100 Must-Read YA Books for Feminists and Feminists-in-Training
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This post is sponsored by Girl in Disguise by Greer Macallister.
The streets of 1856 Chicago offer a desperate widow mostly trouble and ruin—unless that widow has a knack for manipulation and an unusually quick mind. In a bold move that no other woman has tried, Kate Warne convinces the legendary Allan Pinkerton to hire her as a detective.
Battling criminals and coworkers alike, Kate immerses herself in the dangerous life of an operative, winning the right to tackle some of the agency’s toughest investigations. But is the woman she’s becoming—capable of any and all lies, swapping identities like dresses—the true Kate? Or has the real disguise been the good girl she always thought she was?
There are a number of solid, worthwhile lists around the internet for readers seeking feminist books. We’ve done some here, and there are entire projects, like the annual Amelia Bloomer List, that round up the best of the best — a list that, if you don’t keep tabs on or build your TBR from, you absolutely should. This list, like those, seeks to highlight some of the best feminist books in YA. But this one goes a little broader: this round-up of 100 must-read books is a round-up of books for YA readers who are seeking to broaden their understanding of what feminism is. This won’t be entirely about “strong female characters.” This won’t be about those books that everyone puts on a list because the female-lead character does things that aren’t “traditionally feminine” — a trend that, for this feminist, is belittling to the wide range of human experiences that fall all along the gender spectrum, “traditional” or not. Sure, some of these books feature those kinds of characters, but this list isn’t about showing off the strongest, the boldest, or the most unfeminine. Rather, this list is about the broader issues feminists care about. It includes stories of class, of race, of sexuality, of gender, of belief, of mind and body wellness, and more. Many of these books might not be what you immediately think of when asked to come up with a feminist book; that’s a good thing. These are books that build upon the base knowledge of what feminism is: equality for all.
Included on this list are fiction titles, nonfiction titles, and comics which may themselves be fiction or nonfiction. Your favorite might not make the list. That author you love who always writes on feminist topics might not be included.
That’s okay.
This list is about being inclusive, being broad, and exposing budding and experienced feminists to the edges of feminism that can often go overlooked. In some cases, these books challenge traditional notions of feminism and/or might require reflection from the reader as to why it’s feminist or how to better think about certain issues as feminist and respond accordingly.
Grab your to-be-read list. Open up your library holds list. Pop open an online shopping cart. These books will be important to you, as well as the other feminists and to-be-feminists in your life.
There are more than 100 titles on this list, in part because I shamelessly included the book I’ve edited. Also note that some of these books are part of a longer series, too. All descriptions are from Amazon.
A Fierce and Subtle Poison by Samantha Mabry: In this stunning debut, legends collide with reality when a boy is swept into the magical, dangerous world of a girl filled with poison.
- A Mad, Wicked Folly by Sharon Biggs Waller: In Edwardian London, a girl dreams of being an artist, despite her family’s disapproval.
Beauty Queens by Libba Bray: The fifty contestants in the Miss Teen Dream Pageant thought this was going to be a fun trip to the beach, where they could parade in their state-appropriate costumes and compete in front of the cameras. But sadly, their airplane had another idea, crashing on a desert island and leaving the survivors stranded with little food, little water, and practically no eyeliner. What’s a beauty queen to do? Continue to practice for the talent portion of the program – or wrestle snakes to the ground? Get a perfect tan – or learn to run wild? And what should happen when the sexy pirates show up?
Crazy Horse’s Girlfriend by Erika T. Wurth: Margaritte is a sharp-tongued, drug-dealing, sixteen-year-old Native American floundering in a Colorado town crippled by poverty, unemployment, and drug abuse. She hates the burnout, futureless kids surrounding her and dreams that she and her unreliable new boyfriend can move far beyond the bright lights of Denver that float on the horizon before the daily suffocation of teen pregnancy eats her alive.
Gabi, A Girl in Pieces by Isabel Quintero: Gabi Hernandez chronicles her last year in high school in her diary: college applications, Cindy’s pregnancy, Sebastian’s coming out, the cute boys, her father’s meth habit, and the food she craves. And best of all, the poetry that helps forge her identity.
I Love, I Hate, I Miss My Sister by Amelie Sarn: [A] poignant story about two Muslim sisters is about love, loss, religion, forgiveness, women’s rights, and freedom.
Little & Lion by Brandy Colbert (August 8): When Suzette comes home to Los Angeles from her boarding school in New England, she isn’t sure if she’ll ever want to go back. L.A. is where her friends and family are (along with her crush, Emil). And her stepbrother, Lionel, who has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, needs her emotional support. But as she settles into her old life, Suzette finds herself falling for someone new…the same girl her brother is in love with. When Lionel’s disorder spirals out of control, Suzette is forced to confront her past mistakes and find a way to help her brother before he hurts himself–or worse.
Only Ever Yours by Louise O’Neill: Where women are created for the pleasure of men, beauty is the first duty of every girl. In Louise O’Neill’s world of Only Every Yours women are no longer born naturally, girls (called “eves”) are raised in Schools and trained in the arts of pleasing men until they come of age. freida and isabel are best friends. Now, aged sixteen and in their final year, they expect to be selected as companions–wives to powerful men. All they have to do is ensure they stay in the top ten beautiful girls in their year. The alternatives–life as a concubine, or a chastity (teaching endless generations of girls)–are too horrible to contemplate. But as the intensity of final year takes hold, the pressure to be perfect mounts. isabel starts to self-destruct, putting her beauty–her only asset–in peril. And then into this sealed female environment, the boys arrive, eager to choose a bride. freida must fight for her future–even if it means betraying the only friend, the only love, she has ever known.
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson: “Speak up for yourself–we want to know what you have to say.” From the first moment of her freshman year at Merryweather High, Melinda knows this is a big fat lie, part of the nonsense of high school. She is friendless, outcast, because she busted an end-of-summer party by calling the cops, so now nobody will talk to her, let alone listen to her. As time passes, she becomes increasingly isolated and practically stops talking altogether. Only her art class offers any solace, and it is through her work on an art project that she is finally able to face what really happened at that terrible party: she was raped by an upperclassman, a guy who still attends Merryweather and is still a threat to her. Her healing process has just begun when she has another violent encounter with him. But this time Melinda fights back, refuses to be silent, and thereby achieves a measure of vindication. In Laurie Halse Anderson’s powerful novel, an utterly believable heroine with a bitterly ironic voice delivers a blow to the hypocritical world of high school. She speaks for many a disenfranchised teenager while demonstrating the importance of speaking up for oneself.
The Education of Margot Sanchez by Lilliam Rivera: Pretty in Pink comes to the South Bronx in this bold and romantic coming-of-age novel about dysfunctional families, good and bad choices, and finding the courage to question everything you ever thought you wanted.
The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly by Stephanie Oakes: A hard-hitting and hopeful story about the dangers of blind faith—and the power of having faith in yourself.
This Land is Our Land by Linda Barrett Osborne: American attitudes toward immigrants are paradoxical. On the one hand, we see our country as a haven for the poor and oppressed; anyone, no matter his or her background, can find freedom here and achieve the “American Dream.” On the other hand, depending on prevailing economic conditions, fluctuating feelings about race and ethnicity, and fear of foreign political and labor agitation, we set boundaries and restrictions on who may come to this country and whether they may stay as citizens. This book explores the way government policy and popular responses to immigrant groups evolved throughout U.S. history, particularly between 1800 and 1965.
We Are The Ants by Shaun David Hutchinson: Henry Denton has spent years being periodically abducted by aliens. Then the aliens give him an ultimatum: The world will end in 144 days, and all Henry has to do to stop it is push a big red button. Only he isn’t sure he wants to. After all, life hasn’t been great for Henry. His mom is a struggling waitress held together by a thin layer of cigarette smoke. His brother is a jobless dropout who just knocked someone up. His grandmother is slowly losing herself to Alzheimer’s. And Henry is still dealing with the grief of his boyfriend’s suicide last year. Wiping the slate clean sounds like a pretty good choice to him. But Henry is a scientist first, and facing the question thoroughly and logically, he begins to look for pros and cons: in the bully who is his perpetual one-night stand, in the best friend who betrayed him, in the brilliant and mysterious boy who walked into the wrong class. Weighing the pain and the joy that surrounds him, Henry is left with the ultimate choice: push the button and save the planet and everyone on it…or let the world—and his pain—be destroyed forever.
