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But the male characters are largely disappointments to the women, who wish they had actually earned the confidence they often exude; wish they were reliable and emotionally strong; and wish the men allowed The women frequently see the clear way but are usually powerless to effect change, so the men's missteps

Jessica Knoll's novel inspired by real-life events surrounding a serial killer in the 1970s, Bright Young Women 01 Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll Jessica Knoll's novel Bright Young Women is inspired by real-life But when the studious, responsible Pamela stays home from a party and investigates a strange noise in I'm reading Bright Young Women for my book club. 02 A Song to Drown Rivers by Ann Liang In Ann Liang's A Song to Drown Rivers , Xishi is a beautiful young woman who makes her village of Yue proud, for she

banter, and their in-progress stories as well as a new antagonist and a new potential hero who are both strong , fascinating young women. Meanwhile, two young women, a new antagonist and a new potential hero, trickle into the story until their

In Steve Cavanagh's twisty mystery Kill for Me, Kill for You , two strangers, women bearing the brunt Because the women aren't linked outside of an anonymous grief support group, and because their friendship Ruth, a young married woman living elsewhere in the city, is brutally attacked in her own home--and the

Blackgoose offers a fascinating, layered story about a strong-willed, whip-smart young Indigenous woman And everyone's about to find out how disruptive a whip-smart, open-minded, and strong-willed young woman

Bohjalian's newest book, Hour of the Witch, published earlier this month, takes place in 1662 Boston, where strong-willed women like main protagonist young Mary Deerfield--especially if they have not yet borne children--are Bohjalian traces infuriating injustices perpetuated against the female characters--who like the real-life women Bohjalian's protagonist Mary straddles the line between meek and mild helpmeet and spirited, strong woman every step of the way--even as I had to resort to deep breathing to read about all she endured as a woman

Xishi is a beautiful young woman who makes her village in the region of Yue proud, for she will almost This story ticked so many of my boxes--a strong, young, underestimated female; an important quest; forbidden The ending is fanciful and strange; the tone of the book doesn't seem to be leading to a too-convenient

I was looking for more assertiveness from Emmy and less of a dynamic in which men solve women's problems Luke Brooks is a local bar owner, a recognized womanizer, Emmy's brother's longtime best friend, and reinvigorated, independent new outlook--and I acknowledge that a rugged ranch setting might very well involve strong

In Jacqueline Harpman's novel I Who Have Never Known Men , forty women (one is a young girl, our main Male guards come and go, feeding the women minimal rations and never speaking. The women have no recollection of how they came to be in this place, and no information is forthcoming Then a blasting alarm sounds, the nearest guard drops his keys and flees, and the women scramble for The tone doesn't assure a satisfying set of answers as to why the women were chosen for this imprisonment

A good woman. How odd that the phrase has such a particular meaning. But there is only one way to be a good woman. finds herself shocking others and herself with her frank speech, her rejection of societal norms for women This is a feminist historical fiction story in which women--long kept quiet and still, supervised to that haunts, challenges, and pushes them to take the form of a beast, whose presence only the bravest women

bright points: some rare friendships emerge, sisters build intense loyalty to each other, girls and women find joy in secret reading and in books, women find strength and demand truth rather than secrecy, and thread throughout the book of the food, spices, and meals that create much of the structure of the women --but also many other real-life women in comparable situations--to write a new history, one in which For my full review of this book, please see A Woman Is No Man .

I loved the futuristic space-mission capabilities, smart and strong all-woman crew, the mystery and suspicion

When she sees an ad seeking for the first women scientists to join NASA’s space shuttle program, Joan becomes obsessed with being part of the 1980s training and with becoming one of the first women in space The women's fights to fully be part of a traditionally male-dominated field and the various ways in which I loved each time period and the evolution of each strong female character. famed, sought-after "boy player" in Shakespeare's company, and his roles skillfully playing lovely women

your alley, you might also like the books on the Greedy Reading List Six Great Stories about Brave Women in A Well-Behaved Woman , both in the surroundings and the rigid views of the period about women, marriage between what feels frivolous and what is Ava's meaningful growth, including her important role in the women Meanwhile, privileged Charlotte has her own secrets, and when both women's true situations begin to be (especially black women) in that time who were without men to protect them.

invincible--who has dropped out of sight and settled down to raise her young daughter alongside her strong-willed Amina soon finds herself entangled in a dangerous ocean quest to rescue a young woman, while fighting Bracken's story offered sassy banter that I loved, a great enemies-to-(not-quite)-lovers setup, a strong A friend's borrowed, rambling home becomes a refuge for unwed mothers and mothers-to-be, with the women on site treating Ursa as a goddess--and the children being horrifically neglected as the women enjoy

Knoll's novel was inspired by real events; Bright Young Women  traces a serial killer targeting young women and in the character of Pamela, offers a no-nonsense, brilliant nemesis who won't let up until Jessica Knoll's novel Bright Young Women  is inspired by real-life events: the targeting of a sorority I read Bright Young Women  for my book club. For my full review, check out Bright Young Women . 03 Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera Listen for the

my favorite elements: a Maine setting, a missing-person storyline, an unforgiving wilderness, and a strong woman succeeding in a male-dominated field. afar, Valerie, and Bev are inexorably connected, and Valerie's survival depends upon the other two women's I love a Maine setting, a missing-persons story, and a tale of brave women thriving in a traditionally Family Matter . 03 Trust by Hernan Diaz This story-within-a-story-within-a-story reveals a clever woman

Annis is a young Southern woman enslaved, sold, and abused in the years before the Civil War. Some scrabble for crying babies, rot-gutted women, soft-eyed men, shivering children clustered about compounded: she's separated from her mother, sold, and forced to begin walking in a trail of roped women Without her mother's protection--and inspiring tales of their warrior-woman ancestors--Annis is left powerful, and it is able to control storms, but its advice, based upon accounts of the histories of the women

I'm a huge Amy Bloom fan, and while I appreciated the strong main female character here and the World When she emigrates to New York City, she is befriended by two strong young sisters, Anne and Alma, and Gazala feels like a faded, only formerly strong character well before her actual demise.

where she struggles with imposter syndrome and individuality--and quickly befriends Mathilde, a young woman At the intersection of the women's lives comes a bizarre linking of their minds, possible because of trauma, and living in the present all become too complicated to parse as one being or the other, and the women

Kingfisher writes my favorite kind of fantasy novel: a wonderfully oddball main protagonist, a strange Her bodyguard is a surprisingly sympathetic strong, silent type (cue: simmering hints of romance with So when things start seeming eerily strange in the remote palace and the images she glimpses in the home's

Men and women pass by in the street, shadows that avert their gaze and adjust their paths. training and putting a roof over the heads of young boys who have no other options; and the poverty, strong

Sittenfeld's wonderful second short-story collection, we meet imperfect characters, often fortysomething women Throughout the book, characters, often middle-aged women, consider art, expression, love, respect, friendship I laughed out loud repeatedly while I was reading this charming memoir by this strong, funny woman. look at the music business, musical creativity and songwriting processes, and body-image pressures on women Are the strange coordinates she's receiving on her phone after seven years a message from Luke?

Tayari Jones's newest novel, Kin , about childhood friends and the diverging paths of two Southern women Vernice headed to Spelman College, befriending powerful young women, fighting inequality, and finding In the second book in the Head Cases series, Camden is back on the job--with two enormous, strange, urgent confidential informants, militias arming themselves with black-market guns, a serial killer, and missing women

Lepucki's strange, interesting time-travel novel centers around betrayal, broken hearts, second chances A friend's borrowed, rambling home becomes a refuge for unwed mothers and mothers-to-be, with the women on site treating Ursa as a goddess--and the children being horrifically neglected as the women enjoy Lepucki is also the author of the novels California, Woman Number 17, There's No Place Like Home, and

Girl, Woman, Other is a set of twelve interconnected stories about Black British women and their friendships The women in Evaristo's novel are concerned with sexuality, autonomy, race, artistic expression, tradition There's a layer of magical realism that's interspersed but coming on strong at the end, which makes the women and girls the authorities haven't been able to find. She travels the country tracking lost women, moving into communities with little more than a change of

use household items as weapons, use their feminine wiles to distract, and use assumptions about young women Deanna Raybourn's feisty Veronica Speedwell series of historical fiction mysteries, Veronica remains a strong

ICYMI: This series by Naomi Novik introduces vain, strong-willed, talking dragons, their complex, wonderfully “It seems very strange that the ocean is full of things that one can eat as one likes, and on land everything an unhatched dragon egg, Will finds himself in uncharted territory--and suddenly finds that he has a strange

Lawhon I loved the 1700s wintry Maine setting and the convictions of the historical fiction novel's strong I loved the details of life in the time period, as well as the unassuming women who show their true strength I love a story about a woman in the medical profession during an era when this was not the norm, and In Lawhon's story, Martha is also a strong-willed feminist who is set on fighting for the rights of the largely powerless women in her orbit.

young women split by time; Hour of the Witch, Chris Bohjalian's historical thriller with rich details of life in 1662 Boston, strong female characters, and an infuriating witch trial; Who Is Maud Dixon? The author has created two independent, defiant, appealingly strong young women split by time (and, secondarily traces infuriating injustices perpetuated against the book's female characters--who, like the real-life women threatens to break her, but she persists in trying to find her voice and finding a voice for other women

Sittenfeld's wonderful second short-story collection, we meet imperfect characters, often fortysomething women Rule" (which actually did not originate with him; it asserts that married men should not meet with women In another story, a white woman makes racial assumptions, is caught on camera, and faces the consequences Throughout the book, other characters, often middle-aged women, consider art, expression, love, respect

This story-within-a-story-within-a-story reveals a clever woman working within the 1920s confines of I was intrigued by the structure and by the peeks behind the curtains of a wealthy family and one woman's Throughout the book, brilliant women consistently must work against chauvinism and prejudice in order intriguing--particularly since the unorthodox approach to benefiting from it was driven by a genius of a woman

I laughed out loud repeatedly while I was reading this charming memoir by this strong, funny woman. Throughout the book, characters, often middle-aged women, consider art, expression, love, respect, friendship When she sees an ad seeking for the first women scientists to join NASA’s space shuttle program, Joan becomes obsessed with being part of the 1980s training and with becoming one of the first women in space The women's fights to fully be part of a traditionally male-dominated field and the various ways in which

Bridie is a strong female protagonist, and Things In Jars offers solid historical fiction details of Veronica to benefit from the author's own modern sensibilities in A Curious Beginning, but Veronica is a strong Abigail is clever, and her strong role in her partnership with the wonderfully odd Jackaby is satisfying Ji Lin speaks her mind and ruffles feathers even as she exploits assumptions about women, sexual attraction She doesn’t fit the mold of a typical woman from 1930s Malaysia nor that of the British colonists living

bright points: some rare friendships emerge, sisters build intense loyalty to each other, girls and women find joy in secret reading and in books, women find strength and demand truth rather than secrecy, and thread throughout the book of the food, spices, and meals that create much of the structure of the women --but also many other real-life women in comparable situations--to write a new history, one in which For my full review of this book, please see A Woman Is No Man .

I'm also fascinated by the optimistic explorer spirit--and I love reading about strong female characters in a time when the world around them didn't typically support women's strength and determination. Inland by Téa Obreht Much of Téa Obreht's Inland is centered around Nora, an impulsive, hot-tempered, strong woman fighting for a hardscrabble life for her family in a remote town during a devastating drought.

The novel flits between the stories of three women from disparate backgrounds, drastically different The quote at the start of this review references a conversation between a frightened young trans woman and a mentor of sorts; later in the novel the young woman realizes that the mention of "woodworking"

Tough women, secrets and smarts, and sneaky spying! Kate Quinn, the queen of historical fiction about women during wartime, recommends these titles that If you like stories about brave women during wartime, you might also like the books I listed on the Greedy Reading List Six Great Stories about Brave Women During World War II. I loved the strong female protagonists and seeing their fire and grit and growth.

January 27, courtesy of NetGalley and Bloomsbury ANZ. 02 The Secret Book Society by Madeline Martin The women But when three women, all strangers to each other, are invited to the reclusive, three-times-widowed But all of the women of the time have a great amount at stake: they could find themselves committed unvoluntarily A murder victim's DNA matches a long-dead serial killer, and a string of bodies hold clues that seem

referenced in Dominic Smith's novel title is a rare landscape by a female Dutch painter--the first woman These richly built elements form a backdrop to two women's linked journeys, separated by 300 years. I was totally taken in by the winding paths of the women's expectations and limitations, and by their

a character-driven story of the shocking, widespread, deadly West Virginia Mine Wars and thousands-strong What brings the book to life are versions of the real-life figures of Mother Jones (the elderly woman once called The Most Dangerous Woman in America) and the sharpshooter Sid Hatfield; and characters like

Please click here for my full review of Here One Moment . 05 Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll Knoll's novel was inspired by real events; Bright Young Women  traces a serial killer targeting young women Jessica Knoll's novel Bright Young Women  is inspired by real-life events: the targeting of a sorority I read Bright Young Women  for my book club. For my full review, check out Bright Young Women . 06 Buried Deep and Other Stories by Naomi Novik Novik

In the second book in the Head Cases series, Camden is back on the job--with two enormous, strange, urgent confidential informants, militias arming themselves with black-market guns, a serial killer, and missing women One of the mysteries is so strange and horrifying (and, seemingly, outlandish), I found myself physically

story rather than showing it, which kept me somewhat removed from its immediacy and from feeling a strong (One minor example: When Gette is a grown woman, she conveniently recalls a moment when she was a very

gritty underbelly of post-World War I London through the points of view of Diamond Annie, head of an all-woman In post-World War I London, female lawlessness in the form of the Forty Elephants gang of women, an offshoot the Elephant and Castle men's gang, butts up against law enforcement, which only recently includes women When the two aspiring women's bids for victory clash, traditional female roles and power structures are

Stories. 02 The Deep Sky by Yume Kitasei I loved the futuristic space-mission capabilities, smart and strong all-woman crew, the mystery and suspicion, and most of all the character-driven storyline in Kitasei's returns in all of her feisty, unconventional, clever glory, despite the significant constraints on women A Study in Scarlet Women is the first book in Sherry Thomas's gender-flipped Sherlock Holmes mystery Veronica and Stoker; the allusions to each of their complicated pasts; their hilarious banter; and their strong-willed

invincible--who has dropped out of sight and settled down to raise her young daughter alongside her strong-willed Amina soon finds herself entangled in a dangerous ocean quest to rescue a young woman, while fighting “Men find it easier to believe they have been swindled by a witch than outwitted by a woman.” the help of certain trusted shipmates from long ago, and while Amina once thought of herself as a one-woman

Odd or unwelcome events are ascribed to dark forces, and dangerous rumors begin to swirl around women The most socially powerless women--widows, unmarried women, and fatherless girls--are most exposed to Many of these women are appealingly headstrong and willful despite their treacherous situations. Rebecca despairs at her situation, yet she is a wonderfully defiant and strong character--her mother The women are all trapped in a system that's crushing for females.

This is Ava Robinson's first novel. 03 I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman Forty women ( Male guards come and go, feeding the women minimal rations and never speaking. The women have no recollection of how they came to be in this place, and no information is forthcoming Then a blasting alarm sounds, the nearest guard drops his keys, and the women scramble for an escape Harpman's slim novel is mysterious, eerie, and strange.

Kingfisher writes my favorite kind of fantasy novel: a wonderfully oddball main protagonist, a strange Jen Hatmaker, who was married before she could legally have a drink and who built her identity as a woman Collum is an instinctually gifted, strong knight who has literally fought for sword training as a lowly The full roster of knights--and the women who hold important roles in the tale--are all misfits who don't