Hi everyone! This is my first article and I'm so excited to share it with all of you! One of my main characteristics is that I am an avid reader! I love spending Fridays wandering the aisles of Barnes and Noble and inevitably spending more than I should.

I love reading books written by women. They offer a different perspective than many books written by male authors, and I try to keep a healthy balance on my shelves. So here it is, in no particular order, a list of some of my favorite books written by women!

1. "The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls" by Anton DiSclafani

An absolutely amazing book, I read it once a summer (sometimes more). It takes place in the 1930s following Thea, a girl from Florida whose family owns an orange grove. Early on, she does something wrong and it get's her sent away to this "camp", where there the wealthiest of the southern belles grow into young ladies. You don't learn what she did until the end, and wow it is bad! Highly recommend!

2. "The Butterfly Garden" by Dot Hutchison

This is the darkest book on the list and I definitely put a trigger warning on it. But it is so insane. It is dark and mysterious and the ending threw me for a serious loop! And it can be pretty hard to surprise me. These girls get kidnapped by a rich man and put inside a beautiful indoor garden with butterfly wings tattooed on their backs. It couldn't put it down.

3. "Code Name Verity" by Elizabeth E. Wein

I love books that make you think and want to figure it out before the end, and this book does that. It follows two young ladies in Great Britain in WWII and when one of them gets kidnapped by the Germans. The book is split in two, the first half in one girl's perspective, and the second half in another. An enjoyable read that puts you in a race to figure out the ending.

4. "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern

I describe this book to people as a painting, that is how vivid the descriptions are. You don't feel like you are reading a book as everything is so beautifully written. It follows a black and white circus in the 1890s, like most of my reading choices it is a little dark. However, it is absolutely gorgeous, an actual piece of art. It is a little wordy, so unlike the other books on this list, I did not read it in one sitting.

5. "Before We Were Yours" by Lisa Wingate

This is the newest book on this list. It is actually shocking that it is based on a true story. As late as the 1940s, people were purchasing children in the United States. This follows the story of siblings who were stolen from their home and sold to families, who then generations later find out the system that their families were a part of.

6. "There is No Dog" by Meg Rosoff

This is a witty book that is about God; if God was a lazy, self-obsessed teenage boy. It's actually one of only three books on the list with a male protagonist. It is fun and makes you laugh. A short, easy read.

7. "The Harry Potter Series" by J.K. Rowling

This one is obvious, but I am going to pretend the Cursed Child does not exist.

8. "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen

Oddly enough, I have not seen the movie, but I really loved the book. It is a sweet love story if you are a hopeless romantic, much like myself.

9. "The Daughters of Palatine Hill" by Phyllis T. Smith

This book follows the life of Julia, Emperor August's only daughter following his defeat over Mark Antony and Cleopatra. A lot of research went into the book and it is fairly accurate. I also recommend its companion, Livia, that takes place before the events of this book, though it is not necessary to understand this one.

10. "The Selection Series" by Kiera Cass (YA novel)

This was my favorite series for most of high school (and they are still great now). There are five books plus a few novellas. Imagine if The Bachelor and the Hunger Games had a baby, that is this book series. The last book is a bit of a letdown, but don't let that deter you. The first three books and the novellas are incredibly good and make you fall in love with the characters, especially the independent main character whose name is America.

11. "The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender" by Leslye Walton (YA novel)

I still remember the emotions I felt when I first read this book. It seriously broke my heart. The title says a lot about what occurs. It follows Ava Lavender, a girl born with wings like those of an angel. The story goes back and forth between Ava's life and the events beforehand that led to her being born this way. It focuses very little on the mythical world, and more on the magic of what it means to be human.

12. "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls

My mum and I read this book together when I was little and I really loved it. I have read it close to a dozen times since and it is incredible that it is a completely true story. The movie that came out in 2017 does not do it justice.

13. The last book on my list: "The Secret Life of Bees" by Sue Monk Kidd.

This is another book I read with my mum as a kid, and I think the movie does do it justice. It is an amazing coming of age story in the 1960s. It is about women helping women and empowering each other. An amazing story to end the list with.

I do have some honorable mentions, the classics that paved the way for these contemporary novelists. Some that I love and definitely deserved a spot on this list are "Emma" by Jane Austen, the 90s cult classic "Clueless" is based on this novel, "Little Women" and "The Handmaid's Tale" plus many more.

I could (and probably will) do a whole list of books that I read with my mum as a kid that helped me grow to be an empowered woman. Numbers 12 and 13 are definitely part of that list.