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my problem with YA lit is the fact that females are two dimensional characters who are only there to push the boys to experience adventure, love, and to find themselves. no. I want more female characters finding who they are without a love interest. I want more female characters going on an adventure. I want more female characters with a love interest who has mutual respect with them and doesn’t use them as a prop. I want more female characters who are people.

Never fear! There is SO MUCH YA lit out there, and while some of it is…not good, there is still plenty that is! Here are a few lists that other people have made that are a place to start looking.

Here is BookRiot’s list of 2015′s best feminist YA lit

100 Books for the YA Feminist Reader

12 books for young people that will turn you into a feminist

15 Teen Feminist Novels Everyone should read

YA Fiction for Girls

As far as PERSONAL favorites go, I have MANY. Keep in mind that I am really big on fantasy and sci-fi. I’m sure others will add their own recommendations as well. 

Ash by Malinda Lo: Think Bisexual Cinderella. Standard Cinderella images set up the story: after losing her mother and later her father, Ash is treated as a servant in the home of an unkind stepmother and two unfriendly stepsisters. She has ties to the fairy world, attends the royal ball in an enchanted dress, catches the eye of the prince, and finds love by the end of the story. However, while structural similarities exist, ideologically Lo’s beautiful and dark tale takes the story to a new place. It is not about Ash being found and saved by a charming prince; instead, it is about her courtship with Kaisa, the King’s huntress, a relationship that burgeons over time and is based on more than just initial attraction.

Monstrous Regiment by Terry Pratchett:  Polly Oliver has disguised herself as a boy to join the army of Borogravia, which is always at war and bursting with patriotism, though the Borogravians are often less than clear on why they are fighting. But then, as followers of a god who believes that cats, babies, and cheese are abominations, they are used to contradictions; they mostly pray to their duchess, who may be dead. Their latest war has interfered with the commerce of Ankh-Morpork, which has dispatched Sam Vimes to bring matters to a “satisfactory” conclusion. Part of the “Discworld” books, but can be read as a standalone. 

Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett: Tiffany, an extremely competent nine-year-old, takes care of her irritating brother, makes good cheese on her father’s farm, and knows how to keep secrets. When monsters from Fairyland invade her world and her brother disappears, Tiffany, armed only with her courage, clear-sightedness, a manual of sheep diseases, and an iron frying pan, goes off to find him. Her search leads her to a showdown with the Fairy Queen. It is clear from the beginning that Tiffany is a witch, and a mighty powerful one. Part of the “Discworld” books, but can be read as a standalone. 

The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros: Told in a series of vignettes – sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes deeply joyous – it is the story of a young Latina girl growing up in Chicago, inventing for herself who and what she will become. 

Gracefully Grayson by Ami Polonsky: In this sweet and thoughtful debut, an introverted sixth grader begins to come into her own as a transgender girl. Grayson was orphaned in preschool and lives with her aunt and uncle in Chicago. She’s becoming more and more aware of a nagging feeling that she should be living as a girl, despite being male-assigned, and on a daring whim decides to audition for the part of Persephone in the school play. 

There are some really wonderful books on those links to book lists. We’d suggest that when picking up a book from the lists, do a little checking out of some of them, though, because we noticed at least one classic that is culturally problematic on one of the lists. For example, if you see a book about Native Americans on a list and wonder if it’s culturally accurate, you can usually find a thorough review of it via debbiereese​, whose American Indians in Children’s Literature blog is super informative.

Some books we’d add:

Killer of Enemies and its forthcoming sequel, Trail of the Dead, are kick-butt post-apocalyptic Apache steampunk, starring 17-year-old Lozen, who must save her family from the overlords who are forcing her to hunt genetically modified monsters. A wonderful take on survival from a Native perspective, honoring the Apache women who have gone before.

Summer of the Mariposas by Guadalupe Garcia McCall is a retelling of The Odyssey from the point of view of the eldest of five sisters. When Odilia and her four sisters find a dead body in their swimming hole,
they embark on a hero’s journey to return the dead man to his family in
Mexico. But returning home to Texas turns into an odyssey that would
rival Homer’s original tale.

Ink and Ashes by Valynne Maetani is a heart-pounding thriller about Claire, who finds out that her deceased father was once a member of the yakuza, the Japanese mafia. The race to outrun her father’s legacy reveals secrets of his past that
cast ominous shadows, threatening Claire, her friends and family, her
newfound love, and ultimately her life. 

Diverse Energies ed. by Tobias Buckell and Joe Monti is a collection of short stories, including an amazing story from Ursula K. Le Guin, as well as stories from Ellen Oh, Malinda Lo, Cindy Pon, and K. Tempest Bradford. For feminist stories, in particular, look at Malinda Lo’s “Good Girl.”