The Rise: A Feminist Book Project, formerly known as the Amelia Bloomer List, is an annual book list curated by the American Library Association’s Social Responsibilities Round Table, specifically through the Feminist Task Force. Established in 2002, the project was renamed “Rise” in 2020 to better reflect its mission of uplifting feminist literature for young readers. The purpose of the Rise list is to highlight recent books for children, teens, and young adults that exemplify strong feminist content—featuring female or nonbinary characters who challenge gender norms, advocate for equity, and inspire social change. The list is compiled and released once a year, typically during the ALA Midwinter Meeting or the Youth Media Awards, and serves as a valuable resource for librarians, educators, and readers seeking inclusive, empowering literature.
Reading List
Please read:
If you choose to explore this award, please select three books from the list below. You will be responsbile for sharing these books with your classmates as part of our module discussion.
Don't forget, you can learn a bit more about each book by checkout out our course inclusivity audit. Please also see my note about content warnings for specific titles.
⭐️ Jennifer Recommends: I've added stars to books that represent some of my favorites. You should feel no pressure to select titles that resonated with me.
The Judgement of YoYo Gold
Isaac Blum
2024
Fable for The End of The World
Ava Reid
2025
(S)kin
Ibi Zoboi
2025
Looking For Smoke
KA Cobell
2024
The Catalog of Burn Objects
Shana Youngdahl
2025
One Step Forward
Marcie Flinchum Atkins
2025
Plain Jane & The Mermaid
Vera Brosgol
2024
The Girl You Know
Elle Gonzalez Rose
2025
The Unboxing of a Black Girl
Angela Shanté
2024
Renegade Girls
Nora Neus & Julie Robine
2025
Everything Is Poison
Joy McCullough
2025
The House No One Sees
Adina King
2025
Find Her
Ginger Reno
2024
One of The Boys
Victoria Zeller
2025
A Suffragist's Guide to the Antarctic
Yi Shun Lai
2024
The Singular Life of Aria Patel
Samira Ahmed
2025
The Race To Be Myself (YA Edition)
Caster Semenya
2024
Run Like A Girl
Amaka Egbe
2025
Want to read something that is not on this list?
If you would like to swap a book from this list for one of your own choosing, you must:
Contact Jennifer (via Canvas) at least a week in advance with your suggested swap. Remember! In order to qualify for substitution, the book you select must:
qualify for the given award
have been published in the previous 24 months
be written for a YA audience
Keep in mind that some books appear on multiple award lists.