I agree on Pamela Dean's Tam Lin, as well as Jane Yolen, Robin McKinley and Holly Black.
They write young adult modern fairy tales, and while they can sometimes be a little mature (I found Black's Valiant a little mature for a young teen audience, but maybe I'm just channeling myself as a teen ;) ) they are all very good writers and seem to focus on strong female protagonists.
Also, a book I devoured around that age was Avi's True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle. I still have my Scholastic Book Club copy.
Let me see what my niece is into these days... she's a voracious reader and the same age, but I think my brother and sister-in-law keep a pretty good idea on what she reads.
One series she was really into last spring (might be a little young for you friend's daughter) were the Young Royals and Royal Diaries series by Carolyn Meyer. Historical fiction about, well, royals, including the relationship between Elizabeth and Mary Tudor, various of Henry's wives, etc. She just loved them.
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They write young adult modern fairy tales, and while they can sometimes be a little mature (I found Black's Valiant a little mature for a young teen audience, but maybe I'm just channeling myself as a teen ;) ) they are all very good writers and seem to focus on strong female protagonists.
Also, a book I devoured around that age was Avi's True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle. I still have my Scholastic Book Club copy.
Let me see what my niece is into these days... she's a voracious reader and the same age, but I think my brother and sister-in-law keep a pretty good idea on what she reads.
One series she was really into last spring (might be a little young for you friend's daughter) were the Young Royals and Royal Diaries series by Carolyn Meyer. Historical fiction about, well, royals, including the relationship between Elizabeth and Mary Tudor, various of Henry's wives, etc. She just loved them.