This attractive book from the Before They Were Famous series (6 titles) introduces 20-year-old Elizabeth Cochran, who wrote an engaging letter to the Pittsburgh Dispatch complaining that the newspaper ignored women’s viewpoints. She was hired to fill that gap. Given the byline Nellie Bly, she began writing articles, which were well received. She sometimes went undercover as a journalist, gaining access to a sweatshop and a mental institution and revealing the inhumane conditions in each. Sent to Mexico as a reporter, she criticized the government and, threatened with imprisonment, fled the country. The text highlights Bly’s experiences during the 1880s, before her around-the-world-in-72-days assignment made her famous. Krensky portrays Bly as a confident woman who took personal risks in order to expose corruption. The concise, simply written main text, short “Fun Facts,” and illustrations appear within separate boxes superimposed on backgrounds suggesting vintage wallpapers, textiles, and newspaper pages. Featuring multilayered collages of printed elements, original drawings, and archival pictures, manuscripts, and photos, the pages have a fresh, appealing look. An inviting introduction to Nellie Bly.