No Girls Allowed by Susan Hughes, illustrated by Willow Dawson

This nonfiction graphic novel details seven stories of women who disguised themselves as men. The crisp black and white illustrations are strong yet detailed, and the author has carefully chosen the subjects to represent a broad range of historical eras.

Each woman had a unique reason for subterfuge - to become a king, to become a doctor, to escape slavery, to escape persecution. Some tales end happily, some have no real end - their conclusions were lost to time.

I really enjoyed the book, and I wish there were more history books written this way - with a common theme that spans eras. It helped to accent the similarities between the stories, despite the fact that one was from ancient Egypt and one from Civil War America.