Many women served in WWII, sometimes in nontraditional roles, but most of their efforts have been classified or forgotten. The Daring Women Warriors of WWII series highlights a few of these overlooked patriots in a graphic novel format. The volumes present just enough background information on WWII to give context to each woman’s difficult assignment. Two distinct fonts delineate concise, factual text from short, imagined dialogue meant to add interest and more detail. Each installment is illustrated by a different artist, adding variety to the series if read as a whole. Daring Women of D-Day focuses on Andrée Borrel and Lise de Baissac, the first women paratroopers in the world, and their work in the French Resistance. Elizabeth Friedman traces the career of this expert codebreaker for the U.S. government, including her discovery of a Nazi spy ring in South America. Jane Kendeigh describes how this U.S. Navy flight nurse trained to work on battlefields and survive during combat, skills put to use as she treated and helped evacuate wounded soldiers in both Iwo Jima and Okinawa. Virginia Hall relates how Hall turned her desire to work in U.S. diplomacy into a position as a British spy in German-occupied France. The books conclude with a summary of each woman’s lasting contributions. An engaging treatment of real heroes from history. —Angela Leeper

Female heroes of World War II have their stories related in these four graphic biographies. Sophie Scholl was a young ­German woman who, disillusioned with Hitler, endangered her life by campaigning against the Nazis. Army and Navy nurses bravely take care of wounded soldiers in the Philippines while enduring terrible hardships and internment by the Japanese. An Australian journalist in France takes huge risks as a spy for the French Resistance. The woman who becomes the first Black lieutenant colonel in the WACS heads a team of other Black female soldiers in sorting mail for troops in Europe while enduring racial discrimination by their white colleagues. The authors and illustrators of these graphic narratives do an excellent job of conveying suspense; readers unfamiliar with the stories about Scholl and Wake will find themselves especially eager to turn the pages. The tales of the nurses and the WACS sensitively portray the difficult circumstances the women found themselves in and how they were able to rise above their respective trials and tribulations. Tones of sepia, grays, browns, and dark green found in the frames’ backgrounds complement the stories of these remarkable women. VERDICT The excellent narratives combined with engaging drawings do a fine job of introducing readers to important players in a crucial point of history. Purchase should definitely be considered by school and public libraries.