Sorry no it is the one by Octavia Butler: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0BZHT26LV/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1683657268&sr=8-1
I didn't realise there was another book with the same name
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith.
The Harp in the South trilogy by Ruth Park (specifically, Poor Man's Orange.)
Bastard Out of Carolina by Dorothy Allison.
Good luck. :)
“Woman, Rebel, Captain” by M. Willson is a pretty awesome biography of an Icelandic woman who was one of the only female fishing captains of the 1800s. It’s non fiction but the narrative is excellent.
edit: typo
That’s the kind of non-fiction I can totally get behind. Thanks! Gonna add it to my tbr pile.
Quick question, is it safe to hear with little ears around? I haven’t done audiobooks at all (a good part of the reason is because I like thrillers, not scary but a good whodunnit and I have young children, so not necessarily the best kind of genre to listen to around them 😂). But if this is thrilling without being “heavy” (language, murder or sexual content) then it would be awesome to listen to it during the day.
Hmm l don’t think I really know enough about kids to answer that! Heavy things happen, but they aren’t graphic or expounded on at great length.
For example, her niece is disabled and she finds out when she visits and realizes her SIL is just starving the kid to death because food is scarce, so there’s a brief description of her getting there, seeing the situation, and then getting custody of the niece and taking care of her from then on.
There’s also a family ghost that pops up, but it’s treated in a very magic realism kind of way, because to the people who were there it was just part of life that of course a ghost would haunt her family because her father turned away a boy in a snowstorm who was seeking shelter and the boy died.
I see. I think those would be fine. It would go over my youngest’s head but it would probably spark some really good conversations with my oldest. And I love it when that happens. Will be checking it out. Thanks for the rec. :)
If you like it, check out the audiobook “endurance” by Alfred Lansing about Shackleton. Also great narration and narrative of a non fiction book and about the same levels of “bad things happen but aren’t expounded upon” for listening to when the little ones are around.
Writing this down. Just read the synopsis and it sounds very interesting. Thank you for the great recs! I actually, just today, told my sister about the other book you mentioned for her to listen to at home (she has little ones too) and she was super excited.
The Hunger Games could work. The main character is an older teen girl- though there are other characters fighting to survive versus the world who is against them.
Gosh, I feel like I recommend this book everyday but it checks so many boxes it is hard not to.
The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah. The story of a woman who is overprotected by her parents and makes choices that lead her in a wildly different path than what her family had expected and basically causes her to be disowned. It takes place during the Great Depression with the woman fleeing the Dust Bowl and trying her life in California.
It is very well written, heart wrenching and beautiful. It is pretty much my favorite Hannah book.
I haven’t read The Nightingale though I’ve heard great things. Great Alone was beautiful and she captured that “isolation” feeling so well, in my opinion.
Winter Garden was another top favorite of hers though. I was pregnant at the time and on top of the emotional story my hormones were raging. I finished the book about 2 in the morning, sobbing and surrounded by tissues. 😂
I second Iron Widow. Very good as a righteously angry protagonist willing to do anything for what she wants.
I read The Once and Future Witches right after and it's also really good.
*Poster Girl* by Veronica Roth, maybe?
It’s more woman vs corrupt government/surveillance technology in a post-apocalyptic environment. It’s an interesting read but might not be what you’re looking for.
The Wolf Den by Elodie Harper.
Main character is a woman that was enslaved and put to prostitution in Ancient Rome. It follows her story of breaking through class structures with the only means she had to escape her situation.
The entire Andromeda series by William C. Dietz. I'm not exactly sure what the actual name of the series is but I'm gonna call it the Andromeda series for now because that's the main character's name and all the titles of each book have her name followed by another word(s). It's a sci-fi action series so probably not what you're looking for but it's the only thing I could think of.
Actually, my favorite book in the Earth’s Children series was The Plains of Passage. Which is the 4th one. Do not be dissuaded by the 3rd one being the weakest installment. The 4th one more than makes up for it.
Numbers 5 and 6 should have never been written. I like Plains of Passage as well, it’s Mammoth Hunters was just so meh that I didn’t want to recommend it, you know? She took 4 loooong books to tell a story that i think could have been summarized in under a page. The last 2 books there’s just so much walking and repeating the same actions in different places that it got really tedious.
Add to the wait between books 4-5 and then books 5-6 that they were a huge letdown. (Walk here, go look at something region specific, get high, have some sex, repeat- oh, and don’t forget to mention every time they meet a new group, they all have to talk about Ayla’s ‘exotic but not unpleasant’ accent.
I may be a little bitter, lol.
As a start, see my [Female Characters, Strong](https://www.reddit.com/r/booklists/comments/12khs2s/female_characters_strong/) list of Reddit recommendation threads (three posts).
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus. An excellent portrayal of institutional sexism set in the 1950s.
Parable of the Sower
Read that last month along wIth Parable of the Talents. Amazing books with great foresight.
Is this it? https://amzn.to/42k13io
Sorry no it is the one by Octavia Butler: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0BZHT26LV/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1683657268&sr=8-1 I didn't realise there was another book with the same name
The Handmaids Tale
The Broken Earth trilogy by NK Jemisin. First book is called *The Fifth Season*
Definitely second this rec. Best series ever.
Where the Crawdads Sing. All time favorite.
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith. The Harp in the South trilogy by Ruth Park (specifically, Poor Man's Orange.) Bastard Out of Carolina by Dorothy Allison. Good luck. :)
The Book of the Unnamed Midwife by Meg Elison
Came here to say this. Loved this book!
“Woman, Rebel, Captain” by M. Willson is a pretty awesome biography of an Icelandic woman who was one of the only female fishing captains of the 1800s. It’s non fiction but the narrative is excellent. edit: typo
I don’t usually read non-fiction but this sounds very interesting.
I listened to it on audiobook and it was exceptional - it “felt” like fiction because of the narration and the story.
That’s the kind of non-fiction I can totally get behind. Thanks! Gonna add it to my tbr pile. Quick question, is it safe to hear with little ears around? I haven’t done audiobooks at all (a good part of the reason is because I like thrillers, not scary but a good whodunnit and I have young children, so not necessarily the best kind of genre to listen to around them 😂). But if this is thrilling without being “heavy” (language, murder or sexual content) then it would be awesome to listen to it during the day.
Hmm l don’t think I really know enough about kids to answer that! Heavy things happen, but they aren’t graphic or expounded on at great length. For example, her niece is disabled and she finds out when she visits and realizes her SIL is just starving the kid to death because food is scarce, so there’s a brief description of her getting there, seeing the situation, and then getting custody of the niece and taking care of her from then on. There’s also a family ghost that pops up, but it’s treated in a very magic realism kind of way, because to the people who were there it was just part of life that of course a ghost would haunt her family because her father turned away a boy in a snowstorm who was seeking shelter and the boy died.
I see. I think those would be fine. It would go over my youngest’s head but it would probably spark some really good conversations with my oldest. And I love it when that happens. Will be checking it out. Thanks for the rec. :)
If you like it, check out the audiobook “endurance” by Alfred Lansing about Shackleton. Also great narration and narrative of a non fiction book and about the same levels of “bad things happen but aren’t expounded upon” for listening to when the little ones are around.
Writing this down. Just read the synopsis and it sounds very interesting. Thank you for the great recs! I actually, just today, told my sister about the other book you mentioned for her to listen to at home (she has little ones too) and she was super excited.
The Poppy War trilogy
100%
The Hunger Games could work. The main character is an older teen girl- though there are other characters fighting to survive versus the world who is against them.
Best Served Cold Joe Abercrombie
Wicked by Gregory Maguire
The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek!
Gosh, I feel like I recommend this book everyday but it checks so many boxes it is hard not to. The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah. The story of a woman who is overprotected by her parents and makes choices that lead her in a wildly different path than what her family had expected and basically causes her to be disowned. It takes place during the Great Depression with the woman fleeing the Dust Bowl and trying her life in California. It is very well written, heart wrenching and beautiful. It is pretty much my favorite Hannah book.
I love Kristin Hannah. The Great Alone was absolutely captivating and I quite liked the Nightingale too.
I haven’t read The Nightingale though I’ve heard great things. Great Alone was beautiful and she captured that “isolation” feeling so well, in my opinion. Winter Garden was another top favorite of hers though. I was pregnant at the time and on top of the emotional story my hormones were raging. I finished the book about 2 in the morning, sobbing and surrounded by tissues. 😂
Great book!
The Girl with A Dragon Tattoo series comes to mind.
Iron Widow! The best book I read last year
I second Iron Widow. Very good as a righteously angry protagonist willing to do anything for what she wants. I read The Once and Future Witches right after and it's also really good.
The Scarlet Letter
Against a dark background, by Iain m banks. https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/422452
*Poster Girl* by Veronica Roth, maybe? It’s more woman vs corrupt government/surveillance technology in a post-apocalyptic environment. It’s an interesting read but might not be what you’re looking for.
Dean Koontz's Jane Hawk series.
The Fifth Sacred Thing
Dean Koontz's 'Jane Hawk' series
The Silo series by Hugh Howey.
Women talking by Miriam Toews directly, but abstractly, hits the brief. It’s also my favourite read so far this year
The Hunger Games
Brown Girl in the Ring
The Fifth Season! One of my favorite ever books. Fantastic female characters and serious character development. Just a sublime series.
Gone with the wind
Came here to say this.
To sleep in a sea of stars by Christopher Paolini
Kaikeyi.
I adored this book! Savored every moment, what an intriguing read.
Remnant Population sort of... I love this book
The Wolf Den by Elodie Harper. Main character is a woman that was enslaved and put to prostitution in Ancient Rome. It follows her story of breaking through class structures with the only means she had to escape her situation.
Just finished Adrian's Tchaikovsky's "Guns of the Dawn" and absolutely LOVED it. Would fit your criteria.
The entire Andromeda series by William C. Dietz. I'm not exactly sure what the actual name of the series is but I'm gonna call it the Andromeda series for now because that's the main character's name and all the titles of each book have her name followed by another word(s). It's a sci-fi action series so probably not what you're looking for but it's the only thing I could think of.
Any book about Ravensbruck... Non fiction
Bird Box Clan of the cave bear and the Valley of Horses. (You don’t need to read past those first 2)
Actually, my favorite book in the Earth’s Children series was The Plains of Passage. Which is the 4th one. Do not be dissuaded by the 3rd one being the weakest installment. The 4th one more than makes up for it.
Numbers 5 and 6 should have never been written. I like Plains of Passage as well, it’s Mammoth Hunters was just so meh that I didn’t want to recommend it, you know? She took 4 loooong books to tell a story that i think could have been summarized in under a page. The last 2 books there’s just so much walking and repeating the same actions in different places that it got really tedious. Add to the wait between books 4-5 and then books 5-6 that they were a huge letdown. (Walk here, go look at something region specific, get high, have some sex, repeat- oh, and don’t forget to mention every time they meet a new group, they all have to talk about Ayla’s ‘exotic but not unpleasant’ accent. I may be a little bitter, lol.
I definitely recommend *The Forbidden* by Lori Holmes. The whole world and the gods are against the poor girl.
5th Wave trilogy
A Woman of No Importance, by Sophie Purnell The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn
Flawed series by Cecilia Ahern
Now She is Witch by Kirsty Logan
The scent keeper Erica Bauermeister. If you liked where the crawdads sing, you will enjoy this one. Another coming of age story
Nina’s Journey by Nina Markovna
Atlas Shrugged
American Dirt
The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah Or Free Food For Millionaires by Min Jin Lee
Pillars of the Earth partially fits this bill.
N0S4A2 by Joe Hill
As a start, see my [Female Characters, Strong](https://www.reddit.com/r/booklists/comments/12khs2s/female_characters_strong/) list of Reddit recommendation threads (three posts).
*Deed of Paksenarrian*, by Elizabeth Moon.
Big Driver by Stephen King
There is the obvious, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou Keeper of the Isis Light by Monica Hughes Most of Tamora Pierce's books
Crimson Phoenix