March is Women’s History Month, let’s celebrate some kick-ass women and girls in speculative fiction. The protagonists in these science fiction and fantasy books are all doing remarkable things, whether changing the world or making a difference in their communities. These women and girls are strong in character if not in physicality, the kind of characters you can’t help but root for even when they make mistakes.
Dreadnought by April Daniels
(Nemesis #1 — Diversion Books, 2017) The death of the superhero Dreadnought is a terrible event to witness, but one good thing comes of it for Danny Tozer: when the mantle is passed to her it also transitions her to her true self. Between her father trying to “fix” her, her mother refusing to stand up for her, and transphobic secondary characters, taking on Utopia, a cyborg supervillain, is a walk in the park. This is a great YA series for teens who want a little more from superhero stories in terms of diversity and themes than they often get. Danielle is a fascinating character who struggles as she grows into her identity as a young woman and superhero. So far this is just a duology, but April Daniels may be working on a long-awaited third book.
Pet by Akwaeke Emezi
(Pet #1 — Make Me a World, 2019) This is underrated not in terms of popularity but because of how few books like it there are. It is, as far as I can tell, the only traditionally published young adult speculative fiction book with a transfem main character who is also Black (or who is even more broadly not white). Pet has garnered a ton of accolades, and for good reason. In a future world that resembles ours live Jam and her best friend Redemption. Years before she was born, her parents were involved in a revolution that overthrew the oppressive political system. They build a new city, Lucille, meant to be equitable and progressive, but sometimes even the most altruistic ideals can propagate harm in unintended ways.Monsters don’t exist in Lucille, so say all the adults that pushed the old ones out. But that doesn’t mean new ones aren’t lurking in the shadows. When Jam realizes something dark is haunting Redemption’s home, a strange creature Jam calls “Pet” arrives from another dimension to balance the scales. Jam may be young, but she guides Pet through some challenging times.
Bang Bang Bodhisattva by Aubrey Wood
(Solaris, 2023) The year is 2032. The place is New Carson, California. The universe is…not ours. Kiera’s polycule is short on funds and at risk of losing their home, so she picks up a side job with a private eye, Angel Herrera. But when Herrera’s ex-bestie gets murdered and her current crush goes missing, Kiera and Angel wind up in the hot seat. Framed for murder, the two have to work together to solve the case. All the while, a skeezy detective is dogging their heels, looking to throw the book at them for the crime of being too different and easy targets. The book is like a cyberpunk take on hardboiled detective fiction but hella queer. Kiera is feisty and brash. She’s the perfect main character for this chaotic novel.
Embodied Exegesis: Transfeminine Cyberpunk Futures, edited by Ann LeBlanc
(Neon Hemlock, 2024) Speaking of cyberpunk, this anthology is a must-read. Neon Hemlock consistently publishes excellent speculative fiction of the queer variety, and this anthology is no exception. The stories circle around the idea that sometimes the only successful resistance you can do against fascism is surviving and being your true self while doing so. Given the current state of the US, this sentiment is even more impactful. The women herein are finding ways big and small to be themselves in the face of a society that hates who they are. Editor Ann LeBlanc was recently interviewed for Reactor by writer Tenacity Plys, and I highly recommend diving into it.
The Sapling Cage by Margaret Killjoy
(The Feminist Press at CUNY, 2024) I don’t generally care for fantasy books where magic is gendered—girls do this kind of magic, boys do that—but a few novels in recent years have pushed back against that biological essentialism in clever ways. Margaret Killjoy’s latest novel is a great example of that. In The Sapling Cage, only women can be witches. Lorel trades names with her female best friend and becomes an apprentice witch. She hopes one day to know enough magic to reshape her body to fit her truth, but for now all she can do is hope no one finds out her secret. In the meantime, she has plenty to keep her occupied, like the witches practicing dark magic that is leaving a trail of corpses and blighted, lifeless woods in their wake. Lorel is a complicated figure who is sometimes exasperatingly naive and impressively brave. Readers get to watch her discover the world and her place in it.
