# Recommend a book with a teenage girl main character?



## Caragula (May 17, 2013)

I'm embarking on a series of novellas with a 17 year old girl as the main character.  It would be very useful if I could get some recommendations of books with a similar protagonist, so I can get examples of how other writers get across the teenage-ness.  If it's a male author all the better.

Thanks.


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## Fin (May 17, 2013)

Almost every book I can think of in the Young Adult category falls under what you're looking for. Hit up a book store and look through that section. Surely you'll be able to find something of use.


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## Skodt (May 17, 2013)

Hunger games is pretty popular right now.


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## Jeko (May 17, 2013)

I'd write what you plan on making (or at least some of it) _before _checking the market. Have a stab in the dark and then see what you've cut, and how deeply. 

From what I've read, everyone represents everyone differently.


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## Caragula (May 17, 2013)

Yep, I have the story arc all figured out and have written a bit, but I'm probably over thinking the whole minefield of 'is that what a teenage girl would do?' 'mustn't be too condescending or end up parodying a teenager', 'what are the nuances that may delineate to a female reader that it is a girl, as opposed to a resourceful feisty character that just happens to have a girl's name' etc. etc. 

I'll give hunger games a go definitely, and Ghost World was a revelation, albeit a graphic novel, of what a male writer could do with a teenage girl's coming of age and her relationship with her best friend.

I'll do that Fin of course, the book section for YA is positively monstrous these days isn't it   It's always nice to get some personal recommendations.


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## Jeko (May 17, 2013)

The best insight you can get is giving your work for others to review. Finding teenagers to read your work will help you know if you are employing the right kind of voice.

I'm 16, by the way.

(nudge)


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## ppsage (May 17, 2013)

Alice in Wonderland. Peter Pan. The Scarlet Letter. Tess of the d'Ubervilles. Molly Flanders. Jane Eyre. Parable of the Sower.


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## MyPunkGang (May 17, 2013)

Lucy Caldwell's Where They Were Missed. It starts off when the girl is a child but about two thirds of the book is when she is 15-16. It's about a girl whose family has broken up after her little sister died. She's trying to find her mother who has disappeared. It's a really good read.


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## Rustgold (May 17, 2013)

What type of novella is it?  What type of teenager are you looking for?  These are basic questions to answer, else you might end up going aimlessly through 100s of irrelevant books.


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## Lewdog (May 17, 2013)

Little Women?


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## PiP (May 17, 2013)

The Pact: Amazon.co.uk: Jodi Picoult: Books
Jodi Picoult's fifth novel, THE PACT


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## Caragula (May 18, 2013)

Rustgold, she's a bit indie, very grounded, left wing in that slightly naive way.  It's a bit like quantum leap, a story arc over 6 or 7 novellas but episodic.

Thanks for the specific recommendations.


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## FleshEater (Jun 9, 2013)

Chuck Palahniuk's Damned, King's Carrie (I've never read it, but the movie is, according to King, on par with the novel and even better, actually), Battle Royale (for many different high school personalities).


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## AtlanshiaSpirit (Jun 11, 2013)

The Morganville Vampire Series, the main character is a sixteen year old girl, and the way she develops over the 15 books is amazing!


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## Caragula (Jun 11, 2013)

Thank you for the recent recommendations on this thread...I confess the thought of reading 15 vampire novels is a tad overwhelming


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## Dictarium (Jun 14, 2013)

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. Been number one on the YA New York Times Bestseller List for quite a while now and it really is very good, in my opinion.


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