From The Runaways to riot grrrls, Cinderella’s Big Score takes a captivating look at women who rock. Forget the glass slipper: The 100 or so femme fatales profiled in this astonishing book prefer combat boots. Nevertheless, Maria Raha—who really knows her stuff—champions the very essence of womanhood in rock music, tracing a DIY attitude originating with ’70s icons like Patti Smith and Joan Jett, through punk poetess Lydia Lunch, noise queen Kim Gordon, girl-next-door Jenny Toomey, and current heroines like Kathleen Hanna.
In Raha’s world, inspirational she-rebels such as Wendy O. Williams, Cherie Currie and the darkly romantic Siouxsie Sioux loom over corporate waifs like Jewel, Alanis and Sheryl, both literally and figuratively. They’ve leveled the playing field, she proclaims, urging future generations to forge their own freedom through music and self-expression. A celebration as well as an inspiration, Cinderella’s Big Score is one helluva tribute: Feminism, I assure you, never sounded so good.