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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AND THEY CALLED IT CAMELOT: A Novel of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis by Stephanie Marie Thornton REVIEW

An intimate portrait of the life of Jackie O…

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.

But all reigns must come to an end. Once JFK travels to Dallas and the clock ticks down those thousand days of magic in Camelot, Jackie is forced to pick up the ruined fragments of her life and forge herself into a new identity that is all her own, that of an American legend.



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

I've often wondered what life was like for Jackie. This book gave me some idea what her years as JFK's wife and beyond might have been. 
I had a hard time putting this book down! I kept reading, wondering when we were going to get to one of the worse days in the Kennedy's, and possibly, America's lives. But taking the ride to get to that moment was worth the time. 
There are four parts in this story, one for each era, the fourth happening after Bobby's assassination. 
The book starts by introducing Jackie in her earlier years and when she met John. I throughly enjoyed the insights Ms. Thornton researched and added. Every time a dress or an event was mentioned, I goggled it so I could really 'see' what she was writing. In my opinion, that makes for a good historical fiction book!
Jackie was very protective of family and took care to involve her kids as much as possible. She tried to stay involved in everything her husband did as well.
My favorite parts of the book was when Jackie stood up for herself. She made a vow to the patriarch of the Kennedy's that she would never leave John's side, and she didn't right up to the time he was placed in a coffin. When women didn't step into the politcal or campaigning spotlight, Jackie was there, even when men told her she couldn't. She was with John in the hospital when he had back surgery and had the nurse teach her how to take care of John, even when he didn't want Jackie to see him so weak.
She was told she was told young and fresh for the campaign trail, that everyone wanted to see the grandmotherly types from the last few presidencies. Several times after John was shot, people tried to get Jackie to change her blood-splattered clothes, but she refused. "Let them see what they've done." 
The very last part of the book, Part Four, didn't seem to be in the same vein as the rest of the book. I wondered if the author, like me, was disappointed in Jackie for having affairs, after she vehemently held John to their marriage. Part Four helped me to understand why Jackie possibly married Onassis, and the good she did in the last days of her life, but I was a little let down. 

There are several 'F' bombs and swear words, but they are scattered throughout the book.
Thanks to netgalley for the early read!