Jennifer Morrison recommends: My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante The Story of a New Name by Elena Ferrante Those Who Leave And Those Who Stay by Elena Ferrante

Ferrante is a writer unlike anyone else. These three books explore the intricacies of growing up in a small town in Italy during a time when women had very few rights, and violence was a language everyone spoke. Ferrante somehow writes with the same violence and directness that her characters possess. I am completely awed by the way her words cut to the truth. I am inspired to be a better, stronger woman because of her characters, and these books make me even more eternally grateful to all of the woman throughout history who fought with their words, and their souls to prove that women and men are equal in all ways. There is a portrait of female friendship in these novels that is unparalleled. These books will stay with me forever.