Stories of Girls Who Science and Scheme (Brave New Girls, #2) by Paige Daniels

Stories of Girls Who Science and Scheme (Brave New Girls, #2) Reviews

• 
  Shomeret

  When I reviewed the science fiction/mystery crossover anthology,
  Love, Murder & Mayhem: Cosmic Tales of the Heart Gone Deadly Wrong, I particularly mentioned author Mary Fan's AI Sherlock story and the Brave New Girls anthologies which she co-edits with author Paige Daniels. Mary Fan noticed my review and sent me an ARC of Brave New Girls # 2 in return for this honest review.
  Let me say that I was impressed by the series concept which is to encourage girls to study the sciences and enter scientific professions. The proceeds from this anthology go to the scholarship fund of the Society of Women Engineers. Although I am not myself a scientist, I would like to see a world where more girls consider these fields.
  
  My favorite story was "Circus in the Sky" by Lisa Toohey. It combines two subjects which are perennial themes in my reading--circuses and animal welfare. Let me be clear that I don't enjoy circuses that imprison animals in order to entertain humans. Like Kaleigh, the protagonist of "Circus in the Sky", I believe animals belong in their natural habitats. This story is different from many others in this anthology. Kaleigh isn't an inventor or a tinkerer, but she does have scientific ambitions. Kaleigh is also very courageous. She stands up for an animal who has no other advocate within the circus that employs her. I was delighted to meet someone like her within the pages of a book.
  
  I thought there was enough worthwhile content in Brave New Girls #2 to recommend it to teens in search of science fiction adventure starring girls using science to achieve their goals.
  
  
  For my complete review see
  http://shomeretmasked.blogspot.com/20...
• 
  Kelley

  Intrepid editors Mary Fan and Paige Daniels are back together for another Brave New Girls Anthology. With an awesome triad of sci-fi story sections: Scintillating Space, Steampunk STEM, and Cyborgs and Cyberworlds (we all adore alliteration!), these authors do a fantastic job of demonstrating, as remarked by editor Mary Fan, worlds where “individuals are into STEM and who are the heroines of their own stories. Girls should be unlimited.”
   
  And these girls are! This book’s proceeds go toward introducing more girls to STEM (which just in case you forgot the acronym, stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math), through a scholarship fund given through The Society of Women Engineers. So have a great time with these stories of young female characters, all of whom have the wiles, intelligence, bravery and bravado I came to appreciate through the first BNG, and hope to experience in many anthologies to come. Here's a little preview of some of the stories:
   
  “The Case of the Missing Sherlock” by Mary Fan: Chevonne Watson's best friend is an AI gal named Sherlock, who's gone missing. Chevonne must have all her science smarts and mystery-solving wits about her to find and rescue her, because there's nothing artificial about their friendship!
  “The Non-Existence of Gravity” by Steph Bennion:  Cethlenn and her aunt 'Mad Morrigan' play a whatif string theory game that someone else takes to a dangerous level.
  “Sweet Emotion” by Bryan Butler: Bridget knows that in high school, school spirit can be addictive. Maybe dangerously so.
  “Dangerous Territory” by Holly Schofield: Carly has to repair her dilapidated Mark Q Rover to get pregnant stepmom Mary across the Martian desert before it's too late.
  “Let Androids Eat Cake” by Meg Merriet: Heloise is anticipating Marie Antoinnete's execution with excitement, because she knows the "evil witch' is getting her just desserts. But drop this bit of history into a steampunk ambiance, and you never know WHAT will happen!
  “Circus in the Sky” by Lisa Toohey: Kaleigh was raised in the circus lifestyle on a giant Space Circus. Her love for the beasts she trains brings her to an important conclusion when she meets Mr. Kogen, a giant silver-backed bearish creature, who has some very non-creature talents. How can Karleigh save Mr. Kogen and herself?
  “Our Very Respected and Always Benevolent Leader” by Kay Dominguez: A giant ship has landed on Ava's planet. It won't communicate. It fights back when it is prodded, but otherwise it is silent. And it is impenetrable. 
  “The 17th Quadrennial Intergalactic Neo-Cultural Expo and Science Fair” by Jeanne Kramer-Smyth: Alice and her friends are prepping their project of nanobots for an amazing and artistic presentation, when every sector but theirs starts losing oxygen. As the only functioning sector, they have to figure out a way to save everyone else.
  “The Experimental Bug "First Test"” by Jelani Akin Parham: Pilar has created a SuperSuit to protect her in her dangerous town. Her giant bug suit has some scary 'bugs' of its own that might interfere with its ability to function.
  “In A Whole New Light” by Michelle Leonard: Nina used to play with cousin Evan all the time, but his new crowd of friends has turned Evan into a bullying nightmare, with Nina as their main target. Can Nina use her scientific knowhow to change his attitude?
  “Chasing the Copper Dragon” by Karissa Laurel: In this neo-Victorian Steampunk world, Olivia is the one detecting and looking for truth. Johanna is the mechanical engineer. In this story involving flying, fire-breathing metal dragons and murder, both friends and skills will be tested.
  “Arch Nemesis” by Jamie Krakover: Did YOU know that the famed St. Louis Arch was actually a top-secret alien library designed to study humans and their behavior? Valerie is the only one who knows. And she's the only one who can stop it.
  “The Babysitting Job:A Robot Repair Girl” by Josh Pritchett: Madison Brown worked alone in her shop requiring the optic systems of a Minamoto-series 2000 fighting robot, but now she has the opportunity for new discovery regarding the real humanity in Artificial Intelligence.:
  “The Last Android” by Paige Daniels: Ava and Imogen Imogen is surviving in a post-apocalyptic world that’s lost much, including technology and scientific knowledge. Imogen finds a drone who is actually an AI named Ava, and who is her only friend. Can Imogen and Ava push forward far enough to find people who are smart enough to see Ava for the miracle she is, instead of destroying her for scraps?
   
  And here are eight more! Talk about something for everyone…
   
  “The Adventure of the Brass Lamp” by M.L.D Curelas
  “Skyris” by A.A. Jankiewicz
  “The Verne Shot” by Brandon Draga
  “Scilla's Monster” by Elisha Betts
  “The Swiss Cheese Model” by Eric Bakutis
  “Hack” by Evangeline Jennings
  “The Makers Handbook” by George Ebey
  “Nova” by Stephen Landry
   
   
  So my Konundrum again for the week, for the YEAR, is this: WHY aren’t there more kickass, badass girls in literature and film? There have been many times this past year I’ve felt like we’re going backward, but then I get to sit down with these Brave New Girls. It helps restore my faith, one tale at a time. Don’t forget there are 22 stories to choose from and restore your own faith with these charismatic characters.
  This year—the year of Wonder Woman on the big screen—was the perfect time for Brave New Girls 2 . Anyone who wants some fun with science, space, potential pasts and possible futures, all with truly cool female characters running the show, should check out Brave New Girls (Start with 1, and then move on...) Promote some STEM in your life, and the lives of girls around you, and support The Society of Women Engineers and all they are doing for science, technology, engineering and the advancement of equal opportunities across the board.
  
  I'd love to hear your views Until then, Stay Mystified!
  Kelley
  
  
• 
  Suzie Olsen

  Some stories were better than others, but overall this anthology is awesome! I had a lot of fun reading the sci-fi stories with STEM girls as the lead characters, and I highly recommend this book for the tween and teen in your life (as well as for your adult self).
• 
  Mandi Jayne

  (Thanks to the Kid Lit Exchange network for the review copy of this book-all opinions are my own)
  
  *Loved* this fun collection of short stories about girls and science!! My daughters are a wee bit young to read the whole book themselves, but we did a few read alouds with my fave stories and they enjoyed them too. I thought the format of the book was awesome, it provided a way for many girls of different backgrounds to be the hero of their own story. It's a middle grade book, but would definitely appeal to other age groups. Short story collections can be tricky, but this had a great mix of different personalities and storylines to keep the book moving.
• 
  Carol Thompson

  Inspiring Stories
  
  Ideal for smart girls and boys.
  
  As usual with anthologies the quality of the individual stories varies, but all are entertaining.
• 
  Catherine Fitzsimmons

  Another fun anthology. The theme made a lot of the stories pretty similar, but I approve of the vision of this series, and each story was pretty well written.