Denver Public Library is celebrating Women's History Month to highlight and elevate the diverse history of all women, including trans, nonbinary, and fluid experiences across the gender spectrum. The theme this year is "Writing Women Back into History" with a focus on unsung heroines from the past. We aim to expand the idea of what women's history means, and to highlight individuals and stories that you may not have heard of because of systematic racism and colonialism.
The daughter of a prominent samurai, Mariko has long known her place--she may be an accomplished alchemist, whose cunning rivals that of her brother Kenshin, but because she is not a boy, her future has always been out of her hands. At just seventeen years old, Mariko is promised to Minamoto Raiden, the son of the emperor's favorite consort--a political marriage that will elevate her family's standing. But en route to the imperial city of Inako, Mariko narrowly escapes a bloody ambush by a dangerous gang of bandits known as the Black Clan, who she learns has been hired to kill her before she reaches the palace. Dressed as a peasant boy, Mariko sets out to infiltrate the ranks of the Black Clan, determined to track down the person responsible for the target on her back. But she's quickly captured and taken to the Black Clan's secret hideout, where she meets their leader, the rebel ronin Takeda Ranmaru, and his second-in-command, his best friend Okami. Still believing her to be a boy, Ranmaru and Okami eventually warm to Mariko, impressed by her intellect and ingenuity. As Mariko gets closer to the Black Clan, she uncovers a dark history of secrets, of betrayal and murder, which will force her to question everything she's ever known.
Nearly every day there's another news story, think piece, or pop cultural anecdote related to feminism and women's rights. Conversations around consent, equal pay, access to contraception, and a host of other issues are foremost topics of conversation in American media. And today's teens are encountering these issues from a different perspective than any generation has before. But what's often missing from the current discussion is an understanding of how we've gotten to this place. Fight Like a Girl introduces readers to the history of feminist activism in the U.S. in an effort to celebrate those who paved the way and draw attention to those who are working hard to further the feminist cause today.
Daunis, who is part Ojibwe, defers attending the University of Michigan to care for her mother and reluctantly becomes involved in the investigation of a series of drug-related deaths.
Follow the daily life of one queer artist from Texas as they introduce us to the lives of ten extraordinary people. The author shares their life as a genderqueer person, living in the American South, revealing their own personal struggle for acceptance and how they were inspired by these historical LGBTQIA+ people to live their own truth. Featuring biographies of Mary Jones, We'wha, Magnus Hirschfeld, Dr. Pauli Murray, Wilmer 'Little Axe' M. Broadnax, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Carlett Brown, Nancy Cardenas, Ifti Nasim, and Simon Nkoli.
For African American women, the fight for the right to vote was only one battle. An eye-opening book that tells the important, overlooked story of black women as a force in the suffrage movement--when fellow suffragists did not accept them as equal partners in the struggle.
This debut from two emerging YA talents is told through a series of texts and emails sent between two best friends as they head off to their first semesters of college on opposite sides of the country. But as each changes and grows into her new life, will their friendship survive the distance?
Sixteen-year-old Deka lives in fear and anticipation of the blood ceremony that will determine whether she will become a member of her village. Already different from everyone else because of her unnatural intuition, Deka prays for red blood so she can finally feel like she belongs. But on the day of the ceremony, her blood runs gold, the color of impurity-and Deka knows she will face a consequence worse than death. Then a mysterious woman comes to her with a choice: stay in the village and submit to her fate, or leave to fight for the emperor in an army of girls just like her. They are called alaki-near-immortals with rare gifts. And they are the only ones who can stop the empire's greatest threat. Knowing the dangers that lie ahead yet yearning for acceptance, Deka decides to leave the only life she's ever known. But as she journeys to the capital to train for the biggest battle of her life, she will discover that the great walled city holds many surprises. Nothing and no one are quite what they seem to be-not even Deka herself.
A poignant bilingual YA graphic memoir about a teenage girl's harrowing experience crossing the Mexico-US border. This compelling young adult graphic memoir tells the story of Gricelda, a fifteen-year-old Mexican girl who crosses the border into America with her mother and younger brother in search of a better life. Their treacherous journey is filled with both heartbreak and hope. Will America be the country of dreams like they imagined? Or will adjusting to their new life in California be another type of struggle for Gricelda and her family? With captivating illustrations inspired by the graffiti and stencil art prevalent during the 2006 political uprising in Oaxaca, as well as local textiles and embroidery, Travesía is Gricelda's first-person account, derived from interviews with author Michelle Gerster and told in both English and Spanish. Timely and relevant, Travesía is a vibrant and powerful testament to the desperation and resilience of millions of migrating people who endure the pain of leaving their old lives behind to embark on the perilous journey across borders in search of a new life.
Imagine a five-foot-two-inch-tall woman riding a Harley eight times across the continental United States. Now imagine she is black and is journeying across the country in the pre-Civil Rights era of the 1930s and '40s. That is the amazing true story of Bessie Stringfield, the woman known today as The Motorcycle Queen of Miami and the first black woman to be inducted into the American Motorcyclist Association Hall of Fame and the Harley Davidson Hall of Fame. Stringfield was a pioneer in motorcycling during her lifetime; she rode as a civilian courier for the US military and founded the Iron Horse Motorcycle Club in Miami, all while confronting and overcoming Jim Crow in every ride.
It all begins with a fugitive billionaire and the promise of a cash reward. Turtles All the Way Down is about lifelong friendship, the intimacy of an unexpected reunion, Star Wars fan fiction, and tuatara. But at its heart is Aza Holmes, a young woman navigating daily existence within the ever-tightening spiral of her own thoughts.
A powerful and moving teen graphic novel memoir about immigration, belonging, and how arts can save a life--perfect for fans of American Born Chinese and Hey, Kiddo. For as long as she can remember, it's been Robin and her mom against the world. Growing up as the only child of a single mother in Seoul, Korea, wasn't always easy, but it has bonded them fiercely together. So when a vacation to visit friends in Huntsville, Alabama, unexpectedly becomes a permanent relocation--following her mother's announcement that she's getting married--Robin is devastated. Overnight, her life changes. She is dropped into a new school where she doesn't understand the language and struggles to keep up. She is completely cut off from her friends in Seoul and has no access to her beloved comics. At home, she doesn't fit in with her new stepfamily, and worst of all, she is furious with the one person she is closest to--her mother. Then one day Robin's mother enrolls her in a local comic drawing class, which opens the window to a future Robin could never have imagined.
When these 15 women coders and engineers face impossible problems, they don't quit--they find solutions. They are all doing amazing work in technical fields while overcoming unique challenges not equally faced by male colleagues. Engineering and coding have typically been considered men's fields of study, but these innovative women are showing that problem solving with science and math is everyone's field, and it's time for the world to see powerful women succeeding in it.
In this novel in verse, a mixed-heritage dancer's coming of age within the African diaspora is shaped by abuse at the hands of a cousin, her mother's descent into addiction, and her father's efforts to create a Nigerian-inspired home in America.
In the aftermath of a successful quest, Apprentice Kalanthe and Olsa-the-thief-of-the-realm must cope with their newfound fame and find a way to overcome the forces that would drive them apart.
In 1845, Sammy, a Chinese American girl, and Annamae, an African American slave girl, disguise themselves as boys and travel on the Oregon Trail to California from Missouri.
Seventeen-year-old Lily Hu can't remember exactly when the question took root, but the answer was in full bloom the moment she and Kathleen Miller walked under the flashing neon sign of a lesbian bar called the Telegraph Club. America in 1954 is not a safe place for two girls to fall in love, especially not in Chinatown. Red-Scare paranoia threatens everyone, including Chinese Americans like Lily. With deportation looming over her father--despite his hard-won citizenship--Lily and Kath risk everything to let their love see the light of day.
Twenty years before women's soccer became an Olympic sport and two decades before the formation of the WNBA, the '76 US women's basketball team laid the foundation for the incredible rise of women's sports in America at the youth, collegiate, Olympic, and professional levels. Though they were unknowns from small schools such as Delta State, the University of Tennessee at Martin and John F. Kennedy College of Wahoo, Nebraska, at the time of the '76 Olympics, the American team included a roster of players who would go on to become some of the most legendary figures in the history of basketball. From Pat Head, Nancy Lieberman, Ann Meyers, Lusia Harris, coach Billie Moore, and beyond--these women took on the world and proved everyone wrong. Packed with black-and-white photos and thoroughly researched details about the beginnings of US women's basketball, Inaugural Ballers is the fascinating story of the women who paved the way for girls everywhere.
These 15 women fly outside the lines. Soar beside Black Hawk helicopter pilot turned politician Tammy Duckworth, hot air balloonist Edgora McEwan, or medevac pilot Dede Murawsky. Higher up, meet commercial and military aviators such as the Coast Guard's Ronaqua Russell, the first African American female to receive the prestigious Air Medal for her rescue efforts during Hurricane Harvey. Next, ride along with Tammie Jo Shults, whose story includes a harrowing catastrophic engine failure while in command of 148 people aboard Southwest's Flight 1380. Others share their experiences in military high-performance jets, the Stratotanker, or while flying for the Blue Angels. Reaching past the bounds of Earth are astronauts who have launched in the cramped Russian rocket, the Soyuz, orbited Earth while conducting critical science experiments, or lived aboard the International Space Station.
This collection of twenty-one essays from major YA authors—including award-winning and bestselling writers—touches on a powerful range of topics related to growing up female in today’s America, and the intersection with race, religion, and ethnicity. Sure to inspire hope and solidarity to anyone who reads it, Our Stories, Our Voices belongs on every young woman’s shelf.
Describes the life of a queer, Cuban high school student in Florida the 1990s, discovering punk rock, her sexuality, and her identity and fighting against sexual assault in her community.
Criss-cross America — on dogsleds and ships, stagecoaches and trains — from pirate ships off the coast of the Carolinas to the peace, love, and protests of 1960s Chicago. Join fifteen of today’s most talented writers of young adult literature on a thrill ride through history with American girls charting their own course. They are monsters and mediums, bodyguards and barkeeps, screenwriters and schoolteachers, heiresses and hobos. They're making their own way in often-hostile lands, using every weapon in their arsenals, facing down murderers and marriage proposals. And they all have a story to tell.
Tells the story of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki through the eyes of Sachiko Yasui, who was six when the devastation was wrought, describing her experiences in the aftermath of the attack as well as her long journey to find peace.
On a journey to uncover her family's story, Spotted Fawn travels through time and space to reclaim connection to ancestors, language, and the land--creating a path forward in this essential graphic novel. In the dreamworld she bears witness to a mountain of buffalo skulls. They stand as a ghostly monument to the slaughter of the Plains bison to near extinction-- a key tactic to starve and contain the Indigenous People onto reservations. On this path, Spotted Fawn knows she must travel through her own family history to confront the harsh realities of the past and reignite her connection to her people and the land. Her darkroom becomes a portal, and her photographs allow her glimpses into the lives of her relatives over the course of four chapters of this book, which follow the phases of the moon. Time and space become unlocked and unfurl in front of her eyes. Guided by her ancestors, Spotted Fawn's travels through the past allow her to come into full face--like the moon itself.
The first original graphic novel in a new series spotlighting the true stories of the real groundbreakers who changed our world for the better. "Sometimes the times were dark and the outlook was lonesome, but where there is a will, there is a way. I pitched in and dug at my work until now I am where I am." Meet Edmonia Lewis, the woman who changed America during the Civil War by becoming the first sculptor of African-American and Native American heritage to earn international acclaim. Jasmine Walls & Bex Glendining present the true story of courage, determination and perseverance through one of America's most violent eras to create true beauty that still reverberates today. It's about being seen. Both for who you are, and who you hope you can become. History is a mirror, and all too often, the history we're told in school reflects only a small subset of the population. In Seen: True Stories of Marginalized Trailblazers, you'll find the stories of the real groundbreakers who changed our world for the better. They're the heroes: the inventors, the artists, the activists, and more whose stories you won't want to miss. The people whose lives show us both where we are, and where we're going.
From the New York Times bestselling author and National Book Award finalist, a biography in verse and prose of science fiction visionary Octavia Butler. Acclaimed novelist Ibi Zoboi illuminates the young life of the visionary storyteller Octavia E. Butler in poems and prose. Born into the Space Race, the Red Scare, and the dawning Civil Rights Movement, Butler expereinced an American childhood that shaped her into the groundbreaking science-fiction storyteller whose novels continue to challenge and delight readers fifteen years after her death.