If a book has “girl” in the title, I am instantly drawn to it. I don’t why, but a lot of other readers must be, too, because publishers are pumping them out like crazy. Who knows? Maybe the “girl-”title craze kicked into high gear with the popularity of Stieg Larsson’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series. Whatever the reason, there are a LOT of books with “girl” in the title!
I’ve read man good books with “girl” in the title, but no GREAT ones yet. Do you have any favorites to recommend? Here are some of the more recent, highly-rated ones.
Currently Reading:
The Girl Who Ignored Ghosts by K.C. Tansley
Want to Read. . . in this order, unless my mood changes:
- The Girl with Ghost Eyes by M.H. Boroson
- Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson
- The Girl who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente (recommended by Beth @ betwixt-these-pages)
- I am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban by Malala Yousafzai and Christina Lamb
- The Girl with All the Gifts by M.R. Carey
- The Girl at Midnight by Melissa Grey
- The Girl Who Wrote in Silk by Kelli Estes
- The Girl from the Well by Rin Chupeco (recommended by Beth @ betwixt-these-pages) https://betwixtthesepages.wordpress.com/category/about-me/
- The Goose Jar by Shannon Hale (recommended by Frances @ Nightjar’s Jar of Books)
- The Girl from Everywhere by Heidi Heilig
- The Girl Who Fell from the Sky by Heidi W. Durrow
Previously Read:
These “girl” books were all pretty enjoyable, which made them difficult to rank. . . but I managed. 🙂
- The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
- The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
- Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
- Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell – technically, this one shouldn’t be on the list because “girl” isn’t a word by itself but, um, it’s my blog and this is too huge of a book to ignore.
- The Casquette Girls by Alys Arden
- Vanishing Girls by Lauren Oliver
- Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier
- The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes
Honorable Mention:
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (a popular YA book, but I’m not good with tragedies.)
Eve Messenger 
From your list above, I have to say The Girl with All the Gifts is my FAVORITE!
I am currently reading: The Girl who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making…. AND LOVING IT! The writing is super pretty; it’s possible at the end of this read THIS will be my new “favorite” for this question.
I also like: The Girl from the Well ; The Girl in Between ; and Girl on a Wire.
I…have read a LOT of books with “Girl” in the title. Whoops?
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You HAVE read a lot of “girl” books. Wait…you’ve read a lot of BOOKS. 😀
The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland, in addition to having a spectacular title that’s hard to type, looks amazing. The Girl from the Well looks really good, too. Mind if I add them to the list above…with credit to you for the recommendations, of course.
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Of course I don’t mind! Go for it! 😀
LMAO you’re right, I have read a lot of BOOKS. XD
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For some reason, I can’t seem to think of any books I’ve read with “girl” in the title. Surely there must be at least one…Gone Girl is next on my TBR list, though, and I’m really excited to finally read it!
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Yippee, get ready for a wild ride. If you’ve read other books by Gyllian Flynn you already know this, but she is SUCH a good writer. I want to study her writing more closely one of these days and see how she does it. It’s like there’s magic in her pen. . .er, fingertips?
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I’m excited for this ~magical~ writing! This is actually my first Gyllian Flynn book, but I’ve heard great things like you say, so I’m looking forward to it. (:
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I had to go back through my reading history on Goodreads for this.
Looks like the only book with “girl” in the title is Malala Yousafzai’s memoir. Nothing else in years! How disappointing. I did try to listen to Gone Girl on audio book…
At least Malala’s memoir was fantastic 🙂
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I tried to listen to Gone Girl on audiobook as well and couldn’t do it! I gave up after a couple of hours. I hear it’s such a good book. I think I’ll have to give it a try via reading the book. Maybe that will help?
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You’re the sweetest, Nazahet. Thank you for checking your Goodreads for “girl” books. I’m really intrigued to read Malala Yousafzai’s book. What a story. What a voice.
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I loved The Girl Who Wrote in Silk by Kelli Estes! I just read The Painted Girls by Cathy Marie Buchanan and loved it too 🙂
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Yes! Now I REALLY look forward to reading The Girl Who Wrote in Silk. What were some things you liked about it? Okay, so I just now looked up The Painted Girls, and I have to say I adore the era in which it’s set. I’ve been really digging historical fiction lately.
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Historical fiction is my favorite genre! The Girl Who Wrote in Silk is one of those books that weaves back and forth from past to present with different perspectives. I love books that tie in a character from the past with a character in the present. It has everything I love all rolled into one; history, love, and mystery. Also, I never really knew anything about the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882… Funny how we don’t hear about it in school?
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Amanda, remind me to call you when I need someone to write a blurb for my own book. What you just wrote about The Girl Who Wrote in Silk is fantastic and made me immediately want to read the book. I totally get what you mean about stories that tie in a character from the past with a character in the present. I like that, too.
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Always happy to help out a friend 😉
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😀 😀
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Without a doubt, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.
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That. Book.
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I enjoyed all in the series, even the 4th penned by a different author.
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The Quiet Girl – by Peter Hoeg
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Oo, good one. By the author who wrote Smilla’s Sense of Snow? What a beautiful book that was.
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I’ve realized I don’t read enough books with the title of ‘girl’ in it. What does that say about me as a feminist? 😉
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Haha, DaisyWillows, my fine feminist friend. “Girl” must be replaced with “woman” in all of these titles posthaste.
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I really enjoyed The Girl at Midnight and Me & Earl & the Dying Girl (which you might want to try anyway, unless you object to the subject matter; it reads much more like a comedy than a tragedy), and The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale is another really good one. 🙂
A few that I have on my TBR that I’m really looking forward to are: The Girl on the Liar’s Throne by Den Patrick; The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente; & The Girl Who Would Be King by Kelly Thompson.
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Thanks so much for recommending The Goose Girl. Magical powers? The ability to communicate with animals? “Girl” in the title? How have I not read this book already?!
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It’s a really great retelling of the Brothers Grimm story of the same name. 🙂
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I read embarrassingly few of these. I need to read more books with “girl” in the title!
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Haha, yes, you must. 😀 Then again, maybe it’s just me who finds “girl-“titled books oddly appealing.
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