In Her Words: Women’s Fiction Highlights

Updated February 26, 2023
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Agnes Grey
Brontë, Anne
Paper Book
Bitch Planet. Vol. 1 triple feature
DeConnick, Kelly Sue
Paper Book
DECONNICK & DE LANDRO PRESENT: The Triple Feature! Ripped directly from the world of BITCH PLANET, a crack team of creators spin fifteen teeth-clenching tales of rage, revolution and ridicule. Patriarchy beware...this scifi kidney punch can't be stopped...! 100% Grade A satire....
A room made of leaves : a novel
Grenville, Kate
Paper Book
What if Elizabeth Macarthur-wife of the notorious John Macarthur, wool baron in the earliest days of Sydney-had written a shockingly frank secret memoir? And what if novelist Kate Grenville had miraculously found and published it? That's the starting point for A Room Made of Leaves, a playful...
Circe : a novel
Miller, Madeline
Paper Book
This #1 New York Times bestseller is a "bold and subversive retelling of the goddess's story" that brilliantly reimagines the life of Circe, formidable sorceress of The Odyssey (Alexandra Alter, TheNew York Times). In the house of Helios,...
Little women
Alcott, Louisa May
Paper Book
Louisa May Alcott's classic tale of four sisters in a deluxe hardcover edition,with beautiful cover illustrations by Anna Bond, the artist behind world-renowned stationery brand Rifle Paper Co. Grown-up Meg, tomboyish Jo, timid Beth, and precocious Amy. The four March sisters...
Moxie : a novel
Mathieu, Jennifer
Paper Book
Now a Netflix Original Film directed by Amy Poehler! "Moxie is sweet, funny, and fierce. Read this and then join the fight."--Amy Poehler An unlikely teenager starts a feminist revolution at a small-town Texas high school in this novel from...
The bell jar
Plath, Sylvia
Paper Book
I was supposed to be having the time of my life. When Esther Greenwood wins an internship on a New York fashion magazine in 1953, she is elated, believing she will finally realise her dream to become a writer. But in between the cocktail parties and piles of manuscripts,...
Does my body offend you?
Cuevas, Mayra
Paper Book
A timely story of two teenagers who discover the power of friendship, feminism, and standing up for what you believe in, no matter where you come from. A collaboration between two gifted authors writing from alternating perspectives, this compelling novel shines with authenticity, courage, and...
Enola Holmes and the black barouche
Springer, Nancy
Paper Book
"A young girl who is empowered, capable, and smart...the Enola Holmes book series convey an impactful message that you can do anything if you set your mind to it, and it does so in an exciting and adventurous way."--Millie Bobby Brown Enola Holmes is back! Nancy Springer's...
Cinderella is dead
Bayron, Kalynn
Paper Book
"Wholly original and captivating." - Brigid Kemmerer, New York Times bestselling author of A Curse So Dark and Lonely Girls team up to overthrow the kingdom in this unique and powerful retelling of Cinderella from a stunning new voice that's perfect for fans of...
Pandora's jar : women in Greek myths
Haynes, Natalie
Paper Book
Natalie Haynes is the nation's muse' Adam RutherfordThe Greek myths are among the world's most important cultural building blocks and they have been retold many times, but rarely do they focus on the remarkable women at the heart of these ancient stories.Stories of gods and monsters are the mainstay...
Hearts of Gold
French, Jackie.
Paper Book
SOME GIRLS ARE BORN TO BE LOVED, SOME ARE BORN TO BE USEFUL, AND SOME ARE BORN TO BE BAD ... Indulged and wealthy Kat Fitzhubert is sold in an arranged marriage to a colony across the world. Lady Viola Montefiore is the dark-skinned changeling of a ducal family,...
Scary monsters
De Kretser, Michelle
Paper Book
From the twice-winner of the Miles Franklin Award, Scary Monsters is an affecting, profound and darkly funny exploration into racism, misogyny and ageism.
Ship of destiny
Hobb, Robin.
Paper Book
The triumphant conclusion to the magnificent Liveship Traders series. The dragon, Tintaglia, has been released from her wizardwood coffin, only to find that the glories of her kingdom have passed into ancient memory. Meanwhile, Malta Vestrit navigates the acid flow of the Rain Wild...
The bee and the orange tree
Ashley, Melissa
Paper Book
The Brightest Star
Harcourt, Emma.
Paper Book
A thirst for learning and a passion for astronomy draw an extraordinary young woman deep into the intellectual maelstrom, political complexities and religious extremism of Renaissance Florence. This beautifully crafted novel will appeal to readers of Karen Brooks' The Good Wife of Bath and Pip...
Boss girl
Rogers, Hilary
Paper Book
Girltopiaas everyone now calls the cityis in the grip of a strange virus that affects only men and boys. In the race to find a cure for the virus, Clara and her bestie Arabella have a secret to keep. And its a big secret. When Clara starts receiving strange messages from a mysterious group called...
The women could fly : a novel
Giddings, Megan
Paper Book
Reminiscent of the works of Margaret Atwood, Shirley Jackson, and Octavia Butler, a biting social commentary from the acclaimed author of Lakewood that speaks to our times--a piercing dystopian novel about the unbreakable bond between a young woman and her mysterious mother, set in a world in...
The personal librarian
Benedict, Marie
Paper Book
In her twenties, Belle da Costa Greene is hired by J. P. Morgan to curate a collection for his newly built Pierpont Morgan Library. Belle becomes a fixture on the New York society scene and one of the most powerful people in the art and book world as she helps build a world-class collection. But...
The mercies : a novel
Hargrave, Kiran Millwood
Paper Book
After the men in an Arctic Norwegian town are wiped out, the women must survive a sinister threat in this "perfectly told" 1600s parable of "a world gone mad" (Adriana Trigiani).   Finnmark, Norway, 1617. Twenty-year-old Maren Magnusdatter stands on...
Vox
Dalcher, Christina.
Paper Book
'This book will blow your mind' PRIMA 'Disturbing' LEE CHILD 'A petrifying reimagining of The Handmaid's Tale' ELLE 'Left me speechless' DAILY MAIL 'Terrifying' RED 'A novel ripe for the #MeToo era' VANITY FAIR 'Extraordinary' LOUISE O'NEILL 'The...
When women were dragons : a novel
Barnhill, Kelly Regan
Paper Book
A GOODREADS BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR * A fiery feminist fantasy tale set in 1950s America where thousands of women have spontaneously transformed into dragons, exploding notions of a woman's place in the world and expanding minds about accepting others for who they really are.   ...
Goddess: 50 Goddesses, Spirits, Saints and Other Female Figures Who Have Shaped Belief
Ramirez, Janina.
Paper Book
This empowering collection brings together 50 Goddess' from Nut, the Ancient Egyptian Goddess of the Sky to Medusa to Papatuanuku the Maori Earth Goddess.
Girl, woman, other
Evaristo, Bernardine
Paper Book
With her historic Booker win, Bernardine Evaristo is the author everyone is talking about. The standout book of 2019, Girl, Woman, Other is the number book you need to read this year. ***WINNER OF THE BOOKER PRIZE 2019*** SUNDAY...
Ella enchanted
Levine, Gail Carson
Paper Book
This beloved Newbery Honor-winning story about a feisty heroine is sure to enchant readers new and old.  At her birth, Ella of Frell receives a foolish fairy's gift--the "gift" of obedience. Ella must obey any order, whether it's to hop on one foot for a day and a half, or to chop off...
NSFW : a novel
Kaplan, Isabel
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER * FINALIST FOR THE CENTER FOR FICTION'S FIRST NOVEL PRIZE * "An intoxicating exploration of male-dominated workplaces . . . NSFW is gripping, with a lot to unpack, making it excellent book-club fodder."--TIME Named an...
Hag-seed
Atwood, Margaret
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * The beloved author of The Handmaid's Tale reimagines Shakespeare's final, great play, The Tempest, in a gripping and emotionally rich novel of passion and revenge.   "A marvel of gorgeous yet...
Her body and other parties : stories
Machado, Carmen Maria
Paper Book
Finalist for the National Book Award for Fiction "[These stories] vibrate with originality, queerness, sensuality and the strange."--Roxane Gay "In these formally brilliant and emotionally charged tales, Machado gives literal shape to women's memories and...
Ithaca
North, Claire
Paper Book
From the multi-award-winning author Claire North comes a daring reimagining that breathes life into ancient myth and gives voice to the women who stand defiant in a world ruled by ruthless men. It's time for the women of Ithaca to tell their tale . . . "North...
Madam
Wynne, Phoebe
Paper Book
The Secret Wife
Lamprell, Mark.
Paper Book
In 1961, on the day that Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human to rocket into outer space, Edith Devine moves into her brand-new suburban home-and meets her new neighbour, Frankie Heyman. Frankie is a glamorous, sophisticated foil to the quiet, clever Edith, and the two housewives become firm friends...
Mrs. Dalloway
Woolf, Virginia
Paper Book
  Mrs. Dalloway chronicles a June day in the life of Clarissa Dalloway-a day that is taken up with running minor errands in preparation for a party and that is punctuated, toward the end, by the suicide of a young man she has never met. In giving an apparently ordinary day such...
The women's pages
Purman, Victoria
Paper Book
From the bestselling author of The Land Girls comes a beautifully realised novel that speaks to the true history and real experiences of post-war Australian women. Sydney 1945 The war is over, the fight begins. The war is over and so are the jobs (and freedoms) of tens...
Ship of magic
Hobb, Robin
Paper Book
'As addictive as morphine' THE TIMES From the author of the classic Farseer trilogy, SHIP OF MAGIC is the first part of the Liveship Traders. Set in a land bordering the Six Duchies, Robin Hobb begins her epic tale of pirates, talking ships, magic, sea serpents, slave...
Salt slow
Armfield, Julia
Paper Book
'Armfield is an enormous, gut-wrenching talent.' Daisy Johnson, author of Everything Under'salt slow is exemplary. A distinct new gothic, melancholy, powerful and poised.' China Miéville, author of The City & The CityThis collection of short stories is about women and their experiences in society,...
The witch's heart
Gornichec, Genevieve
Paper Book
Angrboda's story begins where most witch's tales end: with a burning. A punishment from Odin for refusing to give him knowledge of the future, the fire leaves Angrboda injured and powerless, and she flees into a remote forest. There she is found by a man Loki, and her initial distrust grows into a...
Spinning silver
Novik, Naomi
Paper Book
'I couldn't put it down'- Katherine Arden, author of the Winternight trilogy Rumours have drawn unexpected attention - and now her life hangs in the balance. From the author of the award-winning Uprooted, Naomi Novik's Spinning Silver is a rich, original tale...
Ophelia : queen of Denmark
French, Jackie.
Ebook
Bridget Crack
Leary, Rachel
Paper Book
Van Diemen's Land, 1826. A desperate convict flees into the wilderness. But the land that hides her will show her no mercy. A brilliant literary debut from a writer of rare talent.
The case of the bizarre bouquets
Springer, Nancy
Paper Book
Enola Holmes might be the much younger sister of Sherlock Holmes, but she manages to outsmart him at every turn, solving thrilling mysteries in her very own way...
The case of the cryptic crinoline
Springer, Nancy
Paper Book
Enola Holmes might be the much younger sister of Sherlock Holmes, but she manages to outsmart him at every turn, solving thrilling mysteries in her very own way...
Cicada
McKinnon, Moira
Paper Book
A stunning novel of terror, love and survival in the most inhospitable country on earth. A white-knuckle chase story like no other - suspenseful, lyrical and breathtaking in equal measure. The literary debut novel of 2014.
The color purple
Walker, Alice
Paper Book
The Pulitzer Prize-winning novel that tells the story of two sisters through their correspondence. With a new Preface by the author.
Gender swapped fairy tales
Fransman, Karrie
Paper Book
Discover a collection of fairy tales unlike the ones you've read before . . . Once upon a time, in the middle of winter, a King sat at a window and sewed. As he sewed and gazed out onto the landscape, he pricked his finger with the needle, and three drops of blood fell onto the...
The dictionary of lost words
Williams, Pip
Paper Book
The invisible life of Addie LaRue
Schwab, Victoria
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER USA TODAY BESTSELLER NATIONAL INDIE BESTSELLER THE WASHINGTON POST BESTSELLER Recommended by Entertainment Weekly, Real Simple, NPR, Slate, and Oprah...
The end of men
Sweeney-Baird, Christina
Paper Book
'A FIERCELY INTELLIGENT PAGE-TURNER' PAULA HAWKINS 'WRITTEN PRE-COVID - GRIPPING, SCARY AND PERSUASIVE' IAN RANKIN 'THE STUFF THAT CLASSICS ARE MADE OF' A.J. FINN 'GRIPPING AND BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN. WHAT A DEBUT!' SARAH...
The handmaid's tale
Atwood, Margaret
Paper Book
One of the most powerful and most widely read novels of our time: A gripping vision of our society radically overturned by a theocratic revolution--from "the patron saint of feminist dystopian fiction" (The New York Times). * Now an award-winning Hulu series starring Elizabeth...
Six of crows
Bardugo, Leigh
Paper Book
See the Grishaverse come to life on screen with the Netflix series, Shadow and Bone -- Season 2 streaming now! Meet Kaz Brekker and his crew: Jesper, Inej, Wylan, and the star-crossed Nina and Matthias, on the heist of a lifetime in Six of Crows from #1...
Kim Jiyoung, born 1982 = Palsip yi nyeon saeng Kim Jiyeong
Cho, Nam-ju
Paper Book
A GUARDIAN 'ONE TO LOOK OUT FOR 2020'  A RED MAGAZINE 'CAN'T WAIT TO READ' BOOK OF 2020   THE MULTI-MILLION-COPY SELLING SOUTH KOREAN SENSATION THAT HAS GOT THE WHOLE WORLD TALKING Kim Jiyoung is a...
The lost sisterhood : a novel
Fortier, Anne
Paper Book
From the author of the New York Times bestseller Juliet comes a mesmerizing novel about a young scholar who risks her reputation--and her life--on a thrilling journey to prove that the legendary warrior women known as the Amazons actually existed.   Oxford lecturer Diana...
The priory of the orange tree
Shannon, Samantha
Paper Book
The New York Times bestselling "epic feminist fantasy perfect for fans of Game of Thrones" (Bustle). NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY: AMAZON (Top 100 Editors Picks and Science Fiction and Fantasy) * CHICAGO PUBLIC LIBRARY * BOOKPAGE...
Joan makes history : a novel
Grenville, Kate
Paper Book
No Marketing Blurb
The once and future witches
Harrow, Alix E
Paper Book
"A gorgeous and thrilling paean to the ferocious power of women. The characters live, bleed, and roar. "―Laini Taylor, New York Times bestselling author A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * Winner of the British Fantasy Award for Best...
The Penelopiad
Atwood, Margaret
Paper Book
Daughter of the forest
Marillier, Juliet.
Paper Book
The first book in the epic and compulsively readable Sevenwaters series"I enjoyed it immensely... For an Irish resident, familiar with the mores and customs, Daughter of the Forest had special meaning and relevance." Anne McCaffrey"This saga will hold you entranced" Australian Women's WeeklyDaughter...
Violeta
Allende, Isabel.
Paper Book
_______________THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING NOVEL FROM LITERARY LEGEND ISABEL ALLENDE_______________'Epic, beautifully crafted . . . Gripping from start to finish' DAILY TELEGRAPH'A moving exploration of both the pain and the freedom of...
Ines of my soul
Allende, Isabel.
Paper Book
Tells the story of the Spanish woman to arrive on its shores with the Conquistadors in the 1500s. Ines Suarez came to Chile with the Conquistadors in 1540, helping to claim the territory for Spain and to found the Spanish settlement in Santiago. This work re-imagines Ines' life and that of the two...
Island beneath the sea
Allende, Isabel.
Paper Book
From the sugar plantations of Saint-Domingue to the lavish parlours of New Orleans at the turn of the 19th century, Isabel Allende's latest novel tells the story of a mulatta woman, a slave and concubine, determined to take control of her own destiny in a society where that would seem impossible....
Home fire
Shamsie, Kamila
Paper Book
Winner of the 2018 Women's Prize for FictionLonglisted for the Man Booker PrizeTwo families' fates are inextricably, devastatingly entwined in this suspenseful and heartbreaking story of an immigrant family driven to pit love against loyalty, with devastating consequences.
Women talking
Toews, Miriam
Paper Book
A profound, unsettling and virtuosic piece of fiction from the award-winning author of All My Puny Sorrows.
Who is Vera Kelly?
Knecht, Rosalie
Paper Book
An exhilarating page turner and perceptive coming-of-age story, Who is Vera Kelly? introduces an original, wry and whip-smart female spy for the twenty-first century.
Liberation
Kealey, Imogen
Paper Book
To the Allies she was a fearless freedom fighter, special operations super spy, a woman ahead of her time. To the Gestapo she was a ghost, a shadow, the most wanted person in the world with a five-million Franc bounty on her head. Her name was Nancy Wake.Now, for the first time, the roots of her...
Louis & Louise
Cohen, Julie
Paper Book
Uprooted
Novik, Naomi
Paper Book
WINNER OF THE NEBULA AWARD FOR BEST NOVEL * Naomi Novik, author of the New York Times bestselling and critically acclaimed Temeraire novels, introduces a bold new world rooted in folk stories and legends, as elemental as a Grimm fairy tale. HUGO AWARD FINALIST * NAMED...
The Underground Railroad : a novel
Whitehead, Colson
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * PULITZER PRIZE WINNER * NATIONAL BOOK AWARD WINNER * "An American masterpiece" (NPR) that chronicles a young slave's adventures as she makes a desperate bid for freedom in the antebellum South. One of The New York Times's 10...
Those kinds of girls
Walton, Natalie (Fiction writer)
Paper Book
Double standards are about to get singled out. As a lead reporter for The Warrior Weekly, Eden has covered her fair share of stories at St. Joseph's High School. And when intimate pictures of seven female students are anonymously emailed to the entire school, Eden is...
The tomb of Hercules
McDermott, Andy.
Paper Book
From the author of THE HUNT FOR ATLANTIS, comes an electrifying new novel. Nina Wilde is on the hunt for the Tomb of Hercules. Studies of an ancient text have convinced archaeologist Nina Wilde that a tomb containing the remains of legendary warrior Hercules may actually exist. If she can...
The testaments
Atwood, Margaret
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER * WINNER OF THE BOOKER PRIZE * The Testaments is a modern masterpiece, a powerful novel that can be read on its own or as a companion to Margaret Atwood's classic, The Handmaid's Tale. More than fifteen years after the events of...
Sherwood
Spooner, Meagan
Paper Book
Fans of Danielle Paige, Marissa Meyer, and Alex Flinn will devour New York Times bestselling author Meagan Spooner's next fierce fairy tale-inspired story, which Illuminae author Amie Kaufman calls "a kick-ass, gender-flipped feminist retelling." Robin of Locksley is dead. Maid...
The red tent
Diamant, Anita
Paper Book
In this modern classic interpretation of the biblical story of Dinah, Anita Diamant imagines the traditions and turmoils of ancient womanhood--the world of The Red Tent, a New York Times bestseller and the basis of the A&E/Lifetime mini-series. Twentieth Anniversary...
The case of the left-handed lady
Springer, Nancy
Paper Book
Enola Holmes might be the much younger sister of Sherlock Holmes, but she manages to outsmart him at every turn, solving thrilling mysteries in her very own way...
The cotton town girls
Fleming, Leah
Paper Book
A heart-warming story of female friendship in the tumultuous days of the Suffragette movement... Sophia Seddon and Grace Thompson are poles apart - the one a member of the notorious Seddons of Plover Street, the other the vicar's spoilt only child. But their...
The case of the gypsy good-bye
Springer, Nancy.
Paper Book
Don't miss Enola Holmes: The Case of the Missing Marquess! Now a Netflix original movie starring Millie Bobby Brown, Henry Cavill, and Helena Bonham Carter! Enola Holmes--younger sister to Sherlock Holmes--is back on another case! As Enola searches...
The long, long afternoon
Vesper, Inga
Paper Book
A gripping and beguiling debut reading group mystery for fans of Tigers in Red Weather and Tangerine.
The princess and the suffragette
Webb, Holly
Paper Book
It is 1913, nine years after the end of A Little Princess saw Sara Crewe escape Miss Minchin's orphanage. Lottie, the smallest girl from the original story, learns about the Suffragette movement from Sara, who returns to visit from time to time. Soon Lottie finds herself sneaking out of the...
The secret of excalibur
McDermott, Andy.
Paper Book
The third brilliant adventure thriller featuring archaeologist Nina Wilde, in which Nina must find Excalibur, King Arthur's beloved sword. Said to make whoever holds it unstoppable in battle, the sword Excalibur has been coveted across the ages, and thought lost...

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