Great fantasy books featuring girls

          Sometimes it seems difficult to find exciting fantasy books that feature girls. Girls tend to be more willing than boys to read books with a main character of the opposite gender and some fantasies like the popular Fablehaven series have a brother and sister share the spotlight but sometimes you just want a good adventure-laden fantasy with a girl at the helm. Here's a couple that I've enjoyed. 

         I just finished reading a new fantasy book called Kira by Kate O'Hearn that featured a young female main character who lives in a kingdom where girls must be married by 13 years and can never become dragon knights. Kira has always wanted to be a dragon knight like her father and has no desire to get married so young. She and her young sister end up on an epic adventure which involves raising a baby dragon and training on it and a plot to overthrow the evil king. This book is packed with adventure (and dragons) and the cliffhanger ending insures a sequel.

 

Another exciting read was Dragon Keeper by Carole Wilkinson. This book takes place in ancient China were a lowly servant girl decides to kidnap the last of the emperor's dragons and the mysterious stone that the dragon refuses to leave behind.  

For younger patrons who enjoy Greek mythology, a fun shorter chapter book is Medusa Jones by Ross Collins. It follows a young Medusa (who is always having a bad hair day) and her friends as they try to survive middle school with some snotty hero kids always picking on them. Lots of laughs and school situations that will be familiar to many.

--Rachel V.