldest Heroines, Hellions, and Heretics
Jason Porath
2016

The Summary
"Well-behaved women seldom make history...and these women are far from well behaved.

"Let's face it:  the list of historical women we learn about in school is lacking.  It's safe, it's censored, it's short.  And even when we learn about a true legend--say, Harriet Tubman--we get half the story (and it's usually not the half about her as a plantation-torching Union spy-master).  This is just the list of women we know about.  What of the women we don't?

"In place of complex, real-life heroines, we get sparkly, doe-eyed animated damsels who dominate children's minds everywhere.

"Rejected Princesses is here to provide an alternative to all that.

"In this fully illustrated, deeply researched, and totally entertaining collection, Jason Porath offers 100 women too uncompromising, too untoward, or too uncomfortable to fit the modern princess mold.  Gathering together a diverse set of some famous, some infamous, some forgotten, and some virtually unknown figures from history and myth, from all over the globe, this book presents the female role models we never knew we needed.  Yes, there are a few princesses, but there are also pirates, spies, journalists, activists, concubines, empresses, ninjas, pilots, samurais, mathematicians, sword-slingers, and war-lords too.

"These women were rebels and rulers, pioneers in their fields, and fighters for their causes (and sometimes for themselves).  In a time when women are still pushing for equal pay and equal opportunity, shouldn't we be putting brave women like Sybil Luddington, Hatshepshut, Nzinga Mbande, Josephine Baker, Khutulun, Rani Lakshimbai, Harriet Tubman, Emmeline Parkhurst, and Joan of Arc on equal footing with Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty?

"Women have always played a key, kick-ass role in revolutionizing our world.  The girls of today are the latest links in a long chain of geniuses, warriors, and fearless women.  It is the birthright of every woman to have a connection to that history.  Empowering, uproarious, and anything but traditional, Rejected Princesses seeks to provide just that."

The Good
I loved this book.

Yes, loved.

If it's not already apparent, I'm a bit of a history nerd and I love learning about quirky, unconventional history and feisty females who made their mark on history (see:  Bad Girls), so Rejected Princesses was the best of both worlds for me.

I imagine that many of the women featured in this book were too rebellious, too dangerous and, sometimes, too deadly to make it into high school textbooks; in fact, many of the women--whether resigned to the darkest parts of history or lingering at the edges of myth--were a pleasant surprise.  That is, I'd never read about them and I loved learning about them and the impact they made on history.

Here are some of my favorites:

• Khutulun
• Noor Inayat Khan
• Julie d'Aubigny
• Annie Jump Cannon
• Iara
• Mariya Oktyabrskaya
• Olga of Kiev
• Ching Shih
• Sybil Luddington
• Alfhild
• Mary Bowser
• Nanny of the Maroons
• Tomo Gozen
• Marjana

All of these women were incredible.  I mean, on this list alone you have fighters and warriors, spies and astronomers, pirates and Vikings, rebels and freedom fighters.  They're incredible.  Granted, I know some of them didn't exist (Marjana is a literary character, whereas Iara and, I think, Alfhild are myths and/or legends), but it was wonderful getting a glimpse into these individual cultures and their perceptions of women--and how these women flaunted conventions.

It was great.

And, of course, I can't forget the Night Witches from my list.  You can hear about me rhapsodize about the Night Witches here, so I won't go into much detail about them, except to say that they are without a doubt the most incredible pilots of World War II (I'm not joking) and, perhaps, some of the most incredible women about which I've had the pleasure to learn.

Overall, Rejected Princesses is a wonderful book.  Full of humor, colorful art, historical facts and, of course, incredible women, it's a great resource for those who wish to dabble in history--and it will show you just what it means to fight like a girl.

The Bad
No complaints.

I seriously want a copy for myself.

The Ugly
History is not always pretty--and, let's be honest here, it hasn't always been kind to women.  Some were burned at the stake because they were different; others were buried alive or faced a firing squad; some were even assassinated for their own violent reactions to society.  Not all these ladies had the luxury to happily retire.

Superman: Birthright

DC Comics

Superman:  Birthright
Mark Waid
Leinil Francis Yu
Gerry Alanguilan
2003

The Summary
"The whole world knows that Superman fights for truth and justice...but why does he?  What drives a farmboy from Kansas to divide his life between posing as a mild-mannered reporter and embarking on a career as a super-hero?

"Superman:  Birthright tells the exciting origin of the Man of Steel, incorporating his vast and colorful legend into a brand-new epic tale...a battle to save both the legacy of Krypton and the future of Metropolis!"

The Good
When I see Mark Waid listed as one of the writers on a comic, I almost automatically pick it up.  I instinctively know his work will be great--and, truthfully, Superman:  Birthright doesn't disappoint.

Although I found it a bit surreal to dive into Superman's--ahem, Clark Kent's--past, I was fascinated by the story.  Lex Luthor and Clark go way back--and I mean way back--which I found surprising, and I find it intriguing that Superman wasn't widely accepted as a hero.  There's a lot of distrust toward him, especially after Lex gets his hands on pieces of Kryptonian technology.

I loved that Waid and company added so many layers to Clark and his character.  Superman has been labeled a Boy Scout for much of his career, so I loved seeing a different side to him.  I liked seeing him as a person, not as a caricature.  He could be hurt.  Not physically, of course, but emotionally.  He has been shaped by his experiences and yet he still chooses to do good, he chooses to be good.

I liked that about him.

Moreover, I liked his new powers.  Oh, he has all the same ones that everyone knows:  he can run faster than a speeding bullet, he can fly, he's indestructible, he can leap tall buildings in a single bound.  He's the same superhero everyone knows and loves, but he has the added benefit of being able to see life.  I don't just mean recognize it and/or treasure it; I mean, he can literally see the life force in living creatures...and he can see it leak away when they die.

Superman's vow to protect people takes on a whole new meaning when you realize he's able to detect the exact moment someone or something dies.  He sees a void where something bright and beautiful had once been, and he can't bear the idea of seeing it happen when he knows he can do something about it.  It gives his promises a lot more meaning, in my opinion, and it makes more sense why he can push himself to protect people even when they don't believe in him, even when the easier course would be just to give up.

I enjoyed Superman:  Birthright.  I can honestly say it's my favorite Superman comic.  Don't get me wrong, I still love Red Son which has, heretofore, held the top place in my heart when it comes to Superman; however, for a comic book that's actually canon--i.e. not an alternate reality--I have found the absolute best in Birthright.  I can't wait to read more.

The Bad
No complaints.  Overall, it's a fascinating exploration of Superman's origins and his struggle to become a superhero in the face of Lex Luthor's treachery.

The Ugly
The usual: blood, gore, violence.  It's to be expected in most comic books where the supervillain has absolutely no qualms about crushing (literally) the little people he perceives as beneath him.  However, I was a bit surprised by the feelings of sympathy I had for Lex.

I would say he's not as bad as you think he is, but he actually is as bad as you think he is.  Worse, even.  However, Superman:  Birthright does humanize him.  It makes him more understandable, it makes him a more sympathetic character, because, as much as I hate to admit it, I did feel bad for the guy.  No one deserves to be bullied like that.

My Soul to Keep

Harper Voyager

My Soul to Keep
Tananarive Due
1997

The Summary
"Jessica is an African-American journalist as ambitious as she is bright.  She is chasing the biggest story of her life, a story that strikes closer to home than she knows.

"Dawit is an immortal, whose ancient thirst for wisdom leads him to break the first commandment of his kind:  not to fall in love.

"Together they are about to pay the ultimate price for their ambition...and their desire."

The Good
Tananarive Due creates a fascinating and inventive novel in My Soul to Keep.  She pulls from religion and myth, drawing from a myriad of cultures and countries and continents, extracting fascinating bits of history to create an intricately woven story of loss and love, life and death and immortality--and all of its terrible implications.  My Soul to Keep is beautifully executed, crafting an exquisite story that's one part tragedy and one part family epic that tosses together a number of people (immortal and otherwise) into a tangled web.

Let me say this, I loved this story.  I stumbled across it purely by accident when I was scrolling through the audiobooks on my local library website and, when I realized it conformed to one of my Read Harder Challenge categories, I jumped at the chance to read it.  Not only was I impressed by depth of the novel, which explores the human heart and the effect of immortality on man, I fell in love with the history Due included in her novel.

My Soul to Keep delves into a particularly dark part of American history, setting a portion of her novel in the Louisiana shortly before the Civil War.  She confronts the reality of slavery, the violence and loss that so many people faced on a daily basis, and she does a spectacular job of illustrating what someone like Dawit might have experienced during those tumultuous times.

Due also draws upon many different parts of history:  Chicago during the Jazz Age, Miami in the bustling modern world, Spain during the Inquisition, and even Ethiopia from Dawit's childhood, four hundred years before the story begins.  She weaves together an enchanting, sometimes terrifying story, that encapsulates a variety of human experience--a tapestry of history that reflects the beliefs, the culture, the language of each and every age she visits in her novel.

My Soul to Keep is exceptional in that regard.

But I really enjoyed the story, too.  It has a complexity that's thrilling, an undercurrent of suspense and menace that leaves the reader on the edge of their seat.  Although it sometimes seems to develop slowly--that is, it took a little longer than I expected for me to put together some of the pieces--I was pleased with how the narrative evolved, how Jessica changed when she learned Dawit's secrets, Dawit's actions in trying to protect his family and his flashbacks to his not-so-immediate past.

Since I listened to Due's novel as an audiobook, I have to say I was particularly pleased with the narration.  Peter Francis James does a stellar job of reading My Soul to Keep, melding flawless narration with an exceptional story.  His voice brought life to the characters, gave them a singularly unique voice and an emotional impact that left me nearly breathless at each chapter.

I loved My Soul to Keep.  It's just a good book all around, and it's probably one of my favorite this year.

The Bad
No complaints.

Seriously, none.  At just over eighteen hours, My Soul to Keep was a bit lengthy for my usual tastes, but I enjoyed it, nonetheless.  It took me about two weeks to finish the story, since I could only listen to it a couple of hours a day when I walked my dog or drove my car, or when I worked early in the morning before opening.  But if you're interested in it, I certainly wouldn't let the time present an obstacle.

Due's novel is worth reading, and I highly recommend it.

The Ugly
There were a few moments during which I had to stop the tape and take a minute to process what had happened.  Sometimes, it was difficult to proceed with the story, because it hurt to see how everything was starting to fall apart for Jessica and Dawit.  My heart was breaking for them as their lives took a turn for the worse.