I’m grouping these together since they feel like a single book to me — the story of shy, gawky Menolly the musical prodigy, who wants more than anything to be a harper but isn’t allowed to pursue her dream because she’s a girl. These books are set against the same background as the other adult Pern books, and there’s also a third “Harper Hall” book focusing on boy apprentice Piemur. But these two are the only ones I re-read over and over.

I were forced to pick, Dragonsinger would be my favorite, because it’s a “school book” and I have a thing for school books. Dragonsong has its share of wonderful moments, though. A good chunk of the book is devoted to Menolly’s experiences living on her own in a cave along the sea, taking care of her brood of firelizards. I actually really enjoyed those scenes- Menolly making her own little set of flutes, finding fish-oil for the patchy skin of the lizards, teaching the lizards to hunt for rockmites. My other favorite part was the ending, when finally (finally!) someone recognizes Menolly’s talent and doesn’t quash her aspirations.

Which leads to the second book, where Menolly begins life as an apprentice at Harper Hall. Again, a large chunk of the book is dedicated to stuff that might sound boring to some: learning the school routines, getting settled in the dorms, dealing with nasty classmates, going to classes, etc. But I loved all those details. Some bits that still stand out to me now are: Menolly’s first interviews with the different masters (especially irascible Composition Master Domick), her selection of a gitar (and the origin of the one she chooses), the Gather-day festivities and dancing, the impromptu threadfall concert, the kindness and support of Robinton and Silvina. I was not a particularly big fan of Piemur (the lovable scamp isn’t an archetype that pushes my buttons) which is probably why the third book was less interesting to me.

One thing that occurs to me when I consider these books (and some of my other childhood favorites) is how several of them depict settings where girls are told they “can’t do that”, and then the girl goes ahead and does it. This holds an appeal to me, and I do wonder how that affected me, growing up. Especially pursuing a career in math and science, where some might expect to find more gender bias based on what we hear in the media. For what it’s worth, though, I don’t have a single memory of anyone ever telling me “girls can’t do math/science”. Maybe I was just lucky (I have had some amazing teachers, professors and employers, and my parents told me I could do anything) or maybe I was clueless. I hope it’s that the tides have turned. But I do know that reading books like this made me angry to think that anyone might say something like that. Angry in a good, empowering way, that would have (I hope) helped me to stand up for myself if I did face that kind of attitude. So I am grateful to them for that.

I wonder though, how common it will be to find books like this in the coming years. Will books depicting worlds where girls stand up to the people who tell them “you can’t do that because you’re a girl” be less relevant? Will we just see more and more books where it’s taken for granted that girls can do everything boys can, and it won’t be about proving they are “as good as” boys, but just about proving they are worthwhile in and of themselves? I don’t have an answer, but I do wonder about it. There’s definitely still plenty of “girls can too do that” media out there being created.