"Representation is important," Sam Maggs writes in her introduction to Wonder Women. "Media critics use this phrase all the time.... But something we often forget is that representation matters everywhere, not just in fiction but also in our everyday IRL lives." In the warm, colloquial style that characterized her first book, The Fangirl's Guide to the Galaxy, Maggs presents bite-size biographies of 25 "brilliant, patriarchy-smashing, butt-kicking" women who have made important discoveries in traditionally male-dominated fields.
Starting with STEM fields (science, technology, engineering and math), Maggs highlights a few women whose stories may be familiar to readers (computer programmer Ada Lovelace; pioneering doctor Elizabeth Blackwell) along with many more obscure figures (Austrian physicist Lise Meitner; Indian doctor Anandibai Joshi). She moves on to "Women of Espionage," then the broader categories of "innovation" and "adventure," which include female painters, inventors, rocket scientists, aviators and more. Maggs rounds off each section by interviewing a professional woman in the relevant field, asking about their career paths and soliciting advice for young women who want to follow in their footsteps. Maggs's message--delivered in a snappy, girl-power tone--and her subjects--any one of whom could star in a book of her own--are timely and compelling.
For girls in search of whip-smart female role models or adults of any gender who have heard one too many stories about white men, Wonder Women is a smart, witty celebration of its subjects. --Katie Noah Gibson, blogger at Cakes, Tea and Dreams