The Hitherto Secret Experiments of Marie Curie

by Bryan Thomas Schmidt (Editor), Henry Herz (editor), Seanan McGuire (contributor)

Luckily for humanity, scientist Marie Curie applied her brilliant mind and indomitable spirit to expanding the frontiers of science, but what if she had instead drifted toward the darkness?
At the cusp of between child- and adulthood, at the crossroads between science and superstition, a teen Marie Curie faces the factual and the fantastic in this fabulous collection of stories that inspire, delight, and ask the question: What if she had used her talents for diabolical purposes?
The Hitherto Secret Experiments of Marie Curie includes twenty short stories and poems by award-winning writers including New York Times bestselling authors Seanan McGuire, Scott Sigler, Jane Yolen, Alethea Kontis, and Jonathan Maberry, plus Sarah Beth Durst, Lissa Price, Christine Taylor-Butler, Mylo Carbia, Jo Whittemore, Dee Leone, Susanne L. Lambdin, Steve Pantazis, Emily McCosh, Henry Herz, Bryan Thomas Schmidt & GP Charles.

Genres: Young Adult, Short Stories, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Horror, Anthologies, Science Fiction

323 pages, Hardcover

First published April 11, 2023

About the author

Bryan Thomas Schmidt is a national bestselling author and Hugo nominated editor of adult and children’s speculative fiction. His fourth novel, Simon Says is a page-turning near future thriller. His debut novel, The Worker Prince received Honorable Mention on Barnes & Noble Book Club’s Year’s Best Science Fiction Releases for 2011. His children’s books, 102 More Hilarious Dinosaur Books For Kids and Abraham Lincoln: Dinosaur Hunter- Land Of Legends appeared from Delabarre Publishing in 2012. His short stories have appeared in Tales of The Talisman, Straight Outta Tombstone, The X-Files: Secret Agendas, Predator: If It Bleeds, Decision Points and many more.

He edited the anthologies Space Battles: Full Throttle Space Tales #6 for Flying Pen Press, Beyond The Sun for Fairwood Press, Raygun Chronicles: Space Opera For a New Age for Every Day, Shattered Shields with coeditor Jennifer Brozek (Baen, 2014), Mission: Tomorrow (Baen, 2015), Galactic Games (Baen, 2016), Decision Points (WordFire, 2016), Little Green Men--Attack! with Robin Wayne Bailey (Baen, 2017), Monster Hunter Files with Larry Correia (Baen, 2017), Joe Ledger: Unstoppable with Jonathan Maberry (St. Martin's Griffin, 2017), Predator: If It Bleeds and Infinite Stars And Infinite Stars: Dark Frontiers both for Titan Books, 2017 and 2019.

As editor, he has edited books for Grail Quest Books, Wordfire Press, Delabarre Publishing and authors including Andy Weir's The Martian which hit number 6 on the New York Times Bestsellers list in 2014, Alan Dean Foster, Mike Resnick, Frank Herbert, Todd McCaffrey, Tracy Hickman, Angie Fox, Leon C. Metz , Ellen C. Maze, David Mark Brown, and more.

He’s also the author of the bestselling nonfiction book How To Write A Novel: The Fundamentals of Fiction.

Bryan can be found online at Facebook, on Twitter as @BryanThomasS and @sffwrtcht and via his website.

Reviews

[Reading_ Tamishly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! One of the best advance reading copy I have ever got so far!

This book is mesmerising!

It is a collection of fictional short stories and poems based on the life of Marie Curie with added imaginative touch on what could have happened to her when she was a teenager.

I loved every word this book had to offer. You just have to get it! Try it for yourself.

You know the book seems so short and I want more!

Thank you, Blackstone Publishing, for the advance reading copy.

[Mallory · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was really excited when I saw this anthology, especially because it has pieces from some really great authors. They stories were well written and I loved the background info in the beginning as I didn’t know much about Marie Curie’s background. I think maybe the prompt for this collection may have been a little too narrow because as I got about halfway it started to feel like the stories were the same (and they weren’t, they were creative takes for sure),. The postscripts after stories to highlight some science were ok, but they would been bette if they didn’t feel the need to say things like Marie Curie did not actually raise an animal zombie army because really that seemed obvious to me when I read the story. I am really glad to see so much creativity and focus on a woman scientist, it feels very timely right now. Good collection for sure.

[Josefin · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a middle school science teacher I was absolutely thrilled to read this collection! It's a perfect mixture of science and imagination, and I really felt that I got a better perception of Marie Curie's life while enjoying some adventurous and creepy stories. The collection also contained a bit of humour, and I fell in love with the rat Damian from the story "cheating death" 😍

I definitely recommend this anthology if you're interested in science, want to know what it was like living in Poland in the 1880s or just enjoy some thrilling short stories ⚡

[Tabitha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for the advanced copy.

I have to say I was really looking forward to this one and was left disappointed. None of the stories are bad. They're all written well-enough - though some of quite boring and the poetry by Jane Yolen (who I normally quite like and was really looking forward to most) felt dialed-in - but are mostly quite repetitive.

The repetitiveness, or my thought of it, actually became a question when I came to the short story 'The Magic of Science' by Bryan Thomas Schmidt and G.P. Charles, which read a bit like a Sherlock Holmes story. I love Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes' stories, and those follow the same beats like the stories in this collection, but I don't think of them as repetitive, so why do I feel that way about these? I honestly can't say, except that halfway through I was so bored of what I was reading that I had to push through to the end.

A few stood out at times, like the one mentioned above, along with 'Fight or Flight' by Jo Whittemore (gruesome), and 'Retribution' by Christine Taylor-Butler (some interesting sci-fi), but for most I was just glad to finish them.

I will also say that after a while it started to feel kind of weird reading what is essentially fan fiction of Marie Curie as a teenage genius, particularly given all she went through in her life. I'm glad there's a brief biography of her at the start of the collection, but that may also be what contributed to that weird feeling.

Overall, not terrible, just... weird and kind of boring?

[L & J Ross · Rating 5 out of 5]

The compilation of short stories span a range from fantasy to science fiction to horror. All of the stories center around Marya (aka Marie Curie) primarily as a young adolescent before she furthered her education in France. I appreciated the forward, which provided a short biography which included details of her early life that are normally not mentioned when writing about her many accomplishments. I also thought that it was an especially nice addition at the conclusion of each story to describe the scientific basis or a potential hypothesis for some of what transpired for many of these stories. Most of the stories in this compilation are written by masters of their craft but all of the stories included were excellent. I would recommend this book wholeheartedly as it captures the interest of a reader on many levels.

[Roy Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting, speculative shot fiction about Marie Curie's teenage years. Based upon known historical records of her youth in Poland under Russian occupation but with liberties taken for story telling.

[Heydi Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved these short stories. I realize this is a fictional book but the stories feel so plausible. I enjoyed this immensely.

[A · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc.

I appreciated the concept behind this a lot! I would love to see lots of STEM-centred stories aimed at/about women and I liked that this is what this anthology is trying to do. I enjoyed the introduction that explained the anthology and provided background about Marie Curie's life.

Unfortunately I think I just wasn't the target audience for this anthology, as it definitely tended towards the younger side of YA in my opinion. I found the stories entertaining enough, but just okay. None of them really stuck with me. I liked the blending of science and magic that a lot of them had, but I feel like maybe it would have made more sense being about scientists *like* Marie Curie as children in general, rather than all being specifically about her. I'm not sure that having them all be about the same figure actually added much as they are all separate and mutually exclusive stories, and didn't have all that much to do with her later discoveries.

While this one wasn't for me, I'd definitely recommend it for young teens interested in science, sci-fi and fantasy.

[Karen Hammond · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting premise upon which to start a series of short stories, I was intrigued from the start. I dipped in and out of these stories for a couple of weeks (when I had little time to read a novel) and thoroughly enjoyed the science based tales.

[Kirsten Sanzone · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great collection of stories and poems about a fantastic female scientist. This would be an excellent book to use for guided reading with middle school to high school aged children. The stories are a little repetitive but it would be a rich task to get students to compare multiple stories. It was so wonderful to read a collection that combines science, history and literacy so beautifully.

Thank you to the authors, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Dylan Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a fun (and quick) read for someone who loves Marie Curie as much as I do!

[Shelley Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a collection of 16 short fantasy stories and four poems, many by best selling authors like Jane Yolan, Mylo Carbia and Jonathan Maberry. An introduction with facts about twice Nobel prize winner Marie Curie provides useful information and context, especially about the pioneering scientist's early life in Russian-occupied Poland. There is also a resource list in the back as to further books about Curie, and books and websites about girls in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics).

There is a similar plot to the majority of stories: the young Marie, usually 14 or 15 years old, is a brilliant student whose dreams of further study--or even a decent school laboratory--are restricted by reactionary views of what girls can do. She uncovers (or in some cases invents) a supernatural threat to her family or to her fellow Poles, who are suffering under Russian oppression. She uses science to overcome the threat. The stories (and free verse poetry by Jane Yolan) are all well-written and often include interesting snippets of Polish folklore (such as Susanne Lambdin's The Cold White Ones) and history. Anyone who likes a little horror, and their stories on the dark side will enjoy this anthology, despite the contrived feeling of most of the stories. Jonathan Maberry's The Night Flyers really stands out for its excellent plot and sense of suspense.

This is a timely anthology, given the attacks on both science and women's rights (including, as Afghanistan's Taliban show, the attack on education for girls). The world pandemic means many people, including young adults, are grappling with illness, disrupted educations, and the deaths of loved ones. Marie Curie was deeply affected by the early deaths of her mother and of her sister Zofia, which forms a strong part in many of these short stories. All in all, this anthology succeeds in entertaining and at the same time encouraging girls' empowerment.

Many thanks to Blackstone Publishing and Net Galley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. Pub. date 11 April, 2023.

[Anthony · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Hitherto Secret Experiments of Marie Curie posits a world in which the teenage Marie Curie, née Skłodowska, uses her scientific knowledge to protect family and friends from threats ranging from murderers to the supernatural. While a few of the stories stray from the concept (either by not including a science-based solution to the problem, or by having the title character do something downright villainous), most fit the bill.
Marya Skłodowska grew up in Warsaw, which was then under Russian dominion. Girls were only allowed to attend school to a certain age, and Poles were treated by the Russians as second-class citizens in their own city. When laboratory instruction in the sciences was removed from the curricula for Polish students, Marya and some of her peers attended a “flying university” that changed locations to avoid Russian detection. Most of the stories take place during the time Marya and her friends were students at a regular “gymnasia” (school) for Polish girls, but a few take place during the “flying university” years, and at least one during the year Marya spent living with relatives in the Polish countryside. Only one (“The Beast” by Stacia Deutsch) features an adult Marie Curie and is a neat twist on the typical time-travel story.

The volume opens with “Uncrowned Kings” by Seanan McGuire, who herself knows more than just a little bit about using hard science in science fiction and horror. After the death of her eldest sister by typhus, Marya stops believing in God and starts trusting in science. When something that seems like typhus rears its ugly head six years later but only affecting children and teens including another of her sisters, Marya follows the evidence to find the true source of this latest scourge: a mythical rat-king in the sewers. McGuire’s tale sets the tone of the book perfectly: showcasing Marya’s determination to not let others fall victim to preventable disease, her curiosity about the scientific underpinnings of the universe, her devotion to family and friends, all ensconced in a story that includes some fantastical element. “The Cold White Ones” by Susanne L. Lambdin also uses the return of typhus to Warsaw as a launching point but with a different supernatural problem at the core.

Marya’s grief and anger over the untimely deaths of her mother and eldest sister, Zofia, are palpable in many of the stories, not just McGuire’s. Sometimes the emotions spur the action, sometimes the action helps Marya process her grief – I’m thinking particularly here of Alethea Kontis’ beautiful “Marya’s Monster,” in which Marya returns from a St. Andrew’s Day birthday party to encounter a wolf-like monster under her bed. I don’t want to say too much more about how the story progresses, except that it is a stunning look at how we process grief and loss.

Other favorites in the anthology that feature a supernatural menace of some sort as Mylo Cabria’s “Three Ravens,” Scott Sigler’s “A Glow in the Dark,” and Jonathan Maberry’s “The Night Flyers,” which closes on the book on as solid a note as McGuire’s story opened it, focusing as it does on the other bane of Marya’s existence: the Russian overlords controlling Warsaw. The story is especially affecting as in 2023 we watch Russia’s continued war on Ukraine.

Not every story features a supernatural element. In “The Magic of Science,” co-editor Bryan Thomas Schmidt teams with author G.P. Charles to give us a wonderful “cozy mystery:” a girl in Marya’s dorm wakes up to discover her skin has turned blue. Later that day, a cook at the school dies. Supernatural explanations are put forward by her fellow students, but Marya is sure there is a rational scientific explanation. There is, and the path to it is well-developed, a very “fair play” kind of mystery. Steve Pantazis’ “The Prize” also seems to lack, or at least downplays, a supernatural element, pitting Marya and a rival classmate against the impending death of the classmate’s father by metal poisoning.

Many of the stories are followed with an explanation of the science that underpins the story, which I think enhances the book’s ability to interest young readers in the sciences and encourage them, especially young girls, to pursue STEM studies.

I received an electronic advance review copy of this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. The Hitherto Secret Experiments of Marie Curie was published on April 11, 2023.

[Marleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Average rating: 2,725 ⭐️

All-in-all a pretty niche story collection. And I feel like, because each author received the same prompt to work with (Marie Curie’s backstory) the stories became a bit repetitive. I think if the stories weren’t about a young Marie Curie as a character and instead about this young girl obsessed with science, it might have created more freedom for the authors in creating a character and it might have made for a more fun experience reading this collection of short stories.

The stories/poems and what I thought of them as I read them:

Dark Lady, Salomea by Jane Yolen - 2 stars

Uncrowned Kings by Seanan McGuire - 4 stars
McGuire’s writing is impeccable as always

Marya’s Monster by Alethea Kontis - 2,5 stars
Liked the element of depression, but the entire story was a bit too on the nose (and a little bit boring)

Shards of Me by Lissa Price - 1,5 stars
Weird and a bit stupid, writing wasn’t on par with the other stories so far

Fight or Flight by Jo Whittemore - 2,5 stars
Liked the mystery/deduction elements of this story, but again, the fact that this is supposedly starring Marie Curie in her younger years doesn’t really add anything to the story itself…

Three Ravens by Mylo Garbia - 2 stars
Again, there’s so much focus on the same aspects/prompt. It feels like I’m just reading a story of an inquisitive young girl, with the same backstory over and over again. This story was kind of boring.

The Magic of Science by Bryan Thomas Schmidt & G. P. Charles - 2,5 stars
A little murder mystery, but too short to be really impressed by it. Again the MC “being” Curie didn’t really play a part in it

Horse Cart by Jane Yolen - 2 stars
Poem doesn’t really ring a bell or do anything for me. A bit horrendous.

A Glow In the Dark by Scott Siegler - 4 stars
I actually really liked this one. Came across it just as I was giving up hope for this anthology. It took a different approach to the other stories and I liked the writing of this short and spooky story.

Retribution by Christine Taylor-Butler - 3 stars
This was okay, I liked it. A bit more suspense, but quite a stupid experiment.

The Cold White Ones by Susanne L. Lambdin - 2.5 stars
Again, pretty forgettable, but not necessarily bad?

Cheating Death by Henry Herz - 1 star
Thanks, I hated it. While I love a story about a woman getting revenge, the writing and the use of first person pov were just not it. How was this written from the perspective of a teen girl? It wasn’t.

A Shard of Sunlit Shadow by Emily McCosh - 2,5 stars
This one was okay. Again, repetitive in this collection, but okay.

She Walks Between Heaven and Hell by Jane Yolen - 3 stars
I felt more with this poem than the others, but it was still a bit too much on the nose. Still a weird subject to write a poem about though.

Silence Them by Dee Leone - 2 stars
Pretty depressing and I feel like the real story might have been more interesting.

Experiments With Fire by Sarah Beth Durst - 2,5 stars
This was an okay story. I wasn’t fully expecting the ghost of a dead sister and a dragon, but it wasn’t a bad story.

The Prize by Steve Pantazis - 3 stars
A different approach, where Marya isn’t the mc. I think the writing could be improved upon, but I liked the story.

The Beast by Stacia Deutsch - 2 stars
Hmm. Too Frankenstein-ey. Also, not really a fan of time travel stories, so that doesn’t help.

The Night Flyers by Jonathan Mayberry - 3,5 stars
I liked this one. I loved what it had to say about knowledge and the oppression of women.

Marya’s Precious Pill by Jane Yolen - 1,5 stars
I feel like this one would make more sense if I knew something about Marie Curie that I don’t. So yeah, this poem doesn’t really have any impact on me.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for sharing this eARC with me in exchange for an honest review.

[Liz (Quirky Cat) · Rating 4 out of 5]

3 1/2 Stars

Book Summary:

Marie Curie is, to say the least, an incredibly famous scientist. She changed our lives thanks to her discoveries. But what would have happened if Marie Curie had set her sights on other discoveries?

That is the question The Hitherto Secret Experiments of Marie Curie seeks to answer. This anthology collects stories from a dozen different authors, all exploring this unique concept in their own way. Authors include Seanan McGuire, Stacia Deutsch, Sarah Beth Durst, Jane Yolen, Aletha Kontis, Scott Sigler, Lissa Price, Jonathan Maberry, Christine Taylor-Butler, Jo Whittemore, Mylo Carbia, G.P. Charles, Susanne L. Lambdin, Emily McCosh, Dee Leone, and Steve Pantazis.

My Review:

As far as food for thought goes, The Hitherto Secret Experiments of Marie Curie is an incredibly compelling read. This anthology has a strong fractured fairytale vibe, so readers who enjoy this concept should check it out.

In a way, I almost wish it had been about a fictional character, as it does feel odd for such fictional stories to be based on a real person. I don't know; maybe that's just me. You'll have to make up your mind on that point before diving in.

Before readers dive into the fictional stories, there is an excellent forward that helps ensure readers know all the wonderful research Marie Curie did. It explores her real life a little bit further, which helps to distance fact from fiction.

Highlights:
Marie Curie
Historical Fiction
Different Possibilities/Timelines
Anthology

Trigger Warnings:
Family Death

Thanks to Blackstone Publishing and #NetGalley for making this book available for review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks | Quirky Cat's Comics | The Book Review Crew | Monkeys Fighting Robots | Storygraph | Bookhype | Bookstagram | Twitter | Tumblr | Reedsy

[Rosemary · Rating 4 out of 5]

An anthology that puts the science in science fiction, The Hitherto Secret Experiments of Marie Curie brings together 20 stories by standout names - Jane Yolen, Scott Sigler, and Jonathan Maberry, to name a few - who spin dark stories about Nobel Prize winning physicist Marie Curie. Driven largely by the childhood losses of her mother and sister, the stories and poetry in Hitherto dream of scenarios that formed Curie. Set in her young adolescence, there are dark tales, supernatural tales, and straight-up unnerving tales, with several mainstays: Curie's break with religion, the Russian occupation of her beloved Poland, and her dedication to science and learning. Stories are rooted in science, and many include Science Notes to clarify the divergence of fact and fiction. Run from the whimsical, like Alethea Kontis's "Marya's Monster", where Curie confronts the literal monster under her bed with level-headedness, to the bittersweet, as with Seanan McGuire's "Uncrowned Kings", where Curie battles the disease-carrying beast that's infected her town. Stories like Henry Herz's "Cheating Death" take a turn into horror, where Curie's obsession with halting Death leads her to disturbing experimentation, and Christine Taylor-Butler's "Retribution" is a science murder mystery (minus the mystery). 

Every single story here is an excellent read, with something for dark fantasy, horror, and thriller fans alike. Science fans will rejoice at having Marie Curie front and center in her own adventures (I know I did), and resources for further reading keeps the momentum going, with books about Curie, women in STEM, and websites to explore. An excellent choice for YA collections.

[Shanna Gauvin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I want to preface this review by saying YES to more books about women in STEM, historical and modern-day. I was excited to see this book on NetGalley because I know that ten-year-old me would have begged for it at the fifth-grade Scholastic book fair in 2004.

The stories in this book reimagine Marie Curie's life before she was the Marie Curie the world remembers today. Young Marie, or "Marya" as she was called by friends and family, gets up to a variety of hijinks as the youngest of five children and deals with the early loss of her mother and eldest sister to tuberculosis and typhus. I enjoyed the chance to see such a prominent historical figure as a child with more questions about the world than answers.

That being said, I don't know why many of these stories had to be about Marie Curie. In one, seemingly inspired by folklore, Marie befriends a monster under her bed. In others, she solves a murder, and in another, a missing persons case. I didn't understand the purpose of creating such wildly fictional stories about a real person. It felt like the authors wrote fun stories about young girls with interests in science and logic, and then copy-pasted in Marie's name.

As a girl who grew up inhaling Nancy Drew books like candy, I know there is an appetite for middle-grade mysteries. (I still read a fair bit of middle-grade literature today considering I'm a 28-year-old woman.) But making these mysteries and fairy tales star Marie Curie felt a bit... off, somehow. With much regret, I DNF'ed at 44%, but acknowledge I may be overthinking the purpose more than the average middle-grade reader.

Thanks to NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

[Dawn Vogel · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Hitherto Secret Experiments of Marie Curie, edited by Bryan Thomas Schmidt and Henry Herz, is a speculative fiction anthology that blends historical fact about Marie Curie’s life as a young woman and fantastical, science fiction, and horror elements to present new and intriguing experiments a young Marie might have undertaken.

Most of my favorite stories in this anthology were among the darker fantastical pieces. “Marya’s Monster” by Alethea Kontis presents Marie Curie with a literal monster under the bed, and their conversations about the nature of fear are both thought provoking and charming. “Shards of Me” by Lissa Price has another girl steal Marie Curie’s body, but between Marie’s cleverness and a family game, she’s able to take it back. Finally, while “Retribution” by Christine Taylor-Butler has Marie going down a quite dark path, the revenge she extracts while doing so is deliciously satisfying.

If you’re a fan of Marie Curie and want to learn more about her early days while also enjoying fictional depictions of those days, I definitely recommend The Hitherto Secret Experiments of Marie Curie. The stories within are generally young adult appropriate, though many involve death (the death of Marie’s mother and sister are mentioned in a majority of the stories), either in a limited mention or widespread throughout the story. There are also many reminders of the attempted Russian erasure of Polish culture, language, and heritage, against which Marie and her family fought.

[Jenna · Rating 3 out of 5]

**I was provided an electronic ARC through the publisher via NetGalley.**

Actual rating: 2.5

Editors Bryan Thomas Schmidt and Henry Herz present The Hitherto Secret Experiments of Marie Curie, an anthology comprised of speculative short fiction and poetry inspired by the life and work of Marie Curie. Genres range from historical fantasy to more paranormal or scifi with tinges of horror. 

I have always considered anthologies to be, by nature, a mixed bag. I would say that is true of this anthology more than others. Even authors whose other work I have enjoyed, I found to be just fine or not to my taste in this collection. The one standout of this collection, for me, was Jonathan Maberry's The Night Flyers, which was my sole 4 star of the included works. 

As a scientist by education and experience, it was interesting to see the authors various takes incorporating a historical and scientific lens to speculative fiction. For me, however. I simply wasn't a fan of the execution and did not find the works memorable. I am not entirely sure what my expectation was, but I, nevertheless, find myself disappointed. 

I have long enjoyed historical-inspired fiction (Lady Janies series, Iron Widow, Solomon's Crown, Dead Djinn Universe, Winternight Trilogy, etc.), but I think the shortness of the pieces actually worked against them due to lack of time to absorb and become invested in the changes. 

While this one was not for me, I would still recommend this book to interested parties. 

[Annika · Rating 2 out of 5]

Since these stories were mostly speculative, it might have been a better idea to make this a collection about young female scientists in general, instead of narrowing it down to a collection about Marie Curie only. Specifically the stories at the beginning were really repetitive and couldn't grab my attention.
Additionally, I felt like some of these stories did Marie Curie a disservice, as she was partially presented to be very arrogant and "not like other girls". Since this was supposed to be a book that would teach young girls about Marie Curie and inspire them to follow their dreams, potentially of working in STEM, I wish these stories would have been cut from the collection. Women simply don't have to be "better" than other women to make it far in the world of men, specifically in the 21st century. And I believe that a short story collection for teenage girls shouldn't include stories that say things like: "typical girls played with dolls. But I was not a typical girl." Because, you know, you can like dolls and science, actually.

[Callum T. · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

I often don’t finish short story collections, but I still enjoy them! I probably would have finished this one if I wasn’t trying to pull myself out of a reading slump, and I sort of needed a regular novel to do that. (Also, it’s about time for me to return it to the library.) Maybe I’ll come back to it someday.

These stories were super creative! It makes me wish I had a better experience with high school chemistry because it’s a fascinating subject, but I didn’t enjoy the class. This book made it appear interesting again, and made me want to learn more about it. Wish my chem class could have made me feel the same way :((

Though I really liked the stories, I didn’t feel like the book advertised itself correctly. (This could definitely appear in the later stories I didn’t get too, so take this with a grain of salt.) I didn’t feel like there was any of her “using her scientific knowledge for more devious purposes” like the book summary described. Even though I still enjoyed them, they weren’t what I was expecting.

All in all, enjoyed and would recommend!

[Lydia Tinsley · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was very different than waht I was initially expecting. I was intrigued about the concept of short stories surrounding Marie Curie. I just felt that it would have been better had there been a little more concistency between the stories. If anything, with the spelling of Marie's name. I understand it did change some of the stories having the original spelling compared to the French, but the whiplash between stories made it hard to fully immerse myself in the them and enjoy them. I appreciate the mix of science and imagination coming together to span multiple genres, but as a collection, they fell flat with no flow to the stories.
I think I just went in wanting too much to come out of this book for what it was. I hope it's what intended audience needs while reading. I hope it's able to spark a love for science in a younger generation. It just wasn't there for me.

Thanks to NetFalley for this ARC.

[chemistryreads · Rating 1 out of 5]

I know the authors meant well, but this book felt disrespectful to use Marie Curie’s name to write fairytales. This book has snippets of science but largely has what seems like folk, light horror, and magic stories. This book wasn’t specific to Marie Currie, and could’ve had any young woman added into these stories. They didn’t flow together and were just far fetched. The amount of afterwords that stated “this isn’t true” just made me more upset that Marie Currie’s name was used. Stories of a mystery man having a body in their icebox, a monster under the bed, and Marie solving murder? I hope this stays digital so it won’t waste the paper it would be printed on. The one star is simply because the writing wasn’t bad, the stories just were. 1⭐️, 0🌶

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

I would like to thank Blackstone Publishing, NetGalley, and the authors for an advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

Read if you like:
Short Stories
Historical Fiction
Fantastical Twists

This collection of short stories centers on the brilliant Marie Curie as a young student. The authors take inspiration from her life and reimagine her as an up and coming young scientist who uses her brilliance to solve murders and fantastical mysteries.

As a woman in science I owe a lot to the women who blazed the trail for me to follow so I was excited to read this collection. The first few stories were interesting but the following stories felt really repetitive. While I did enjoy the glimpses of Marie's life as a young girl in Poland, I wish the authors had emphasized why she is so important historically. I love a story with fantasy elements but here the fantasy overshadowed the character to the point where the stories could have been about any young woman interested in science. Unfortunately, this collection was a miss for me.

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this concept a lot. I mean, what could possibly be better than reading stories (fictional with some basis in fact) about the growing up of a famous scientist? I tried a few of the stories, hoping something would catch my mind and set me on a firestorm of reading, but it just didn't take. I would say that any lay reader of Marie Curie is going to probably be lost in the details with these stories.

Having said that, a true fan of her work and life will probably really enjoy this. Like I said, the concept is really cool. But I think the story is probably for a specific subset of readers.

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Hitherto Secret Experiments of Marie Curie was not what I expected and ultimately, not for me. I wouldn’t categorized these stories as being in the genre of horror. They were more closely aligned with science fiction.
I did not enjoy how they were so sporadic yet related. Most of the stories had very slow, drawn out beginnings with random, quickly thrown together endings.
It took me forever to get through this book so luckily it was an anthology. Overall, I would not recommend this book.

Thank you Netgalley and to Blackstone Publishing for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Apilrain · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an advanced reader’s copy from net galley in exchange for my honest review
Marie Curie is such a fascinating woman. I think that what you learn in school doesn’t do her justice. I was excited to read a collection of short stories about her and I was not disappointed! It was made even better because my search initially was for books by Jane Yolen (of whom I’m a big fan)- but that brought me to the collection of stories about someone else I enjoy reading about.
I think my favorite of the the stories (not poems ) was the Beast (by stacia Deutsch) which was a little bit time travel and little bit Frankenstein , and it was really good

[George · Rating 5 out of 5]

DNF, and I'm perhaps being generous in my 5-for-hitting-target rating as a reflex.

But the execution wasn't nearly as much fun as the premise, and the poignancy of a Polish girl doing science under Russian occupation didn't make up for that--and the book is overdue. Which was a result of my not being interested enough in a book that wouldn't lie flat on my dining room table with meals, despite my hands-free book weight, which is not an effect of its contents.

So I'm returning a set of pieces that there's so far nothing wrong with, and that often have real-science trivia as nice tail stings, partially unread. With the firm conclusion that I prefer Jane Yolen's fiction to her poetry.

[Ingrid Stephens · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very interesting collection of stories by talented authors. The life of Marie Curie is the basis of all the stories included here. They are imaginative on the whole, though all were not my cup of tea.
I was expecting realistic stories of how Curie could have been as a teen or a young woman, but what I found were stories involving Curie fighting werewolves, solving murders, and challenging ghosts, all before the age of 14.

Excellent writing but just not for me.

Thanks to @netgalley for the opportunity to read this eArc in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

[Shelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Marie Curie is a fascinating historical figure, and this book is made up of fantastic science fiction stories about her in her youth. Many of them center on the loss of her mother and sister close together, others on different experiments she might have performed if magic were actually real, and about her experiences as a girl in Russian run gymnasiums.

I really enjoyed this book. The stories were all fascinating, my favorite being the one where young Marie (who is refered to by her Polish name Marya--she changed it later on in life) is confronted by a demon of sorts, a monster under her bed, who challenges her to not be afraid of him multiple times. Marya, a curious child, wins the bet despite all of the demon's terrible forms. Another excellent one finds a jealous rival of Marie's exchanging places with her, leaving Marie just a ghost who needs to figure out how to get her body back. I really enjoyed this book, and all of the stories in it.