Ombira in Shadow, Patricia A. McKillip: This complicated, layered world story appeals to me not just because it reads like a lucid dream, but because it has women in many roles and with different personalities. Women are at the center of the political machinations of the novel, both as the lowliest and the highest players.
All These Things I’ve Done, Gabrielle Zevin: Okay, sure there's a love story. But there's also a girl coming to terms with her mob family and her own potential power within it; the voice is frank, simple, but non-condescending. I got the impression that Zevin is one of the rare adults that still understands teens.
The Bone Season/Mime Order, Samantha Shannon: I feel like too few people read these amazing novels. Not only does it feature a complex system of necromatic communication and powers fighting against a trio of enemies--a tyrannic anti-magic government, a group of otherworldly beings who ritualistically kidnap and sadistically train emergent powers to fight other otherworldly beings, and each other, in the form of underground gangs. Too complex for a brief review, but be assured: Paige kicks ass and isn't only thinking about love.
The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly, Stephanie Oakes: There's a lot of "girl-escapes-from-cult" novels out there, but the protagonists don't often start in JV, with their hands removed. Minnow tells her story with brutal clarity; while it is something of a love story, the main relationship of interest is a (platonic) one with her cell mate.
The Ruby in the Smoke (and others, not pictured), Phillip Pullman: Victorian woman can do math! and money! and *spoiler* has a baby out of wedlock! and believably does it within the time period! (I'm a Victorian studies major, that last is a huge compliment)
The Golden Compass (and others, not pictured), Phillip Pullman: Lyra Silvertongue was/is everything I aspire to be as a lady. But also! complex villains and interesting ideas about religion.
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, Susanna Clarke: Not directed at teens, but is one of the most complex pieces of world-building and subversive narrative. Doesn't feel feminist--can feel the opposite (and racist!) until you understand the complexities of her 1000 page narrative. (Pro tip: don't get the mass market copy that I have. Spring for the trade paperback because the mass market is hard to hold and the pages are hard to turn. Pro pro tip: the audiobook, read by Simon Prebble, is fantastic.)
Dealing with Dragons (and others, not pictured), Patricia C. Wrede: I still want to write female characters like this; it informed many of my stranger decisions (fencing lessons, taking Latin) and some of my more subtle ones (question authority, do not accept roles just because "that's how it's done", but there's no reason to be rude about your rebellions)
Origin, Jessica Khoury: Question the wisdom of immortality, the failures of science, and slight colonial criticism. Good intro to this kind of book.
Howl’s Moving Castle, Diana Wynne Jones: Okay, so the movie is gorgeous and interesting. Believe me: the book is better. Foremost is that you can fall in love with someone and still notice--and criticize--their imperfections.
The Time of the Ghost, Diana Wynne Jones: There's some definite autobiographical moments in this book (I mean, not truly, totally, see: GHOST): the sisters are named after Diana Wynne Jones's, for example. But what made me think of this book was the way she deals with the reality of abusive relationships.
Deerskin, Robin McKinley: AND speaking of abusive relationships. This one isn't for the faint of heart. Based on Donkeyskin, the fairy tale about a king trying to marry his own daughter, McKinley takes this one step further into actual incest and the tale of an abuse survivor. Another story that teaches about the right to grow and learn from the past.
Spindle’s End, Robin Mckinley: I didn't like this one when I first read it, but when I returned to it in my late teens, I realized that it has a lot more going on than it first looked like. Foremost: princesses getting to make choices, and friends helping friends.
Salvage, by Alexandra Duncan: You don't always have to be what you thought you were going to be; you don't always have to be what other people want you to be; the first guy you kiss, and love, doesn't have to be your last; make your own choices: all that PLUS spaceships
Not the most in-depth reviews you're going to get about these books, but the reason I put them on that list.
-Mercutia
Crossposted: tumblr
Salvage, Alexandra Duncan
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