z

Young Writers Society


Favorite books by women authors



User avatar
541 Reviews



Gender: Female
Points: 370
Reviews: 541
Sat May 26, 2018 1:18 am
View Likes
Lauren2010 says...



So much of the literary canon celebrates male authors, and while I read a lot of women and writers of other genders now I remember it being so hard to break out of that habit. Especially as someone who studied literature and writing for many years in school.

On that note, I want to know: what are your favorite books by women (or other non-male) authors?

I have so many I'll try to keep it to a top five >.>

Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood - literary science fiction, apocalypse, first in a series

Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler - beautiful empty sad apocalypse, young POC heroine, first in a series??, religion-driven in a way that's super fascinating

Where'd You Go, Bernadette? by Maria Semple - letter story, hilarious, adventures to the south pole, mother daughter relationships

St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves by Karen Russell - short stories, magical realism, PROSE THAT I'D LET HIT ME WITH A BUS

The Wrong Way to Save Your Life by Megan Stielstra - gut-punchy essays, smart and crass and humbling and beautiful, like inviting a friend over to move things around in your head
Got YWS?
  





User avatar
414 Reviews



Gender: None specified
Points: 31420
Reviews: 414
Sat May 26, 2018 2:32 am
View Likes
keystrings says...



Ooh, I like this topic!

I grew up loving (and still very much do) A Girl Named Disaster by Nancy Farmer. This book follows a young girl Nhamo who is forced to mature quickly in her African village. Her journey that follows brings to life empowerment and subjugation that she must persevere through.

Apparently, I like books with "name" in them because the other one currently on this list is My Name is Not Easy by Debby Dahl Emerson. This one details the physical and psychological journey three kids who travel from the Arctic Circle to attend Catholic school.

And, I may add more, but I've yet to organize books that I've read, so I will leave this here for now!
name: key/string/perks
pronouns: she/her/hers and they/them/theirs


novel: the clocktower (camp nano apr 24)
poetry: the beauty of the untold (napo 2024)
  





User avatar
373 Reviews



Gender: Female
Points: 46306
Reviews: 373
Sat May 26, 2018 3:56 am
View Likes
PrincessInk says...



One of the books on my "reread all my life" list is Journey to the River Sea, by Eva Ibbotson. It's about an orphaned girl with a large fortune bequeathed by her parents who goes to Brazil to live with distant relatives. I reread it a lot. I really like the girl's (Maia's) pluck and optimism and resourcefulness, and the friends she makes. The setting is also interesting too!

Laura Ingalls Wilder is definitely a favorite too. I've reread the Little House series many times. I think it's sort of an autobiography and historical fiction blend. One reason I like to reread this is because of the concise, but clear and lovely descriptions of landscape--and the FOOD, especially in Farmer Boy). The descriptions of food will make you hungry xD

Shannon Hale as well. I've read plenty of her novels but my favorites are certainly the Books of Bayern. The prose is lyrical and the characters complex and likable (well, except for the villains naturally). Book of a Thousand Days is also good. It's a journal of a lady's maid, and this novel's setting is inspired by Mongolia, I believe. I also recently read Austenland, her 1st adult novel, and there's one particular line(related to a dashing smile) that made me laugh out loud.

And Gail Carson Levine. Her writing style is short, but that style works for me because of the humor embedded in it. She's famous for Ella Enchanted, but my favorite is A Tale of Two Castles, a mystery inspired by Puss in Boots. She's releasing a novel later this year called Ogre Enchanted and I'm excited!! :)

Finally: Kate DiCamillo. Her books are fantastic! Well-developed characters, prose simple but meaningful. No wonder she got plenty of famous awards. I remember ever reading The Magician's Elephant and though I've forgotten much of the story, I remember that magical feeling it evoked in me.

There's more but I could write a whole book singing the praises of female authors so I'll stop here :P
always daydreaming, always clumsy
  





User avatar
141 Reviews



Gender: Male
Points: 34531
Reviews: 141
Sat May 26, 2018 4:00 am
View Likes
Hattable says...



I loved Hammers on Bone by Cassandra Khaw. It's an urban fantasy private eye story about a detective named John Persons who is hired by a young boy to kill the boy's stepfather. Turns out the kid's step-dad is a legit Lovecraftian monster, and so-to is John Persons himself (not spoilers, these are in the synopsis), and it's pretty neat?

It's in first-person and the narrator uses some legit noir-type P.I. slang throughout the (very short) book, as well, and that just enhanced the whole experience for me.

I've got the second book, A Song For Quiet and intend to read it sooon-- Gotta get through some library books, first, though, including The Steep & Thorny Way which @Evander recommended to me and which also happens to be by a woman author? Maybe Evander would like to write a bit about that, as he's just finished it.
"I remember I posted Klingon and it made the mods super hard" -Willard

Prok once said something about Nate and apple pie. I forget the context.
  





User avatar
1272 Reviews



Gender: Other
Points: 89625
Reviews: 1272
Sat May 26, 2018 11:13 pm
View Likes
Rosendorn says...



Everything by Tamora Pierce. I grew up on her fantasy, and her stories really shaped who I am. Mostly the Tortall universe, where she was the first book I read that even broached the topic of sex.

I also enjoyed Kathryn Lasky. Her historical fic and spec fic were both really good, and her novel Jahanara, Princess of Princesses heavily influenced Cat Steps. As in, that was the first novel set in Mughal India I had ever read, which gave me the concept places besides Europe existed, haha.

Also, a lot of people don't realize that Fullmetal Alchemist is written by a woman! Hiromi Arakawa masculinized her name to serialize it, but has since gone more overtly under her feminine name.
A writer is a world trapped in a person— Victor Hugo

Ink is blood. Paper is bandages. The wounded press books to their heart to know they're not alone.
  





User avatar
1125 Reviews

Supporter


Gender: Female
Points: 53415
Reviews: 1125
Sun May 27, 2018 8:08 am
View Likes
StellaThomas says...



I would love to give a big thumbs up to @PrincessInk's suggestions of Eva Ibbotson and Shannon Hale. There were months of my life, I am sure, when I exclusively reread these lady's books. Journey to the River Sea was amazing. She also wrote a series of historical romances aimed at teen or young women set in the inter-war period. Extra clout was given to these in that she was a Jewish girl in Vienna in the 1930s. They were lovely books to read. Shannon Hale's Books of Bayern, meanwhile, were an enormous influence on me for learning how women can protect and fight for other women while remaining feminine, and that you could write fantasy books and still have gorgeous prose. If you haven't read them, I highly recommend them.

Tying in with the fairytale retellings of Hale and the high fantasy of Tamora Pierce as @Rosendorn mentioned, it'd be remiss to go further without mentioning Robin McKinley. Her book, Spindle's End, based heavily on Sleeping Beauty but with several twists, was a massive influence on my writing, as were her two retellings of Beauty and the Beast. She also, of course, wrote a good few very famous high fantasy books but these were never my favourites of hers.

And, of course, you know I won't leave here without giving a shout out to Jane Austen. Austen is often dismissed for writing about frivolous issues, but she wrote within her frame of reference. Her characters are much more three dimensional than any of her male contemporaries, her prose contains her well known razor sharp wit and some of the most famous, most lasting speeches of all time. Just because they're romances and don't have "high stakes", and everything (except arguably S&S) has a happy ending, doesn't mean they're not important, worthy fiction, and she well deserves her place among the greats.
"Stella. You were in my dream the other night. And everyone called you Princess." -Lauren2010
  





User avatar
107 Reviews



Gender: None specified
Points: 9326
Reviews: 107
Sun May 27, 2018 2:23 pm
View Likes
Cadi says...



Seconding Stella's praise of Jane Austen! I avoided her studiously as a kid, because a) romantic plotlines clashed with everything my tomboy self desired, and b) people told me they were "classics", which to me meant "old and boring". In the last few years, though, I've tried some of her works out, and loved them - P&P in particular has become a comfort read. Reading them with the original context in mind, I can really appreciate her incisive and often satirical narration, and the vividity of her characters - and how many of the characters map very well onto the kind of people you can still encounter nowadays! (e.g. Mr Collins in P&P is a painfully good example...)

I'll also mention "everything by Diana Wynne Jones". I read a few of DWJ's books as a kid - a few Chrestomanci ones, Dogsbody, The Time of the Ghost, and Fire & Hemlock - and thoroughly enjoyed them then; what's even better is that I can still enjoy her books as an adult, because they're incredibly well written.

I have an enormous number of books by Robin Hobb on my bookshelf, because both The Guy and I enjoy them. She weaves wonderful epic fantasy - she fills something like sixteen novels with her Six Duchies world, and they're all excellent.

Finally, a couple I've discovered more recently: Becky Chambers' Wayfarers books (The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet, A Closed and Common Orbit) are the perfect comfort read, just completely cosy and friendly scifi; and the Lady Trent books by Marie Brennan are an absolute delight - the short summary would be "dragon science in a Victoriana fantasy setting", but I don't think that quite gets across how awesome the dragons and everything are.
"The fact is, I don't know where my ideas come from. Nor does any writer. The only real answer is to drink way too much coffee and buy yourself a desk that doesn't collapse when you beat your head against it." --Douglas Adams
  





User avatar
1735 Reviews

Supporter


Gender: None specified
Points: 91980
Reviews: 1735
Sun May 27, 2018 2:44 pm
View Likes
BluesClues says...



@StellaThomas JANE AUSTEN FOREVER <3 I don't understand people who think her books are "fluff" or "chicklit" just because they're romance. They're romance that paint a picture of everyday life not often seen in her male peers' writing, and they're savage. She satirizes so much that appears in her novels, but people have this preconceived notion that romance = fluff.

(Plus, I'd say the stakes are pretty high in the case of, you know, a Regency-Era woman of little fortune whose father's estate is entailed to a male cousin and whose only hope of escaping poverty upon his death is to marry well.)

I re-read Northanger Abbey recently, and it had me literally laughing out loud. Some people knock it because it's less subtle than her later novels, but it's hilarious. The Thorpes are ridiculous, as is the family friend Catherine travels with (although at least she means well), and Henry Tilney makes for a pretty great love interest.

(Even though I love Mr. Darcy and his soulful glaring as much as the next person.)

Plus I have to talk about Pride & Prejudice - specifically the way Darcy acts after Elizabeth rejects him. I keep comparing him to Ross Geller of "Friends," because just look at this.

Darcy:
- cold and aloof, initially uninterested in Elizabeth, changes his mind, proposes, feels certain she'll accept because he's wealthy or something
- is rejected
- although initially angry, considers Elizabeth's criticism and tries to explain his actions toward Wickham and her sister without repeating his proposal/any expectation of a reward of any sort of explaining himself
- acts politely/friendly toward her and her relations the next time they meet, again without repeating his proposal/any expectation of a reward for behaving himself
- thinks she's perhaps changed her mind about him
- renews his sentiments with the caveat that if she is in fact still uninterested he'll never bring it up again

Ross:
- acts jealous and possessive of Rachel when they're together
- acts jealous and possessive of Rachel even when they're not together, including when he's dating someone else bc apparently he's allowed to date around but she has to stay single and wait for him
- never introspective, like, ever
- tries to convince her to change her mind about him any time he's single
- never makes any change in his behavior

Plus it doesn't help that most of the characters in P&P express dislike of Darcy, while Ross's friends excuse him constantly and are always like, "But you're Ross and Rachel!!!" whenever Rachel is 1000% done with his crap.

Be a Darcy, not a Ross.

Did Darcy start off as a prideful jerk prejudiced against the lower classes? Absolutely. But he shows a real change before the end of the book, which I think is a serious strength of this novel. I can't stand it on modern sitcoms when the on-again/off-again couple gets together at the end even though neither of them have made significant steps toward changing whatever it was that made their relationship fail before. You just know they'll be broken up again in six months.

ANYWAY.

I obviously have to mention The Fairyland Series, by Cathrynne M. Valente, which I can now confidently say is my favorite book series. Whaaaat? Yes. It's my favorite series. In the first book, The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making, 12-year-old September is whisked off to Fairyland by the Green Wind. She hopes to have grand adventures and enjoy herself, but instead she finds herself pitted against the Marquess, a cruel girl who has taken control of Fairyland and is destroying its magic and wonder piece by piece. There's friendship, fantastic and ridiculously creative world-building, and a sympathetic villain: all things that continue throughout the series.

You can read the first book as a standalone and then continue the series if you like it which you'll definitely want to do because it's amazing

I also love Katherine Patterson for anything MG. Her works include The Bridge to Terabithia and The Great Gilly Hopkins, so if you're looking for something bright and cheery...she's probably not for you.

And I can't forget to mention Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech, which I first read in middle school for our library's mother/daughter book club. I still love it. I should dig up my copy....

@Cadi I also love Diana Wynne Jones, particularly Howl's Moving Castle and Castle in the Air.
  





User avatar
590 Reviews

Supporter


Gender: Nonbinary
Points: 1234
Reviews: 590
Sat Oct 20, 2018 7:05 pm
View Likes
Mageheart says...



If manga counts for this, Fullmetal Alchemist by Hiromu Arakawa is definitely one of my favorites - just like @Rosendorn! Though the story focuses on two brothers, she tries her female characters just the way they should be treated. Winry is the type of girl I'd like to be, and Riza will always be an icon. Besides her treatment of female characters, I've always loved the series for the allure of its alchemy, automail and overall message of how friends and found families can be the key to overcome any challenge you face.

Another manga that I'm personally a big fan of is a lesser known one called D. Gray Man that was written by Katsura Hoshino, which presents that same cool fantasy tone while also tackling themes like grief and how to get over the loss of a loved one. I've never finished the anime, and only read four volumes of the manga, but the stories told in each volume never fail to break my heart. The protagonist, Allen Walker, is also one of my favorites that I've ever read about: he's gentle, kind and never once is shown treating people poorly because of their role in the story. One of my favorite scenes with him is when he calls out another character who dissed the people that do reconnaissance for the exorcism group they're a part of - as Allen so wisely puts, they can't do anything without them. He's also repeatedly shown comforting people while they mourn, and his first appearance in the manga ends with him helping out someone who has to get over the loss of her sister and brother-in-law (or vice versa).

In regards to actual novels, Rainbow Rowell's Fangirl will always have a special place in my heart. Back during my days as an avid writer of fanfiction, it was that story that inspired me to keep writing - even though I didn't have half as many readers as the protagonist Cath does.

Any of the things that Alice Oseman has written are also favorites of mine - and she's just a wonderful woman in general! So far she's published three physical books (Radio Silence, Solitaire and I Was Born For This), several online novellas, and a webcomic called Heartstopper that I eagerly await updates for. I've only read RS, Solitaire and what's been published so far of Heartstopper, but she does a wonderful job writing LGBTQ+ characters in a realistic setting. (She's also super nice on all of her social media accounts, and her art is to die for!)
mage

[ she/her, but in a boy kinda way ]

roleplaying is my platonic love language.

queer and here.
  





User avatar
66 Reviews



Gender: Male
Points: 400
Reviews: 66
Sat Nov 24, 2018 12:24 pm
View Likes
Starve says...



All the non fiction I've read has been written by men (open to changing that), but in fiction, there are a few great women authors I've read -

1. Catherine M. Wilson http://www.catherinemwilson.com/
Her When Women Were Warriors is the only
fantasy fiction book I've read that treats a female protagonist like an actual, mature adult human with goals (the rest I've read were YA fantasy, like the Hunger Games and Twilight and city of bones etc.and they're kinda infamous in this regard) . The writing is beautiful, second only to Patrick Rothfuss in all the fantasy I've read. The story is tight. Also, her first book is free to download legally from her website I've linked , I highly recommend WWWW to all fantasy fans.

2. Margaret Atwood - The Handmaid's Tale - this one's a classic but bears mentioning for portraying a different type of dystopia. The stream of consciousness style descriptions force you to slow down and absorb the despondency if you're a fast reader. The whole bank account freeze thing and credibility of the establishment of totalitarianism process lends it a realistic air, although I personally do not think such a world would exist, i wouldn't really be surprised if something like this happened.

3. Cornelia Funke - Inkheart trilogy - classic fantasy . The amazing German translator Anthea Bell sadly passed away recently and it were her translations I read as a kid. This series was one of the first books I borrowed from the school library and read over night, and thus holds additional importance to me, even without which it's a pretty great read.
  





User avatar
16 Reviews



Gender: None specified
Points: 478
Reviews: 16
Sat Nov 24, 2018 1:38 pm
View Likes
ThePenultimateGinger says...



Well most of my favourites have already been stated, so I’m going with Natasha Pulley’s “Watchmaker of Filigree Street”
She developes characters elegantly and creates somewhat realistic scenarios, but still manages to balance it out with fantasy and steampunk elements. She is very good at surprises, and her writing style GIVES ME LIFE
And whatever she says, Grace Carrow is a feminist and there’s really nothing she can do about that one I mean, sis, you’re furthering science even though you’re a woman in the 1800s
“I really think that everyone should have watercolors, magnetic poetry, and a harmonica.”
― Stephen Chbosky, The Perks of Being a Wallflower
  





User avatar
935 Reviews



Gender: Other
Points: 2806
Reviews: 935
Sat Nov 24, 2018 10:17 pm
View Likes
Shady says...



My favorite books forever will be The Queen's Thief series by Megan Whalen Turner.

Graceling by Kristin Cashore is also excellent.

"u and rina are systematically watering down the grammar of yws" - Atticus
"From the fish mother to the fish death god." - lehmanf
"A fish stole my identity. I blame shady" - Omni
[they/he]
  





User avatar
373 Reviews



Gender: Female
Points: 46306
Reviews: 373
Sun Nov 25, 2018 4:11 am
View Likes
PrincessInk says...



@ShadowVyper: omg omg I love the Queen's Thief series so much I can't even... I'd love to rave about it with you so feel free to PM me about it if you do want to talk about it ;) And the sixth book is out in 2019 and I'm! so! excited!!!!

Tangent: today I asked my dad to buy The Queen of Attolia for me from a used bookstore and he looked at the cover and remarked, "It looks scary!" (It does look really creepy--the cover holds a picture of someone holding a hook)

I like Kristin Cashore too! I read Jane Unlimited by her almost a year ago (I think) and I really liked its structure. Just so interesting. Hmm, I'll have to check out Graceling too :)

Some more books I want to mention is:

-Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery which shall forever be one of my most favorite series <3 <3 <3

-Any Agatha Christie book. She is the QUEEN of writing mysteries.

- The Little Princess and The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. I can't count the number of times I read the former, and I read the latter about three or four times.
always daydreaming, always clumsy
  





User avatar
26 Reviews



Gender: Female
Points: 574
Reviews: 26
Sun Nov 25, 2018 10:43 am
View Likes
Fantascifi66 says...



Has anyone even mentioned Harry Potter, or is it just an unspoken agreement that it is top five? 'cause it is to me.
I love Hunger games!
And Gregor the overlander, which is also by Suzanne Collins.
I haven't really read so many books by women authors in English, though I have read quite many in Norwegian you probably don't know(unless they are a translation.)
Free reviews by Fanta! [Accepting!]

The simple truth is that authors like making people squirm. If this weren't the case, all novels would be filled completely with cute bunnies having birthday parties.
  





User avatar
494 Reviews



Gender: Female
Points: 0
Reviews: 494
Sun Nov 25, 2018 5:46 pm
View Likes
Holysocks says...



I think I can count how many male authors I've read on one hand. It always surprises me when this sort of thing comes up- like there was something about "not enough female protagonists" in books awhile ago, and like.... I can't think of a book I've read since like, Del Tora quest that has a MALE protagonist? And that's the same with authors for me- I can't think of any male authors, besides the big ones. I mean, one or two, but just ones I've heard of more than anything.

So it makes me wonder if the people that decide what books to put around me... are putting more female authors forward? I know there's always talk on the radio and such about "how to get boys to read more for fun" and so that makes me wonder if books are primarily being targeted at women right now, since women tend to be the main reader base.

I also wonder if I'm just a sexist reader, and gravitate more towards female protagonists and authors 0_0

Anyway, for awesome books by female authors:

Dragon Slippers by Jessica Day George. I think this book honestly turned me into an extremely picky reader. Anything by Jessica Day George is just so easy to read, and so light, full of practical characters, and cute romances that don't take away from the story at all.

Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott. It's a book on writing! I love books on writing because you can really see the writer through them, and they're a ton of fun. This one is lovely all the same! There is swearing and possibly adult content in it though, so just be aware.

Burning Glass by Kathryn Purdie. This one is about a girl who has this pretty rare ability to feel others emotions- they physically become her own emotions. And she gets taken to the king to serve him because the kings always have one of someone who has that ability around them because they can feel things liiiiike hatred, people fearing being caught, etc. So if someone's trying to pull a fast one on the king, they can have a bit of a warning. If you're someone that considers yourself an empath, you'll probably love and hate this book- like me! It can be pretty dark and depressing but also pretty dang cool, too. It has some mature themes in it though so beware.
100% autistic
  








Dogs love their friends and bite their enemies, quite unlike people, who are incapable of pure love and always have to mix love and hate.
— Sigmund Freud