# The Anti Princess Books? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 21, 2013, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-anti-princess-books/664079 "2013-07-21T02:07:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2013, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-anti-princess-books/664079/41 "2013-07-22T18:13:28Z")
I’d recommend for your daughter “The Art of War” by Sun Tzu and “The Prince” by Niccolò Machiavelli. And maybe a collection of family recipes of the Borgias. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2013, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-anti-princess-books/664079/42 "2013-07-22T18:23:27Z")
You could also try the _[His Dark Materials](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Pullman#His_Dark_Materials)_ series by Philip Pullman. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2013, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-anti-princess-books/664079/43 "2013-07-22T19:44:12Z")
The Melendy books (starting with _The Saturdays_) by Elizabeth Enright. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2013, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-anti-princess-books/664079/44 "2013-07-25T23:04:34Z")
_Savvy_ and its sequel _Scumble_, by Ingrid Law. They’re about an extended family where you get a superpower (but no control over it) on your thirteenth birthday. ---
**Author:** ![MacSpon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@MacSpon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacSpon)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2013, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-anti-princess-books/664079/45 "2013-07-26T02:10:49Z")
Diane Duane’s _Young Wizards_ series, starting with _So You Want To Be A Wizard_. Nine books in the series at present, and all of them wonderful. Strong female protagonist, and as the books progress you can see her growing up. There’s a recent revision of all the books – so far only available in ebook format – that brings them up to date in a common timeframe (since the earlier books were written thirty years ago). – Oh, and another vote for anything by Diana Wynne Jones. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2013, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-anti-princess-books/664079/46 "2013-07-27T21:59:55Z")
May not be at all what you’re looking for, but my first thought for a subversive princess story was the webcomic [**Princess Princess**](http://strangelykatie.com/princessprincess/) (NOT Mikiyo Tsuda’s, but Strangely Katie’s). (Also on dA [here](http://strangelykatie.deviantart.com/gallery/37234093).) I don’t know if it’s really for your 10-year-old, but you may be the best judge of that. I don’t _think_ she has any plans to release it in hard copy. I think **The Girl from Hell City** will come out in hard copy eventually, but she’s only one chapter in. Huh. It occurs to me that outside the context of sites like Tumblr and Dreamwidth, Strangely Katie is a really odd name. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2013, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-anti-princess-books/664079/47 "2013-07-28T19:29:25Z")
Probably out of print, but if you run across it, _Thursday’s Child,_ by Noel Streatfeild is excellent. (Not one of her “Shoes” series.) ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2013, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-anti-princess-books/664079/48 "2013-07-29T00:18:52Z")
I’m in the middle of The Accidental Sorcerer, by K. E. Mills. So far, pretty good. There’s a princess in it, but she’s not a girly girl princess, she’s very practical. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-anti-princess-books/664079.md?page=2)