More Wives, More Daughters, More Girls: A Trend that Won’t Die
I know what’s on your mind: When you roll out of bed in the morning, comb your hair, and brush your teeth, you think, “Gee, there just aren’t enough books with “wife,” “daughter,” or “girl” in the title. I read all the ones Booklist compiled last summer (here and here). If only there were more!”
Well, fear not, voracious reader, because here’s another round of Completely Unoriginal Feminine Book Titles!
It’s only March, and those of us in the office have seen 5 novels with wife in the title, 22 with daughter, and a whopping 80 (!!) with girl, all of which will be published in 2017. (Including the Can Opener’s Daughter. Yes, you heard that right! The title fits this absurd graphic novel our reviewer said will appeal to “teens who enjoy surrealism and have a mind for shaping their own destinies.”)
In contrast, we’ve only seen three father, four son, six husband, and a respectable 22 boy books. Check out this will-it-ever-end trend below, linked to Booklist reviews when available. Bonus points to Julia Quinn, Jane Corry, and Elana K. Arnold for titles that make both the male and female lists!
Wives
Casanova’s Secret Wife, by Barbara Lynn-Davis
The Half Wives, by Stacia Pelletier
My Husband’s Wife, by Jane Corry
The Twilight Wife, by A. J. Banner
The Young Wives Club, by Julie Pennell
Daughters
Big Red’s Daughter/Tokyo Doll, by John McPartland
The Captain’s Daughter, by Jennifer Delamere
The Daughter of Sherlock Holmes, by Leonard Goldberg
Daughter of the Pirate King, by Tricia Levenseller
The Daughters of Ireland, by Santa Montefiore
The Devil’s Daughter, by Katee Robert
The Diplomat’s Daughter, by Karin Tanabe
The Dream Keeper’s Daughter, by Emily Colin
The Freemason’s Daughter, by Shelley Sackier
Gather the Daughters, by Jennie Melamed
The Glassmaker’s Daughter, by Dianne Hofmeyr
The Good Daughter, by Alexandra Burt
The Hollywood Daughter, by Kate Alcott
The Lightkeeper’s Daughter, by Jean E. Pendziwol
The Lost Daughter Collective, by Lindsey Drager
The Marsh King’s Daughter, by Karen Dionne
The Mermaid’s Daughter, by Ann Claycomb
The Monster’s Daughter: Book 2 of the Ministry of Suits, by Paul Gamble
The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter, by Theodora Goss
The Velveteen Daughter, by Laurel Davis Huber
The Vicar’s Daughter, by Josi S. Kilpack
The Warden’s Daughter, by Jerry Spinelli
GirlsA Girl Called Sidney: The Coldest Place, by Courtney Yasmineh
A Psalm for Lost Girls, by Katie Bayerl
Bad Girl Gone, by Temple Mathews
Beautiful Broken Girls, by Kim Savage
The Blacksmith’s Girl, by Rosemary Aitken
The Bloom Girls, by Emily Cavanagh
Brave New Girl, by Rachel Vincent
Bug Girl, by Benjamin Harper
Calico Girl, by Jerdine Nolen
Counting Sheep: Calpurnia Tate, Girl Vet, by Jacqueline Kelly
Daddy’s Girl, by Helen Foster James
Danny and the Dinosaur and the Girl Next Door, by Syd Hoff
Dead Girls Dancing, by Graham Masterton
Dead Little Mean Girl, by Eva Darrows
Elegies for Uncanny Girls, by Jennifer Colville
The Extra Girl, by Nicole M. Taylor
Factory Girl, by Josanne La Valley
Final Girls, by Riley Sager
The Football Girl, by Thatcher Heldring
The Forgotten Girl, by Rio Youers
The Forgotten Girls, by Owen Laukkanen
Funny Girl: Funniest. Stories. Ever., by Betsy Bird
The Gallery of Unfinished Girls, by Lauren Karcz
The Girl Before, by JP Delaney
The Girl Between, by Lisa Strømme
The Girl from Old Nichol, by Betty Annand
The Girl from Rawblood, by Catriona Ward
The Girl in Between, by Sarah Carroll
Girl in Disguise, by Greer Macallister
The Girl in Green, by Derek B. Miller
Girl in Snow, by Danya Kukafka
The Girl in the Garden, by Melanie Wallace
Girl Last Seen, by Nina Laurin
The Girl of the Lake, by Bill Roorbach
The Girl on the Bridge, by James Hayman
Girl on the Leeside, by Kathleen Anne Kenney
Girl out of Water, by Laura Silverman
The Girl Who Cried Wolf, by Steve Smallman
The Girl Who Knew Too Much, by Amanda Quick
The Girl Who Was Taken, by Charlie Donlea
Girl with a Camera: Margaret Bourke-White, Photographer, by Carolyn Meyer
The Girl with Kaleidoscope Eyes, by David Handler
The Girl with the Ghost Machine, by Lauren DeStefano
The Girl with the Make-Believe Husband, by Julia Quinn
The Girls of Ennismore, by Patricia Falvey
Glimmer Girls Light up New York, by Natalie Grant
The Guy, the Girl, the Artist and His Ex, by Gabrielle Williams
Just a Girl, by Carrie Mesrobian
Just Another Girl, by Elizabeth Eulberg
Ladybug Girl’s Day Out with Grandpa, by Jacky Davis
The Lake and the Lost Girl, by Jacquelyn Vincenta
Local Girl Missing, by Claire Douglas
The Lost Girl of Astor Street, by Stephanie Morrill
Lost Girls, by Merrie Destefano
Lucky Broken Girl, by Ruth Behar
Lucky Girl, by Amanda Maciel
Lullaby Girl, by Aly Sidgwick
The Magdalen Girls, by V. S. Alexander
Magic for Unlucky Girls, by A. A. Balaskovits
Mrs. Smith’s Spy School for Girls, by Beth McMullen
My Future Ex-Girlfriend, by Jake Gerhardt
Orphan Train Girl, by Christina Baker Kline
Otto and the New Girl, by Nan Walker
Party Girls Die in Pearls, by Plum Sykes
The Promise Girls, by Marie Bostwick
The Roanoke Girls, by Amy Engel
The Sacrifice of Sunshine Girl, by Paige McKenzie
Secrets of Southern Girls, by Haley Harrigan
Shy Girl & Shy Guy, by Kiersi Burkhart
Stay: A Girl, a Dog, a Bucket List, by Kate Klise
Such a Good Girl, by Amanda K. Morgan
Swimming with Bridgeport Girls, by Anthony Tambakis
The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane, by Lisa See
The Trapped Girl, by Robert Dugoni
The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl: Squirrel Meets World, by Shannon Hale and Dean Hale
What Girls Are Made Of, by Elana K. Arnold
Where the Lost Girls Go, by R. J. Noonan
Who’s That Girl, by Blair Thornburgh
The Year of Needy Girls, by Patricia Smith
You Throw like a Girl, by Rachele Alpine
Fathers
Autopsy of a Father, by Pascale Kramer
Father’s Road, by Ji-yun Jang
Kill the Father, by Sandonre Dazieri
SonsEverybody’s Son, by Thirty Umrigar
The Gold-Son, by Carrie Anne Noble
Son of a Kitchen Witch, by Tim Hemlin
Trophy Son, by Douglas Brunt
Husbands
The Girl with the Make-Believe Husband, by Julia Quinn
It’s Always the Husband, by Michele Campbell
The Loving Husband, by Christobel Kent
My Husband’s Wife, by Jane Corry
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Boys
A Boy Called Bat, by Elana K. Arnold
Boy, by Blake Nelson
The Boy in the Earth, by Fuminori Nakamura
The Boy on the Bridge, by M. R. Carey
The Boy Who Cried, by Khoa Le
Boy X, by Dan Smith
Game Over, Super Rabbit Boy!, by Thomas Flintham
The Goldfish Boy, by Lisa Thompson
Hey, Boy, by Benjamin Strouse
How to Break a Boy, by Laurie Devore
Ice Boy, by David Ezra Stein
Little Boy Lost, by J. D. Trafford
Lost Boys, by Darcey Rosenblatt
Lucky Boy, by Shanthi Sekaran
Moone Boy: The Marvellous Activity Manual, by Chris O’Dowd
New Boy, by Tracy Chevalier
One of the Boys, by Daniel Magariel
Rocket Boy, by Damon Lehrer
Roosevelt’s Boys, by John C. Horst
Soldier Boy, by Keely Hutton
Sparkle Boy, by Lesléa Newman
Two Lost Boys, by L. F. Robertson
About the Author: Biz Hyzy
Biz Hyzy works as an editorial assistant for Booklist's Adult Books department, where she pilfers the most appealing ARCs before anyone else gets the chance. Besides reading, she enjoys swing dancing and ninja training (though, in her case, both include a lot of bumbling around).Subscribe
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Why is it so important to have female attributes listed in the titles? I order many books for adjudicated young men in our facility, and 85% of the YA books are about/for girls!! My boys like some of the books, but sure would appreciate MORE with young men as the main characters and subject. It is a difficult process to collate a list of contemporary YA fiction for boys.