Blog Button + iWOMAN2

I am so excited about this! Can you tell? I figured out how to make a blog button for my blog via a very helpful article on WikiHow, which I will link here. The html thingamajigger is under it, and I'll keep it there until I figure out how to put it on the sidebar or something similar. I just wanted to put this on here, before continuing the iWOMAN post like I said I would. Ha! In your face.

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Sorry. I get excited when I prove people wrong. 

Today's iWOMAN post will be on novels with strong heroines. I'm going to try to pick less well-known books (and not necessarily all in Young Adult fiction) because that way you all can hopefully find some books that you haven't read before that catch your interest and add them to your "to-read" list on Goodreads or...you know, your favorite notebook (but we both know you have a Goodreads account. if you dont...I can't say anything because I just got mine a few months ago). So I won't be putting books like The Hunger Games, Divergent, or City of Bones on this post because I feel like they are pretty much nationally if not universally known about, talked about, and read. Sorry to disappoint. If you don't know about these books, I recommend you go read them immediately. I'll put them in a list down below for you. 

 The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (part of a trilogy. the other two books 

                                          are #2 Catching Fire and #3 Mockingjay)

 Divergent by Veronica Roth (also part of a trilogy. the other two books are #2 

                                          Insurgent and #3 Allegiant)

 City of Bones by Cassandra Clare (nope, not  trilogy this time :) It's actually

                                          book one in a series of six books)

Onward! 

Book of a Thousand Days by Shanon Hale (who is also the author of Princess Academy) 

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When Dashti, a maid, and Lady Saren, her mistress, are shut in a tower for seven years for Saren’s refusal to marry a man she despises, the two prepare for a very long and dark imprisonment.

As food runs low and the days go from broiling hot to freezing cold, it is all Dashti can do to keep them fed and comfortable. But the arrival outside the tower of Saren’s two suitors—one welcome, and the other decidedly less so—brings both hope and great danger, and Dashti must make the desperate choices of a girl whose life is worth more than she knows.

With Shannon Hale’s lyrical language, this forgotten but classic fairy tale from the Brothers Grimm is reimagined and reset on the central Asian steppes; it is a completely unique retelling filled with adventure and romance, drama and disguise.

Lady Saren is spoiled. But not the kind of spoiled that you hate, just the kind that you wrinkle your nose at and feel slightly sorry for. Dashti was a saint for putting up with her and taking care of her, for making sure that they survived when Lady Saren lost her will to. Dashti has a scar on her face and hand (maybe just her hand) if I remember right, and 1) She pretends to be Lady Saren to Lady Saren's fiance and 2) she puts herself in severe danger to save the surrounding countries even when she herself is on the brink of being proclaimed a fraud and thrown out. I'm trying to explain this without giving spoilers *sigh* it is so hard. 

I really loved this book and I think it's partly (or mostly) because of Vashti, the strong, hard-working, un-assuming heroine. 

The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare 

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Orphaned Kit Tyler knows, as she gazes for the first time at the cold, bleak shores of Connecticut Colony, that her new home will never be like the shimmering Caribbean island she left behind. In her relatives' stern Puritan community, she feels like a tropical bird that has flown to the wrong part of the world, a bird that is now caged and lonely. The only place where Kit feels completely free is in the meadows, where she enjoys the company of the old Quaker woman known as the Witch of Blackbird Pond, and on occasion, her young sailor friend Nat. But when Kit's friendship with the "witch" is discovered, Kit is faced with suspicion, fear, and anger. She herself is accused of witchcraft!

From the moment that Kit Tyler steps onto the shores of the Americas, the people around her look at her differently. She is colorful and full of life. And they are Puritans. Anything she does, and they will criticize. Plainly and simply, Kit doesn't fit in. But she keeps going. She learns to cook, she dresses like the Puritans...but through it all she still keeps the spirit that she had when she first arrived. Even though she has to hide it very deep, it's still there. And that takes strength. How many of us would still be functioning, normal people if people criticized and disapproved everything we were and everything we did? If we knew that they viewed us as a lesser person because we were different. I know I wouldn't be too strong in that situation....

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

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Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. 

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

First of all, I need to say how much I love the setting for the book. It has cyborgs, robots, and lunars!! What could be better? (besides the lunars) Cinder is strong. She puts up with her mother-in-law and one step-sister (she and the second one are close though, which I thought was a nice switch from the cliche). She's the most experienced and talented mechanic in the city. And that satisfies us girls who have always wanted to do a "guy thing" with extreme talent and say "Ha! In your face" (just like I did in the beginning of this post *le smirk*). Cinder is also a cyborg. Cyborgs aren't considered human in this future Earth. Which is complete bull if you ask me. Why should anyone be less human, even if they have metal parts in them? Cinder makes her own way. And that is something anyone would be proud of doing. She is also a strong woman. 

Oh and yeah. There's a prince. Funny how some things in fairy tales never change, huh. I also think it's important to note that he goes to her to fix his broken robot. A complete reversal of roles. I LOVE it. 

Girl in Blue by Ann Rinaldi (I would like to note that Rinaldi writes extremely good historical fiction, but very sad as well)

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The year is 1861. When spirited teenager Sarah Louisa learns that she is to be married off to her despicable neighbor, she runs away from home. Disguising herself as a boy, Sarah boldly joins the army--and before long is a soldier in the Civil War. Sarah navigates the joys and hardships of army life, all the while struggling to keep her true identity a secret. But Sarah's real adventure is only just beginning. A chance encounter with a detective soon draws her into a web of mystery, intrigue, and romance--and Sarah's courage will be put to the test as never before.

Sarah disguises herself as a boy and joins an army. You may be shaking your head and saying "Psh that isn't realistic." But loads of women disguised themselves as men and joined either the Confederate or Union armies in the Civil War. Some wanted to serve their country, others wanted to stay with their husbands. Ann Rinaldi gives a personal view of what it would be like to do such an outrageous thing (for that time). 

Sarah serves as a man, until she is found out by another woman. She takes the full brunt of training just like everybody else. And excels. She's a girl who knows what she wants and isn't afraid to work hard to get it. Another thing I like about this book is that Sarah doesn't go back to the average female civilian life after she gets kicked out of the army. Nope. Instead, she joins Allan Pinkerton and his spies at the Pinkerton National Detective Agency. Which is totally awesome. 

And that, my lovelies, is the list of books I've come up with that have strong heroines. Whatever their circumstances, they remained true to themselves and pushed through. In the end, their hearts made them strong, not their bodies. 

                                    Hugs & Fist Pumps (separately of course),

                                                                     X