50 Books Every Woman Should Read

Pity any woman who had to suffer through puberty without this book on her shelf. Margaret is the 12-year-old everywoman, waiting for her first period and literally praying for breasts.

In her Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, Egan weaves together vignettes of a group of New York friends who are struggling with that miserable goon: time.

The social activist contributed a key chapter to the canon of female experience with this book, which examines the devaluation of black women throughout history.

Frank perished in a concentration camp during World War II, but the diary she kept in captivity survives. It remains a moving reminder of how hope can be found anywhere — even in an attic during one of the darkest moments in human history.

The term "feminist" has always been a polarizing one, but Gay examines her own feelings through the lens of pop-culture items like Sweet Valley High and Orange Is the New Black.

Kingsolver's first novel is the quirky, relatable story of a woman who heads west to flee her small hometown in Kentucky, finding adventure (and an abandoned toddler) in the process.

She published two books of poetry by age 21, but that's not her only medium. Adichie's powerful fiction skills are on display here, as she follows a couple pulled between modern lives in the United States and Nigeria.

If it's obvious now that the media messes with women's views of their bodies, it wasn't always. Wolf's seminal book and its examinations of plastic surgery and eating disorders are as relevant today as they were in 1990.

The only novel Plath produced in her tragically short life gives the semi-autobiographical story of a girl who struggles to figure out which path she should take in life.

Morrison has produced a stunning catalogue of novels about the black experience in America, and "Beloved" is perhaps the most lauded and the most devastating. The dark horror of the central plotline is a terrifying glimpse into the psychology of slavery.