Strong Women in Immersive Stories
I’ve been seeing rave reviews for Adrienne Young’s Fable. Count me in. All in.
After seeing Kayla’s post, I was so excited to receive a review copy of this from Wednesday Books. I then proceeded to do that thing where you vacillate between absolutely devouring a book while also trying to force yourself to slow down because it’s so good and you don’t want it to end…but also how can you possibly put it down?
Fable is brilliantly absorbing. It’s exactly the kind of book you might need right now, even though I would, by no means, call it a comforting read. In fact, words like taut and brittle and gritty come to mind. The world, one of the depths of the sea and trading ships and islands full of thieves, is deftly composed and utterly immersive. You will not be thinking about what’s going on outside the book. The motivations of the characters feel real and complex and the strong female lead, Fable, is never brought down to those annoying tropes that many female protagonists have to suffer through. It’s going to be one of my favorites book of the year, for sure. I loved it.
If you’re also a sucker for stories about women who battle and learn and overcome, this one is for you. The sequel, Namesake, comes out in March 16. I also immediately requested Young’s backlist and will be beginning Sky in the Deep any day now. It’s the kind of book that I knew would leave me wanting more, so I had to be prepared ; ).
Are you going to be reading this one?
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20 Other Books with Strong Women and Immersive Storytelling
Warning: This is a book you’ll be sad is over. I offer up to you:
– Marissa Meyer’s Cinder
– Octavia Butler’s Kindred
– Leigh Bardugo’s Six of Crows
– Leigh Bardugo’s Shadow and Bone
– Katherine Arden’s The Bear and the Nightingale
– Jesmyn Ward’s Salvage the Bones
– Elizabeth Acevedo’s With the Fire on High
– Kristin Cashore’s Graceling
– Sandra Cisneros’ The House on Mango Street
– Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre
– E.L. Konisburg’s From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
– Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Americanah
– Christina Uss’s The Adventures of a Girl Called Bicycle
– G. Willow Wilson’s and Adrian Alphona’s Ms. Marvel
– Noelle Stevenson’s Lumber Janes
– Pam Munoz Ryan’s Esperanza Rising
– Roald Dahl’s Matilda
– Marion Zimmer Bradley’s The Mists of Avalon
Let me know your favorite strong women!
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