good literary role models for girls

[oimissus]

I'm sat here proofreading some teenage fiction and the heroine is an unbelievable sap, and I'm filled with horror at the idea of Miss Oi reading this drivel in years to come (yes, yes, I know, hiding to nowhere), or behaving like this girl. So, I started to think about who would be good to aspire to, in recent fiction at least, and so far I've got:

Bella Swann - nil points

Hermione Granger - 9/10

who else can we think of? And good ones for boys are welcome too.

[Otta]

Ha ha, Hermione Granger, the A grade student sensible one. I'll have one of those too please! ;-)

The main character in Howl's moving castle was a young woman, and I don't think she was a sap.

Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[gwod]

How about...

Pippi Longstocking

Laura Ingalls

or for older kids

Katniss Everdean

Though I agree, they are few and far between.

[oimissus]

I think there's more to Hermione than being sensible, let's face it, Harry wouldn't have found any of the Deathly Hallows without her! Smart, brave, loyal, witty.

oh yes, Sophie in Howl, she's a good one, though does the fact that she's in a the guise of an old woman mean she can be more upfront than if she was a young girl?

Laura Ingalls is another good one, can't remember Pippi though I'm sure I read her. They're not very recent though, I'm more thinking of contemporary heroines.

[cashewnut]

Lyra from His Dark Materials.

[DVnewbie]

Lyra in the Philip Pullman "His Dark Materials" trilogy? Definitely liked Diana Wynne Jones a lot when I was a "pre-teen". (Howl's Moving Castle was too late for me though - although have seen the odd cartoon...)

When 14, I liked Pride and Prejudice... (And that was before Colin Firth.) Elizabeth's not a sap. But doesn't really fit the contemporary requirement!

I'll keep an eye on this thread for ideas for my daughter. Although she's only three so I guess I've got a while to catch-up on good teenage literature.

[oimissus]

Lyra, of course! DV, Miss Oi is not 3 yet but this book has annoyed me so much I feel like I need to start stockpiling decent books right now!

[prickle]

Actually, there are a lot of feisty, clever, brave girls from the classics too - Anne of Green Gables, Jo from Little Women, the heroines of Secret Garden and Railway Children, Arietty from Borrowers...

[DVnewbie]

Oh yes, Arietty is a great fesity heroine for pre-teens. Although afraid I'm a bit anti the Railway Children but that's only because I can't think of Roberta without thinking of Jenny Agutter. The Secret Garden is great though.

[Yak]

Flora Poste from Cold Comfort Farm. And Nancy, Peggy, Titty and Dot from the Swallows and Amazons series (I never rated boring old Susan!).

[oimissus]

these are all great, but not contemporary. Much as I would love to think Miss Oi is only going to read classics, it's not terribly likely! Has anyone got pre-teen or teenage girls that are reading anything with good heroines in? Other than the big series (HP, Twilight, His Dark Materials) I don't know what else is out there that's being read these days.

And - Anne from Anne of Green Gables? She's good in the first one but gets more and more annoying if I remember rightly. Though I did love them as a child, it was a recent re-read of Anne of Avonlea that made my toes curl up.

[alice32]

The Clarice Bean novels for about 7 up are very good. Funny too.

[simonethebeaver]

Jacqueline Wilson writes fantastic female leads. Her stuff varies, so some is aimed at younger readers and other at teens. A glance at a book jacket will give you a breakdown of the titles.

[Dodo1]

jean webster- daddy long legs

[Inkmaiden]

I'm not sure how aspirational some of them are but some characters I really like:

Hester Shaw in the Mortal Engines quartet by Philip Reeve- hideously scarred and deeply flawed.

Fever Crumb in the preceding trilogy- still involves teenage love-life angst but she's very independent and intelligent.

Also Sabriel and Lirael in Garth Nix's Abhorsen Trilogy.

I haven't read further than the first one but Mara Bell in Julie Bertagna's Exodus series is also a feisty and proactive heroine.

All interesting characters who inhabit fairly dark and often violent worlds and they are anything but passive.

I'm now trying to decide whether this list of post-apocalyptic sci-fi/fantasy geekery marks me out as a massive nerd or whether the dearth of strong female characters in "conventional" young teenage fiction has led me here. (I do read lots of other genres BTW!)

[Saffron]

I second Hester Shaw in "Mortal Engines", a clever, resourceful, and complicated character.

[oimissus]

'still involves teenage love-life angst but she's very independent and intelligent' - see, this is what I'm talking about. The heroine in this book I'm proofreading, a la Bella Swann, is a simpering, pouting muppet around boys and it's agonising to read; I want to slap her.

Might look for Mortal Engines in the library.

[MGolden]

I would second Scout in 'To kill a mockingbird' - and although it's not a strictly contemporary book it really is timeless. My 13yo son is reading it now and really enjoying it and he's not a child who will willingly pick up a book.

[womanofdulwich]

the girl in noughts and crosses by Mallory Blackman?

[BeccaL]

Camicaze in the how to train you dragon series (from about the 3rd book onwards). Apparently written specifically after Cressida Cowell's daughter berated her for the lack of good female characters. Brave, clever and funny - my daughter loves her! Also clever polly and the stupid wolf, Clarice Bean, Ottoline books by Chris Riddell, agent amelia, the worst witch, and don't forget Matilda by Roald Dahl! Can't do much older but plenty about for 7-9 yr old girls:)

[Otta]

MGolden Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> I would second Scout in 'To kill a mockingbird' -

> and although it's not a strictly contemporary book

> it really is timeless. My 13yo son is reading it

> now and really enjoying it and he's not a child

> who will willingly pick up a book.

Good lad. My younger daughter is called Scout :)

[MGolden]

I have to admit he's reading it for English but he's enjoying it so that's what counts.

Great name btw.

[oimissus]

The Worst Witch! My sister and I loved these; we wrote to Jill Murphy and she sent us back a letter all beautifully decorated with bats and spiderwebs. We would play TWW with our best friend, my sister was Mildred, I was Maud and friend was Ethel (we made Ethel a goody). Oh, I'm so glad I started this thread, I'm going to write all these down so I don't forget when the time comes.

[Otta]

The worst witch was great. Also totally ripped off by a certain J.K. Rowling!

[Ondine]

DD(14) says there are some good strong girls in the Cherub books, as well as Malorie Blackman.