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The Radical Element

Sarvenaz Tash, Sara Farizan, Marieke Nijkamp, Meg Medina, Erin Bowman, Mackenzi Lee, Dhonielle Clayton, Dahlia Adler, Sarvenaz Taghavian, Stacey Lee, Anna-Marie McLemore, Jessica Spotswood

Ages 13–18

Readers rate it 4.0 (3 on Hardcover)

310 pages · Released 2018

Content report card

The Radical Element parent’s guide: what’s inside

Medium confidence

Substance use

What it offers

A note for parents

This YA anthology celebrates self-respect and self-determination across different time periods and identities, featuring diverse heroines who challenge societal expectations. The stories span from historical to contemporary settings and include LGBTQ+ themes and characters. While the content is generally age-appropriate for teens, a few stories contain mild violence, some language, and references to mature themes like racism and identity struggles; nothing is graphic. The book's core strength is its affirmation of resilience, authenticity, and standing up for one's beliefs.

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From the publisher

"Respect yourself," she says. "Respect, and perhaps, one day, even love yourself. It's the most radical decision you can make." Respect yourself. Love yourself. As radical a decision for an American girl to make today as it was in 1927, as radical for a student as for a spy, for a printer's apprentice as for a poker... "Respect yourself," she says. "Respect, and perhaps, one day, even love yourself. It's the most radical decision you can make." Respect yourself. Love yourself. As radical a decision for an American girl to make today as it was in 1927, as radical for a student as for a spy, for a printer's apprentice as for a poker player. It's a radical decision when you're balancing on the tightrope of being a second-generation immigrant, of neurodivergence, of facing down American racism while loving America. It's the only decision when you've weighed society's expectations and found them wanting. With respect and love, twelve of the most talented writers working in young adult literature today--an impressive sisterhood that includes Marieke Nijkamp, Meg Medina, and Anna-Marie McLemore--have created a century and a half of heroines on the margins and in the intersections, young women of all colors and creeds standing up for themselves and their beliefs. They are ignoring their mothers' well-meant advice and forging their own paths--whether secretly learning Hebrew in early Savannah, using the family magic to pass as white in 1920s Hollywood, or singing in a feminist punk band in 1980s Boston. And they're asking you to join them. This description comes from the publisher.

Shelved under

  • Self-esteem in women
  • Conduct of life
  • Self-esteem in young adults
  • Juvenile fiction
  • Self-esteem in adolescence
  • Girls
  • Self-acceptance in women
  • Young women
  • Children's fiction
  • Ghost stories
  • Fantasy
  • Young Adult

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ISBN 9780763694258 · Candlewick Press

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