✨ Celebrating Strong Women Across Cultures: Stories by Women of Color

This book club list highlights fiction and memoirs by Asian, Indigenous, African, and Latina women writers whose stories center on strong, complex women and the families and communities that shape them. These books celebrate resilience, identity, and the beauty of womanhood across cultures.

Sisters in the Wind by Angeline Boulley
A powerful coming-of-age novel about an Ojibwe teenage girl navigating identity, loss, and the foster care system while uncovering the truth about her hidden heritage.

When Oceans Rise by Robin Alvarez
A darkly magical tale blending Filipino mythology and trauma, following Malaya as she faces a generational curse, toxic love, and a sea witch who turns her world upside down.

I Am Kavi by Thushanthi Ponweera
A moving novel-in-verse about Kavi, a Sri Lankan girl torn between her rural home and elite city school, navigating war, class, and belonging while discovering who she truly is.

There Are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak
Spanning centuries and continents, this novel connects the lives of Arthur, a poor London boy; Narin, a Yazidi girl; and Zaleekah, a modern-day scientist—linked by rivers, memory, and hope.

Lady Tan’s Circle of Women by Lisa See
Inspired by the true story of Tan Yunxian, a 15th-century Chinese physician who challenges traditions to heal women and forge lasting bonds of friendship and purpose.

Violeta by Isabel Allende
The sweeping story of a South American woman born in 1920 who lives through a century of love, loss, and upheaval—from pandemics and dictatorships to passion and independence.

The Lotus Shoes by Jane Yang
Set in 1800s China, it follows Little Flower and Linjing—two girls bound by friendship, jealousy, and fate—as they navigate privilege, family expectations, and scandal.

Homeseeking by Karissa Chen
A rich, emotional story of Haiwen and Suchi—friends turned lovers—separated by war and time, exploring love, sacrifice, and belonging across sixty years of the Chinese diaspora.

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
Twin sisters from a small Black town take divergent paths—one staying, one passing as white—revealing the lasting effects of race, secrets, and identity across generations.

Skin & Bones by Renée Watson
Lena Baker’s wedding day brings heartbreak that forces her to confront grief, motherhood, and Oregon’s buried Black history while rediscovering her strength and self-worth.

Happy Land by Dolen Perkins-Valdez
Set in Appalachia, Nikki uncovers her family’s hidden legacy in a community founded by formerly enslaved people—and the power of reclaiming forgotten history.

Crying in the Bathroom by Erika L. Sánchez
A hilarious, raw memoir-in-essays about growing up Mexican American in 1990s Chicago, facing identity, depression, and feminism with wit and honesty.