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.

Making Waves

Sourcebooks Casablanca

Making Waves
Tawna Fenske
2011

The Summary
"She always wanted to belong...just not to a dysfunctional pirate crew.

"Juli has trouble fitting in, though she'd prefer to keep the reasons to herself.  But when she mistakenly stows away on a ship of misfit corporate castoffs, her own secrets become the least of her concerns.

"He knows plotting a diamond heist may be considered unusual behavior...

"But Alex isn't feeling very normal when his unscrupulous boss kicks him to the curb.  Meeting Juli doesn't do much to restore normalcy to Alex's life either, but it sure is exhilirating!

"As Alex and Juli bare their secrets--and a whole lot more--they find that while normal is nice, weird can be wonderful."

The Good
I picked Making Waves up on a whim.  I'd liked some of Tawna Fenske's other work (e.g. Frisky Business, and Now That It's You), so I thought I might give this novel a try.  And I'm so glad I did, because Making Waves is weird and almost surreal--and it's absolutely hilarious.  I finished it within a day, because I couldn't stop myself.

I loved the humor and, honestly, the sheer oddity of it, plus I just loved the characters.  A few are just plain awkward, laughably obtuse when it comes to love, and poor Juli is smack dab in the center of this nautical comedy of errors.  They're just so silly, so lovable, and I couldn't help rooting for them as they made their way through the Caribbean on a wild and wacky adventure on the open seas.

Honestly, I probably laughed more than I should have, mostly over a bit of dialogue in the early chapters of the book:

"She already thinks we're cartographers," Alex said.  "Let's just stick with that." 

Phyllis frowned.  "Cartographers?  An hour ago, Cody was trying to figure out what NESW spelled on the compass." 

"Cookie," he insisted. 

"And just last week, Jake was reading the map upside down." 

"I was drunk, okay, Phyllis?" Jake retorted.  "Pirates enjoy their rum from time to time."

It is probably the best argument ever.

Overall, Making Waves was a wonderful, comedic romance.  Like top 5 of my favorite romantic comedies.  I mean, it has a super smart heroine, a hilariously dysfunctional pirate crew, a number of botched romantic opportunities, a curiously elegant and eloquent Caribbean privateer, and a wild goose chase involving a shipment of sex toys.

Yeah.  It's great.

The Bad
No real complaints.

I liked the way the novel flowed.  It was an effortless glide from one awkward moment to the next crazy adventure; however, I found the coincidences to be a little too convenient.  But I was will to suspend disbelief given I was reading about a modern-day pirate crew in search of a shipment of diamonds that might or might not exist.

The Ugly
Out of everything, I thought the shipment of sex toys was perhaps the weirdest part.  I mean, sure, you've got the dressing up as prostitutes and the dapper, Oxford educated privateer and the Cordon Bleu caliber cook who may/may not be gay, but it was the sex toys that I found weird.  It just kind of put it over the edge for me.