Happy Wednesday, bibliophiles, and more importantly, Happy International Women’s Day!
Aside from that, the month of March in the U.S. is Women’s History Month! These past few years have been tumultuous for women here in the U.S. and elsewhere, with the attacks on bodily autonomy being some of the most violent in recent years. But despite it all, we cannot lose hope—by lifting each other up, we can foster an environment that respects women as equals. And as I’ve always said, literature is resistance: it isn’t just real-life heroes that can inspire us to incite change—fictional heroines can have just the same effect. So for the occasion, I’ve gathered even more feminist YA book recommendations.
For my previous lists, click below:
Enjoy these book recommendations!
FEMINIST YA BOOKS FOR WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH (2023 EDITION)
GENRES: Contemporary, realistic fiction, romance, LGBTQ+
MY RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
An intersectional story that weaves together the lives of four girls in their senior year of high school—one of which will become the president of the United States.
GENRES: Dystopia, paranormal, horror, romance, LGBTQ+
MY RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Claire Legrand has made another gem of a feminist novel—this time, a chilling tale of unseen beasts and hidden power.
GENRES: Historical fiction, retellings
MY RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.75, rounded up to ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A genderbent retelling of The Three Musketeers with a disabled, swordfighting protagonist—actually by a disabled author too!
GENRES: Contemporary, realistic fiction, mystery
MY RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Samira Ahmed always ends up showing up on these lists, and for good reason—she’s never missed with any of her raw and fiercely feminist novels, and Hollow Fires is no exception.
The Most Dazzling Girl in Berlin, Kip Wilson
GENRES: Historical fiction, romance, LGBTQ+
MY RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.25
A beautiful novel in verse about two queer girls who perform in a cabaret in 1930’s Berlin.
The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School, Sonora Reyes
GENRES: Contemporary, realistic fiction, romance, LGBTQ+
MY RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A fantastic novel about a lesbian Mexican-American girl navigating a Catholic high school—and her budding feelings for a classmate.
Last Night at the Telegraph Club – Malinda Lo
GENRES: Historical fiction, LGBTQ+, romance
MY RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
A raw but tender love story of two queer, Chinese-American girls in 1950’s Chinatown.
Cool. Awkward. Black. – Edited by Karen Strong (anthology)
GENRES: Fiction, fantasy, science fiction, paranormal, LGBTQ+, romance
MY RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
An anthology of Black stories of all genres, but with a particular focus on geek culture!
The Reckless Kind, Carly Heath
GENRES: Historical fiction, LGBTQ+, romance
MY RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I’ve described this one enough times, but I promise that I will NEVER shut up about how meaningful this book is. Just go read it. TRUST ME.
Follow Your Arrow, Jessica Verdi
GENRES: Contemporary, realistic fiction, LGBTQ+, romance
MY RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Though this book was far from perfect, I think it’s still worth it to put on this list; the writing and romance weren’t great, but Follow Your Arrow has plenty of timely discussions around bisexuality and how we treat queer women.
HONORABLE MENTION:
The Trouble With White Women: A Counterhistory of Feminism, Kyla Schuller
GENRES: nonfiction
MY RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Although this list was intended to be just for YA and fiction, I’d be remiss if I made a post about feminism and didn’t include this book. The Trouble With White Women presents a view on feminism that is necessary for moving past simply white feminism, and presents the feminist movement through those on the margins, such as Frances Harper, Pauli Murray, and Alexandria Ocasio Cortez. It’s seriously one of the best nonfiction books I’ve read in ages—on any subject matter.
TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK! What did you think of the books on this list? What are your favorite feminist YA books? Let me know in the comments!
Today’s song:
That’s it for this list of recommendations! Have a wonderful rest of your day, and take care of yourselves!
The Bookish Mutant 