I Only Type In Lowercase Because I Hate Capitalism

i only type in lowercase because i hate capitalism

A Beginner’s Guide for Feminist Fantasy

First off, we have Gail Carson Levine. She writes children lit, her most famous is Ella Enchanted aka the best retelling of Cinderella ever. This is an objective fact, not an opinion*. Her books are witty and her main characters don’t fall into the trope of “strong female character” and are all unique. They have relationships with other women. The romances are well developed, but still allow room for character development, setting, and plot.

Tamora Pierce has created two different worlds: Circle of Magic and Tortall, both incredibly flushed out worlds and have multiple series set in both. She has mainly female protagonists, some are WOC and others are queer, and they all have amazing story arcs. In the Tortall series, each woman gets her own series and develops so much.

Malinda Lo writes high fantasy books (and some scifi) and it’s very gay. They are very clear cut stories, with beautiful writing and plays on well known tropes in the fantasy genre. Her books feature WOC as well and she is still writing new books, although some of her newer ones are sci fi and realistic fiction.

Robin McKinley writes beautifully written books, almost all with female leads. They center around female relationships and most are retellings of fairy tales. Most are high fantasy, but a few are urban fantasy. They are pretty open ended, and finish with a lot of unanswered questions, which I find refreshing.

Kirsten Cashore only has three books out, but they are perfect for entering into the fantasy world. Her series can all be read as standalones, but best read in order of publication. Her books feature WOC and queer women, with healthy romantic relationships and politics and friendships.

*jk, you can have your own personal fave

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