Women's History Past and Present: Books for Young Teens

Books for young teens, both fiction and nonfiction that chronicle the lives of extraordinary women, examine historical movements, and address feminist issues.

Updated February 23, 2024
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Stories of the islands
Angkasa, Clar
Journey into a land of magic and powerful girls in this feminist graphic novel retelling of three Indonesian folktales. "Brimming with spirit, this is a book all about connection and empowerment. Angkasa's gorgeous rendering and vivid storytelling will pull you right in."-Tillie...
Iveliz explains it all
Arango, Andrea Beatriz
NEWBERY HONOR AWARD WINNER * In this timely and moving novel in verse, a preteen girl navigates seventh grade while facing mental health challenges. A hopeful, poetic story about learning to advocate for the help and understanding you deserve. "Powerful." --Lisa Fipps,...
Speak up, speak out! : the extraordinary life of "fighting Shirley Chisholm"
Bolden, Tonya
Before there was Barack Obama, before there was Kamala Harris, there was Fighting Shirley Chisholm. A daughter of Barbadian immigrants, Chisholm developed her political chops in Brooklyn in the 1950s and went on to become the first Black woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. This...
Indigo and Ida
Capps, Heather Murphy
When eighth grader and aspiring journalist Indigo breaks an important story, exposing an unfair school policy, she's suddenly popular for the first time. The friends who've recently drifted away from her want to hang out again. Then Indigo notices that the school's disciplinary policies seem to be...
Finish the fight! : the brave and revolutionary women who fought for the right to vote
Chambers, Veronica
A New York Times Bestseller! In collaboration with the New York Times, Finish the Fight! reveals untold stories of diverse heroines who fought for the 19th amendment--celebrate the historic win for women's rights and voting rights that changed the fabric of America. ...
Radium girls
Cy
"Compelling, inspiring, and radiant." -- FOREWORD "Excels in showing the camaraderie of the 'Ghost Girls.'" -- PUBLISHERS WEEKLY "Another example of how great graphic...
Lifting as we climb : black women's battle for the ballot box
Dionne, Evette
For African American women, the fight for the right to vote was only one battle. This Coretta Scott King Author Honor book tells the important, overlooked story of black women as a force in the suffrage movement--when fellow suffragists did not accept them as equal partners in...
Susie King Taylor : nurse, teacher & freedom fighter
Dunbar, Erica Armstrong
From the acclaimed, New York Times bestselling author of Never Caught and She Came to Slay comes a vibrant middle grade biography of Susie King Taylor, one of the first Black Civil War nurses, in a new series spotlighting Black women who left their mark on history. ...
Ida B. the queen : the extraordinary life and legacy of Ida B. Wells
Duster, Michelle
Journalist. Suffragist. Antilynching crusader. In 1862, Ida B. Wells was born enslaved in Holly Springs, Mississippi. In 2020, she won a Pulitzer Prize. Ida B. Wells committed herself to the needs of those who did not have power. In the eyes of the FBI, this made her a "dangerous...
Rima's rebellion : courage in a time of tyranny
Engle, Margarita
An inspiring coming-of-age story told in prose and "spare, lyrical" verse (The Horn Book Magazine) from award-winning author Margarita Engle about a girl falling in love for the first time while finding the courage to protest for women's right to vote in 1920s Cuba. Rima...
Miss Quinces
Fajardo, Kat
Rising star Kat Fajardo's debut middle-grade graphic novel about a girl who would rather do anything other than celebrate her quinceañera! A funny and heartfelt coming-of-age story about navigating the expectations of family and cultural tradition. Sue just wants to spend the summer reading and...
Starfish
Fipps, Lisa
A Printz Honor winner! Ellie is tired of being fat-shamed and does something about it in this poignant debut novel-in-verse. Ever since Ellie wore a whale swimsuit and made a big splash at her fifth birthday party, she's been bullied about her weight. To cope, she...
Dress coded
Firestone, Carrie
In this debut middle-grade girl-power friendship story, perfect for fans of Moxie, an eighth grader starts a podcast to protest the unfair dress code enforcement at her middle school and sparks a rebellion.   Molly Frost is FED UP... Because Olivia...
Vote! : women's fight for access to the ballot box
Frazer, Coral Celeste
August 18, 2020, marked the 100thanniversary of the 19th Amendment to the US Constitution, which prohibited states and the US government from denying citizens the right to vote on the basis of sex. See how the 70-year-long fight for women's suffrage was hard won by leaders such as Elizabeth Cady...
HerStory : 50 women and girls who shook up the world
Halligan, Katherine (Children's book editor)
Move aside history--it's time for herstory. Celebrate fifty inspiring and powerful women who changed the world and left their mark in this lavishly illustrated biography compilation that's perfect for fans of Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls and She...
Rolling warrior : the incredible, sometimes awkward, true story of a rebel girl on wheels who helped spark a revolution
Heumann, Judith E.
As featured in the Oscar-nominated documentary Crip Camp, and for readers of I Am Malala, one of the most influential disability rights activists in US history tells her story of fighting to belong. "If I didn't fight, who would?" Judy Heumann...
Leading the way : women in power
Howell, Janet
In this engaging and highly accessible compendium for young readers and aspiring power brokers, Virginia Senator Janet Howell and her daughter-in-law Theresa Howell spotlight the careers of fifty American women in politics -- and inspire readers to make a difference. With foreword by Hillary...
Jennifer Chan is not alone
Keller, Tae
In her first novel since winning the Newbery Medal for When You Trap a Tiger, Tae Keller offers a gripping and emotional story about friendship, bullying, and the possiblity that there's more in the universe than just us. Sometimes middle school can make you feel like...
Celebrate your body. the ultimate puberty book for preteen and teen girls2
Klein, Lisa, (Doctor)
Discover your body's awesomeness with a puberty guide for tween and teen girls ages 10 to 18 Puberty is one of the first signs that you're growing up--and that's something to be celebrated. If you're looking for body-positive puberty books for girls but aren't sure where to start...
Code red
McCullough, Joy
In the spirit of Judy Blume, this "character-driven, thought-provoking, often funny, and, above all, timely" (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) middle grade novel celebrates finding yourself, making new friends, and standing up for what's right as a girl becomes involved in menstrual...
Anastasia and her sisters
Meyer, Carolyn
There's a heavy price to pay for royalty in this compelling--and true--story of Anastasia Romanov and fellow grand duchesses of Russia, from an award-winning novelist. It's summer in 1914 and the Romanovs are aboard the Standart, the Russian royal yacht. Tsar Nicholas, Tsaritsa...
The woman who split the atom : Lise Meitner
Moss, Marissa
As a female Jewish physicist in Berlin during the early 20th century, Lise Meitner had to fight for an education, a job, and equal treatment in her field, like having her name listed on her own research papers. Meitner made groundbreaking strides in the study of radiation, but when...
The Girl Who Sang : A Holocaust Memoir of Hope and Survival
Nadel, Estelle/ Strout, Bethany/ Savos, Sammy (ILT)
A heartrending graphic memoir about a young Jewish girl's fight for survival in Nazi occupied Poland, The Girl Who Sang illustrates the power of a brother's love, the kindness of strangers, and finding hope when facing the unimaginable. Born to a Jewish family in a...
Augusta Savage : the shape of a sculptor's life
Nelson, Marilyn
This powerful biography in poems​ tells the life of Augusta Savage, the trailblazing artist and pillar of the Harlem Renaissance. A Claudia Lewis Award Winner for Poetry by the Bank Street College of Education  A Black Caucus ALA Children...
Becoming
Obama, Michelle
An intimate, powerful, and inspiring memoir by the former First Lady of the United States   #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * WATCH THE EMMY-NOMINATED NETFLIX ORIGINAL DOCUMENTARY * OPRAH'S BOOK CLUB PICK * NAACP IMAGE AWARD WINNER * ONE OF...
Frizzy
Ortega, Claribel A.
Winner of the 2023 Pura Belpré Award for Children's Text Winner of the 2023 Eisner for Best Publication for Kids October 2022 Indie Bestseller New York Times-bestselling author Claribel A. Ortega and star debut artist Rose Bousamra's Frizzy is about...
Barely floating
Rivera, Lilliam
A dazzling story full of heart about how one twelve-year-old channels her rage into synchronized swimming dreams from The Education of Margot Sanchez author Lilliam Rivera. Natalia De La Cruz Rivera y Santiago, also known as Nat, was swimming neighborhood kids out of their...
A Seed in the Sun
Salazar, Aida
**Four starred reviews!** A farm-working girl with big dreams meets activist Dolores Huerta and joins the 1965 protest for workers' rights in this tender-hearted novel in verse, perfect for fans of Rita Williams-Garcia and Pam Muñoz Ryan. Lula Viramontes aches to one...
You know, sex : bodies, gender, puberty, and other things!
Silverberg, Cory
A completely new approach to learning about puberty, sex, and gender for children 10+.
The last mapmaker
Soontornvat, Christina
A Newbery Honor Book A Walter Dean Myers Honor Book  From Christina Soontornvat, the visionary and versatile author of three Newbery Honor Books, comes a high-seas adventure set in a Thai-inspired fantasy world. In a fantasy adventure every bit as...
What happened to Rachel Riley?
Swinarski, Claire
ALA Notable Children's Book Regional Indie Bestseller Audie Award Winner Edgar Award Nominee Cybils Award Nominee YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults New York Public Library Best Book of the Year Chicago Public Library Best of...
Sir Callie and the champions of Helston
Symes-Smith, Esme
In a magical medieval world filled with dragons, shape-shifters, and witches, a twelve-year-old nonbinary hopeful knight battles for the heart of their kingdom. This USA Today bestselling series explores identity and gender amid sword fights and magic, and proves anyone can be a hero.
Harriet Tubman : toward freedom
Taylor, Whit
This illuminating graphic novel biography about Harriet Tubman sheds new light on one of American history's bravest heroes. ​Harriet Tubman did something exceptionally courageous: She escaped slavery. Then she did something impossible: She went back...
The rebellious life of Mrs. Rosa Parks
Theoharis, Jeanne
"Jeanne's book not only inspired the documentary but has been a catalyst in changing our national understanding of Rosa Parks. Highly recommend!"-Soledad O'Brien, executive producer of the Peabody Award-winning documentary The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks "A must...
Genesis begins again
Williams, Alicia
"Reminiscent of Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye." --The New York Times "One of the best books I have ever read...will live in the hearts of readers for the rest of their lives." --Colby Sharp, founder of Nerdy Book Club "An emotional, painful,...
Baseball's leading lady : Effa Manley and the rise and fall of the Negro Leagues
Williams, Andrea
For fans of Hidden Figures and Steve Sheinkin's Undefeated, Andrea Williams's Baseball's Leading Lady is the powerful true story of Effa Manley, the first and only woman inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Before Jackie Robinson broke Major...
Go with the flow
Williams, Lily
High school students embark on a crash course of friendship, female empowerment, and women's health issues in Lily Williams and Karen Schneemann's graphic novel Go With the Flow. Good friends help you go with the flow. Best friends help you start a...
Play like a girl : a graphic memoir
Wilson, Misty
Debut author Misty Wilson chronicles her seventh-grade experience as the only girl on her town's football team in this empowering graphic memoir about teamwork, friendship, crushes, and touchdowns. Misty never shies away from a challenge, on or off the field. So when the boys tell her she...
Star child : a biographical constellation of Octavia Estelle Butler
Zoboi, Ibi Aanu
A Coretta Scott King Author Honor Book A Walter Dean Myers Honor Book From the New York Times bestselling author and National Book Award finalist, a biography in verse and prose of science fiction visionary Octavia Butler, author of Parable of the Sower and...

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