Episode 08: Strong female characters, no matter the setting.

Marisa and Mary return this time to talk about middle grade and teen books that feature strong female characters-no matter what happened to them, they choose their fate. We also give teen book recommendations to a mom & 7th grader who read and LOVED the Twilight series by Stephanie Meyers. As always, if you need to add more books to your To Be Read pile, check out the Books Mentioned below! Marisa's first book was the middle grade title Dress Coded by Carrie Firestone. Described as a “girl-power friendship story, an eighth grader starts a podcast to protest the unfair dress code enforcement at her middle school and sparks a rebellion.” Intrigued by a Persian fairy tale inspired story with many great twists then you’ll love Marisa’s second book: Girl, Serpent, Thorn by Melissa Bashardoust. Described as “a captivating and utterly original fairy tale about a girl cursed to be poisonous to the touch, and who discovers what power might lie in such a curse…” Mary talked about Brittney Morris’ Slay, which follows high school student Kiera, who developed the game SLAY in an effort to carve out a space for Black gamers, after having to deal with the racism prevalent in the gaming world. This is an unputdownable book with themes of racism and feminism. The second book Mary talked about was the graphic novel adaptation of Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson and Emily Carroll (illustrator). This is an updated version of the modern classic with beautiful illustrations that tell the Mel’s story of after-after the party, after she’s alone, after the rape. Trigger warnings. Books we talked about this episode: Marisa's books: Dress Coded by Carrie Firestone. Middle Grade, Grades 5-9.  Published July 7, 2020. Girl, Serpent, Thorn by Melissa Bashardoust. Teen, Grades 7+. Published July 7, 2020. Mary's books: Slay by Brittney Morris. Teen, Grades 7+. Published September 24, 2019. Speak (graphic novel) by Laurie Halse Anderson and Emily Carroll (illustrator). High School, Grades 8+. Published February 6, 2018. Books mentioned: Loose Ends List by Carrie Firestone Go With the Flow by Lily Williams Six Angry Girls by Adrienne Kisner The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas Ready Player One by Ernest Cline Warcross by Marie Lu Armada by Ernest Cline Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert Caraval by Stephanie Garber Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo Girls Made of Snow and Glass by Melissa Bashardoust Reverie by Ryan LaSala Once and Future King by Amy Rose Capetta & Cory McCarthy Through the Woods by Emily Carroll I Stop Somewhere by T.E. Carter Sadie by Courtney Summers Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer Buffy the Vampire Slayer graphic novels Seasons 3 and 8 by various authors Fake Blood by Whitney Gardner Sailor Moon by Naoko Takeuchi Beastly by Alex Flinn A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins Evermore by Alyson Noel Beautiful by Renee Ahdieh