Boy Friendly, Girl Friendly

What is meant by boy friendly and girl friendly?

Sometimes a Google search screenshot speaks a thousand words:

boy-friendly-search
girl-friendly-search1

Girl Friendly Links

Strong Female Characters In Fiction from Common Sense Media

100 YA Books For The Feminist Reader from Bitch Media

9 FEMALE CHARACTERS WE WISH WE’D BEEN MORE LIKE IN HIGH SCHOOL from The Mary Sue

Here’s an interesting article from author E.M. Kokie about how much harder it is in some ways to write a female protagonist than a male one: “I’ve discovered, to my frustration and anger, that it’s actually much more difficult to talk about [my female protagonist’s] body, and her body’s desires, in ways that feel natural to her character (and her love interest’s character) and that feel readily accessible to the landscape of YA readers….I was shocked to find a complete lack of language for the female anatomy in all but one of the books I checked, and none at all during an intimate scene.”

The Greatest Girl Characters of Young Adult Literature from The Atlantic

Reading Today Online has the lesson plans Females in the Spotlight: Strong Characters in Picture Books and Girls Read: Online Literature Circles.

How Do You Find Feminist Children’s Books? asks Bitch Media

Teen Girl Sleuths to Read While You’re Waiting for Veronica Mars from Book Riot

Women Protagonists in YA: A List and Resources from Ashley F. Miller

Feminism 101 book recommendations for teens from Feminism 101

And for the younger readers, here are some chapter books about girls, though I haven’t read them so can’t promise they’re ‘girl friendly’, which it should be clear by now, is not the same thing! (Here are early chapter books featuring girls that come in a series.)

Heroines Of Colour is a Pinterest board featuring book covers of heroines who are not white.

Girl Friendly Books: Well-known For Rounded Female Characterisation

  • The Latte Rebellion by Sarah Jamila Stevenson
  • Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
  • Mare’s War by Tanita S. Davis
  • Feeling Sorry For Celia by Jaclyn Moriarty
  • Along For The Ride by Sarah Dessen
  • Mostly Good Girls by Leila Sales
  • The Kayla Chronicles by Sherri Winston
  • Spindle’s End by Robyn McKinley
  • Don’t Judge A Girl By Her Cover by Ally Carter
  • Year Of Secret Assignments by Jaclyn Moriarty (2003)
  • Kiki Strike by Kirsten Miller (2006)
  • The Running Dream by Wendolin Van Draanen (2011)
  • True Blue by Deborah Ellis
  • The Wild Girls by Pat Murphy
  • Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson (2006)
  • Arabel’s Raven by Joan Aiken
  • Nim’s Island  by Wendy Orr
  • Princess by M.M. Kaye
  • The Night Fairy by Laura Amy Schlitz
  • The Penderwicks and its sequels by Jeanne Birdsall
  • Esperanza Rising  by Pam Muñoz Ryan
  • A Wrinkle in Time (Madeline L’Engle)
  • Independent Dames by Laurie Halse Andersen
  • The Daring Nellie Bly by Bonnie Christensen
  • You Forgot Your Skirt, Amelia Bloomer! by Shana Corey
  • Imogene’s Last Stand By Candace Fleming
  • Me…Jane by Patrick McDonnell
  • The Midwife’s Apprentice by Karen Cushman
  • The Evolution Of Calpernia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly
  • His Dark Materials series by Philip Pullman
  • Clementine By Sara Pennypacker
  • Eleanor Roosevelt by Russell Freedman
  • A Ballet For Martha by Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan
  • CLAUDETTE COLVIN: TWICE TOWARD JUSTICE by Phillip Hoose
  • ALMOST ASTRONAUTS: 13 WOMEN WHO DARED TO DREAM by Tanya Lee Stone
  • Daughters Of Time edited by Mary Hoffman
  • Just Like Tomorrow (2004) by Faïza Guène, translated by Sarah Ardizzone
  • Lady: My Life as a Bitch (2001) by Melvin Burgess
  • A Gathering Light (2003) by Jennifer Donnelly
  • Ballet Shoes (1936) by Noel Streatfeild
  • Wise Child by Monica Furlong
CONTEMPORARY FICTION SET IN AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND (2023)

On paper, things look fine. Sam Dennon recently inherited significant wealth from his uncle. As a respected architect, Sam spends his days thinking about the family needs and rich lives of his clients. But privately? Even his enduring love of amateur astronomy is on the wane. Sam has built a sustainable-architecture display home for himself but hasn’t yet moved into it, preferring to sleep in his cocoon of a campervan. Although they never announced it publicly, Sam’s wife and business partner ended their marriage years ago due to lack of intimacy, leaving Sam with the sense he is irreparably broken.

Now his beloved uncle has died. An intensifying fear manifests as health anxiety, with night terrors from a half-remembered early childhood event. To assuage the loneliness, Sam embarks on a Personal Happiness Project:

1. Get a pet dog

2. Find a friend. Just one. Not too intense.

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