Reviews by Category: Women's Fiction

Staff Review
The back of Helen of Troy with a short sword hanging off of her belt

Nobody's Princess

By Esther M. Friesner
Star Rating
★★★★

Rated by Anne G
Jun 26, 2023

Nobody's Princess is a great historical fiction story about Helen of Troy. It does not support history but tells a mythological fiction story about her based on what we know. This was such a great girls disguised as boys themed book. I am looking forward to reading the sequel about our main woman of steel Helen. It is a very good book but it drops off at the end so you need the sequel about Helen's adventures in the Mediterranean Region.

Teen Review
Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado

Her Body and Other Parties

By Carmen Maria Machado
Star Rating
★★★★

Rated by
Lisa J.
Oct 1, 2021

In this collection of eight short stories, author Carmen Maria Machado explores the lives of women through a journey into psychological realism, fantasy, horror, and more. In “The Husband Stitch”, a husband attempts to remove the green ribbon tied around his wife’s neck — her only secret. In “The Resident”, a writer has trouble reckoning with her childhood trauma while vacationing in isolation at an artists’ retreat. In “Especially Heinous”, the show Law and Order: SVU is reimagined with doppelgängers, insanity, and the ghosts of raped and murdered girls.

Teen Review
Circe by Madeline Miller

Circe

By Madeline Miller
Star Rating
★★★★★

Rated by
Ava P.
Aug 29, 2021

Circe by Madeline Miller is an epic that follows the trials and triumphs of the Witch of Aiaia and Daughter of Helios, Circe. Written from Circe’s perspective in the form of a flashback, the novel begins with Circe’s birth into an immortal family, one with which despises her and with which she doesn’t fit into. After discovering her talent for Pharmakeia--or witchcraft--and using it to transform her mortal love interest and a fellow nymph into different forms, Zeus and Helios exile Circe to the island of Aiaia.

Teen Review
Cover photo of the book Wench

Wench

By Maxine Kaplan
Star Rating
★★★

Rated by
Grace L.
Nov 23, 2020

Wench was a promising title that ultimately fell short for me. I loved the idea of following a tavern wench as she tried to get back her tavern and found it was really interesting. I was also pleasantly surprised by the role magic played in the story. However, the book ultimately failed to please me. Tanya was the only character who had a real arc. Other characters felt unimportant and under-developed. They had very little backstory and served no purpose beyond helping Tanya. They didn’t feel like real people.

Teen Review
Girls Like Us by Randi Pink

Girls Like Us

By Randi Pink

Rated by
Molly J from BV YA Lit Council
Jul 24, 2020

As a teen invested in equal rights, I really enjoyed this book. I didn't know much history about this topic and because of that the most compelling aspect of the book is how it provided a new perspective. Lots of other teens like me will find this book informative and inspiring, and that is what makes it awesome. I also love books that have multiple POVs and make each person’s story come together in the end, and this book did a really good job with that. I think publishing novels like this one is really important to the current generation.

Teen Review

Glory O'Brien's History of the Future

By A.S. King
Star Rating
★★★★★

Rated by
Aroog from Blue Valley YAAC
Apr 21, 2015

Glory O'Brien is graduating high school with no idea of where her life is going to go, because she's afraid she'll follow in her mother's steps and commit suicide. One night, Glory drinks a petrified bat and begins to see things--horrible visions of a future in which America is torn in two, and women's rights are shattered to bits. As Glory races to record her visions, she ends up uncovering secrets of her family's past and finding her own (albeit twisted) purpose.

Staff Review

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks

By E. Lockhart
Star Rating
★★★★

Rated by Kate M.
Dec 17, 2008

Are you looking for a good read this holiday season? The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart is my new favorite. Frankie follows in her father's footsteps by attending the elite Alabaster boarding school. Her freshman year was relatively uneventful. With the help of her older sister she has managed to make a good group of friends that are slightly nerdy but still somewhat popular. At the begining of her Sophomore year Frankie is pining once more for the handsome Mathew Livingston.

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