Trigger warning — this article contains information about abuse, sexual assault, grief and death.
Women’s History Month is a month when we get to celebrate women’s role in history. I read a lot of books written by women in general, but I’ve read many of them in March especially. I encourage you to go read a book written by your favorite female author or by a new one. There are tons of books you could choose from in honor of Women’s History Month, and I have compiled my top ten books written by and about women for you to read at your pleasure this month. These books are in no specific order because I love all these books and refuse to order them. There are books on this list from all different types of genres, so there’s something for everyone.
- Educated by Tara Westover
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Educated is the best memoir I’ve read. To be fair, I don’t read a lot of nonfiction, and this novel reads like a fiction book in my opinion. This novel gave me the motivation to continue pursuing my degree and schooling. Also, Westover’s journey is pretty incredible and highly entertaining.
- That summer by jennifer weiner
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I’ve read a few books by Weiner, and this is by far my favorite one. This story revolves around a sexual assault. The novel shows the aftermath of it and all the people it affected. It is really well written and one of my favorite novels of all time. I will say take care when you read this because it can be intense at some parts, and I had a hard time reading some of them.
- kindred by octavia e. butler
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I read this last semester for my feminisms, fugitivity and futurity class, and it was one of the best books I read last year. This novel falls under science fiction — which I also don’t read a ton of — but I enjoyed this book. Some of the topics can be hard to read, so take care when reading this.
- get a life chloe brown by talia hibbert
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A romance — it is one of my favorite romance books, and I read a ton of romances. This is the first book in a trilogy and features chronic illness representation. It also has a good amount of steam in it.
- legendborn by tracy deonn
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I believe this book falls under the young adult (YA) genre, and it got a decent amount of hype on BookTok. It’s a modern King Arthur retelling. This is the first book in the series, and the others have not come out yet. It’s so good, and anyone who is a fan of fantasy YA will love it.
- the handmaid’s tale by margaret atwood
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I love Margaret Atwood, and this is her most popular book for a good reason. This is a dystopian novel, and it’s scary — but not in the ghouls and monsters sort of way. Once again, this is one of my all-time favorite novels. It is a book I believe all women should read at least once in their lifetime.
- Shatter me by Tahereh Mafi
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I know this series got a lot of hype on BookTok for a bit, but in my opinion, it was well-deserved. One, I love Tahereh Mafi, and she is one of my favorite authors. Two, I love the storyline. This is also a YA fantasy story, and it follows a powerful female lead.
- salvage the bones by jesmyn ward
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This is another book I had to read for a class and ended up loving. I believe this novel just falls under fiction, and it’s very well written and also kind of makes your heart hurt throughout the novel.
- lovely war by julie berry
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This is probably my favorite book. Although it’s kind of cheating because the novel goes through different points of view and not all of them are of women, I decided to add it. This story is told through the narrations of Aphrodite, and it’s a love story that takes place in World War I. This falls under historical fiction and also fantasy. This novel is so beautifully written and made me sob like a baby — highly recommend.
- the seven husbands of evelyn hugo by taylor jenkins reid
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This book has gotten so much hype from everywhere, and it is for a great reason. This book made me sob at multiple different points. This is another romance and historical fiction story. Be warned — if you haven’t read it, this book will infuriate you and make you sad, but you’ll love it.
I hope this list helps you find something to read this month. Happy Women’s History Month!