reading lately: rogue women

I know I've said it before, but I love when reading a variety of books brings up some interesting connections in themes among them, even in books that are entirely different genres. And here's another roundup of some commonalities that I couldn't help but notice - these three books might read nothing alike, but in my mind they all connected because the stories show women taking matters into their own hands, perhaps stepping outside of societal expectations, or going a bit rogue... 

 

The Whisper Network

Friends Sloane, Ardie, Grace, and Rosalita have worked at a high-profile Dallas firm, Truviv Inc., for years, but suddenly things are going to shake up big time when the company's CEO dies and their boss, Ames, is likely to be promoted. They all have their own individual history with Ames and because of that have always kept quiet about the whispers of inappropriate conduct that have surrounded him. But when this promotion seems to be in the works and they see his interactions with a new young female recruit, they decide they're no longer going to just stand by on what has generally been corporate office status quo. Of course, taking down one man for sexual misconduct will have large repercussions all around - for other men in the local business community who are named in a secretly updated Excel list of accusations that is circulating among the female employees, and of course taking a stand will have repercussions for the four women at the center of the story, in terms of exposing their buried secrets, possibly hurting their career ambitions, affecting their family and friend relationships, and more. I found this a very satisfying read, with the juicy workplace drama combined with a bit of legal thriller feel. So many things in the past few years have been compared to Big Little Lies, so I hesitate to do it, but the marketing for this one did... and I actually think it fits. To me it's a workplace version of BLL - you know in the beginning that something big has happened, and you spend the story unraveling the mystery, through the relationships and lives and dramas of this group of female friends. Juicy reading with female characters who are relatable yet whose decisions you might question or cringe at - and in the end whose success and relationships you do root for. And making it an even better juicy page-turner, it's a smart page-turner: there's also a lot to think about in terms of #metoo, glass ceilings, working motherhood, female friendships, and more.

4/5 stars, a random Kindle buy after seeing that it was a Reese Witherspoon pick (she's hit or miss for me, but this was a good one!)

 

Outlawed

In an alternate-reality 19th century Wild West, the United States has come through some kind of pandemic that leaves everyone very religious and considering female fertility to be of utmost importance - which means that anything that doesn't fit their gender molds or (limited) understanding of childbearing, or indeed anything that causes sickness or death they don't understand, they assume to be the fault of "witches", aka women who are unable to bear children. In this strangely familiar-yet-not landscape we meet 17-year-old Ada, daughter of the town's midwife, who has just married and is looking forward to having children... but it just isn't happening. Even with  her mother's standing in the community and her own knowledge of midwifery, after a year of not conceiving a child she is pinpointed as the next scapegoat witch and must flee town, eventually ending up as an outlaw with the notorious Hole in the Wall Gang that (unknown to outsiders) bends all of the gender expectations she or we, for that matter) might hold. It's led by the Kid, an androgynous figure, and populated with a lovable and interesting range of queer characters who have all left home because they don't fit the standard female mold, or were infertile. They make their living robbing stagecoaches and such, but the Kid also has sights on establishing a real community that is a safe haven for outcast women. It's definitely a book you can read as a (female-led) Wild West adventure, with nail-biting scenes of shootouts and hold-ups, but it's also got a lot of depth to think about - it's a story of chosen community and family, of finding identity outside of the gender/sexual norms, and of what it means to be an "outlaw" when the laws/societal norms are set up in an unfair, sexist, or bigoted way. Overall, fun and feminist and fascinating!

4/5 stars, my January BOTM pick

 

American Spy

This story opens with quite a spy thriller action scene, in which the agent's past comes back to meet them violently - but in this case, that agent is a mother with young children living in the suburbs who now needs to go on the run with her sons to protect them. Flash back to the Cold War era, when Marie Mitchell was an FBI agent who was recruited to be part of a shadowy task force trying to get information about the revolutionary president of Burkina Faso, Thomas Sankara - and her job is to seduce him in order to do so. She is supposed to be part of the coup that brings him down, but the job is entirely muddied by her developing feelings of admiration for the work that Sankara is doing, and her developing feelings for him as a man... One thing leads to another and she goes a bit rogue on her handling officers, and those decisions are coming back to meet her in the present - where she'll clearly do whatever she can to protect her children. Focusing on a single Black mother who is a former agent, it's definitely a bit of a genre-bender - a literary, female-led twist on the spy thriller that also incorporates a family drama and a love story. So devotees of the spy genre might not love how it's a bit more literary (i.e., slower paced than expected for some, perhaps) or how it plays with the conventions of the spy novel, but I thought that putting a woman, and a Black woman at that, in this setting was really interesting, and the whole thing was very well thought-out and well written. Plus that made for just about the perfect amount of suspense for me - an actual spy thriller book or movie is often a little too much for me when it comes to the tension and the torture... (Also should note: Sankara is a real historical figure, so it was very interesting to learn more about this part of Cold War history that was admittedly brand new to me.)

4.5/5 stars, can't remember where I heard about it but later listened to her interview on the Bad on Paper podcast, which made me appreciate the book even more

Have you picked up any of these yet? They're all books I'd highly recommend, just depends on whether you're in the mood for modern-day soapy, thrillery drama or some rollicking Wild West or some literary espionage... Bonus that American Spy and The Whisper Network are a little older and therefore should be easy library gets!

Oh, and if you're looking for more books, thinking about female leads bucking expectations and taking matters into their own hands in this way also brought to mind One to Watch (romance), A Good Girl's Guide to Murder (YA mystery), We Ride Upon Sticks (modern-day witchcraft!), My Sister, the Serial Killer (campy thriller), and Circe (feminist mythology retelling).

Sharing on Show Us Your Books.