[ SECRET POST #4601 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #4601 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

01.



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02.
[D.Gray-Man]


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03.
[Ace Combat 7]


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04.
[MCU]


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05.
[Jessica Jones]


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06.
[MacDonald Hall]


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07.
[Guys and Dolls (1955)]









Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 02 pages, 35 secrets from Secret Submission Post #659.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[fscom]

01. https://i.imgur.com/hcBjdF7.png

[(Anonymous)]

I am reasonably certain that contemporary fantasy YA with strong female protagonists exists

I don't know what it is bc that's not at all my scene and it might require active seeking out but just going off stuff my mutuals on the internet talk about it definitely exists somewhere

[(Anonymous)]

I googled "contemporary ya fantasy with female protagonists" and quite a few lists popped up, OP.

[(Anonymous)]

OP here. It's not that there aren't any contemporary fantasy YA with strong female protagonists, it's that I'm not sure there's there's an equivalent - a series that's ahead of its time, reads like an instant classic, etc. The best known fantasy YA is... not that. It's a completely different thing, or at least, that's been my experience.

[(Anonymous)]

"Ahead of its time" and "reads like an instant classic" are sort of.... extremely weird categories to judge by? Especially in the moment

What does "ahead of its time" even mean for 2019

[(Anonymous)]

Race and religious wars as multiculturalism implodes.

[(Anonymous)]

wtf

[(Anonymous)]

Logical progression

[(Anonymous)]

I remember getting them out of the library 25 years ago and enjoying them, so it's good to hear it generally holds up in terms of YA literature! True there should be more by now, especially with the volumes out these days.

[malurette]

I'll be sitting here waiting for recs but in the meantime I'll already add these to my to-read list; thanks a lot OP!

[(Anonymous)]

It's really interesting in the YA publishing scene right now. Like, the people buying YA books are adult women. So, the publishing companies are gearing the books towards them and pushing the teens out. They are trying to make New Adult a thing, it's not really working. Debut authors are having a hard time getting their YA stories published that are geared towards teens.

IE. My friend's writing is heavily influenced by Pierce and things like the Last Unicorn. She has written a book involving unicorns and fae and an asexual pacifist teenage girl who is a reluctant hero w/ major family problems. She has gotten FULL requests for this MS. And b/c UNICORNS and the "theme" they want her to rewrite it to MG. This means removing the violence and changing a lot. (I mean, the character is 17, to make her what, 11, is going to change a LOT of the internals of the character.) This is the book she wanted when she was a teenager. So, she's going to Self Publish. It's not ideal, but if Trad is so focused on things like Sarah J. Maas, then, self pub is really her only hope. (And maybe the next MS, she can query again.)

[(Anonymous)]

gads, Sarah J Maas

[(Anonymous)]

nayrt but I also groaned at the mention of that author.

[(Anonymous)]

ayrt

Sorry, she and maybe Richelle Mead or Cassandra Claire were the only 3 current popular YA authors I can think of with female protags. I groan too.

[(Anonymous)]

The New Adult books I've read have been . . . interesting. I haven't read one yet that I've really liked and none have been memorable. Maybe I just haven't read the right ones or maybe I'm just tired of characters who land perfect internships/jobs and don't have to worry about rent or debt except in a passing sentence or two. I kinda want to read about college kids who don't get into Ivy Leagues or can't get paid internships and have to navigate all the bullshit that comes with those challenges.

I would read the hell out of your friend's book though. It sounds amazing.

[(Anonymous)]

I'm mostly confused cause NA seems to be just contemporary romance but with... sex? And the characters are between 20-15 I guess?

Contemporary romance is my least favorite book genre so NA leaves me ice cold.

[(Anonymous)]

Doesn't contemporary romance have sex?

[(Anonymous)]

If your friend's protag is ace, maybe she can try some of the LGBT presses? I think some of them have YA imprints as well as adult?

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/686432-ya-lgbt-book-publishers

[aralias]

i agree! the alanna and daine books are still amongst my favourite books - it just hits all the right spots for me in terms of epic fantasy with romance and awesome characters. ('tempests and slaughter' is so bad - waited for that book for 20 years in vain.) i'm 33 now, read the tortall books years at exactly the right formative age, and it's still basically my favourite genre.

some that i've really enjoyed recently in this sort of vein ....

- kristin cashore, 'graceling' - probably the most like pierce. i enjoyed the first two, and really love 'bitterblue' the third
- pratchett's tiffany aching books
- genieve cogman 'the invisible library' series
- holly black 'folk of the air' - 'cruel prince', etc
- leigh bardugo 'six of crows' etc - 'shadow and bone' is a more obvious equivalent, but i didn't like it nearly as much


then some that don't entirely meet the brief, but feel similar in some sort of way -

- robin stevens, 'murder most unladylike' - no fantasy, but it's still genre fiction (golden age crime fiction/school story), female leads
- sarah rees brennan, 'in other lands' - fantasy, influenced by pierce, m/m no female lead
- cs pacat, 'captive prince' - fantasy, m/m no female lead - first book is very BDSM fanfic, but then the rest is super political and good fun

01 Secret.

[(Anonymous)]

Tamora Price is still writing, isn't she? She might have more contemporary work that fits what you want. I've heard of her but haven't read her work so I can't say what is comparable. However, there is a lot of YA fiction with a female protagonist out there. Hopefully, this thread will get you some recommendations.