Women's History Month: Young Adult Picks

Updated February 26, 2025
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Alebrijes
Higuera, Donna Barba
Paper Book
PURA BELPRÉ HONOR WINNER BEST OF THE YEAR New York Times · Kirkus · Booklist · Chicago Public Library The follow-up to Newbery and Pura Belpré Award-winning The Last Cuentista ...
I am Malala : how one girl stood up for education and changed the world [teen edition]
Yousafzai, Malala
Paper Book
'Malala is an inspiration to girls and women all over the world.' - J.K. Rowling I Am Malala tells the remarkable true story of a girl who knew she wanted to change the world - and did. Raised in the Swat Valley in Pakistan, Malala was taught...
Because I was a girl true stories for girls of all ages
De la Cruz, Melissa, 1971-
Paper Book
Because I Was a Girl is an inspiring collection of true stories by women and girls about the obstacles, challenges, and opportunities they've faced...because of their gender. Edited by #1 New York Times-bestselling author Melissa de la Cruz, the book is the perfect gift for girls of...
Black girl you are Atlas
Watson, Ren?
Paper Book
A Coretta Scott King Honor Book Winner of the Walter Dean Myers Award A thoughtful celebration of Black girlhood by award-winning author and poet Renée Watson. In this semi-autobiographical collection of poems, Renée Watson writes about her experience...
Blood water paint
McCullough, Joy
Audiobook
"Haunting ... teems with raw emotion, and McCullough deftly captures the experience of learning to behave in a male-driven society and then breaking outside of it."--The New Yorker  "I will be haunted and empowered by Artemisia Gentileschi's story for the rest of...
Brazen rebel ladies who rocked the world
Bagieu, Penelope
Paper Book
2019 Eisner Award Winner for Best U.S. Edition of International Material Throughout history and across the globe, one characteristic connects the daring women of Brazen: their indomitable spirit. With her characteristic wit and dazzling drawings, celebrated...
Code name Verity
Wein, Elizabeth
Audiobook
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...
Everything I learned about racism I learned in school
Jewell, Tiffany
Paper Book
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of This Book Is Anti-Racist and The Antiracist Kid, Tiffany Jewell, this YA nonfiction book, highlighting inequities Black and Brown students face from preschool through college, is the most important, empowering read this year. ...
Feminist Af : A Guide to Crushing Girlhood
Cooper, Brittney/ Tanner, Chanel Craft/ Morris, Susana
Paper Book
Loud and rowdy girls, quiet and nerdy girls, girls who rock naturals, girls who wear weave, outspoken and opinionated girls, girls still finding their voice, queer girls, trans girls, and gender nonbinary young people who want to make the world better: Feminist AF uses the insights of feminism to...
Fight like a girl : 50 feminists who changed the world
Barcella, Laura
Paper Book
Nearly every day there's another news story or pop cultural anecdote related to feminism and women's rights. #YesAllWomen, conversations around consent, equal pay, access to contraception, and a host of other issues are foremost topics of conversation in American (and worldwide) media right now....
Firekeeper's daughter
Boulley, Angeline
Paper Book
A PRINTZ MEDAL WINNER! A MORRIS AWARD WINNER! AN AMERICAN INDIAN YOUTH LITERATURE AWARD YA HONOR BOOK! A REESE WITHERSPOON x HELLO SUNSHINE BOOK CLUB YA PICK An Instant #1 New York Times Bestseller Soon to be adapted at Netflix...
Gamer girls : 25 women who built the video game industry
Kenney, Mary
Paper Book
Discover the women behind the video games we love--the iconic games they created, the genres they invented, the studios and companies they built--and how they changed the industry forever.    Women have always made video games, from the...
Girls resist! : a guide to activism, leadership, and starting a revolution
Rich, KaeLyn
Paper Book
An activism handbook for teen girls ready to fight for change, social justice, and equality. Take on the world and make some serious change with this handbook to everything activism, social justice, and resistance. With in-depth guides to everything from picking a cause, planning...
Girls write now : two decades of true stories from young female voices
Paper Book
Girls Write Now: Two Decades of True Stories from Young Female Voices offers a brave and timely portrait of teenage-girl life in the United States over the past twenty years. They're working part-time jobs to make ends meet, deciding to wear a hijab to school, sharing a first kiss, coming...
Hearts unbroken
Smith, Cynthia Leitich
Paper Book
Winner of an American Indian Youth Literature Award New York Times best-selling author Cynthia Leitich Smith turns to realistic fiction with the thoughtful story of a Native teen navigating the complicated, confusing waters of high school -- and first love. ...
Here we are feminism for the real world
Jensen, Kelly
Paper Book
LET'S GET THE FEMINIST PARTY STARTED! Have you ever wanted to be a superheroine? Join a fandom? Create the perfect empowering playlist? Understand exactly what it means to be a feminist in the twenty-first century? You've come to the right place. ...
Inheritance : a visual poem
Acevedo, Elizabeth
Paper Book
They tell me to "fix" my hair. And by fix, they mean straighten, they mean whiten; but how do you fix this shipwrecked history of hair? In her most famous spoken-word poem, author of the Pura Belpré-winning novel-in-verse The Poet X Elizabeth Acevedo embraces all the...
Last night at the Telegraph Club
Lo, Malinda
Paper Book
WINNER OF THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FOR YOUNG ADULT LITERATURE; THE ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICAN AWARD FOR YOUTH LITERATURE; THE STONEWALL BOOK AWARD (YA); THE PRINTZ HONOR _____________________________________________________________________________________________
Laurinda
Pung, Alice
Paper Book
When my dad dropped us off at the front gate, the first things I saw were the rose garden spreading out on either side of the main driveway and the enormous sign in iron cursive letters spelling out LAURINDA. No 'Ladies College' after it, of course; the name was meant to speak for itself.
Moxie
Mathieu, Jennifer
Paper Book
MOXIE movie launching on NETFLIX on 3rd March 2021, directed by and starring Amy Poehler. 'I LOVE THIS BOOK SO MUCH!' Zoella '... this is my new favorite book. I'm proud to be a Moxie girl!' Jennifer Niven, author of All the Bright Places...
The night diary
Hiranandani, Veera
Paper Book
A 2019 NEWBERY HONOR BOOK "A gripping, nuanced story of the human cost of conflict appropriate for both children and adults." -Kirkus, starred review In the vein of Inside Out and Back Again and The War That Saved My Life comes a...
The no where girls
Reed, Amy Lynn
Paper Book
'Empowering, brutally honest, and realistically complex' Buzzfeed 'A call-to-action to everyone out there who wants to fight back' Bustle 'With a powerful message about consent on the one hand and a diverse range of female...
Off the record
Garrett, Camryn
Paper Book
Seventeen-year-old Josie is living a young journalist's dream when she wins a contest to write a celebrity profile for her favourite magazine, especially once she meets the charming new actor at its centre. But there's a dark side to the glitz and glamour and Josie is suddenly in the...
On the bright side
Sortino, Anna
Paper Book
A hopeful novel about love, disability, and the inevitability of change by the author of Give Me a Sign. "Poignant, romantic, and deeply heartfelt." --Amber Smith, New York Times bestselling author of The Way I Used to Be Ellie's Deaf...
Radioactive! : how Irene Curie and Lise Meitner revolutionized science and changed the world
Conkling, Winifred
Audiobook
The fascinating, little-known story of how two brilliant female physicists' groundbreaking discoveries led to the creation of the atomic bomb. In 1934, IrEne Curie, working with her husband and fellow scientist, Frederic Joliot, made a discovery that would change the world: artificial radioactivity....
Six angry girls
Kisner, Adrienne
Paper Book
Adrienne Kisner's Six Angry Girls is a story of mock trial, feminism, and the inherent power found in a pair of knitting needles. Raina Petree is crushing her senior year, until her boyfriend dumps her, the drama club (basically) dumps her, the college of her dreams...
The suffragist playbook : your guide to changing the world
Robb, Lucinda
Paper Book
Do you have a cause you're passionate about? Take a few tips from the suffragists, who led one of the largest and longest movements in American history. The women's suffrage movement was decades in the making and came with many harsh setbacks. But it resulted in a permanent...
Teen trailblazers : 30 fearless girls who changed the world before they were 20
Calvert, Jennifer
Paper Book
True stories of young women who made a big difference! From authors to activists, painters to politicians, inventors to icons, these inspiring teenagers are proof that girls can change the world. Joan of Arc. Anne Frank. Cleopatra. Pocahontas. Mary Shelley. Many of these...
Warrior Girl unearthed
Boulley, Angeline
Paper Book
#1 New York Times bestselling author Angeline Boulley takes us back into the world of Firekeeper's Daughter in this high-stakes mystery about the power of discovering your stolen history A Waterstones Best YA Books of 2023 A Financial Times Best YA Summer Book 2023<...
We should all be feminists
Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi, 1977-
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * The highly acclaimed, provocative essay on feminism and sexual politics--from the award-winning author of Americanah "A call to action, for all people in the world, to undo the gender hierarchy." --Medium<...
Where you see yourself
Forrest, Claire (Young adult author)
Paper Book
A Schneider Family Book Award Honor Book What does it take to follow your dreams? Where You See Yourself is a relatable, romantic, and necessary story about a girl who has to figure out what--and who--will bring her the happiness she deserves. By the time Effie...

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