Continuing with the theme of Women’s History Month, I want to give a shout out to influential women authors through the lens of my reading experience.

1. Probably forever, Ruta Sepetys will always be at the top of the list. Having had the pleasure of her company in person does add an additional layer of appreciation for her, but her books themselves mine hidden histories which are captured with elegance and an emotional capableness to reach through the pages of the book to reach the reader on another level. She’s simply the best.
2. Mary Roach is the queen of curiosity for me. All of her books from the science of the military to cadavers have endlessly fascinated me. Years ago I wrote that she would be an author I’d love to have lunch with just to pick her brain. She’s got a fascinating array of subject areas, but I’ll follow her wherever that curiosity leads.
3. There is no one more Instagram-poet famous that Rupi Kaur. I follow her as do many of my high school students to see what new and old poems she drops there. Then I scrambled when she publishes a collection to get my hands on a copy and then make sure I have a handful in our library too. I confess to also following her social media to see what dress she’s wearing and to celebrate that this poetess sells out arenas to read her poetry. She’s an experience.
4. Sarah Andersen of Sarah’s Scribbles fame makes me laugh– every.damn.time. Her humorous take on the extraordinary and the mundane in her comics (but I’d be remiss not to gush about Fangs too) gave me a boost in the mornings when I would read a few pages from her comics with my cup of tea. She’s more than just a writer, she’s a creator.
5. And when I think about books whose settings and writing envelope me, I think about the atmospheric writing of Cat Winters. She pulled me in with In The Shadow Of Blackbirds and kept me there with all of the other books (and short stories) that she’s written. She’s the ultimate spooky YA writer.