1990s or 2000s short book with a strong heroine?

[drspouse]

This isn't a "can you remember this book for me" but rather "can you recommend something on a theme".

Our book group has been reading books with the theme "strong heroines" loosely interpreted and we've managed to have one from almost every decade of the 20th century but we're stuck for 1990s and 2000s... (or even 2010s but we only need 2 more).

Can anyone recommend any? Must also be quite short as we tend to lose the will to live with anything over about 200-250 pages!

Thanks!

If young adult books are ok I could recommend Sabriel by Garth Nix. Published 1995. It has a female protagonist and I'd definitely describe her as a strong heroine.

Hmm one of us likes fantasy but the others - not so much!

Sorry I should have said - most of us are not really into fantasy/SF and about half of us not into detective fiction.

(We tend to go more for literary fiction or just plain fiction, but not toooo trashy).

Ah ok. How about The Bad Mother's handbook? Published in 2004 but set in 1997? It may be a little on the trashy side but I enjoyed the viewpoints of the three generations of women in it.

Oh I liked that! And it does have its deep and meaningful side.

2000s - what about a graphic novel - Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi. (Short and very quick to read but get a decent sized copy, the print in the new paperback is tiny).

Do they need to be set in the decade or only written then? If the latter what about Like Water for Chocolate for the 1990s. Or (a bit more 'serious') - Mr Wroe's Virgins.

Hideous Kinky by Esther Freud - again written in the 90s but set earlier

Chocolat - a little bit longer though

For the 2000s, the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

Or the Number One Ladies Detective Agency

Oh or Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout. She's a different sort of strong!

Also came on to suggest Persepolis - archetypal strong heroine book.

Night Shall Overtake Us by Kate Atkinson (1993), but set during the First World War. One of my favourite books!

Sorry Kate Saunders, not Kate Atkinson (although a lot of her books fit the bill too!).

I LOVE Persepolis - such a good idea! One of the few books I've kept my copy of to read again.

Most of the books we've had so far have been set in their own time, except for Cold Comfort Farm which I suppose is technically science fiction!

I'll have a look at some of the others, thanks!