YA Books Every Teen Girl Needs Read

Today the average woman gets paid eighty-six cents for every dollar a man is paid, thirty-five percent of women experience physical or sexual violence, and out of one hundred ninety-five heads of state, only twenty-nine are female. If you don’t believe sexism is prevalent after reading those statistics, you’re delusional. And what can we do about it? Continue being lady bosses and inspiring and educating other teens through literature. These novels are all about teenagers fighting the system and choosing to love themselves, and us teenagers need so many more stories like these in our lives and in YA in general. I don’t want to see insecure girls giving up their lives and personalities for a boy, I want to see girls having careers, making change, being powerful, and loving themselves.

Moxie by Jennifer Mathieu

This book was a pure joy to read, mainly because it was all so real. First love, drifting from friendships, managing relations with parents, but it does all this while still being incredibly important. Viv Carter has always stood in the background and accepted her sexist high school as unchangeable until she rediscovers her mom’s old Riot Grrrl zines. Being fed up with the sexist ways of her school she starts making her own zines and distributing them across the school to promote feminism and moxie. Viv Carter is just an average teenage girl, and she was able to radically change her school. If she can do it, why can’t we all?

Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli

Ahh Leah Burke, my book BFF. I’m sure if she existed beyond the pages, we would totally be besties. Why do I love Leah Burke so much? Because she is unapologetically herself, she is sarcastic, she is witty, she has a great sense of style, and she is a fat girl whose only goal in life isn’t to lose weight. I find her relatable and approachable and if I could give this book to past me it would have done wonders for my confidence. This book is the sequel to Simon vs. the Homosapien Agenda, but honestly, you could probably read it as a stand-alone.

I am Malala by Malala Yousafzai and Christiana Lamb

You’ve most likely heard of Malala Yousafzai, and her recognition is well deserved. At the age of twenty-three, she has spoken out against the Taliban through a BBC blog, started international non-profit the Malala Fund, and was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize. Oh yeah, and she wrote a book at the age of sixteen. In short, she is an icon and her memoir not only captures the injustices of life under the Taliban, but also the fight for girl’s education. I would recommend this even if you aren’t into non-fiction, it reads much more like a story than a textbook. If you aren’t comfortable with heavy non-fiction, there is also a middle-grade version of the book.

Dumplin’ by Julie Murphy

The main character of Dumplin’, Willowdean, is fat, but she always felt at home in her own skin. She doesn’t want the ideal “bikini body” or pageant girl look, but that won’t stop her from entering her mom’s pageant. What I think is so good about this book is the fact that despite being secure in her body image, Willowdean is still insecure at times, but she decides to do something about it. Why can’t a girl with buck teeth win a pageant? Why can only thin girls participate? Murphy’s narrative does a good job at showing insecurities but also showing self-love.