Ten Books Every Young Woman Should Read

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When we read, any individual is given the opportunity to escape the world they live in and enter an entirely new one.

For most, reading helps people unwind at the end of a busy day by witnessing how others overcome their struggles, or even going on exciting adventures.

Books can help readers learn more about themselves as they dissect and analyze ongoing issues in society.

For young women, there are plenty of books out there that look at women's rights issues, powerful heroines, and other exciting stories of overcoming obstacles.

Here is a list of ten books all young women should read (in no particular order):





1. The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan: This novel follows the stories of four mothers and daughters as they try to maintain a positive relationship.

The mothers, all immigrants from China, arrived in San Francisco in 1949 with heart wrenching background stories.

In order to raise their spirits it was decided that these four women would meet and eat dim sum, talk, and play mahjong, thus forming the "Joy Luck Club."







2.

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou: In this awakening novel, readers will follow the story of Maya and her brother who were sent to live with their grandmother in a Southern town.

After many unfortunate struggles that cause Maya to become a prisoner in her own body, readers can watch her transform into a strong, powerful woman.







3. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen: With his novel, readers can dive in to one of the most famous love stories in literary history.

Pride and Prejudice follows the story of a country squire who is marrying off his five daughters. The novel, however, mainly circles around the love story between Elizabeth Bennett and Fitzwilliam Darcy. *Swoon*







4. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood: In this novel, readers will meet Offred, a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead. This novel addresses different issues in society including topics of feminism and mono-theocracy.







5. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath: This novel follows the breakdown of journalist Esther Greenwood, who is a talented, beautiful, and successful woman. Plath takes the reader through Esther's trials and penetrates the psyche in an eerie, extraordinary way.







6.

The Awakening by Kate Chopin: This novel follows the story of a woman who commits adultery while being trapped in a suffocating marriage.

When the novel was first published, women were taken aback by this act of infidelity, but Chopin is still applauded for her honest portrayal of infidelity in marriages.







7. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy: Like The Awakening, Anna Karenina circles around the story of Anna and Count Vronsky.

Anna, married to Karenin, is unhappy with her life, until she meets Vronsky. Anna soon leaves her family for Vronsky, and suffers for it by society's punishment and her own.







8. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott: In this novel, readers will follow the story of four very different sisters learning and growing through poverty in New England during the Civil War.







9. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte: Jane Eyre, orphaned and living in the home of her cruel aunt, is sent to Lowood charity school where she continues to be abused by adults. Jane eventually becomes a governess at Thornfield and falls in love with Mr.

Rochester. Although she finds love, she still faces struggles beyond imagination. This story is tragic, yet romantic at the same time.







10. Beloved by Toni Morrison: In Beloved, young women can follow the story of Sethe, a young woman who escaped from slavery.

Even eighteen years later, Sethe is still not free, for she is haunted by the ghost of her nameless baby, "Beloved." This is definitely a dense novel, but a book that will shake your soul in a way you never thought anything could.