Women’s History Month Reads!
Hello readers! In celebration of Women’s History Month I decided to compile another list of reading recommendations. This list is compiled of Children’s, YA, and Adult books that feature diverse, memorable, and strong female protagonists in order to celebrate this month and women’s accomplishments then and now. Without further, ado here are just some of my favorite novels I have read over the years.
Children
“Matilda” by Ronald Dahl
Matilda is novel about is an intelligent girl named Matilda, who has a bright personality and immense love for reading. She loves school and is well-liked among her peers, except for the scary school principal, Mrs. (“The”) Trunchbull. I always resonated with Matilda growing up, seeing as she’s a girl who just wants to read good books all the time.
“The Paper Bag Princess” by Robert Munsch
The Paper Bag Princess is a tale about a girl named, Princess Elizabeth. She plans on marrying Prince Ronald, but one day a dragon suddenly arrives and proceeds to destroy her kingdom, kidnap Ronald, and burns all her clothes, hence becoming the “paper bag princess”. It’s up to Elizabeth to save the day! What I admire about this book so much is that the princess and dragon stereotype is a role reversal, and Elizabeth is no “damsel in distress”.
“The American Girls Series” by Various Authors
The American Girls Series were based off of the dolls released by the same name. The stories focus on nine to eleven-year-old girls from a variety of ethnicities and are focused on various periods of American history. Now, the books have expanded characters and stories from contemporary life. My favorite characters (and their stories) were Addy, Molly, Josefina, and Kaya.
YA (Young Adult)
“Darkest Rising” (Trilogy) by Kelley Armstrong
Darkness Rising is the second trilogy in the Darkest Powers series. This series follows a sixteen-year-old Native American girl named Maya Delaney, who lives in a medical-research town called Salmon Creek. She soon discovers she is a skin-walker and that St. Cloud Corporation is hiding many secrets of her and her friends DNA backgrounds. I love the characters and how thrilling the story is over the course of the three novels.
“Graceling” (Graceling Realm Trilogy) by Krtisin Cashore
Though, I’ve only read the first two books of the Graceling trilogy, I would highly recommend these books! The detailed landscapes, strong female protagonists, and action is what makes this series so fantastic. The first book follows Katsa, whose Grace (power) is initially thought to be killing. She is under orders from her uncle, King Randa, to kill and maim people that he dislikes and in doing so is set on a life changing journey.
“Ms.Marvel” by writer G. Willow Wilson, and artist Adrian Alphona
Khamela Khan, is Marvel’s first Muslim character to headline her own comic book. Khan is a teenage Pakistani American from New Jersey with shape-shifting abilities, and discovers that she has inhuman genes and gives herself the code name Ms. Marvel. It’s a fun superhero story that can be enjoyed by all ages, and I love the fact that she is an ethnic “super girl”.
Adult
“Their Eyes Were Watching God” by Zora Neale Hurston
A classic novel that tells the tale of Janie Crawford, who recounts the story of her life through an extended flashback to her best friend. The story is set up in three major periods corresponding to her three marriages. I feel that it is not only a must-read because it’s a literary classic, but it is also an important story about finding yourself and being self-empowered.
“Halfway To The Grave” (Night Huntress Series #1) by Jeaniene Frost
The Night Huntress series focuses on main protagonist, Cat Crawfield, who is a half-vampire that lives in a world where supernatural creatures exist but are not known to the general public at large. Cat is amazing woman who not only has kick-butt fighting skills, but is also confident and very smart. She learns to accept her nature and cast aside the negative connotations of being half-vampire, half-human.
“The Color Purple” by Alice Walker
Another timeless classic which focuses on the life of African-American women in the southern United States in the 1930s. The characters are memorable and deals with many social issues such as sexism, racism, and the broken boundaries of traditional male or female gender roles.
And that concludes my reading recommendations for Women’s History Month. I hope you enjoy these picks! Comment below with what you’re reading for this month and suggestions of other novels you’d recommend! 🙂
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