In Her Words: Women’s Fiction Highlights

Updated February 26, 2023
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Agnes Grey
BrontďĹ˝e, Anne
Paper Book
Drawing directly on her own unhappy experiences, Anne Bront e's first-person narrative describes the almost unbelievable pressures endured by nineteenth-century governesses - the isolation, the frustration, and the insensitive and sometimes cruel treatment meted out by employers and their families.
Circe
Miller, Madeline
Paper Book
When I was born, the name for what I was did not exist. Circe is the daughter of Helios, the sun god, and Perse, a beautiful naiad. Yet from the moment of her birth, she is an outsider in her father 's halls, where the laughter of gossiping gods resounds. Named after a hawk...
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...
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...
The bell jar
Plath, Sylvia.
Paper Book
A Special Hardcover Edition to Commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Publication of Sylvia Plath's Remarkable Novel "It is this perfectly wrought prose and the freshness of Plath's voice in The Bell Jar that make this book enduring in its appeal." -- USA Today ...
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...
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...
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...
Ship of destiny
Hobb, Robin.
Paper Book
Hobb brings the epic tale of the Liveship Traders--begun in Ship of Magic and Mad Ship--to its triumphant conclusion. It is a world in dire straits: Bingtown is in flames, victim of the growing war with Chalced. Althea and Brashen, aboard the Paragon, are finding their blinded Liveship increasingly...
The Women Could Fly
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...
Vox
Dalcher, Christina
Paper Book
ONE OF ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY'S AND SHEREADS' BOOKS TO READ AFTER THE HANDMAID'S TALE "[An] electrifying debut."--O, The Oprah Magazine * "The real-life parallels will make you shiver."--Cosmopolitan Set in a United States in which half the population...
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.   ...
Girl, woman, other
Evaristo, Bernardine
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER WINNER OF THE BOOKER PRIZE "A must-read about modern Britain and womanhood . . . An impressive, fierce novel about the lives of black British families, their struggles, pains, laughter, longings and loves . . . Her style is passionate, razor-sharp, brimming with...
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...
Hag-seed : The tempest retold
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...
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...
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...
Mrs. Dalloway
Woolf, Virginia
Paper Book
Direct and vivid in its telling of the details of a day in the life of Clarissa Dalloway, the novel manages ultimately to deliver much more. It is the feelings that loom behind those daily events--the social alliances, the shopkeeper's exchange, the fact of death--that give Mrs. Dalloway texture and...
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...
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...
Spinning silver
Novik, Naomi
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * "One of the year's strongest fantasy novels" (NPR), an imaginative retelling of the Rumpelstiltskin fairy tale from the bestselling author of Uprooted.NEBULA AND HUGO AWARD FINALIST * NAMED ONE OF PASTE'S...
The case of the bizarre bouquets : an Enola Holmes mystery
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! Everyone knows Dr....
The case of the cryptic crinoline
Springer, Nancy.
Paper Book
Enola#65533;s landlady, Mrs. Tupper, is the closest thing Enola has to family these days, besides her occasional run-ins with her brother Sherlock. Even though Mrs. Tupper is nearly deaf and can barely cook, she#65533;s an endearing presence as Enola longs for her absent mother. So imagine her...
The color purple
Walker, Alice
Paper Book
A PBS Great American Read Top 100 Pick Winner of the Pulitzer Prize * Winner of the National Book Award   Published to unprecedented acclaim,The Color Purple established Alice Walker as a major voice in...
The dictionary of lost words : a novel
Williams, Pip
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK * "Delightful . . . [a] captivating and slyly subversive fictional paean to the real women whose work on the Oxford English Dictionary went largely unheralded."--The New York Times Book Review "A marvelous...
The End of Men
Sweeney-Baird, Christina.
Paper Book
"The End of Men is a fiercely intelligent page-turner, an eerily prescient novel, at once thoughtful and highly emotive." --Paula Hawkins, #1 internationally bestselling author of The Girl on the Train Set in a world where a virus stalks our male population, The End...
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...
The handmaid's tale
Atwood, Margaret
Paper Book
Now a Hulu series starring Elizabeth Moss. The Handmaid's Tale is an instant classic and eerily prescient cultural phenomenon, from "the patron saint of feminist dystopian fiction" (New York Times) The Handmaid's Tale is a novel of such power that the reader will be unable to forget its...
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...
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
Penelope's slyly brilliant side of the story, from the Booker Prize-winning author of The Blind Assassin and The Handmaid's Tale.
Daughter of the forest
Marillier, Juliet.
Paper Book
Juliet Marillier is a rare talent, a writer who can imbue her characters and her story with such warmth, such heart, that no reader can come away from her work untouched. "Daughter of the Forest" is a testimony to that talent, a first novel and the beginning of a trilogy like no other: a mixture of...
Violeta
Allende, Isabel.
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * This sweeping novel from the author of A Long Petal of the Sea tells the epic story of Violeta Del Valle, a woman whose life spans one hundred years and bears witness to the greatest upheavals of the twentieth century. "An immersive saga...
Ines of my soul
Allende, Isabel.
Paper Book
A passionate tale of love, freedom, and conquest from the New York Times bestselling author of The House of the Spirits, Isabel Allende. Born into a poor family in Spain, Inés Suárez, finds herself condemned to a life of poverty without opportunity as a lowly seamstress. But it's the...
Island beneath the sea : a novel
Allende, Isabel.
Paper Book
"Allende is a master storyteller at the peak of her powers." -- Los Angeles Times From the sugar plantations of Saint-Domingue to the lavish parlors of New Orleans at the turn of the 19th century, the latest novel from New York Times bestselling author Isabel Allende (Inés of...
Women Talking
Toews, Miriam.
Paper Book
The internationally bestselling novel based on real events. Now a major motion picture from writer/director Sarah Polley, starring Rooney Mara, Claire Foy, Jessie Buckley, with Ben Whishaw and Frances McDormand. "This amazing, sad, shocking, but touching novel, based on a real...
Liberation
Kealey, Darby.
Paper Book
Inspired by the true story of World War II's greatest heroine, this international bestseller and "cinematic treat" tells the story of Nancy Wake and the impact she had on the world (Publishers Weekly). Hero. Soldier. Spy. Leader. Her name is Nancy Wake. ...
Uprooted
Novik, Naomi
Ebook
NEBULA AWARD WINNER * HUGO AWARD FINALIST * "If you want a fantasy with strong characters and brilliantly original variations on ancient stories, try Uprooted!"--Rick Riordan   "Breathtaking . . . a tale that is both elegantly grand and earthily humble, familiar as...
The Underground Railroad (Oprah's Book Club).
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...
The testaments
Atwood, Margaret
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * 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...
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...
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 case of the left-handed lady
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! Enola Holmes is...
Her body and other parties : stories
Machado, Carmen Maria
Audiobook
In Her Body and Other Parties, Carmen Maria Machado blithely demolishes the arbitrary borders between psychological realism and science fiction, comedy and horror, fantasy and fabulism. While her work has earned her comparisons to Karen Russell and Kelly Link, she has a voice that is all her own. In...
The secret of excalibur
McDermott, Andy.
Audiobook
A LEGENDARY WEAPON.A RUTHLESS ASSASSIN.A PERILOUS HUNT. Excalibur. Legend has it that he who carries King Arthur's mighty sword into battle will be invincible. But for more than a thousand years, the secret to the whereabouts of this powerful weapon has been lost...until now.Archaeologist Nina Wilde...

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