Welcome to Smugglivus 2013! Throughout this month, we will have daily guests – authors and bloggers alike – looking back at their favorite reads of 2013, and looking forward to events and upcoming books in 2014. Who: Jenn Reese, author of science fiction and fantasy for readers of all ages – including 2013’s Mirage, which Thea LOVED (it earned a spot on her Top 10 of 2013!). Please give it up for Jenn, everybody! Thanks, Ana and Thea — it’s an honor to be back, and happy sixth blogiversary! Last year, I talked about girl adventurers in middle grade books. This time, I’d like to talk about another type of female character —- the kind that possesses qualities that society would like us to believe belong solely to men. These women can be brusque, wounded, unfriendly, demanding, and occasionally brutal. Of course, if they were men, that would make them perfect hero material and gosh-darn sexy, to boot. A great example of this double standard recently came to us in the unlikely form of a Pantene commercial. Here are the relevant gifs, courtesy of Tumblr: Sometimes when a female character exhibits these characteristics, she’s called a “man with boobs.” This […]