I recently read The Moon Within by Aida Salazar and was blown away by her words. I envied the spiritual experience and evolution of Celi, the protagonist in the story, and wished I could rewind time to revisit my pre-teen years. So I thought, what better way to celebrate Women’s History Month than honoring the exceptional books written by women?
I asked OOM contributors to share some of their all-time favorite books, their TBR lists and anything else they’d like to share that highlights women in Lit.
Some of my favorites: In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez, Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories by Sandra Cisneros and The Coldest Winter Ever by Sister Souljah. On my TBR list: Motherless Daughters: The Legacy of Loss by Hope Edelman.
Gina says “The best book I’ve read written by a woman recently would have to be the award-winning A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara. The book was epic yet intimate, her characters compelling, and despite being pretty long, I could NOT put it down and finished it in less than five sittings.” Her favorite author is Jacqueline Susann, well known for Valley of the Dolls: “I fully embrace her sense of camp and kitsch!”
Jordana is currently reading On The Come Up by Angie Thomas and has read quite a few books by women so far this year…
- The Lottery’s series by Emma Donoghue
- That’s Not What Happened by Kody Keplinger
- The Extremely Inconvenient Adventures of Bronte Mettlestone by Jaclyn Moriarty
- The Love and Lies of Rukhsana Ali by Sabina Kahn
- Focused by Alyson Gerber
and her favorites…
- Junie B. Jones series by Barbara Park
- Any and all books by Kate DiCamillo
Allyson’s favorite is Wild by Cheryl Strayed and Becoming by Michelle Obama is on her TBR list.
Carmen recommends a few of our Graphix titles…
- NewsPrints & EndGames by Ru Xu
- Sunny Side Up by Jennifer Holm
- SMILE & SISTERS by Raina Telgemeier
- Making Friends by Kristen Gudsnuk
- The Baby-Sitters Club series by Gale Galligan
- The Witch Boy by Molly Ostertag
and a few extras:
- Ranger in Time series by Kate Messner
- I Survived series by Lauren Tarshis
Deimosa’s favorite book is The Joys of Motherhood by Buchi Emecheta and she’s almost done reading Samira Ahmed’s Internment and “really enjoying it!”
On her TBR list:
- Undaunted by Kat Falls
- The Moon Within by Aida Salazar
- Game of Stars by Sayantani Dasgupta
- Light It Up by Kekla Magoon
- Slay by Brittney Morris
- A River of Royal Blood by Amanda Joy
- The Long Ride by Marina Budhos
- Where the Line Bleeds by Jesmyn Ward
Brittany recently finished Pachinko by Min Jin Lee: “It was a heartbreaking and beautiful tale about a Korean family through the generations—led by unbelievably strong women. From the author to the fearless characters, it’s a true testament of the resilient power of women.”
Raisa’s all-time favorites are The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende (I second this!) and Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë. On her TBR list: Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and We Are Refugees by Malala Yousafzai.
Lera shares her all-time favorite: We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson and Slouching Towards Bethlehem by Joan Didion is next on her list.
Royivia’s favorite author is Toni Morrison and she has a few favorites:
- The Street by Ann Petry
- The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
- The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
- Krik? Krak! by Edwidge Danticant
- Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Mackenzie's favorites are Beloved by Toni Morrison, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. She adds: "I think each of these authors made such important points in their writing, as well as, being role models for future women writers."
I hope you're ready to fill your month with books authored by women – happy reading!
