Shero Fantasy

  • Atwater-Rhodes, Amelia
  • Bell, Hilari - FLAME is the first in a trilogy but the spoiled rich girl has shown a core of steel by the end of the first book.
  • Bell, Hilari - GOBLIN WOOD. A girl is "The General" and head of the goblin army. Smith, Sherwood
  • Bell, Hilari - Songs of Power
  • Billingsley, Franny - The Folk Keeper
  • Black, Holly - Tithe
  • Bull, Emma - War for the Oaks
  • Butler, Octavia - Parable of the Sower/Parable of the Talents
  • Cadigan, Pat Cadigan
  • Dalkey, Kara. Little Sister and The Heavenward Path. These are great fantasies set in medieval Japan and while Mitsuko has a close relationship with a male she doesn't really end up with anyone.
  • De Lint, Charles - Jack of Kinrowan, Memory and Dream
  • Dean, Pamela - Tam Lin by Pamela Dean (
  • Donoghue, Emma - Kissing the Witch (short stories)
  • Fire Rose (a retelling of Beauty and the Beast), The Serpent's Shadow, the Arrows of the Queen trilogy, and more.
  • Flewelling, Lynn - Hidden Warrior
  • Flewelling, Lynn - The Bone Doll's Twin
  • Gaiman, Neil - Coraline
  • Gibson, William - Virtual Light and All Tomorrow's Parties
  • Goodman, Alison. - Singing the Dogstar Blues. Top-notch sf combined with mystery and a mixed-race female protagonist.
  • Haddix, Margaret Peterson - Turnabout
  • Hanley, Victoria - The Seer and the Sword
  • Harper, Tara - Wolves' Series features a heroine who partners with a wolf via a telepathic link.   The first book is "Wolfwalker".  She has also written "Cataract" and "Cat Scratch Fever" whose heroine telepathically links to the big cats.
  • Hoffman,Mary - Stravaganza: City of Stars. Time traveling girl who loves horses.
  • Hoover, H. M.
  • Hopkinson, Nalo
  • Jacques, Brian - Some of the Redwall books like Mariel of (even though they're not necessarily human girls)
  • Kesel, Barbara - Meridian series (graphic novels)
  • Klause, Annette Curtis
  • Lackey, Mercedes - her books are written for adults but appeal to teens:
  • Lawrence, Louise
  • McCaffrey, Anne McCaffrey -  Each one of her series feature strong girls and women!  Dragonriders of Pern (which includes the Harperhall Trilogy), The Ship Who Sang (the original series of stories by Anne herself), The Powers That Be, Acorna, etc.
  • McKillip, Patricia - especially Ombria in Shadow, Winter Rose
  • McKinley, Robin - Beauty - Beauty hates her nickname, but it seems better than her real name Honour, as if honourable is all that can be said of her.  After moving to the countryside she takes over the role of additional male in the family, assisting in her brother in laws forge and using her warhorse/pet horse Greatheart to pull stones.
  • McKinley, Robin - Spindle's End by McKinley.  Rosie may be the princess, but she refuses to wear skirts, hates her curly hair and ends up as the apprentice horse doctor to the  village's blacksmith.  An excellent retelling of Sleeping Beauty, Rosie's nontraditional nature is key to the story and one the things that ends up saving her from the wicked fairy Pernicia.
  • McKinley, Robin - The Hero and the Crown/The Blue Sword
  • Moon, Elizabeth - is another author for adults whose books can appeal to teens; she's a former Marine officer and writes military sf and fantasy (among other stuff which is all good).  Her books about Heris Serrano (beginning with Hunting Party) which feature an older woman boss who resembles Anne McCaffrey
  • Pierce, Tamara
  • Pierce, Tamora - Protector of the Small series ends with heroine who is successful and unattached.
  • Prachett, Terry - Monstrous Regiment by Terry Prachett.
  • Prachett, Terry - The Wee Free Men
  • Pullman, Phillip - Dark Materials Trilogy
  • Robinson, Kim Stanley - Mars Trilogy
  • Schmitz, James - Telzey series and his other books, all with strong women characters.  His "Witches of Karres" is one of my all-time favorites and one of the few where the main character is a young man who thinks he has rescued three helpless sisters from slavery.  Lots of humor and adventure.
  • Scott, Melissa
  • Smith, Sherwood - Wren to the Rescue (and two sequels)
  • Sterling, Bruce - Islands in the Net and Holy Fire
  • Tower, S. D.  - The Assassins of Tamurin. Written for adults but good fantasy for older teens featuring a foundling who when cast out of her village is adopted by a woman who raises assassins.
  • Vande Velde, Vivian - Heir Apparent. Combination of sf and fantasy featuring a girl caught in a VR fantasy game that makes her repeat the same events ala GROUNDHOG DAY or Sleator's REWIND.
  • Willis, Connie - The Doomsday Book, Passage
  • Wrede, Patricia C. The Enchanted Forest Chronicles (DEALING WITH DRAGONS, SEARCHING FOR DRAGONS, CALLING ON DRAGONS, and TALKING TO DRAGONS)
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