From the Diary ofAnne Frank to Anne of Green Gables, young women love to read stories about real girls who faced incredible challenges and shared indelible truths about the human spirit.
Jan Cleere has compiled a wonderful collection of such stories, for a wide range of readers from ten-year-old girls to older readers fascinated by women’s history. Meet Laurette Lovell, born in 1869 with a severe leg deformity, who at age thirteen started on her path to be a renowned pottery artist and painter. Edith Bass, born in 1896, began wrangling mules before the age of nine, leading pack strings up and down the dangerous paths into the Grand Canyon. These two young women, and nine others, are profiled magnificently alongside historic photographs. Today’s readers love to read bold adventures. They’ll never forget these stories of real girls who conquered the West in their own style, spending most or all of their childhood in Arizona.

Jan Cleere is a historical researcher and the author of More Than Petticoats: Remarkable Nevada Women, among other books. She lives in Oro Valley, Arizona.