As we move through 2026, looking back at the literary output of 2025 reveals a year of radical vulnerability and systemic critique. Feminist literature in 2025 moved beyond simple “girlboss” narratives to explore the care economy, digital safety, and the complex intersections of Indigenous and diasporic identities.
Here are the 25 best feminist books of 2025, categorized by their contribution to the movement.
Memoirs and Personal Histories
These works used personal narrative to expose broader social failures and celebrate individual resilience.
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Nobody’s Girl by Virginia Roberts Giuffre: A harrowing but essential memoir about surviving abuse and the fight to bring powerful traffickers to justice.
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Mother Mary Comes to Me by Arundhati Roy: A lyrical reflection on the influence of the author’s mother, exploring how maternal rebellion shapes a daughter’s politics.
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Book of Lives: A Memoir of Sorts by Margaret Atwood: The legendary author reflects on her life’s work and the moments that birthed The Handmaid’s Tale.
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A Memoir of Freedom by Cheng Lei: A raw account of the Australian journalist’s three-year imprisonment in China, highlighting the gendered experience of incarceration.
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The Gloomy Girl Variety Show by Freda Epum: A poetic debut exploring the intersection of mental illness, Black identity, and self-acceptance.
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Mainline Mama by Keeonna Harris: A vital look at the lives of women with incarcerated partners, advocating for an abolitionist feminist future.
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Black Panther Woman by Mary Frances Phillips: The first comprehensive biography of Ericka Huggins, focusing on her spiritual and political leadership.
Groundbreaking Non-Fiction & Manifestos
These texts provided the analytical tools to understand the shifting landscape of 2025, from AI to the “Care Economy.”
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Unfinished Revolution: The Feminist Fightback by Virginia Haussegger: A strategic analysis of why gender equality stalled in the mid-2020s and how to restart the engine.
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The Genius Myth by Helen Lewis: A critique of how our culture’s obsession with “male geniuses” allows for the dismissal of predatory or exclusionary behavior.
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Unassimilable: An Asian Diasporic Manifesto by Bianca Mabute-Louie: An intersectional guide to rejecting colonial beauty and social standards.
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The Right Hand by Phoebe Saintilan-Stocks: An investigation into the “chiefs of staff” (often women) who wield enormous behind-the-scenes power in global politics.
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Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams: A scathing exposé of the ethics within Big Tech and how digital spaces are failing female users.
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Love in a F*cked-Up World by Dean Spade: A guide to building mutual aid and radical relationships in a time of political and environmental crisis.
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Calling In by Loretta J. Ross: A transformative text on moving past “cancel culture” toward a more sustainable and inclusive feminist movement.
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No Human Involved by Cheryl L. Neely: A sociologist’s examination of how police indifference affects cases involving Black women and girls.
Best Feminist Fiction of 2025
Fiction in 2025 leaned heavily into “dark academia” and “gothic horror” to illustrate the lingering ghosts of patriarchy.
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Dream Count by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: A polyphonic novel following four women as they navigate love, hunger, and the search for “enough.”
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Motherland by Pratinav Anil: A sweeping historical novel looking at modern Russian history through the eyes of its most resilient women.
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The Theory of Everything by Yumna Kassab: A story of memory and unresolved love that challenges traditional domestic narratives.
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All Fours by Miranda July: (Finalist for the 2025 Women’s Prize) A daring exploration of female desire and the transition into middle age.
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Vulture by Phoebe Greenwood: A sharp, contemporary novel about the lengths women must go to to survive in the competitive creative industries.
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The Persians by Sanam Mahloudji: A multigenerational chronicle of a family divided between Tehran and the US, centering the women who keep the legacy alive.
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Punished by Ann-Helén Laestadius: A historical novel based on the true stories of Indigenous children in government-run boarding schools in 1950s Sweden.
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House of Monstrous Women by Daphne Fama: A gothic horror set during the 1986 Philippine uprising, exploring the power of “monstrous” female solidarity.
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Good Girl by Aria Aber: A debut novel following a young Afghan-German woman’s journey through youth and displacement.
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The Beautiful Game by Yamile Saied Méndez: A powerful YA novel about gender barriers in sports and the fight for equal play.
Comparison: Feminist Literature Focus (2020 vs. 2025)
| Focus Area | 2020 Focus | 2025 Focus |
| Workplace | “Leaning In” & Pay Gap | AI bias & The Care Economy |
| Narrative | Survival & Trauma | Agency & Radical Joy |
| Digital | Representation/Influencers | Safety, Data Privacy & Ethics |
| Identity | Intersectional Basics | Specific Diasporic & Queer Nuance |
Reunion
Andrea Goldsmith
Five friends who met at Melbourne University twenty years ago gather for a reunion. Relationships, careers, and other countries have come between them, and they are all curious as they share their present lives, and memories of each other. A beautifully written book about love, friendship, and betrayal.
The Little Stranger
Sarah Waters
A young doctor is called to a Georgian country home, once grand and now decaying. As he gets to know the family he realises they are also in decay, struggling to keep pace with a changing way of life. They may also be haunted by something more sinister. A fabulous ghost story from a writer who has created a chilling atmosphere, and is always meticulous in her research.
The Winter Vault
Anne Michaels
An exceptional new novel from the author of the acclaimed Fugitive Pieces. Her new fiction is set in Egypt and then in Canada, and weaves moments of history with the quiet intimacy of human lives. A husband and wife trying to find their ways back to each other, and of people and nations displaced. This is a powerful and breathtaking novel about memories, loss, and the restorative power of love.
The Children’s Book
AS Byatt $
A vivid rich and moving family saga beginning at the end of the Victorian era. Olive Wellwood is a famous writer who writes a special private book for each of her children. These children and their cousins live in a storybook world and in families full of secrets. At the end of the Victorian era, and living in idyllic countryside, a whole generation was un aware of the darkness and horrors of the war to come. A fabulous book from an always great writer.
moral disorder
The Slap
Christos Tsiolkas
An award winning writer turns his attention to the modern family and life in the 21st century. He uses the voices of eight people present at a barbecue. One of them slaps a child, not their own, and this incident has far reaching consequences for all their relationships. A powerful, haunting novel about love, family, parenting, passion, and loyalty.