So often, justice is not served. People get screwed over constantly and sometimes you just want to read inspiring things about amazing individuals who make you feel empowered and hopeful, when the news might be making you feel decidedly disempowered, disheartened and frankly, a little hopeless.
So here are seven books, fiction and non-fiction, both by and about, about bad ass people who broke the mould, got their own back, persevered, and lived their best lives.
1. Malala Yousafzai:
I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban
Image Via Health Connection
According to Amazon:
When the Taliban took control of the Swat Valley in Pakistan, one girl spoke out. Malala Yousafzai refused to be silenced and fought for her right to an education.
On Tuesday, October 9, 2012, when she was fifteen, she almost paid the ultimate price. She was shot in the head at point-blank range while riding the bus home from school, and few expected her to survive.
Instead, Malala’s miraculous recovery has taken her on an extraordinary journey from a remote valley in northern Pakistan to the halls of the United Nations in New York. At sixteen, she became a global symbol of peaceful protest and the youngest nominee ever for the Nobel Peace Prize.
The incredible teen activist published her autobiography in 2013, and since then has published several books including a children’s picture book. She is currently studying at the prestigious Oxford University while continuing the fight for women’s education, and is an inspiration to women everywhere.
2. Lisbeth Salander
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo 
Image Via Los Angeles Times
For some reason, Marie Claire give a better description than Amazon of Steig Larsson’s Millenium series, the protagonist of which is one of the heroines of modern literature, Lisbeth Salander. Described by Marie Claire as “a crazy mixed-up gal,” they state that “anti-social, bisexual, computer-hacking genius Lisbeth Salander is also one of the most charismatic characters in modern popular fiction.” Salander uses her vast intelligence and skills to hit back at a world that hurt her, and in doing so, has become a fictional icon. Larsson said he based Lisbeth on what he imagined Pippi Longstocking may have become as an adult.
3. Janet Mock
Redefining Realness: My Path to Womanhood, Identity, Love & So Much More
Image Via Wikipedia
According to Amazon:
In her profound and courageous New York Times bestseller, Janet Mock establishes herself as a resounding and inspirational voice for the transgender community—and anyone fighting to define themselves on their own terms.
With unflinching honesty and moving prose, Janet Mock relays her experiences of growing up young, multiracial, poor, and trans in America, offering readers accessible language while imparting vital insight about the unique challenges and vulnerabilities of a marginalized and misunderstood population. Though undoubtedly an account of one woman’s quest for self at all costs, Redefining Realness is a powerful vision of possibility and self-realization, pushing us all toward greater acceptance of one another—and of ourselves—showing as never before how to be unapologetic and real.
Mock, a TV host, writer and transgender activist is one of the leading voices in the struggle for trans* rights in America. She has written extensively about growing up as a transgender person of color, and her willingness to share and discuss her experiences have inspired and continue to inspire many, making her a voice for under-represented communities. Mock has two books under her belt: Redefining Realness, which discusses her life and experiences, and Surpassing Certainty: What My Twenties Taught Me
4. Starr Carter
The Hate U Give
Image Via Shadow and Act
The protagonist of Angie Thomas’s Black Lives Matter-inspired YA bestseller The Hate U Give, is Starr Carter, an African American teenage, who lives in an impoverished, predominantly African American neighborhood, however attends an upscale, largely white private school. Starr witnesses the shooting of her unarmed friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer, and subsequently embarks on a journey of activism in order to get justice for Khalil. Thomas has stated that she got the idea for the book after the shooting of Oscar Grant, an unarmed young black man, in 2009. Inspired by the many African Americans who have died at the hands of police, including Eric Garner, Sandra Bland, Trayvon Martin and Philando Castile, Thomas hoped to use writing as activism, in the same way that rapper Tupac Shakur used music. Tupac once said that the name of his album and his rap group, THUG LIFE, stood for the phrase, ‘The Hate U Give Little Infants Fucks Everybody’, which is where Thomas’s novel gets its title.
Starr is a wonderful protagonist, and a brilliant role model for young readers, as she though she finds herself in a hugely difficult and complicated situation, fights for what she believes in, against all odds. She will be portrayed by Amandla Sternberg in the upcoming movie adaptation.
5. Patti Smith
and 
Image Via The Forward
Patti Smith, singer, poet, writer and activist, is an inspiration in so many ways, but reading her memoirs Just Kids and M Train is just the most delicious food for the soul, and for anyone who is trying to get their start in life, or dealing with loss or loneliness. Though her career has been rich and successful and she remains a prolific artist to the present day, Smith’s personal life has been dogged by loss, by which she has been profoundly effected.
In Just Kids, she reveals how at nineteen, she fell pregnant and gave the baby up for adoption, an experience that never left her. The memoir primarily deals with her relationship with the artist Robert Mapplethorpe, who was her partner, both romantically and creatively, and best friend. The book ends with his death from AIDS in 1989. Smith’s beloved husband Fred Sonic Smith passed away in 1994, leaving her with two young children, and her brother Ted whom she was very close to, died suddenly not two months after. She was of a generation of rock stars many of whom succumbed to drugs and so saw many of her peers go too soon. She often dedicates her song ‘Elegy’ to the many friends she has lost along the way. Despite all of this, Smith remains active, upbeat and deeply spiritual. Her newest book Devotion ruminates on devotion in its many forms, and is an absolute delight. Smith is an inspiring person, incredible artist and writer, and devoted activist who campaigns against war and climate change. Her music, writing, and philosophies bring (to me at least) great comfort and inspiration.
Featured Image Via the Malala Fund