The best girl power books 📚

Puck is the first female to enter her island’s annual “horse” race, a deadly event featuring ferocious and man-eating sea horses. If you can ride the beasts that come ashore to the island every November without being eaten or carried off to be drowned at sea (and then eaten) the monetary prize can make a huge difference in an economically poor area. 75% of Puck’s fight in this book is overcoming objections to entering the race with the last 25% being the race itself. 

Ms. Stiefvater’s writing is incredibly beautiful and as an added bonus I discovered we share our… show more.

This heartwarming novel is full of soccer, touching family dynamics, and girl power. It stars a feisty sixth-grader named Bea who has to adjust to a new house, a new school, a new blended family, and a new neighbor who’s gunning for her position on the soccer field. At first, Bea is determined to look out for herself and protect her turf, but then she and her neighbor team up to fight against sexism and form the first-ever all-girls squad. The team dynamics in this book will make any reader cheer. Soccer fans will love the on-field action, but this… show more.

Even before #MeToo this book resonated with me. A girl seemingly stripped of her power by sexual assault has to fight to find the courage to speak truth to power, to be believed, and to regain her voice. I purchased and read this book after certain conservative groups labeled it pornography, an accusation both shockingly wrong but tragically telling. If there is a book equivalent to Edvard Munch’s The Scream, Ms. Anderson’s is it. Her storytelling methods are as powerful as they are memorable.

Yanka is a strong character with a deep love of the forest. I could relate to how she felt a bit different and out of place in her village. It was inspiring to me how she faced all sorts of perils in the forest on her quest. She is brave and unique. When she returns from the forest, she finds her place in the village...as herself. This book reminds me we have unique gifts and characteristics we should be proud of and embrace, not hide away.