"A children's story which is enjoyed only by children is a bad children's story. The good ones last." --C.S. Lewis
This video is all about the YA heroines I adore, organized somewhat by “personality type.” I’ve included them in “types” so that if you’ve read a book from one PoV of the same personality type, maybe you’ll like the rest in that category. I’m a huge character oriented reader and most often I continue reading in books only if I feel invested in the characters’ lives, so I thought that this could be a sort of recommendation feature.
Despite having written a post on why I like fantasy better than contemporary novels, every time I found myself compiling lists of favorite novels, I would see about an equal number between the two. I’d wonder, why. I definitely do like fantasy more than contemporary novels, and I think I’ve stumbled upon a reason.
Having created this list, I wonder at the lack of contemporary heroines here. I think that sometimes contemporary heroines may not be allowed to “shine” as fully as their peers in fantasy, or some personality types are missing from contemporary. Most of the contemporary stories I’ve read have featured some sort of introverted type, few with the “bold, brash, confident” exterior. And I wonder why – is it harder to pull off the moments of reflection needed in a contemporary novel if you choose a heroine who’s a little more intense?
Or am I reading the wrong books? I don’t discount this last question – I leave that to you, my readers, to tell me. And if I am, perchance recommend me some others. Because right now, I’m thinking that contemporary more easily translates to the romantic/dreamer type while fantasy, it’s harder without the character getting a lot of “hate” (e.g. Sansa Stark).
Do you think this is a useful way of recommending books / will you be reading some of these books now? Do we share any favorite heroines? Do you have any books that you would recommend to me based on the above? Let me know!