She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan

She Who Became the Sun (The Radiant Emperor #1) by Shelley Parker-Chan, 416 p.

"In a famine-stricken village on a dusty yellow plain, two children are given two fates. A boy, greatness. A girl, nothingness…

In 1345, China lies under harsh Mongol rule. For the starving peasants of the Central Plains, greatness is something found only in stories. When the Zhu family’s eighth-born son, Zhu Chongba, is given a fate of greatness, everyone is mystified as to how it will come to pass. The fate of nothingness received by the family’s clever and capable second daughter, on the other hand, is only as expected.

When a bandit attack orphans the two children, though, it is Zhu Chongba who succumbs to despair and dies. Desperate to escape her own fated death, the girl uses her brother's identity to enter a monastery as a young male novice. There, propelled by her burning desire to survive, Zhu learns she is capable of doing whatever it takes, no matter how callous, to stay hidden from her fate.

After her sanctuary is destroyed for supporting the rebellion against Mongol rule, Zhu takes the chance to claim another future altogether: her brother's abandoned greatness."--Goodreads blurb

Incredible first in this historical fantasy fiction series.  Beautiful writing and great page-turner. Gender roles and romance are turned on their heads in this beautiful first book.
 

Equal Rites - Terry Pratchett

Equal Rites - Terry Pratchett - 272 pages

So, here we are at the beginning of my literary love affair with Granny Weatherwax, who has become one of my personal (if fictional) heroes.  To be fair, the first time I read this book, I was in middle school and feeling deeply affected by the idea that perceived gender roles were limiting my ability to expand my adolescent horizons (specifically, I'd been told earlier that year that I couldn't play the saxophone because girls played flutes and that was that).  Fast forward to twenty (plus) year later, and here I am, still wondering sometimes why exactly we're still dealing with social issues like glass ceilings and wage gaps.  Still relevant?  This book.

I will say, as one of Pratchett's early adventures with the witches, this one is lacking the depth and breadth of character you'll get six books in, and some of Esme's opinions were fairly shocking considering her later adventures, but again...this was the first real toe in the pool of her lifetime as told by Sir Pratchett, and reading it again after having read the whole arc of her story was just as thought-provoking as the first time all those years ago.

Herland, by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, 176 pages

Herland, by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, 176 pages

This is a pretty awesome feminist work of fiction from the early 20th century.  Three explorers set out to find an undiscovered land- and what they find is a society comprised solely of women.  Not only is the society functioning, but it is thriving.  For being written in 1915, this does not really shy away from questions of sex, femininity, masculinity, and gender roles, in general.  It is part of a trilogy, so it has a sort of abrupt, "huh?" ending, but as a piece of historical literature and part of the feminist canon, I really enjoyed it.