25 Young Adult Books Perfect For Women's History Month. | The Odyssey Online
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25 Young Adult Books Perfect For Women's History Month.

Girl Power- read all about it!

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25 Young Adult Books Perfect For Women's History Month.
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As March kicks off, so does a month-long celebration and appreciation of women's accomplishments throughout history. What better way to honor it all than to find your next favorite book. I know that doesn't really make sense, but these books in particular are practically made for the month at hand. I've gathered up 25 novels that I've read over the years that capture both the strength and complexities of womanhood. Again, I've stayed solely in the Young Adult contemporary genre and don't ever repeat titles, so if you don't see what you're looking for here, feel free to check other lists. Happy reading! (Update: I've tried my best to add trigger warnings to all the books that I remember deal with sensitive topics at some point. I'm sure I forgot some though, so please make sure to look the book up if you're concerned before reading)

1. "Moxie" by Jennifer Mathieu

Why you should read: A teen is inspired by her mom to start a feminist magazine at her high school with the help of other girls (The movie is out on Netflix on Wednesday!!)

Check it out here!

2. "The Life and Medieval Times of Kit Sweetly" by Jamie Pacton

Why you should read: Tired of being a serving wench at the medieval-themed restaurant she works at, a girl decides to break from tradition and become a knight, even if her boss doesn't like it.

Check it out here!

3. "Gimme Everything You Got" by Iva-Marie Palmer

Why you should read: In 1979, a high school starts its 1st girl's soccer team, and the girls go from crushing on the young coach to loving the sport and working together as a team.

Check it out here!

4. "The Burning" by Laura Bates

Why you should read: After having to transfer schools from a bullying incident, a girl does a project on a woman accused of witchcraft and notices some similarities to her real life.

Check it out here!

5. "Six Angry Girls" by Adrienne Kisner

Why you should read: A group of girls ban together to start a mock trial team to go against the current sexist one at their school.

Check it out here!

6. "The Feminist Agenda of Jemima Kincaid" by Kate Hattemer

Why you should read: Our main character wants to use her new position in school to change some of the old traditions like prom, but things still go astray even with the changes.

Check it out here!

7. "Go with the Flow" by Lily Williams & Karen Schneemann

Why you should read: Some friends decide to take on their school administration about the lack of period products in the bathrooms and help raise awareness about menstruation in the process.

Check it out here!

8. "My Eyes Are Up Here" by Laura Zimmermann

Why you should read: A girl who has never been comfortable in her own skin, especially with her much larger than normal boobs, tries new things and learns to accept her body.

Check it out here!

9. "Suggested Reading" by Dave Connis

Why you should read: Our main character starts a secret library of her own, when she discovers her school is banning dozens of important pieces of literature.

Check it out here!

10. "What Kind of Girl" by Alyssa Sheinmel (TW: domestic violence)

Why you should read: A powerful story about a teen girl being brave enough to tell her school administration that her boyfriend is abusing her and the unfortunate way her peers chose sides.

Check it out here!

11. "Watch Us Rise" by Renée Watson & Ellen Hagan

Why you should read: Some talented friends begin a Women's Rights Club at their school and post their work online, which obviously leads to haters surfacing and trying to bring them down.

Check it out here!

12. "Speak: The Graphic Novel" by Laurie Halse Anderson & Emily Carroll (TW: sexual assault)

Why you should read: This novel dives deep into the discussion of sexual assault, when a freshman girl is raped by an upperclassman at a party.

Check it out here!

13. "On The Come Up" by Angie Thomas

Why you should read: A teen girl tries to chase her dreams of becoming a rapper amidst many trials and tribulations.

Check it out here!

14. "All-American Muslim Girl" by Nadine Jolie Courtney

Why you should read: A Muslim girl faces Islamophobia head on when the guy she's dating turns out to have a well-known bigot as a father.

Check it out here!

15. "Grown" by Tiffany D. Jackson (TW: grooming, sexual assault)

Why you should read: Our teenage main character dreams of being a singer and is thrilled when she's given attention from a big name celebrity. However, things quickly escalate when the man grooms her, and they enter into a relationship.

Check it out here!

16. "Unscripted" by Nicole Kronzer (TW: grooming, sexual assault)

Why you should read: Our main character is one of the only girls at her improv camp and has to deal with the toxic masculinity along with a predatory coach.

Check it out here!

17. "Dumplin'" by Julie Murphy

Why you should read: You may have heard of the Netflix film, but the book is super good too! It's about a plus-size teen who gets a group of girls to enter the local beauty pageant to spite her perfect mother.

Check it out here!

18. "The Poet X" by Elizabeth Acevedo

Why you should read: A girl with strict parents learns how to use her voice through poetry.

Check it out here!

19. "The Exact Opposite of Okay" by Laura Steven

Why you should read: A girl becomes not only a local pariah but a national one, when photos are leaked online of her getting intimate with a politician's son.

Check it out here!

20. "The List"- Siobhan Vivian

Why you should read: This book's high school has an annual list of the prettiest and ugliest girls in each grade, and we get to see how they react to it all.

Check it out here!

21. "Things Jolie Needs to Do Before She Bites It" by Kerry Winfrey

Why you should read: A girl with a severe underbite has lived her life uncomfortable with her body and decides to live adventurously before having surgery to fix it; along the way, she learns to love herself and her smile.

Check it out here!

22. "Trinkets" by Kristen Smith (TW: addiction)

Why you should read: Just like the Netflix show, this book explores the power of female friendship as 3 girls from different social groups go to shoplifters anonymous meetings together.

Check it out here!

23. "This Will Be Funny Someday" by Katie Henry

Why you should read: This mega funny novel takes the protagonist on a journey of learning to speak up for herself when she discovers she enjoys doing stand-up comedy- a male dominated field.

Check it out here!

24. "The Good Girls" by Claire Eliza Bartlett (TW: sexual assault)

Why you should read: There's a murder in town, and the main suspects are 3 girls from drastically different social circles. I can't say anything more, because I don't want to spoil it too much; however, there's some revenge at play.

Check it out here!

25. "Cold Day in the Sun" by Sara Biren

Why you should read: Our main character is the only girl on the hockey team and has to deal with toxic masculinity and proving herself to be a good athlete while falling for one of the guys.

Check it out here!

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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
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