A Year in Review: 2025 - Feminine Rage

Welcome to our 2025 Year in Review, of which the theme was FEMININE RAGE!!! This past year has been a year of growth, trying new things, and learning how to support each other through the tough times. The following will be a thought on each book and a larger blurb of our favorite single books over the last two years.

JANUARY - The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood - 1985 -⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐-

It's a very well-written, interesting, foreboding, and super important piece of literature for the world to be paying attention to. Definitely required reading for the advanced reader, or any reader at all, to be honest. Everything that happened in this book has been historically recorded to have actually happened to women. This relates to Feminine Rage in that the society within the novel has grown toward circumstances that foster a need for feminine rage. Women are so mistreated in and outside the walls that they have to rebel to experience any sort of freedom.

FEBRUARY - Cinderella is Dead - Kalynn Bayron - 2020 - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐- Incredible! These characters were super believable, and the book overall is quite smart. The events that happened TO Cinderella were ingrained with social commentary, were entertaining, and still got her point across. Not too on-the-nose, and it doesn't assume that the reader is an idiot. Does a good job at showing and not telling. This book relates to Feminine Rage simply because she's a girl and she's mad because she's been disrespected, and somehow the tale of Cinderella has led Sophia to rebel against the shitty rules that men abused the story of Cinderella into.

"Angry women have changed history." Gloria Steinem

MARCH - The Once and Future Witches - Alix E. Harrow - 2020 - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐-This book was stellar for sure. Not every important relationship a woman has is with a man, and some of the most important relationships that women have are with other women, especially to survive. The way magic manifests in this world is so plausible and realistic, we loved it. Of COURSE, they would make a spell into a song that is passed down orally. This makes the witching history tangible to us. Relating to Feminine Rage in a few different ways, differently with each sister. James Juniper doesn't want to do anything by any one rule that society may deem appropriate. Beatrice Belladonna, because her baby (and her legacy) is stolen from her. Agnes Amaranth is full of rage because she is mistreated for loving those who are cast out of society.

APRIL - I Killed Scheherazade: Confessions of an Angry Arab Woman - Joumana Haddad - 2011 - ⭐⭐⭐⭐- This book is related to feminine rage in that it is a real account by a real woman. Non-fiction essays that do an incredible job of getting her information across. Short and sweet, and not so long that it could be considered beating a dead horse. We need more voices like hers in the world.

MAY - Iron Widow - Xiran Jay Zhou - 2021 -⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐- This book was so well-written and thought out that each moment it was necessary to pay attention, in terms of feminine rage and disability awareness. This book incorporated her bound feet into the story, but there was never a point that we forgot about it or that she was trying to change herself or worrying about the feet - instead, we saw her succeed despite them. In Feminine rage? Absolutely, Zetian's partners in the story are doing chivalry the right way, but the government? They're abusing women because they believe they are worthless, when in reality, they are indeed more powerful. What's not to rage about that?

JUNE - All My Mother's Lovers - Ilana Masad - 2020 - ⭐⭐⭐⭐ - This one was a realistic fiction. It was more palatable because nobody was malicious, necessarily, but because everyone was selfish. The characters were almost too realistic in that way, and it was hard to enjoy the book because of that, despite it being well-written. The feminine rage in this book stands out in the way that Maggie processes her feelings about her mother's affair partners and the most complicated parents ever. Including a mother who is seemingly ANTI-GAY, while also having a trans man as one of her affair partners.

JULY - One for All - Lillie Lainoff - 2022 - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐- Again, Brieanna likes this one because it was not so on the nose, but it wasn't super convoluted either. Pretty easy to follow, minus the politics, but this one was actually FOR Dissability Awareness Month. The female rage comes on the scene in the sense that, yet again, a woman is treated differently because she might not be perfectly able to be married off. Wooppee, because that's all women are good for, right? WRONG. Women can kick some ass, too, and bring down a government coup, even while living with a chronic illness. Also, you can't tell someone that they can't succeed at something attainable, just because overcoming a challenge may be hard. This book wasn't just like, oh, my disease is my whole problem, but I'm also a swordfighting spy and saving the world. I just happen to get dizzy sometimes.

AUGUST - Speak - Laurie Halse Anderson - 1999 -⭐⭐⭐⭐- The writing in this book was VERY cool - we were in the mind of a teenager the whole time, and it was super artistic, and we really enjoyed it. This book is almost totally about female rage. The whole point is that she's sexually assaulted, had trouble speaking up about it for various reasons, and then continued to suffer for it, until she finally spoke up. "Feminine Rage" is a perfect description for how this main character was quietly angry and silently suffering through it.

SEPTEMBER - So Far From God - Ana Castillo - 1993 - ⭐⭐⭐- This book was hard to connect with - there were too many plot lines, and not enough for the reader to connect with. Felt like a woman chit-chatting about nothing and everything all at the same time. The female rage, yet again, is how women are treated in the world. Definitely also their mother having to raise the four daughters as a single mother despite being married. She raised them on her own, but there was NOBODY to help along the way. So, so many words.

OCTOBER - A Dowry of Blood - S.T. Gibson - 2021-⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐- This book - Brieaanna literally cannot. It was so beautifully written, well-composed, had great characters, an interesting plot with twists, and it had a deep level of meaning I connected with. Brieanna liked it because it was about adults and adult relationships. Ceraya loves it because it's a different take on vampires, and it's quite edgy and cool. This one is super different because it's adult fantasy; it's not angsty teenage drama. MUST be a film. This book spans hundreds of years, and yet the feminine rage remains the same. The situation does not change until the man dies. Now, what does that tell you?

NOVEMBER - Where They Last Saw Her - Marcie R. Rendon - 2024 -⭐⭐⭐- When we did our podcast about this book, we said we loved what this book stood for and what it brought awareness to, but without the social commentary - this book is pretty basic, and predictable. The feminine rage in this book is still relatable, and this book brings a ton of awareness to MMIWR.

WELL! It seems we've done it!

What an amazing year! We are so happy that you've taken this journey with us, and if you haven't, join us for our 2026 Year! Themed: FROM PAGE TO SCREEN.

Check out the Podcast for our incoming 2026 Awards Ceremony AND our final reviews of each book, as well as our rankings!!!

-Much love, and see you with our first post in January 2025!

Brieanna & Ceraya