Intersectional Feminist Recs

Memorial Drive

“Natasha Trethewey was 19 when her mother was murdered by her stepfather in 1985. For decades, she hid the event, and memories of her mother, in the recesses of her mind while she went on to win a Pulitzer Prize and become the Poet Laureate of the United States. Now, decades later, she opens herself up to her past to produce a harrowing yet beautiful memorial.”

Mike , Northshire Bookstore

NPR’s Best Books of 2020
BookPage’s Best Books of 2020
Real Simple’s Best Books of 2020
Boston.com readers voted one of Best Books of 2020

“Anyone striving to understand and improve this country should read her story.” —Gloria Steinem, author of My Life on the Road

The Emmy Award–winning journalist and anchor of NPR’s Latino USA tells the story... Read more »

Wandering in Strange Lands

“In Wandering in Strange Lands, Morgan Jerkins invites her reader along on a journey, both figurative and literal, to better understand her lineage and the ways in which the displacement of Black people across America still resonates generations later. Her brave, inquisitive nature and openness to whatever truths she may encounter — the welcome ones, the uncomfortable ones, the ones for which there is no written record — make for an absolutely captivating read.”

Tove, Powell's Books

Lobizona

“In LABIZONA, Romina Garber weaves Argentinian folklore with the ache to belong somewhere completely. She plays with identity, gender, and family to create a magical landscape in which an entire culture must recognize that they have been complicit in a societal structure that hurts anyone who does not fit in. Manuela is undocumented in both worlds, which means her story is unwritten, ready for her to choose how she wants it to be told. At times these choices are between two heartbreaking options, but making the choice empowers Manuela and those around her to not let others dictate their lives. There is a lot going on in this book, but I enjoyed getting to know the characters and look forward to following their story in the future. Content warnings for ICE raids, police brutality, family separation, discussions of forced pregnancy, homophobia.”

Faith, Page 158 Books

From a fierce and humorous new voice comes a relevant, insightful, and riveting collection of personal essays on the richness and resilience of black girl culture—for readers of Samantha Irby, Roxane Gay, Morgan Jerkins, and Lindy West. Shayla Lawson is major. You don’t know who she is. Yet. But that’s okay. She is on a mission to move black... Read more »

If you enjoyed Such a Fun Age, then you’ll love Luster.

“An incredibly unique story, Luster inserts the reader into the head of the novel's protagonist, a young Black woman having an affair with an older white man in an open marriage. Things get complicated when she sneaks into her lover's house and is caught by the wife who then invites her to stay for their anniversary party. Luster is a brilliant mash-up (kind of) of Such a Fun Age and The Roxy Letters, but with added layers. Raven Leilani's writing is going to stick with me for a long time!”

Mary, Skylark Bookshop

Marisel Vera emerges as a major voice of contemporary fiction with a heart-wrenching novel set in Puerto Rico on the eve of the Spanish-American War.

It is 1898, and groups of starving Puerto Ricans, los hambrientos, roam the parched countryside and dusty towns begging for food. Under the yoke of Spanish oppression, the Caribbean island is... Read more »

Combatting fatphobia and racism to reclaim a space of belonging at the intersection of fat, Black, and female.

To live in a body at the intersection of fat, Black, and female is to be on the margins. From concern-trolling--"I just want you to be healthy"--to outright attacks, fat Black bodies that fall outside dominant constructs of beauty and... Read more »

A close friendship is one of the most influential and important relationships a human life can contain. Anyone will tell you that! But for all the rosy sentiments surrounding friendship, most people don’t talk much about what it really takes to stay close for the long haul.

Now two friends, Aminatou Sow and Ann Friedman, tell the story of their... Read more »

A REESE WITHERSPOON x HELLO SUNSHINE BOOK CLUB YA PICK
Recipient of the 2021 Pura Belpré Young Adult Author Medal

One of BuzzFeed's Must-Read YA Books of 2020
A Best Book of the Year: Cosmopolitan * Kirkus Reviews * SheReads * New York Public Library 

“An engrossing #OwnVoices novel.”
—PopSugar

“This book will set your dreams on fire . . . It’s... Read more »

Ordinary Girls

“Too often, those of us who grow up below the federal poverty line spend the rest of our lives erasing ourselves. If we manage to migrate out of poverty, we do so at a cost. The gatekeepers of academia, and of literature, often only want to hear our stories if we make a spectacle of our people, or if we tell our stories in the language of the elite at the expense of our own voices. I think this is one of the most powerful things about Ordinary Girls. Díaz tells her sad and beautiful stories in her own voice, a voice that still holds the people and the places that made her. What a gift. Growing up poor means that we are taught, every day and in a million tiny ways, that our families are wrong, our speech is ugly, our stories shameful. This is oppression and Díaz banishes it with beauty, love, honesty, and insight. Ordinary Girls is a book that makes me feel less alone in this world.”

Tina Ontiveros, Klindt's Booksellers

Mexican Gothic

“Delightfully creepy. Dread builds steadily throughout the book. As a listener, you know that something is wrong but it’s hard to put your finger on it. Like the main character, you will doubt everything: the characters, their motivations and even your own deductive abilities. This book keeps you on your toes, flitting from one theory to the next. Mexican Gothic takes all the best of traditions of gothic house horror and infuses it with something new: the evils of colonialism. Listen carefully and consider keeping the lights on!”

Samantha, Rediscovered Books