What a Girl Wants: To Vote for the Most Qualified

Colleen has collected responses for What a Girl Wants over at Chasing Ray. I wouldn't call myself a feminist (don't gasp), but I did pull together my thoughts and a few resources. Here you go. And be sure to read the whole article!

Lorie Ann Grover: "No way, should a girl vote for a woman just because she's a woman, Colleen! Both my girls would be upset to hear that they were expected to do so. Thankfully, they are not of my mother's world, but their own. They have the luxury of looking at issues over gender representation. That said, a hip young feminist blog is The F Bomb. This was recommended by iheartdaily, and it's a fresh voice for teen girls.

Girldrive by Nona Willis Aronowitz and Emma Bee Bernstein is compelling, both the book and blog. Here two young women hit the road and interview women across the country about feminism. Answers are different, current, and colorful.

Those two sources come immediately to mind. Other than that, I think reading broadly through YA lit will bring a great balance. The books of today empower girls to think for themselves and stride forward."

(ETA: Read a NY Magazine Q&A with Nona Aronowitz.)

Mean Girls, Myth or Reality?

Colleen has her latest post up for What a Girl Wants. This time we are at the table discussing mean girls. Here's Colleen's intro and my response. Be sure to pop over and read all the responses.

So, the questions: Does teen literature exaggerate the mean girl phenomena too much? If aliens landed on earth and read teen lit (oh my) would they expect to find mini Cordelias wreaking havoc on every high school across America? Are they so prevalent because it just easier to write about mean girls then nice ones? Is teen lit reflecting what is real in this instance or propagating an unfair female stereotype?



"I'm not a sociologist, but I've read Queen Bees and Wannabes by Rosalind Wiseman and Odd Girl Out by Rachel Simmons. I believe the nonfiction conclusion that girls leverage power in a very different way than boys. Rather than plain facts and fists, girls use words and withhold them to manipulate.

I do remember certain mean girls throughout my school experience, and I've witnessed them in my teen daughters' as well. Anti-bully programs are popular in the public school system in our area. I'm assuming both sexes are addressed.

Maybe the subject is a fad right now, Colleen. And maybe we are looking more at the mean girl herself, rather than the victim who used to concern us most. Stephen King's Carrie flashes to mind. Is this new perspective giving the subject a fresh breath in teen lit? There's a fuller story of the mean girl herself, and there's even the exploration of a placid character turning into one: Tina Fey's Mean Girls.

Those are my thoughts. I'm not overly worried or concerned. The antagonist wears so many masks. Right now, she just happens to have a very nice complexion."

What a Girl Wants: Superheroes!

Colleen Mondor has just posted her newest blog for What a Girl Wants. She asked:

Are girls missing out on something by not having a kick butt heroine to look up to? Is it all just testosterone for boys and girls don't need it? Should we find our heroes elsewhere? Am I wrong to pine for a world where girls can have a superhero birthday party with only female characters and everyone knows their names?

Here's my entry. Not a huge comic book fan, but I do enjoy the manga I've picked up, and you all know I love Heroes. :~)

Lorie Ann Grover: "I was not a comic book reader growing up. At the most, my mom would buy one for us before a summer road trip, and it was usually Archie, I guess. Which I didn't actually enjoy. As an adult, I don't even read newspaper comics.

So, I definitely didn't grow up with female superheroes, aside from Wonder Woman on TV. I despised her costume but thought it was cool that she was so tall. In some measure she gave me reassurance for my body type. I remember glimpses of Cat Woman, but something told me never to trust her. I still don't.

How interesting that there is a vacuum of female superheroes in teen lit. Every time I think I've thought of one, I realize that they don't truly have super powers. They are just super smart or strong. I'm thinking of Kiki Strike and Cammie of the Gallagher Girls series. It's almost as if this generation's superheroes wear urban fantasy masks: Aislinn from Wicked Lovely, Kaye in Ironside.

As a YA author and reader, I do get the same kind of reading enjoyment through fantasy characters that I get from male superheroes on screen. I will say it's a blast to have a true female superhero like Claire in Heroes!

I think we girls will always demand character depth and growth in our superheroes, Powers just aren't enough. But it can be done. So maybe Colleen is on the cusp of a trend that might start right here... "

What a Girl Wants: YA or Adult

In a roundabout way, Colleen over at Chasing Ray, asked the ladies what we thought about the YA versus adult distinction in literature. Do girls need YA books? Here's my entry. Visit her post to hear all the passion. It's going to be a hot one!


Lorie Ann Grover: I believe teen girls need stories that express their own voices and introduce them to new ones that speak outside of their worldviews. Any topic can potentially engage a teen if it's contained in a meaningful story. The teen protagonist is merely a conduit which connects the reader, with a shorter life experience, to the writer.

So, what can be found in the teen novel not found in an adult work? Nothing, aside from a guarantee of hope in some measure, even if it's small. At least today, I still find this to be true. Otherwise, there will be the same literary merit, engaging plot, and credible characters. There will be the same value.

At ALA, Libba Bray was recently telling me about her book tour in Germany where she found YA and adult works esteemed equally. I am hopeful we might reach this conclusion in the states. Let writers craft their stories and people from all walks find the words, regardless of age or place in life.

What a Girl Wants, Chasing Ray

Colleen Mondor of the esteemed blog Chasing Ray is launching a series titled What a Girl Wants.

Here's her intent:

"(W)what I'd really like to hear now is what other people think about the current status of books for teen girls and what it says about both what they want to read and what publishers think they want to read. Now here's the cool part - the list of the authors who agreed to take part in an occasional round of questions about girls and reading. They are all fabulous and they all have opinions and they all were once teenage girls (that part was kinda critical). Starting next week on a varying schedule I'll be posting a single question and then their answers as we talk about what a girl wants - and what she gets - when it comes to reading."

The posts will include authors:

Margo Rabb,
Sara Ryan,
Jacqueline Kelly,
Loree Griffin Burns,
Zetta Elliott,
Beth Kephart,
Laurel Snyder,
Mayra Lazara Dole,
Melissa Wyatt,
Kekla Magoon,
Jenny Davidson,
and me!

Go, Colleen. I can't wait to participate in this summer project!