Women’s History Month
by Audrey Swartz
Spring is springing, or is it? We won’t truly know until it has passed us by, especially in Kansas. What I do know is that March has long been set aside to celebrate the amazing things women have done throughout history. This year’s Women’s History Month is focusing on Women Who Advocate for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. Institutions around the country will celebrate in their own ways, from performances to exhibits to storytelling. Manhattan Public Library will have displays in every age group: children’s, young adult, and adult, featuring books about or by a diverse cast of women.
In our young adult section, located on the second floor of the library, you will find displays on women authors, being lucky, and Women’s History Month. The first two are located along the wall on floating shelves, and the last is on a cart in front of the new books. Below is a list of featured books on these displays. All information for these titles has been taken from our catalog, which can be accessed at https://catalog.manhattan.lib.ks.us/polaris/default.aspx.
The Women Authors display will feature:
“The Wild Ones: A Broken Anthem for a Girl Nation” by Nafiza Azad.
“Meet the Wild Ones: girls who have been hurt, abandoned, and betrayed all their lives. It all began with Paheli, who was once betrayed by her mother and sold to a man in exchange for a favor.”
“Deadly Little Scandals” by Jennifer Lynn Barnes.
“No one is quite who they seem to be in the twisty, soapy, gasp-inducing world of the Debutantes. Think of the White Gloves like the Junior League — by way of Skull and Bones. Reluctant debutante Sawyer Taft joined Southern high society for one reason and one reason alone… “
“Black Girl Unlimited: The Remarkable Story of a Teenage Wizard” by Echo Brown.
“Echo Brown is a wizard from the East Side, where apartments are small and parents suffer addictions to the white rocks. Yet there is magic . . . everywhere. New portals begin to open when Echo transfers to the rich school on the West Side, and an insightful teacher becomes a pivotal mentor.”
“The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy” by Mackenzi Lee.
“Felicity Montague has returned to England with two goals in mind–avoid the marriage proposal and enroll in medical school. However, her intellect and passion will never be enough in the eyes of the administrators, who see men as the sole guardians of science.”
On the Just a Little Luck display will feature:
“The Curse of The Specter Queen” by Jenny Elder Moke
“Samantha Knox put away her childish fantasies of archaeological adventure the day her father didn’t return home from the Great War, retreating to the safety of the antique bookshop where she works. But when a mysterious package arrives with a damaged diary inside, Sam’s peaceful life is obliterated.”
“The Good Luck Girls” by Charlotte Nicole Davis
“The country of Arketta calls them Good Luck Girls–they know their luck is anything but. Sold to a “welcome house” as children and branded with cursed markings. Trapped in a life they would never have chosen.”
“Luck of the Titanic” by Stacey Lee
“Southampton, 1912: Seventeen-year-old British-Chinese Valora Luck has quit her job and smuggled herself aboard the Titanic. One moonless night in the North Atlantic, the unthinkable happens. Val and her companions suddenly find themselves in a race to survive.”
“Witches of Ash and Ruin” by E. Latimer
“Told in multiple voices, seventeen-year-olds Dayna Walsh and Meiner King, witches from rival covens, team up in a small Irish town to seek a serial killer with motives enmeshed in a web of magic and gods.”
The Women’s History Month display will feature:
“#NotYourPrincess: Voices of Native American Women” edited by Lisa Charleyboy and Mary Beth Leatherdale
“Whether looking back to a troubled past or welcoming a hopeful future, the powerful voices of Indigenous women across North America resound in this book. #Not Your Princess presents an eclectic collection of poems, essays, interviews, and art that combine to express the experience of being a Native woman.”
“Finding Her Voice: How Black Girls in White Spaces Can Speak Up & Live Their Truth” by Faye Z. Belgrave, PhD, Ivy Belgrave, Angela Patton; [foreword by Lauren Christine Mims, PhD.].
“Find the strength and confidence needed to speak up, be heard, and assert yourself in a world filled with microaggressions and discrimination. Have you experienced stress, frustration, anger, or sadness as a Black girl?”
“Rolling Warrior: The Incredible, Sometimes Awkward, True Story of a Rebel Girl on Wheels Who Helped Spark a Revolution” by Judith Heumann with Kristen Joiner.
“One of the most influential disability rights activists in US history tells her story of fighting to belong in school and society -a powerful role model for young adults with a passion for activism.”
“We Are Not From Here” by Jenny Torres Sanchez
“Pulga has his dreams. Chico has his grief. Pequeña has her pride. But, none of them have illusions about the town they’ve grown up in and the dangers that surround them. When those threats become all too real, the trio knows they have no choice but to run: from their country, from their families, from their beloved home.”
I hope to see you exploring our library and these special displays as the month goes on. And a huge thank you to the Library Assistants who help create these display lists and displays!
Manhattan Public Library is a cornerstone of free and equal access to a world of ideas and information for the Manhattan, Kansas, community. Learn more at mhklibrary.org.
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Audrey Swartz, Adult Services and Readers’ Advisory Librarian