In 2020 we celebrated the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment by marking reviews of powerful, female-centered stories with a special “Women in Focus: The 19th in 2020” tag.

Revisit these amazing titles in our roundup here.

Lore
by Alexandra Bracken

Nearly 1,500 years ago, nine Greek gods rebelled against Zeus, who, as punishment, created the Agon: every seven years, those gods are stripped of their immortality and hunted by the descendants of ancient heroes. Anyone who kills a god wins their powers and, when that cycle of the Agon is over, their immortality. As a child, Lore Perseous dreamed of achieving everlasting glory in the Agon and restoring honor to her once-great family line.

What Ayad Akhtar Wants You to Read: Five Books about the Roots of Our Political Dysfunctions
by Ayad Akhtar

​We invited the six 2021 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence finalists to share lists of books that have resonated with them. Here’s what Ayad Akhtar, author of the Carnegie Fiction Shortlist title Homeland Elegies (Little, Brown), wants you to read.

What Rebecca Giggs Wants You to Read: Saltwater and Sand
by Rebecca Giggs

​We invited the six 2021 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence finalists to share lists of books that have resonated with them. Here’s what Rebecca Giggs, author of the Carnegie Nonfiction Shortlist title Fathoms:The World in the Whale (Simon & Schuster), wants you to read.

The Shelf Care Interview: John Gallagher​

In this special #ReadGraphic episode of the Shelf Care Interview, Sarah Hunter talks with John Gallagher, creator of the Max Meow Series. 

What Natasha Trethewey Wants You to Read: Our National Reckoning: Race, Justice, and the Vote
by Natasha Trethewey

​We invited the six 2021 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence finalists to share lists of books that have resonated with them. Here’s what Natasha Trethewey, author of the Carnegie Nonfiction Shortlist title Memorial Drive: A Daughter’s Memoir (Ecco), wants you to read.

What Claudia Rankine Wants You to Read: Black Feminism and America
​by Claudia Rankine

​We invited the six 2021 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence finalists to share lists of books that have resonated with them. Here’s what Claudia Rankine, author of Carnegie Nonfiction Shortlist title Just Us: An American Conversation (Graywolf), wants you to read.

Top of the List Listen-Alikes: Clap When You Land
by Heather Booth

Elizabeth Acevedo and Melania-Luisa Marte’s performance on Acevedo’s verse novel, Clap When You Land, is particularly notable for its seamless dual narration, and in its skill in evoking poetry’s rhythm and emotion. As two sisters, one in the Dominican Republic and one in New York, learn of each other’s existence after the tragic death of their father, they struggle to make sense of their past, their future, themselves, and their relationship. Each of these titles is recommended as a listen-alike that connects with various pieces of the performance.