It is not every day that I come across a book that excites me a lot. Kate Schatz’s Rad Girls Can: Stories of Bold, Brave and Brilliant Young Women is one such book that I read recently.

This book is the kind you keep on your bedside table or coffee table, to read and go through now and then without getting tired of being fascinated each time. It carries 49 profiles of smart, courageous and determined young women who made an impact in the world, or their communities, before turning twenty. The profiles have some historic figures, such as the Mongol warrior Khutulun, but there are many modern-era girls that are sure to be interesting for young readers today.

In an easy-to-understand style and attractive illustrations by Miriam Klein Stahl, Rad Girls Can is bound to inspire and enchant girls today with the focus on how even youngsters and young-adults can make a difference if their just set their minds to it.

These girls came from varied backgrounds and beginnings, and went on to accomplish much in a range of fields. Be it male-dominated sports like boxing, rock climbing or skateboarding, or showing their leadership qualities as activists against injustice and discrimination or pursuing more creative activities in the arts, these girls have done it all.

But I found most of the profiles too short and wish there had been more in-depth research done on the emotional and mental sides of these girls, what did they have that others didn’t, to make them do what they did rather than just focusing on their achievements. It would have made the book more effective in offering girls, and youth in general, inspiring role models to turn to.

The book will make an ideal present for all girls of reading ages, and all boys will learn a thing or two about girl power if they read it too.­­

Published in Dawn, Young World, October 13th, 2018