Girl Power: Is the main character (or significant supporting character) female? Is she strong? She doesn't have to be Lara Croft, but she has be able to stand her ground (be it through strength, intelligence, compassion, etc). Basically, this is about how much girls drive the story (not just the off screen princess waiting to be rescued).
Writing style: Did it read seamlessly? Did it leave me thinking "wow, that was an amazing quote" or "that scene was so vivid, I can visualize it months after setting down the book?"
Plot: This where my personal preference comes in. Was it engaging? Did it keep me turning the pages to find out what happened next? How much did I enjoy reading this book?
Sample Reviews
I thought I might review a few Popular series for you to use as a baseline:
Hunger Games
Girl Power: 5 (Katniss, our heroine, does the saving. Strong, defiant, conflicted, standing up for the weak: she's the definition of a hero. Only female.)
Writing Quality: 3 (The appeal of this series isn't in the language, but the plot. I've heard some readers complain of the choppy, short, direct sentences, but for me they worked with Katniss' mental state. Also, present tense is difficult to pull off for an entire novel, but again I think it worked fine).
Plot: 4 (I was sucked in from the first chapter and read most of the book in one sitting. While the last book got a little overly fast-paced for my taste, it was a solid consistent plot that kept my interest.)
Overall: 4
Harry Potter
Girl Power: 4 (while HP has some of the strongest female role-models in literary history, they take a back stage to our hero, Harry).
Writing Quality: 4 (this is the difficult in rating a series, for the quality of writing improves significantly from book 1 to book 7)
Plot: 4.5 (ok, it's nothing out of the ordinary--boy is faced with evil villain he must stop in order to save the world and all that's dear to him--but the sub-arcs, side-plots, and creation of the Wizzarding World make it feel unique and engaging)
Overall: 4
The Lord of the Rings
Girl Power: 1 (with the exception of Eowyn, the kick-ass warrior and devoted niece, women are pretty much nonexistent from these otherwise wonderful books)
Writing Quality: 4 (though his writing can be tedious at times, the vivid details and descriptions fully immerse us in another world)
Plot: 5 (purely because this is my favorite story ever told)
Overall: 3
Twilight
Girl Power: 1 (yes, our main character is female, and yes, she does have her moments, but for the most part she is very much a damsel in distress and that's not what I'm looking for)
Writing Quality: 2 (The words are there. They make sense. They tell a story. That's about all I can say).
Plot: 2 (Boy meets girl. They fall in love. Oh and there are vampires).
Overall: 2
Remember, the higher reviews are not necessarily the books I like best, but books I feel are most well-written female-character driven (because, after all, that's what this blog is about!)
What do you think of the ratings for these particular books? Do they seem fair or would you care to argue differently?
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