Children's ✦ Penny’s Take
Women in Combat
Lisa M. Bolt Simons · 2017
75/100
👍 Worth It
A School Library Journal first-purchase recommendation is a meaningful educator endorsement, and this middle-grade nonfiction earns it by covering genuinely overlooked ground — the Soviet Night Witches and other women combatants — with period photographs and maps that bring the history to life for ages 10-14. The 2017 publication date means some post-2016 policy developments are missing, but the core historical content is solid and the age-appropriate treatment of war and gender discrimination is well-judged.
✦ Penny’s Take — this is The Review Group’s own editorial assessment. Penny’s analytical review line researched this book from real sources and scored it across the lenses shown below. It’s an honest first-party read — not a page-by-page personal one. The gold ✓ Penny Tested mark is reserved for books Penny reads cover to cover herself.
⚠ Parent note — our reviewers flagged: historical war/combat context · gender discrimination discussion · references to women dying in service. We still scored it 75; these are context for your family, not an automatic skip.
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Show the math
Verdict receipt0–100
Faith & family safety79
Substance / usefulness76
Craft & writing74
Originality72
Evidence & accuracy76
Hype vs delivers70
Age-fit80
👁 Human-eye gut-check75
Penny’s verdict75
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