Books To Read if You Love Greta Gerwig Movies

Not only do the protagonist and Gerwig share a name, but her films’ emphasis on familial love and letting go are alive in this story. When indie musician Greta James’s mother dies suddenly, Greta’s life — personal and professional — falls apart. Months later, still in a rut, she reluctantly joins her father on an Alaskan cruise in place of her mother on their 40th wedding anniversary. Together, they not only heal their grief but also begin to build back the pieces of their own strained relationship. When Greta meets Ben Wilder — a history professor facing his own life’s drama — helping each other fix their issues feels easier than facing the music alone.

Used as inspiration for Gerwig’s Barbie, Pipher takes a look at the perils of being a teenage girl. Outside pressure from society can become serious internal issues for teenage girls — from eating disorders to substance abuse to mental health struggles — that can be difficult to recover from post-adolescence. Pipher outlines how the media’s portrayal and objectification of girls can lead to their own harsh judgment and self-hatred, causing them to lose touch with who they are on a deeper level. Like Barbie, Reviving Ophelia urges girls to define themselves by who they are on the inside, rather than how they look on the outside.

Lady Bird brought forth the difficulties of mother-daughter relationships, particularly during the transition into adulthood. Michelle Zauner — vocalist for Japanese Breakfast — opens up about her own relationship with her mother in this memoir. For Zauner, food was a form of comfort and connection — something she needed growing up in one of the few Asian American families in Eugene, Oregon, and even more so when her mother died of cancer. Learn how Zauner fostered a connection with her mother after their strained relationship during her teenage years, as well as the way she has used food to bring her mother back to life — feeling her presence in every bite.

If you loved Little Women because it’s a period piece with a modern perspective, meet Kitty Talbot. Looking for a wealthy husband to save her family from their financial crisis, Kitty sets her sights on Archibald de Lacy — rich, kind, and unaware of Kitty’s true intentions. But the challenge isn’t winning over Archie — he’s a done deal — it’s his brother who is causing trouble. Lord Radcliffe catches Kitty as a fortune-hunter immediately. Before he can expose her, Kitty finds her own leverage against him — the pair in a duel Archie knows nothing about. Though Kitty has long resisted the idea of love, she starts to get closer and closer to finding it — confusingly — with the man she hates.

Barbie is no stranger to an existential crisis, and neither is Marian McAlpin. Though she’s career-focused and independent, Marian reluctantly agrees to marry her boyfriend, Peter. But once she learns that Peter expects her to quit her job and become a housewife, Marian begins to spiral — as seen through the food she can no longer eat. Though it seems that Marian’s lost appetite is a reflection of losing herself, we see that Marian’s resistance to food is a resistance to this marriage. Like Barbie, Marian must go on her own journey of self-discovery — one that’s not only eye-opening for her, but also gives readers their own food for thought.

Told over several decades, and through different characters, Memphis follows three generations of women — Miriam, August, Joan, Mya, and Hazel — through their lives and the curveballs they’ve been thrown. When Miriam and her daughters are forced to return to Memphis to escape domestic violence, her sister August welcomes them into her home, bringing back the sweet — and painful — memories they all shared. Miriam and August’s relationship with their mother Hazel, and their children evokes the woman-centered familial dynamics found in Little Women while bringing focus to the racism and violence that every woman in the North family has endured — and the cycles they’re determined to break.

Much like Lady Bird, Cindy Stoat wants more for herself than the bleak life she believes she leads. Even more like Lady Bird, Cindy fakes her way into a more glamorous life — the one of the missing Jude Vanderjohn. Jude is popular and wealthy — more than Cindy could ever dream of being until Jude goes missing on a camping trip and — in her mother’s grief-stricken state — is replaced by Cindy. Missing her own mother who left her, Cindy relishes the feeling of having one again — even if she’s playing the role of someone else’s daughter. But Bernadette and Jude’s delusions can’t cover up either of their painful realities — their game of pretend can only last so long.

Before her 11th birthday, Kenyatta Bernice — KB — has her world turned upside down when her father dies of a drug overdose and her family loses their home. Though her mother’s relationship with their grandfather has been tumultuous, KB and her sister Nia are sent to live with him. KB’s connection to her sister and mother weakens in the wake of their tragedy, and the other children in the neighborhood prove to be unreliable playmates. As a child facing an adult situation — and even more family secrets — KB must learn to come of age all on her own — experiencing Gerwig’s portrayal of the aches of girlhood tenfold.

If what you get from the Greta Gerwig experience is the relationship between motherhood and girlhood, Thakur’s poetry is for you. Born with both grandmothers having married outside of their religion, Thakur has grown up with a deep understanding of what it means to choose love. This has poured into all aspects of her life — art, politics, and poetry. Understand how Thakur feels wearing her mother’s heart, and the influence of every mother who came before her. Immerse yourself even deeper into her thoughts and perspective by listening to the songs associated with certain poems creating an intertextual experience. Explore themes of girlhood, motherhood, racial and gender politics, and more — all tied directly to love.