Reddit mentions of Juniper

Philip Pullman's series, His Dark Materials is perfect for that age.
http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Materials-Yearling-3-book-Boxed/dp/0440419514

Pullman also wrote books about a female detective in the Victorian era in England that are great. But I think the Dark Materials are probably closer to the Hunger Games experience with strong female characters, adventure and excitement.

http://www.amazon.com/Ruby-Smoke-Sally-Lockhart-Mystery/dp/037584516X/ref=la_B000AQ74C6_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1404849661&sr=1-6

I also used to read Juniper and Wise Child over and over as a kid. Really engaging and well written. There is magic in the book, but not in a silly way. It's based on Celtic healing and religion so it's not like dragons and fantasy magic. Fits again with the strong female characters.

http://www.amazon.com/Juniper-Monica-Furlong/dp/0679833692/ref=pd_sim_b_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=04QZXYYBRNN5R5Z0M1TY

http://www.amazon.com/Wise-Child-Monica-Furlong/dp/0394825985/ref=pd_sim_b_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=0JB52BH5DD07Y58DTS7C

It also looks like there is a third book, but I never read it!

Juniper by Monica Furlong was the first thing I thought of. One of my favorite books as a kid. Not quite what you're describing, but pretty close.

This sounds a lot like Juniper by Monica Furlong (the kettle heating up without fire might have been the prequel, Wise Child). One of my favorites, and it has a purple cover!

These are quite old, but my absolutely favorite books when I was a teen were Wise Child and Juniper by Monica Furlong. I still read them from time to time; they have a lot of great life lessons. I've been looking and it doesn't look like there's a Spanish translation readily available, though :(

If you're looking for Spanish-language stuff, Carlos Ruiz Zafon (The Shadow of the Wind) used to write young adult novels before he moved on to adult fiction. I haven't gotten around to reading any of them yet, but they're supposed to be really good. I got his book Marina for my nephew a few weeks ago. I don't think his books are especially female-centric, but they don't seem to be particularly male-oriented either.

There is an older book called Juniper that has a girl living with her grandmother, collecting herbs, and talking to animals.

http://www.amazon.com/Juniper-Monica-Furlong/dp/0679833692/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

From a young, female protagonist's view are two of my childhood favourites by Monica Furlong: Juniper and the sequel Wise Child. They're a little hard to find these days, but are well-written and there's a third book as well. The first, Juniper, tells the story of a medieval princess who is sent to her slightly odd godmother for an apprenticeship of sorts. I think my love of fibre crafts was fostered by this book, I loved them when I was a similar age.