Saturday, July 2, 2011

Girl Power Bookfest 2011 Kicks Off!


Today marks the launch of the very first Girl Power Bookfest here on Lale on Lit. It’s an event I’ve been planning for over a year now, and I’m incredibly excited for the next two weeks! We’ve got guest posts, author interviews, and a grand total of four giveaways! (Thought that would catch your interest.) Stay tuned for the first giveaway, which I’ll reveal below.

First, I want to talk a little about what the phrase ‘girl power’ means to me. It’s one that’s used a lot in reviews, usually applied to girls who physically kick butt in the warrior sense. Sure, these girls have girl power—but my definition encompasses more than just girls who’re slaying demons, staking vampires or beating up bad guys.

I’ll admit that my first ever idol in fiction was a warrior girl. I was near the beginning of middle school when my cousin first handed me Tamora Pierce’s Song of the Lioness quartet. (Well below the recommended reading age—not that this fact had any negative effects on me, which is why I’m not someone who places books into specific age categories!)

I quickly came to idolize Alanna, the protagonist who ditches convent school, swaps places (and clothes!) with her twin brother and heads to the palace to become a knight. By the end of the series, she’s a whiz with a sword and pretty good with her magical Gift, but was that why I liked her? Not at all.

Sure, Alanna’s sword swinging ways may have inspired me to take up fencing (six years of epee and counting!) but what I admired most about her was that she was determined. When she’s lagging behind her male peers at swordplay, she borrows her manservant and father figure’s ridiculously heavy sword and practises with it every night. When she’s being bullied by an older boy, she spends hours learning street fighting techniques so she can fight back. Even if she initially complains, she always forces herself to face her fears and to accept her responsibilities, and it makes her a stronger person.

That, for me, is what girl power is all about—sticking up for yourself, being determined, refusing to shy away when the going gets tough. I hope that the next two weeks will be a fun forum for discussing girl power and its implications, with some fun book recommendations thrown in! Now, for the giveaway.

In honour of my long-standing obsession with strong women in fiction that started with Alanna, I’m giving away:

 -One copy of Alanna: The First Adventure. It’s the first book in the Song of the Lioness quartet, and one of my all time favorite girl power reads!
-A ‘Self-Rescuing Princess’ t-shirt for the winner (or a female friend/relative, though if a guy wants to wear the shirt, then go for it!) to express their inner girl power.  
Unfortunately, the international shipping costs are more than the shirt, so if the winner of this prize pack is international, they’ll receive an additional book of their choice from Book Depository, up to a $15 value.

That concludes my opening post. Be sure to enter the giveaway, and note that there are extra points for putting the button on your blog. Stick around during the week for three more surprise giveaways that will all be international!




19 comments:

  1. I absolutely love the idea of this event. I can't stand it when girl characters are wimpy. It's not even about being physically strong, obviously, it's just being able to stand up for yourself and having a strong sense of self worth, and so many other things. Most of my favourite books are about strong female characters. I can't wait to read all the posts. =)

    Thanks for the giveaway, as well!

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  2. Oh my gosh, I'm so excited about this event. My blog started as a way of highlighting women authors, so you can imagine that a Girl Power feature is right up my ally! I totally agree with you about what girl power is. It annoys me when people say that someone is a strong female character just because they can beat people up. Being violent doesn't make someone a strong person. Being determined, courageous, and kind are much more important to me than physical strength.
    I'm super excited about your feature and your giveaways. That t-shirt is adorable.

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  3. I read the Song of the Lioness Quartet when I was 10 or 11, so it's been about a decade now. I really need to re-read those books, they were fantastic! I wish I could have taken up fencing like you. It always interested me. Very excited about this book fest! You had me at "Alanna."

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  4. ohmygod I completely agree with the girl power thing. I absolutely hate it when the girl can't hold her own (cough cough *bella*) and has to wait for the man. Taking charge is what they should be doing (and Evie is the perfect example and epitome of GIRL POWER. also Rose from VA). also that T-shirt is the bomb.This is very exciting!

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  5. Thank you so much for making this give away international.

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  6. Great giveaway! I love Tamore pierce's books. Alanna, Diana, and Kel are some of the best female heroes. Tamora does a well done job writing them.

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  7. I love kick ass heroines and can't wait to find out more books with great female main characters!
    By the way, I've never heard about the Song of the Lioness quartet but it does seem interesting.

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  8. Love the Song of the Lioness Quartet, it's been a while since I've read it :) Thank you for this giveaway and this awesome event, go girl power!

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  9. Ok I absolutely adore this shirt - girl power, yay! I think us girls should kick butt in real life as much as let our heroines do the same in books!
    Thanks for the chance!

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  10. This is amazing thank you.

    marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com

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  11. I love the idea for this event! Pierce's books are some of my favorites, for both their fantasy action goodness and kick-butt female characters. Daine tops Alanna in my mind, though. :)

    Thanks for the giveaways!

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  12. Thanks for making this open internationally!

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  13. Alanna has been my favorite book for a looonnngg time. I have read it over and over again!

    thanks!
    amanda

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  14. This book sounds great! I'd love to read it and learn more about girl power! :)

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  15. Thank you for the giveaway and for making it international! I'd love to read Alanna. Apparently I didn't read as much as I thought I did when growing up and so I'm trying to fix that. Alanna's been on my wishlist for a while and I can see why people like this book. From what you've said, it isn't that she kicks butt, but that she takes matters into her own hands and does what needs to be done to get to where she wants to be. Now that's what I call a role model!

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  16. Thanks for the giveaway! I remember seeing this book while I was in high school two years ago and wanted to read it, but I never got to it. I like Pierce as an author so I know this will be a great read :]

    I am a new follower and I would love if you came and followed me back at Ashley Suzanne!
    ashleysbookshelf at gmail dot com

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  17. Awesome giveaway! Thanks so much:)

    sarah.setar@gmail.com

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  18. I love the Girl Power concept. I love all things girl/woman POWER. I am from the Wonder Woman/Bionic Woman era. I teach my daughter who is 8yrs old-the girl power concept!!

    kamwh1207(at)att(dot)net

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