Why We’re Still Fighting for the Equal Rights Amendment
October 09, 2024
By Ava Lee-Green
For those who love to read, November 1 is the day to celebrate your favorite authors! Today, a more and more diverse group of authors is beginning to emerge. Instead of only white men telling stories, people of all genders, races, sexualities, etc. are telling stories about their lives and communities. So, in honor of this day, here is a list of twenty-first-century stories written by female authors.
One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston is an LGBTQ+ novel set in the New York City Metro. It tells the story of the events following the meeting between August Landry, a mystery lover, and Jane Su, a punk-rock lesbian transported from the 1970s to the present. Inspired by the experience of crossing paths with someone for just a few seconds on the subway, readers follow the characters through the ups and downs of learning to accept people’s differences.
Normal People by Sally Rooney comments on class divisions through a love story. Two first-years at Trinity College Dublin, Connell and Marianne, are forced to find their places in this new community. It is easy for Marianne, having come from a wealthy background, to integrate into the upper-class culture of the university. However, Connell comes from a working-class household and struggles to find his place at school. Ultimately, this divide tests their relationship.
Love & Virtue by Diana Reid is a book all about feminism and power. Michaela and Eve, two young women starting university, first meet because their dorm rooms are adjacent. Despite being opposites, their friendship grows. The novel details one night when the women are forced to confront what consent, friendship, and betrayal mean in today’s society.
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas focuses on the determination of the next generation to fight against injustices in the US. It follows Starr Carter, a 16-year-old Black girl. Starr becomes the center of national news when she witnesses a white police officer kill her best friend who was also black. Enraged by the lack of justice, she begins to speak out and demand change. Inspired by the shooting of Oscar Grant in 2009, The Hate U Give is a New York Times Bestseller and was adapted into a movie by 20th Century Fox in 2018.
Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng tells a Chinese-American family’s story of wishing to belong. Following the horrific death of their daughter, Lydia, parents James and Marilyn begin to recall the pressure and expectations they had placed on their daughter to become a doctor and conform to the stereotypes of being Asian-American; this tension and the societal pressures to succeed eventually make the family fall apart. The novel is ultimately a commentary on how parent’s expectations can set their children up for failure.
Happy reading!
