Buck Up: Life Lessons From Young Heroines

By Lizzie Skurnick

Published June 10, 2009 at 12:00 AM EDT

You might think of girls' fiction as one big Cinderalla rewrite — that scullery maid who finally gets her night at the ball. But if you're seeking tips on weathering the economic crisis, your daughter's bookshelf may be better than Suze Orman.

When they're in a tough spot, teen heroines tame wolves, survive in garrets and live out nine-month snowstorms — without a tiara in sight.

Lizzie Skurnick

Lizzie Skurnick's reviews and essays have appeared in The New York Times Book Review, The Chicago Tribune, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, and "many other appallingly underpaying publications," she says. Her books blog, Old Hag, is a Forbes Best of the Web pick and has been anthologized in Vintage's Ultimate Blogs: Masterworks from the Wild Web. She writes a column on vintage young-adult fiction for Jezebel.com, a job she has been preparing for her entire life. She is on the board of the National Book Critics Circle.

See stories by Lizzie Skurnick