The best books about the power and necessity of unifying women

Book cover of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants Book cover of The Color Purple Book cover of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo Book cover of Little Women Book cover of The Joy Luck Club

The best books about rewriting your story

Book cover of The Color Purple Book cover of Becoming Ms. Burton: From Prison to Recovery to Leading the Fight for Incarcerated Women Book cover of The 33 Strategies of War Book cover of The Power Elite Book cover of Sparrow in the Razor Wire: Finding Freedom from Within While Serving a Life Sentence

The best books on loss and grief from a certified death doula

Book cover of On Death & Dying: What the Dying Have to Teach Doctors, Nurses, Clergy & Their Own Families Book cover of My Government Means to Kill Me Book cover of The Color Purple Book cover of In Case You Forgot Book cover of Song of Solomon

The best LGBTQ books that evoke emotions

Book cover of Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda Book cover of The Color Purple Book cover of Last Night at the Telegraph Club Book cover of They Both Die at the End Book cover of The Sins of Jack Branson

The best LGBTQ+ books to annoy the people trying to ban them

Book cover of This Book Is Gay Book cover of The Color Purple Book cover of The Fifth Elephant Book cover of The Left Hand of Darkness Book cover of The Picture of Dorian Gray

The best books about Black women by Black women

Book cover of The Color Purple Book cover of Their Eyes Were Watching God Book cover of Wild Seed Book cover of Bailey's Cafe Book cover of Peaches

The best books written by African American female authors every African American female author should read

Book cover of The Autobiography of My Mother Book cover of The Color Purple Book cover of The Bluest Eye Book cover of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Book cover of Their Eyes Were Watching God

The best books about gritty queers figuring their lives out

Book cover of Running with Scissors: A Memoir Book cover of Milk Fed Book cover of The Color Purple Book cover of Stone Butch Blues Book cover of Valencia

The best LGBTQ+ books that are also movies (…or should be)

Book cover of The Color Purple Book cover of Rubyfruit Jungle Book cover of The Price of Salt: Or Carol Book cover of Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe Book cover of Desert of the Heart

The best books about our human struggles and triumphs

Book cover of The Courage to Heal: A Guide for Women Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse Book cover of When Rabbit Howls: A First-Person Account of Multiple Personality, Memory, and Recovery Book cover of The Invitation Book cover of Man’s Search for Meaning Book cover of The Color Purple

The best books featuring letters that change someone’s life

Book cover of The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13 3/4 Book cover of The Appeal Book cover of The Color Purple Book cover of Possession Book cover of Dracula

The best coming-of-age stories by diverse women

Book cover of The Color Purple Book cover of Somebody's Daughter: A Memoir Book cover of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Book cover of The House on Mango Street Book cover of The Complete Persepolis

The best novels about families you wish were yours…and families you’re glad are not

Book cover of The Color Purple Book cover of To Kill a Mockingbird Book cover of Ada, or Ardor: A Family Chronicle Book cover of All the Light We Cannot See Book cover of The Living Sea of Waking Dreams

The best historical novels featuring positive LGBTQ+ characters

Book cover of Wildthorn Book cover of Orlando: A Biography Book cover of Affinity Book cover of The Color Purple Book cover of The Persian Boy

The best, ultimately uplifting, stories about sexual abuse and harassment

Book cover of The Courage to Heal: A Guide for Women Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse Book cover of The Color Purple Book cover of Stay Mad, Sweetheart Book cover of The Kiss: A Memoir Book cover of Invisible Girl

The best historical bildungsroman (coming-of-age) novels

Book cover of The Outsiders Book cover of Orlando: A Biography Book cover of The Color Purple Book cover of The Catcher in the Rye Book cover of Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit

The best books for a cleansing sob fest

Book cover of Wuthering Heights Book cover of The Year of Magical Thinking Book cover of The Velveteen Rabbit Book cover of The Color Purple Book cover of Where the Crawdads Sing

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Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like The Color Purple.

Book cover of Man’s Search for Meaning Book cover of The Complete Persepolis Book cover of All the Light We Cannot See Book cover of Song of Solomon Book cover of Their Eyes Were Watching God Book cover of On Death & Dying: What the Dying Have to Teach Doctors, Nurses, Clergy & Their Own Families

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Interested in coming of age, bildungsroman, and the South?

Coming Of Age 1,489 books
Bildungsroman 340 books
The South 200 books