Tuesday, September 13, 2016

Strong Girls and Strong Women in Literature

Okay, I don't know if it's really a genre, but let's spend today thinking about books with strong girls and strong women as leads in the story. 

You've probably already thought of Hunger Games and Pippi Longstocking. Well, here are a few of my other favorites:

The Good Earth
Does any woman have it harder than O-lan? She's not pretty and her husband treats her as little more than a slave. Her family comes close to starvation. She kills a daughter during the famine so the child will avoid horrific suffering. When the family finally comes into money, her husband takes a new wife.



Gone With the Wind
"As God is my witness...I'll never be hungry again."





Parvana's Journey

Parvana sets off in search of her family in war-ravaged Afghanistan.




The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency
You have to love an African woman detective who declares herself "a woman of traditional build."





Anne of Green Gables
Anne can face down anything.





A Wrinkle in Time
The first book I called my favorite. 
I still adore it, and Meg is most of the reason.





Love is a Wild Assault
Historical fiction about an early Texas pioneer woman who faced trouble in buckets. 
A huge part of the story takes place in the county where I live.





Mrs. Mike

A woman who comes from privilege goes to live in the wilderness of Canada.




The Whale Rider
Kahu is destined to be the leader of her people, but will they accept a girl as leader?





Memoirs of a Geisha

Nitta tells the story of her life, sold into servitude as a geisha when she was only nine.




Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

Each week we will post a new Top Ten list that one of our bloggers here at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join. All we ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so that everyone can check out other bloggers lists! If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Have fun with it! It's a fun way to get to know your fellow bloggers.

25 comments:

  1. I've read many of these books. All strong women.

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  2. I actually really like Scarlett O'Hara - glad to see her on this list. She isn't exactly sympathetic but strong she definitely is! And I always identified with Anne so much when I was younger!
    Here's my TTT post

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  3. This is a wonderful list! I haven't read any of them yet but I certainly need to. I loved the old black and white Anne of Greeb Gables as a kid. I really want to at some point.
    My Top Ten

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  4. Great list Deb! It's always great to read a novel featuring a strong female character...Speaking of which, I still have yet to get around to Gone With the Wind :3

    My TTT

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  5. Yes, yes Anne and Pippi and Heidi would be my three favorites off the top of my head. My TTT link

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  6. Meg Murray is the BEST

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  7. I adore Mma Precious Ramotswe. She's such a fun character. I like your take on the topic this week. So many great female characters and books.

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  8. You listed some great books. And I had not thought about Mrs. Mike for a long, long time. Thanks for the memories with that one!

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  9. I think my mom had Gone With The Wind with that cover, and whenever I see it it takes me back. Plus I just love how they used to do covers like that. :)

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  10. I REALLY like this topic! The Good Earth is such a beautiful read, and I've always loved A Wrinkle in Time too. My TTT.

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  11. Gone With The Wind is actually on my TBR for this year! I'm not sure if I'll get to it, but maybe.. :P

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  12. If it's not a sub-genre, it should be! And thanks for including Mrs. Mike!!

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  13. Loved this list! The Good Earth was a fantastic novel and I agree. She was a very strong woman and put up with so much!

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  14. I'm only 200 pages in (out of 1300) but Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand has one of the strongest female characters I've encountered...Dagny Taggart. And so far the book is fascinating.

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  15. That's a really good list, I've read and loved several of them. Though, believe it or not I've never read Gone with the Wind. :|

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  16. I haven't actually read many of these, but I love The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series. Great topic!

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