Ladies First: 30 Books That Pass the Bechdel Test

Now a movie with Cate Blanchett, Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple is as fun as it gets. The story follows Bee Branch, a 15-year-old girl who takes it upon herself to solve the mystery of her eccentric mother's disappearance. Lives and stories intertwine and unfold as Bee realizes her mother is not only an enigma to everyone around her, but unbelievably difficult to trace.

A John Green classic, Turtles All the Way Down focuses on Aza Holmes, a high schooler who uses the search for a disappeared billionaire to distract herself from the loss of her own father and the crippling anxiety she suffers every day. The book does a great job of representing someone with anxiety, making it understandable and relatable. Despite the heavy content, this book is a fun adventure and an easy, light read.

Is there a greater love story than that between the independent and strong-willed Elizabeth and the quiet Mr. Darcy? Jane Austen paints the romantic world of 18th-century England in Pride and Prejudice, showcasing the love between a girl and her sisters and highlighting the pressures society puts on women to marry. A saucy and empowering read, Pride and Prejudice shows the challenges facing women in society and follows one woman who chooses to fight back.

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng is one of the most beautifully written stories about family and friends and the complicated relationships that form between them. The book follows the Warren family, a single mother with a teenage daughter, and the Richardson family, a nuclear family considered "perfect." As these families intertwine, secrets surface, facades crumble, and you realize that everyone is the same at their core: imperfect and struggling.

Another classic, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë follows the life of Jane from childhood through her time at an orphanage to working at Thornfield Hall. As she grows, Jane questions assumptions of sexuality, religion, and her role as a woman, and blossoms into a strong, independent woman.

Quirky and fast-paced, Gail Honeyman's Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine is unbelievably funny, witty, and fun. The book follows the misadventures of the titular Eleanor as she figures out who she is, finds and loses love, gets a cat, and rediscovers what it means to have a family.

Now an acclaimed show, The Handmaid's Tale takes the fears of women today and makes them a reality. Author Margaret Atwood creates a dystopian world in which women are subservient, powerless, and abused, following the women who choose to rebel against the sexist system.

Lauren Weisberger creates a world of glamour and luxury in The Devil Wears Prada. The book focuses on Andrea Sachs, a Brown University graduate who, with no background in fashion, lands a job as the assistant to the editor-in-chief of a huge fashion magazine. The story follows her as she navigates the crazy world of the fictional Runway magazine.

A coder-turned-baker, Lois shines as the protagonist of Sourdough by Robin Sloan. After a bakery leaves her a sourdough starter to tend to, Lois's life gets turned upside down as she begins to bake her own bread, discovering a different side of San Francisco as she does.

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens is a captivating thriller that delves into the backstory of a quiet girl suspected of murdering the handsome Chase Andrews. What is found is heartbreaking and surprising.

Naomi Alderman throws society for a loop in The Power. In this book, roles are reversed and women possess a frightening, supernatural power, turning hierarchies upside down and urging us to question the structure of our current system.

Mrs. Dalloway follows a day in the life of the titular Mrs. Dalloway as she prepares for a party she's hosting that evening. Virginia Woolf creates a layered experience in this book, turning a mundane day into a commentary on mental health, feminism, and friendship.

A captivating, heartbreaking book, Beloved by Toni Morrison tells the story of a mother grappling with her decision to kill her daughter to prevent the child from returning to slavery. Questions of right and wrong are brought to the surface, as are the limitations and betrayals of maternal love.

Suzanne Collins's The Hunger Games tells the tale of Katniss Everdeen, a teenager who takes her sister's place as a tribute in the annual Hunger Games, an event in which a dozen teens fight to the death in a massive man-made arena. What happens when both winning and losing mean death?

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott follows the lives of four sisters as they navigate growing up, falling in love, and the death of a loved one. This book has had several film and TV adaptations, including a new one starring Emma Watson.

The Alice Network by Kate Quinn is set in the late '40s, and follows a female spy recruited to the real-life Alice Network in France during World War I. When she meets an unconventional American socialite searching for her cousin, the pair find courage and redemption.

Kathryn Stockett's The Help outlines a story of three very different women who come together to expose what it's like to be an African-American maid in Mississippi in the early '60s.

The award-winning novel, A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeleine L'Engle, is based off a tesseract — in other words, a portal through space and time. The Murray family is very familiar with a tesseract; in fact, their father was doing government work on one before he disappeared. After their neighbor mentions it on a stormy night, Meg Murray decides it's time to find her father and bring him home.

Once you pick up Circe by Madeline Miller, you'll never want to put it down. The page-turner tells the story of Circe, a daughter who is born into the house of Helios. She is not as powerful as her father and not nearly as alluring as her mother, so she decides to make mortals as friends. One day, she discovers she has the power of witchcraft, which threatens Zeus. Once she's exposed, Circe is forced to a deserted island, where she encounters all sorts of beasts. Eventually, Circe has to make a decision: should she be mortal with her friends? Or return to the world of gods that she was born into?

In The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield, protagonist Vida Winter is a complete mystery. Journalists have devoted their careers to understanding the famous novelist, but her incredible means of avoidance and manipulation have always led them in the wrong direction. Now that she's elderly, she's ready to tell her life story, and there's no better person for the job than Margaret Lea, an amateur biographer, to help her out. Together, the two end up learning a great deal about one another and wind up coming face to face with their pasts.

After spending years in an orphanage, Anne is finally sent to live with her middle-aged siblings, Matthew and Marilla, who intended to adopt a boy to help with the farm. Despite the mix-up, they allow Anne to stay, where she quickly becomes Anne of Green Gables, brightening up the farm with her talkative personality and uplifting spirit. The story outlines Anne's experience in her first true home, and how after a tragic death, everything changes.

Imagine a world divided into sections: the honest, the selfless, the brave, the peaceful, and the intelligent. Well, that's what Divergent by Veronica Roth is all about. At the age of 16, everyone must make their choice, and for Beatrice, she's unsure of what to do. Does she remain true to herself and choose a faction that fits her best? Or does she stay with the faction her family is in? It turns out Beatrice's choice is a big surprise for everyone, including herself.

Sure, a world full of angels sounds like a good one, but not in Angelfall by Susan Ee. The angels in this novel come from the apocalypse and are descended to destroy the modern world. However, it's not until they take Peneryn's little sister that she engages in battle. With the help of an injured angel, the two head to San Francisco's stronghold to fight for her sister.

Kristin Hannah captures the part of WWII that was least talked about, and The Nightingale explains it: the women's war. The novel depicts the stories of two sisters who were separated, and all that they endured surviving the dangerous times of war-torn France and Nazi-occupied Germany.

Heartbroken by the shooting of Oscar Grant, Angie Thomas wrote The Hate U Give. The Black Lives Matter-inspired novel, which stemmed from a short story she wrote in college, discusses the issues of racism, injustice, and more in the United States.

In Roey Power's Wilder Girls, it's been 18 months since the Raxter School for Girls was first quarantined. "The tox" killed many teachers and even some students. Hetty and her friends won't dare go past the fence of their school where the woods are infested with disease. However, when her friend Byatt goes missing, Hetty will stop at nothing to get her back — including breaking quarantine.

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid is as riveting and heart-wrenching as they come. Evelyn Hugo is an aging Hollywood icon who is ready to tell the ins and outs of her luxurious life. She chooses magazine reporter Monique Grant to tell her story, who is shocked but decides to take the story as a way to jumpstart her career. As Evelyn unveils the details of her life, Monique listens in fascination and forms a connection with Evelyn like no other.

The historical novel Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See highlights a time in 19th-century China when wives and daughters lived in almost total isolation. Creating their own language and secret codes, Snow Flower and Lily become friends, developing a bond that keeps their spirits alive — until a misunderstanding tears them apart.

Elizabeth Gilbert tells the story of now 89-year-old Vivian Morris in City of Girls. The story starts in 1940, where 19-year-old Vivian was kicked out of college and sent to live with her aunt in Manhattan who owns a Midtown theatre called Lily Playhouse. The world of theatre introduces Vivian to interesting characters, showgirls, and more, and eventually leads to one of the best and worst mistakes of her whole life.

Vox by Christina Dalcher is an unforgettable story in which women in the United States are silenced and cannot speak more than 100 words per day. Protagonist Dr. Jean McClellan demands to make herself heard.