🌸 March Focus Reads (Women’s History Month)

1. The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood —
   A 1985 dystopian classic imagining a theocratic regime that controls women’s bodies and futures, warning how quickly rights can be erased. Frequently challenged for “vulgarity,” profanity, and sexual content—yet many readers recognize it as a cautionary mirror, not a blueprint.
2. Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi —
   A sweeping, multi-generational novel (2016) tracing the legacy of the transatlantic slave trade through two half-sisters and their descendants across centuries and continents—revealing how history travels through families, bodies, and memory. Has faced restrictions and challenge efforts in some school contexts amid broader book-ban campaigns.
3. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot —
   A landmark 2010 work of narrative nonfiction exploring the life of Henrietta Lacks and the HeLa cells taken without her informed consent—raising enduring questions about race, ethics, poverty, and medical power. Challenged in some communities for depictions of sexuality and medical content that critics labeled “inappropriate.”
4. Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi —
   A graphic memoir (originally serialized 2000–2003) of Satrapi’s childhood in Iran during the Islamic Revolution, told with humor, heartbreak, and fierce clarity. Persepolis has been repeatedly challenged in U.S. schools and was listed among frequently challenged titles, often cited for “offensive language,” political viewpoint, and “graphic depictions.”
5. Hidden Figures: The True Story of Four Black Women and the Space Race by Margot Lee Shetterly —
   A children’s picture-book adaptation (2018) celebrating the brilliance of Black women mathematicians at NASA and the barriers they overcame—inviting young readers to imagine themselves into science, courage, and possibility. This title has been included in banned/challenged book collections documenting restrictions elsewhere.

Reflection prompt: Which women’s voices helped you survive, grow, or see the world differently—and how can we keep making room for stories that challenge and strengthen us?