I am guessing you have read Robin McKinley's Deerskin, then? I can only read it every year or so, as I start crying early on, and just keep on crying till I finish the book. Which can be a areally good emotional cleansing, but I end up crying myself into a stuffy, sore nose and headache :).

My other favorite is The Juniper Tree, but for sheer blood-and-thunder reasons.