Mihaela Noroc, known for her previous work, The Atlas of Beauty, continues her journey of celebrating diversity and resilience with The Power of Women. This compelling collection of photographs and stories showcases the strength, beauty, and individuality of women from around the globe.
Overview
The Power of Women contains 500 portraits of women from various parts of the world. Each photograph has an accompanying caption that provides background information and, at times, stories of the woman pictured. These glimpses offer insight into the lives, struggles, and triumphs of these women. Noroc doesn't just capture the physical beauty of her subjects; she also reveals their inner strength and unique experiences.
Positives
The photography is breathtaking. Noroc skillfully utilizes her surroundings, whether in a bustling street or perched on a tranquil rock, to highlight the personality of her subjects and their stories. It's touching to hear that some of these encounters were spontaneous—she just met some of these women on the street!
Noroc made a commendable effort to gather diverse stories. The narratives highlight a wide range of experiences, from overcoming adversity to discovering joy and purpose. This makes the book both inspiring and thought-provoking. There were moments I chuckled and others where I shed a tear.
Negatives
I personally hoped the stories would be more in-depth. Nearly all are fairly superficial, with only a few satisfying my curiosity. However, it does provide a valuable introduction to many ways of life that I was previously unaware of in other countries.
Recommendations
If you like photography, this book is full of great shots, 500 to be specific! If you are looking for an introduction to women of the world, to see our differences and similarities, this is a great place to start. I have to give it 3 stars, I liked what was there, but it fell short of my expectations.

This is a book about Average day Women throughout the world. The photos are well done and with each photograph is a story telling us about the woman. It was beautifully done and reminded me of Humans of New York and how that page started.

I read this as an ARC, which featured approximately the first 50 pages. Already you can see the skill needed to take and edit these photographs. Learning about these different women and their cultures is incredible--it was a joy to read and learn.

A book full of beautiful photos of strong women . The text at times was not as engaging as it could have been but overall an interesting look at women from around the world and their individual accomplishments

As a Netgalley reviewer I was provided with the first 43 pages of this book, which was plenty to get the idea. The format is a picture of a beautiful woman staring at the camera with a half smile on her lips (like on the front cover) and some words about why she is special. The pictures get kind of creepy after a bit, women of different cultures and races staring at the camera with the same expression on her face. The words are fine, I guess. Each woman gets a paragraph about why she is inspirational. It's all very apolitical, isolated.and individualistic. Statements are made like "many people died" or "x is the only female pilot in her country" without any further exploration or explanation. This is not history, or feminism, it's not a call for change. It is, as a the title says, a book of beauty, which I ultimately found quite unsatisfying.

Thank you NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for allowing me the opportunity to read a sample (first 43 pages) of this book in exchange for my honest review. I can safely say I’m anxiously awaiting the release of this book on March 4th. Photographer Mihaela Noroc looked beyond the hustle and bustle of the world and say the power of these women. While some stories are sad, others inspire hope and happiness. While this ARC was only 43 pages, I saw the world through the eyes of these amazing women. I became inquisitive about their stories and life experience, wanting to do my own research to learn more. Just based on the first 43 pages alone I would easily recommend this book to others. It left me feeling curious and wanting more.

Although this is just a sampler, I deeply enjoyed it and would absolutely love to read the full book. The Power of Women is an inspiring collection of stories, showcasing the strength, resilience, and beauty of women from all corners of the world. The way Mihaela Noroc captures these women—not just with her camera, but with their own words—is incredibly moving. It’s a reminder of how diverse and powerful women’s are around the world. The beauty in our differences. I found myself really interested in each woman's life and how she got there, each one unique but all of them intriguing.

The photographs are breathtaking. You can see the soul of each woman in every shot. It’s more than just a portrait—it’s like each photo is telling its own story, full of life and emotion. The vibrant colors, the natural settings, and the confidence in the subjects’ expressions really bring the whole project to life. It’s clear that Noroc doesn’t just capture a moment; she tells a narrative, and you feel that.

After looking up Mihaela Noroc’s other works, I’m even interested in exploring her other photography works. This sampler left me intrigued and curious.

I wish this was more than just a sampler because I really enjoyed reading about these different women from around the world. The photographs are gorgeous! Everyone looks so lovely and you can tel that there is a story to share.

I wonder if there are any trans/nonbinary people featured later in this book and if not then I hope that will be a project for this artist in the future.