7 Must-Read Books with Strong Females

I love finding stories about every day women who are strong, fearless and fierce. From woman who live through a brutal regime, to those who make it through the American frontier, they all share one things: their strength.

Life and Death in Shanghai by Nien Cheng

 In August 1966 a group of Red Guards ransacked the home of Nien Cheng. Her background made her an obvious target for the fanatics of the Cultural Revolution: educated in London, the widow of an official of Chiang Kai-Shek's regime, and an employee of Shell Oil, Nien Cheng enjoyed comforts that few of her compatriots could afford. When she refused to confess that any of this made her an enemy of the state, she was placed in solitary confinement, where she would remain for more than six years. 

Opening line:
"The past is forever with me and I remember it all."



 Deborah: Prophetess of God by H.B. Moore

Deborah, a young Israelite woman, lives a quiet and isolated life with her father and brothers. As a shepherdess in the hills near her home, she knows well the perils of her work. But when faced with incredible danger, she witnesses a series of remarkable events that preserve her life. The hand of the Lord is apparent, and it is clear that hers will be no ordinary life.    
  
Opening line:
"Laughter echoed against the hillside where Deborah crouched as she watched the two dozen Canaanite soldiers set up camp."


 And They Called it Camelot by Stephanie Marie Thornton

 Few of us can claim to be the authors of our fate. Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy knows no other choice. With the eyes of the world watching, Jackie uses her effortless charm and keen intelligence to carve a place for herself among the men of history and weave a fairy tale for the American people, embodying a senator’s wife, a devoted mother, a First Lady—a queen in her own right.

 Opening line:

"The pink pillbox hat and Chanel-inspired bouclè suit awaited her on the bed." 




Longing For Home by Sarah M. Eden

 Twenty-six-year-old Katie Macauley has placed all her hope in Hope Springs, a small town in the 1870 Wyoming Territory. But if she wants to return home to Ireland to make amends with her estranged family, she'll need to convince the influential Joseph Archer to hold true to his word and keep her on his payroll as his housekeeper despite her Irish roots.

Opening line:
"Eighteen years had passed since Katie Macauley had killed her sister." 



 These is my Words by Nancy E. Turner

  A moving, exciting, and heartfelt American saga inspired by the author's own family memoirs, these words belong to Sarah Prine, a woman of spirit and fire who forges a full and remarkable existence in a harsh, unfamiliar frontier. Scrupulously recording her steps down the path Providence has set her upon--from child to determined young adult to loving mother--she shares the turbulent events, both joyous and tragic, that molded her and recalls the enduring love with cavalry officer Captain Jack Elliot that gave her strength and purpose.

Opening line:
"A storm is rolling in and that always makes me sad and a little wistful so I get it in my head to set to paper all these things that have got us this far on our way through this heathen land."


Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montegomery

 As soon as Anne Shirley arrives at the snug white farmhouse called Green Gables, she is sure she wants to stay forever . . . but will the Cuthberts send her back to to the orphanage? Anne knows she's not what they expected—a skinny girl with fiery red hair and a temper to match. IAnne is not like anyone else, the Cuthberts agree; she is special—a girl with an enormous imagination. This orphan girl dreams of the day when she can call herself Anne of Green Gables.




 Dutch Girl: Audrey Hepburn and World War II by Robert Matzen

 Twenty-five years after her passing, Audrey Hepburn remains the most beloved of all Hollywood stars, known as much for her role as UNICEF ambassador as for films like Roman Holiday and Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Several biographies have chronicled her stardom, but none has covered her intense experiences through five years of Nazi occupation in the Netherlands. According to her son, Luca Dotti, “The war made my mother who she was.” 

 Opening line:
"Baroness Ella van Heemstra stood in the office of Adolph Hitler and offered her hand to the most famous man in the world, the man whose name was on simply everyone's lips."

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9 Books I Will Never Forget

We do not have a lack of reading material in the world. There are so many AMAZING books out in the world! I wish I had time to read all of them. I wish I could put one under my pillow ever night and wake up the next day having the entire book in my memory. Some I might want to forget. Some might leave me thinking about the story/characters/plot for the rest of the day.

For that last list, here are eleven books that I will never forget:

I loved the writing, the people and especially the slow-burn romance.

I lovedlovedloved the relationships in this story!

 911 was an event that shook the world. Millions grieved for the lost of lives in such a hostile act. This book tells the story of a people in Kenya who wanted give what little they had to the American people.

A heavy, enlightening, hopeful book about a mother and the ramifications of a single act of her son. 

I had no inkling of the misery the Chinese went through under Mao. The depravity, the deaths of scholars, teachers, poets; basically anyone smarter and more creative disappeared. Nien Cheng survived.

What if dragons didn't horde gold? What if they horded shoes...and poodles? I loved the way this story made me think differently.

 
Audrey was in the Netherlands when the Germans invaded. The people naively thought that they would be left alone, just like during WWI. They were terrifyingly wrong.

The story of the author's 10th great grandmother, who was tried and hung for being a witch in Salem. 
This story hurt my heart and made me wonder if I would be part of those who would condemn or be condemned?

The arrogance of man thinking he is the one to change people for the better good, but can't even grow squash because he is too quick to judge and believe he is God.