My Inspiring Books

by Malena Schmidt Parekh

“Reading is the key that opens doors to many good things in life. Reading shaped my dreams, and more reading helped me make my dreams come true”

Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Even in our everyday digital technology filled lives, books are a huge influence. My name is Malena Schmidt Parekh, I am the Young Ambassador for Inspiring Girls Spain, and I love reading. 

Amongst all the books that I have read, some have inspired me and amazed me more than others.  Books are a way of communication that appeal to so many people, and I passionately believe that reading and being inspired through books allows many young girls to believe that anything is possible. 

My theme for this selection of books is “being you”. I think girls in particular lack confidence in themselves and it takes time and strength to realise that each and every one of us is unique and that is very special, I think it is important to always remember that and spread the message and so I present the following books to you that I believe help us do just that!

Little Women

By Louisa May Alcott

Grown-up Meg, tomboyish Jo, timid Beth, and precocious Amy. This story follows these four sister’s life in Massachusetts during the Civil War while they each follow their passions, battle struggles in society and personal life and yet always manage to do so with laughter and love.  Their different characters and the way that they each all follow their own very different dreams is a story that you can read time and time again without getting bored. 

Jo, seen as tomboyish and rebel, is one of the main characters and I especially loved reading all about her. The fact that she never stopped pursuing her passion, writing novels, and wouldn’t let anyone bring her down or change her, inspired and excited me. She was always herself even during the worst of times, seen as a misfit in society, but actually being her to the fullest. 

I think we can all relate to one of the four March sisters in some way or another, sometimes one of them or sometimes parts of all of them. The way they cope with their struggles and their own battles and always remain true to heart is an amazing story of hope, love, and always being yourself.  

Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls 

By Elena Favilli and Francesca Cavallo

Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls is a collection of stories about a hundred amazing women and their extraordinary paths. The stories are about many different women, from activists like Malala Yousafzai to painters like Frida Kahlo and women that have focused on careers in “STEM”  like Ada Lovelace and Mae C. Jemison. There are stories in this books that will appeal to almost everyone, with a wide variety of women in all types of careers. Every story is featured with a short quote and a painting done by a different artist around the world, which in themselves are motivating. 

The stories are short so they can be shared easily with your friends and family.  And because they are short the book left me wanting to know more about these women, about what happened to them and to read more about the things that they did.  I also wanted to be like them, to make a difference in the world but to do it by being myself. They had confidence and worked hard, even if the confidence was lacking. 

You can pick this book up and read it when you feel like it or when you need these stories. I hope you love them as much as I did.   

Rooftoppers

By Katherine Rundell

I loved reading this book, because it is about an orphaned girl who doesn’t want to change who she is to fit in with what society expects from her.  Sophie is a free spirit and follows her dreams to find her missing mother, embarking on an adventure that leads her from London to Paris, where she meets other children who are living their own extraordinary lives.  

During this adventure of laughter, hope, love and ultimate healing, Sophie learns more about herself and the world. The adventure was thrilling and I found myself not being able to put the book down and loving Sophie’s unique character. She would always give everything her best and always had hope and joy in her, enlightening those around her too. I really enjoyed accompanying her on this adventure as she also met some amazing children, each with their own ways and lives, which they had managed to adapt to and also love. There are many characters, boys and girls, men and women who will grab your interest such that you want to know more about them and will not put this book down. 

These are just three of my many favourite books and I hope that by sharing these with you, you can embark on your own amazing literary journeys too!