tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5268813704224970381.post6784375069646175099..comments2023-06-01T09:40:34.125+01:00Comments on Let's Get Serious: Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, right? Er… hang on a minute - where have all the strong girls gone?Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5268813704224970381.post-80314278727856266902012-04-29T09:49:07.890+01:002012-04-29T09:49:07.890+01:00Glad you liked them, Heather! I also grew up on Sw...Glad you liked them, Heather! I also grew up on Sweet Valley High (for at least a year, the main question every girl at school wanted to be asked was 'which sister do you think you are?'!) and Babysitter's Club too. I think I still have a copy of that one somewhere! I've never read Ally Carter - is it the Heist Society? I'll have to get myself a copy.<br /><br />This list was hard, because there are so many good ones, but having just read Kill All Enemies by Melvin Burgess, I think Billy would have to feature on this list somewhere. What an amazing book.Jo Wytonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01941417444551495613noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5268813704224970381.post-81005334923166403822012-04-28T19:50:32.435+01:002012-04-28T19:50:32.435+01:00Thanks for these amazing recommendations! When I g...Thanks for these amazing recommendations! When I grew up, my choices were Sweet Valley High, Baby-Sitters Club or Nancy Drew. None of these girls really lived in my world at the time. So I quickly moved on to adult books by the time I was 12. One series that I love, is by Ally Carter, and its more pre-teen, but its a girl series, where they're all smart, and strong, and training to be spies. I love the humor and the plotlines, and was so happy to read something teen without supernatural tendencies.Heatherhttp://myquirkycity.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5268813704224970381.post-58386470903715010392012-04-02T14:30:22.454+01:002012-04-02T14:30:22.454+01:00Great selection Jo. I'd like to add Tris from...Great selection Jo. I'd like to add Tris from Divergent by veronica Roth. Good to see a girl taking unecessary risks just for kicks, fighting, having tattoos and piercings as part of her initiation into her faction in her dystopian world (where else!) I found it v refreshing to see an author in this genre allowing her heroine some unpleasant and unladylike character traits. As Patrick Ness said in a talk I went to a while ago, teens need to be alllowed to explore the dark stuff in lierature, so they can process it and think it through for themselves. <br /><br />Don't think it counts as teen fiction but I always loved the teen character Katherine in Germinal by Emile Zola. She had to work down a french coal mine!!Astrid Holmhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09055395058044545566noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5268813704224970381.post-56550115051432171442012-04-01T22:24:01.294+01:002012-04-01T22:24:01.294+01:00Cheers Sol. I've never read Esperanza Rising -...Cheers Sol. I've never read Esperanza Rising - I'll have to go check it out, thanks for that! I have to say, I generally love Linda Newbery for her girls! She writes some fantastically quiet, strong girls. Much better than being armed with a sword!Jo Wytonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01941417444551495613noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5268813704224970381.post-62767082700241318262012-04-01T22:17:13.713+01:002012-04-01T22:17:13.713+01:00XD So I came here ready to list some heroines afte...XD So I came here ready to list some heroines after only reading the summary, and then realised you weren't talking about sci-fi/fantasy, which comprises most of my bookshelf... gah, foiled!<br />Great post btw, I've only read two of these but I'm glad you picked Hilly from Sisterland! She has more of an inner strength about her than a feistiness, which is just as important but perhaps not so often touched on. And Caro from This Is Not Forgiveness is such a brilliant character, how could you not!<br />Also, one recommendation that I did manage to come up with – I'm not sure if it counts as YA so much as children's fiction though – Esperanza from Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan. It's set in the '20s in Mexico and South America, and her personality and the way she changes through the book shines through, it's a beautiful read. :)Sol Loreto-Millernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5268813704224970381.post-74041954068095919062012-04-01T21:43:18.800+01:002012-04-01T21:43:18.800+01:00Ooh, thanks Candy. Swift Pure Cry is next on my re...Ooh, thanks Candy. Swift Pure Cry is next on my reading list (I don't know how I missed it! I thought I'd read all of Siobhan Dowd's books!). Gita - it would be interesting to build a list of Brit YA girls. I wonder how many we could come up with?Jo Wytonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01941417444551495613noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5268813704224970381.post-66085817368766976302012-04-01T21:25:42.939+01:002012-04-01T21:25:42.939+01:00May I add Isabel from Chains by Laurie Halse Ander...May I add Isabel from Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson, Rifke from Gabby Halberstam's The Red Dress, Timna from Not the End of the World by Geraldine McCaughrean, Symone from The White Darkness also by GM, and Shell from the magnificent A Swift Pure Cry by the late Siobhan Dowd. Great list, Jo! (I wanted to be Jo March as well but you have the advantage of being her namesake!)Candy Gourlayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07802791643303335762noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5268813704224970381.post-92076108527065867982012-03-31T20:13:40.366+01:002012-03-31T20:13:40.366+01:00Hi Jo! Hope you're doing well. There is this:
...Hi Jo! Hope you're doing well. There is this:<br />http://bitchmagazine.org/100-young-adult-books-for-the-feminist-reader<br />which is a great list but quite American. It would be fun to do a UK YA one-will go off and have a think.<br />It's so interesting looking at children's and YA literature with a feminist eye-should heroines be butt-kicking Katniss Everdeens? Or is that just subscribing to macho values...so many issues!jongleusehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06754014776263314905noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5268813704224970381.post-40350166412964670772012-03-31T16:04:52.108+01:002012-03-31T16:04:52.108+01:00Hi Nicola. I'd bet anything that Katniss Everd...Hi Nicola. I'd bet anything that Katniss Everdeen would be at the top of most people's lists. I did like her in the first of the trilogy, but this post was in part sparked by fighting my way through the final book, which I thought demoted her to Bella Swan with a bow. It seemed to be all about her and the two boys, and very few of her actions were deliberate or positive. Wound me right up! Jane Eyre and Elizabeth Bennett are two of my faves too - also Jo from Little Women - I grew up wanting to be her!Jo Wytonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01941417444551495613noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5268813704224970381.post-67017195319894688752012-03-31T16:02:01.250+01:002012-03-31T16:02:01.250+01:00Good luck with that Ness - it's a tough challe...Good luck with that Ness - it's a tough challenge!Jo Wytonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01941417444551495613noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5268813704224970381.post-64572274229071071262012-03-31T16:01:00.739+01:002012-03-31T16:01:00.739+01:00Glad you liked it Celia. I think you're exactl...Glad you liked it Celia. I think you're exactly right - anyone can be strong in an extreme situation. Doing the same thing in everyday life is a hard thing to pull off. (Although Caro seems to manage it with ease!)Jo Wytonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01941417444551495613noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5268813704224970381.post-28355372771985885502012-03-31T11:52:20.203+01:002012-03-31T11:52:20.203+01:00The heroine (do we still use that word?)of the Hun...The heroine (do we still use that word?)of the Hunger Games is an example of a modern, strong, female protagonist. Though two of my favourite strong girls/ women are Jane Eyre and Elizabeth Bennett... soooo old schoolNicola Edwardsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5268813704224970381.post-17483535943465474762012-03-30T20:13:55.114+01:002012-03-30T20:13:55.114+01:00Fascinating post and very poignant for me as I am ...Fascinating post and very poignant for me as I am writing a novel with a strong female main character so it gave me something to aim at. Thank youNess Harbourhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07370427313780759711noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5268813704224970381.post-79954039955080057152012-03-30T19:49:06.350+01:002012-03-30T19:49:06.350+01:00Hi Jo, Good on ya for adding a fresh perspective t...Hi Jo, Good on ya for adding a fresh perspective to the girl power debate. Fantasy is what it says. It's easy to make your girl feisty as you like: sword wielding, bow twanging survivor against all odds, saving the weak along the way. Don't get me wrong, I love the daughters of Zena, but it's a lot harder to be tough and strong in real life and that is where the hardest battles are fought.Celia Reeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05059549379622664741noreply@blogger.com