I was asked, recently, to make a ninety-second video illustrating my love of books, and as I wracked my brain trying to figure out how to squeeze my entire love of books into ninety seconds, I started reflecting on the books that really shaped my when I was a kid and all the way through college. And you know what I realized? The vast majority of them were written by women.
I mean, that shouldn’t have been a surprise, but for some reason, it hadn’t occurred to me before just how powerful women’s voices have been in shaping me as a reader, a writer, and a human being.
The full list could be hundreds long, but here are a few of the highlights.
Beverly Cleary
I started reading Beverly Cleary’s books around second or third grade—just as being a kid started to feel kind of hard. Ramona, Henry, Beezus, and the gang taught me how to get along with my friends, my classmates, and my teachers. But most importantly, Beezus and Ramona were the first of many literary siblings who taught me how to be a good big sister.
Libba Bray
My first experience with Libba Bray was A Great and Terrible Beauty. This book taught me the power of female friendships, but it taught me a lot about character development, too. This was the first book in which I was really cognizant of the protagonist’s growth, watching Gemma go from a bit of a spoiled brat to a vulnerable, kind, and fiercely loyal friend.
Charlotte Bronte
Charlotte Bronte—and specifically Jane Eyre—have taught me that perspectives can change. This book meant something very different to me when I was fifteen than it did when I read it at twenty, and something different again when I read it at twenty-five. (Most notably, Mr. Rochester gets worse and worse with every reading.) For me, the experience of reading Jane Eyre is a constant reminder that something that hits you one way the first time may seem completely different later, and if we’re open to changing our minds and our perspectives, we can see difficult situations in much more complex and nuanced ways.
Sarah Dessen
From the time I was about ten to just this past year, Sarah Dessen’s books have been speaking to me in different but equally powerful ways, depending on what’s happening in my life each time a new one comes out. But they’ve consistently taught me how to honor my past, turn old hurts into strength, and be vulnerable.
Julia Alvarez
I read In the Time of the Butterflies when I was fifteen, and the Mirabal sisters’ fight against Trujillo not only gave me a little perspective on any perceived injustices in my own life, but it also taught me that, when something isn’t right, we have the power—and the responsibility—to try to fix it.
Kathryn Stockett
The Help was an incredible book for so many reasons, but what impacted me the most was my experience reading it. The year that book came out, I was a counselor at the summer camp I’d attended as a kid. I brought it along to read during rest hour and free time, and quickly realized that half the seventh-grade girls in my cabin had, too. Before I knew it, I was hosting an underground book club on my bunk bed during what was supposed to be a silent rest hour. As rising seventh graders, these girls were going through a lot, and some coped by acting like Queen Bees while others were so shy they’d hardly speak. But when these girls piled onto my bed to talk about their favorite characters and scenes and moments in The Help, all that changed. The Queen Bees brought a new level of empathy to our book club, and the shy girls had a new light in their eyes and a confidence I hadn’t seen from them in their everyday activities.
These moments and these authors, among many, many others, showed me the true power books—and particularly books by women—can have to help us understand what’s going on in our lives, figure out who we are, and discover who we want to become. Which women authors have had an impact on your life?