Happy Women’s Day! In Romania, the beginning of Spring (first week of March) is a celebration of women and motherhood, and on the 8th of March we join the international party and celebrate Women’s & Mothers’ Day.
For this occasion I put together a list of amazing women from fiction books. Fighters and scientists, mothers and carers, these women shaped the imaginary worlds from which they come from. Happy 8th of March! π
Β§ Kya from Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
Where the Crawdads Sing illustrates the journey of Kya, a girl who grows up isolated in a marsh and becomes a self-educated biologist. Kya also fights for her freedom against all odds, confronting violence and biases of the community (my review).

Β§ Alicia from The Labyrinth of the Spirits by Carlos Ruiz ZafΓ³n
Alicia – an unofficial detective – is a fierce woman who fights for uncovering the truth. She is also determined to not let her physical disability interfere with her challenging and dangerous job. Oh, and she’s also a very charming women! (my review of the series)

Β§ Gifty from Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi
Gifty is a 28-year-old neuroscientist who studies reward-seeking behaviour in order to find a cure for addictions. She is also faced with challenging situations in her personal life – from family members affected by mental issues to difficult cultural adaptation after immigration from Ghana to the USA (my review).

Β§ April from An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green
Faced with an extraordinary situation, April becomes famous overnight. As she learns to deal with international media spotlight, April fights divisiveness, hatred and violence for the cause of the Carls (my review).

Β§ Tao from The History of Bees by Maja Lunde
Tao is a strong mother who sets out on a Kafkaesque journey when her young son is taken by the authorities after a weird accident. She fights the system and does not give up until finding the answer to her questions (my review).

Β§ Aster from The Shadow King by Maaza Mengiste
Wife of an important officer of the Ethiopian army, Aster leads the local women on the battle field. She is the illustration of the overlooked contribution of women soldiers in the Italian – Ethiopian conflict β the women who did not only care for the wounded, but also fought alongside men (my review).

Β§ Jane Doe from The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa
The unnamed female narrator from The Memory Police is a courageous and witty woman. In a world where goods are scarce, memories are disappearing, and remembering is a sin, the Jane Doe of the story fights to protect her loved ones.

Β§ Aunt Lydia from The Testaments by Margaret Atwood
Aunt Lydia is one of a kind. As one of the Founders of Gilead, she is deeply rooted in the totalitarian system, thus in the best position to bring the system down. In The Testaments, Aunt Lydia shares her story and what it meant for her to be the most powerful woman of Gilead (my review).

What are your favourite female characters from fiction books?
‘Till next time … happy reading and happy celebration of spring!
Georgiana
Cover photo by Aziz Acharki on Unsplash
What a great list of recommendations. I haven’t read any of these! So much to add to my TBR pile!
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Thanks a lot! These are all wonderful stories, I hope you enjoy them! π
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I am currently reading Oryx and Crake and Atwood’s writing is amazing! The subject matter is not the happiest but the writing makes it worth it. I so want to read The Testaments but for some reason I cannot make myself read The Handmaids Tale, it is just too terrifying a concept!
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Oryx and Crake is so interesting!! I’m curious what you’ll think of the ending π
I want to read also the other 2 books of the trilogy – The Year of the Flood and MaddAddam.
Regarding The Handmaid’s Tale, I know there’s also a TV series that is quite good – maybe you would like to try that one? And then read The Testaments! π
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Great idea!
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Absolutely loved that you mentioned Aunt Lydia, I would have never thought of her for this question. I loved reading more about her life in The Testaments π
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Thank you! I also enjoyed so much reading about her life and her real thoughts in The Testaments. It was such a big contrast compared to how Aunt Lydia was portrayed in the Handmaid’s Tale!
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Exactly! I didn’t really see it coming to be honest…
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Me neither!! When I started reading The Testaments I had no idea what the story was about, somehow I managed to keep myself away from blurbs and spoilers. And it was totally worth it, I loved the book so much!!
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Me too! I was quite dubious about it because I’d heard a lot of mixed reviews but I really enjoyed it in the end π
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What a wonderful list! And it reminded me that I probably haven’t read The Labyrinth of the Spirits yet :p
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Thank you so much!
The Labyrinth of the Spirits is amazing, especially if you read the other books of the series as well π It is a beautiful closure of the story, I do hope you’ll enjoy it!!
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Great post and a great list.
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Thank you so much!
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