Let’s celebrate Women's history month with some great books that made herstory!
Historical Fiction & Contemporary
Alias Grace (Margaret Atwood)
Based on a true 1843 double murder, it follows Grace Marks, a servant girl convicted of killing her employer. A doctor interviews her to determine if she is truly mad or a cold-blooded killer.
Life After Life (Kate Atkinson)
Ursula Todd dies at birth in 1910—then wakes up and lives again. The story follows her through infinite re-dos of her life as she navigates the World Wars, and faces the power of small choices and fate.
She’s Come Undone (Wally Lamb)
A coming-of-age story about Dolores Price, who survives a traumatic childhood and struggles with weight, mental health, and heartbreak before finding a path toward self-acceptance.
The Women (Kristin Hannah)
Set during the Vietnam War, it follows Frankie McGrath, a young army nurse who served on the front lines and her struggle to be recognized upon their return.
The Selector of Souls (Shauna Singh Baldwin)
In 1990s India, the lives of Damini, a midwife haunted by her role in sex-selective practices, and Anu, a woman who flees an abusive marriage to work as a nurse in a Catholic mission, converge in a remote village where both struggle to resist traditions.
Sci-Fi & Fantasy
The Left Hand of Darkness (Ursula K. Le Guin)
A human envoy travels to Winter, a planet where inhabitants have no fixed gender. This is an exploration of politics, friendship, and how gender shapes society.
The Power (Naomi Alderman)
Suddenly, teenage girls across the globe develop the ability to conduct electricity from their hands. As this power spreads to all women, the global gender hierarchy is violently flipped on its head.
I Who Have Never Known Men (Jacqueline Harpman)
40 women are kept in a cage guarded by silent men. When they finally escape, they wander a desolate landscape searching for meaning in a world without a past.
Light From Uncommon Stars (Ryka Aoki)
A genre-bending tale involving a violin teacher who made a deal with the devil, a young talented trans runaway, and an alien family running a donut shop.
Some Desperate Glory (Emily Tesh)
Raised on a fanatical space station, Kyr is trained to avenge the destruction of Earth. However, her world shatters when she discovers the truth about the war and her own leaders.
Parable of the Sower (Octavia E. Butler)
In a climate-ravaged, crumbling California, young Lauren Olamina possesses hyper-empathy. She flees her home and founds a new belief system, Earthseed, to survive the chaos.
Bliss Montage (Ling Ma)
A collection of surreal short stories, touching on themes of invisibility, motherhood, and the immigrant experience.
Non-Fiction
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (Maya Angelou)
A classic memoir of Angelou's early years. It tackles trauma, racism, and identity, ultimately showing how the power of literature and self-possession can overcome tragedy.
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (Rebecca Skloot)
The true story of a Black woman whose cancer cells were taken without her knowledge in 1951. Those cells (HeLa) changed medicine forever, while her family remained in poverty.
Being Heumann (Judith Heumann)
A powerhouse memoir from a leader of the disability rights movement. It tracks her life from being denied an education due to polio to her fight for the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
A Woman of No Importance (Sonia Purnell)
The biography of Virginia Hall, an American spy with a wooden leg who became one of the most dangerous Allied operatives behind Nazi lines.
The Radium Girls (Kate Moore)
The true story of factory workers in the 1920s who were poisoned by the glowing paint they used. It documents their fight for workplace safety and corporate accountability.
Invisible Women (Caroline Criado Perez)
This book argues that because our world is largely designed by and for men, women’s needs are often ignored.
Who’s Afraid of Gender? (Judith Butler)
A contemporary analysis of how "gender" has become a phantom used by right-wing movements to instill fear, and a call for a more inclusive, coalition-based understanding of identity.
This article contains affiliate links. If you purchase a book through one of these links, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
0 comments