Looking for a book for the weekend? Consider one of these titles selected for Women’s History Month. You don’t have to be a teen to enjoy these Young Adult books!

Nonfiction: History doesn’t have to be dry or boring, as these books prove

Pure Grit: How American World War II Nurses Survived Battle and Prison Camp in the Pacific by Mary Cronk Farrell.
The incredible story of 101 Army and Navy nurses in the Philippines who struggled together through horrific conditions of invasion and captivity. Even more amazing, all 101 made it home alive.

Wheels of Change: How Women Rode the Bicycle to Freedom (With a Few Flat Tires Along the Way) by Sue Macy.
Who knew that the bicycle played such an important role in the women’s liberation movement? From simple access to transportation to changes in restrictive clothing styles, the bicycle transformed women’s lives. The history of the bicycle is women’s history, too.

Women in Pants: Manly Maidens, Cowgirls, and Other Renegades by Catherine Smith and Cynthia Greig.
This book uses vintage photographs to document women who defied society’s norms by openly wearing trousers. Whether out of necessity, as an act of defiance, or just for fun, the women challenged the conventions of their time.

Fiction: Stories of amazing young women, blazing their own trails

Audacity by Melanie Crowder.
Historical fiction, based on the real-life story of Clara Lemlich. Lemlich was an amazing woman who was a tireless voice for women’s rights and fair labor practices in the early twentieth century, especially in the garment industry in New York. Her activism paved the way for new opportunities for women. The free verse format makes this both a quick and compelling read.

Graceling by Kristin Cashore.
Katsa refuses to let her uncle, the king, force her to use her special abilities, her Grace, for intimidation and assassination. Instead, she searches for a way to use that talent to improve her world.   Along the way, she’ll gain the friendship of Prince Po, whose Grace is combat skills, discover the truth about her own Grace, and uncover a terrible secret.

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas.
You don’t get a much stronger heroine that Celaena, the most notorious assassin in the kingdom who becomes the Prince’s Champion, rescued from a notorious prison camp to take part in a deadly competition to become the new royal assassin.

 

For more great Young Adult books, both nonfiction and fiction, celebrating women’s history month, check out the JMRL Goodreads Shelf: Women’s History Month – teens