With the release of Barbie: The Movie, social media is packed with people celebrating Barbie with numerous related trends. I wasn’t really paying attention until Lindsey Bakken shared some ideas for her upcoming July newsletter that I am a contributor to! She suggested we highlight some amazing women protagonists and here we are, exploring the many lives of Barbie.
Barbie Trend with Book Characters
Gamer Barbie: Sadie from Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow
Author: Gabrielle Zevin | Goodreads
I just finished this book last week and it was fantastic! Sadie and Sam met at the hospital in their pre-teens and bonded over video games. Spanning three decades, this is the story of a friendship between two imperfect human beings, united by their love for games. If you enjoy literary fiction with a focus on characters and relationships, check out this book. It is also the winner of Best Fiction in the 2022 Goodreads Awards.
Full review coming to the blog in the future.
Scientist Barbie: Elizabeth from Lessons in Chemistry
Author: Bonnie Garmus | Goodreads
I knew from the moment I read the synopsis of this book that I would adore it and I was right. This is a historical fiction about a chemist who has a cookery show. It is a funny, heartwarming novel about an intelligent woman and the life she creates for herself and her child in a world where men think women’s place is still at home.
Written in two timelines, present day in 1961 and the other 1952, Lessons in Chemistry spans almost a decade of Elizabeth’s life. In the present timeline, Elizabeth is the cook of the show, Supper at Six and the story begins at a point when she is at her worst – one of the lowest moments of her life. And as the reader, all I could think about is what happened? Knowing what her background is from the synopsis, I want to know how a chemist came to this life crisis?
Read my full review here.
Other scientist Barbies: Rosalind from Her Hidden Genius by Marie Benedict (Goodreads, Review)
Stuck in time Barbie: Nora from Time After Time
Author: Lisa Grunwald | Goodreads
I love time travel and finding a time-travel romance was a blessing. Time After Time is a touching tale about a girl stuck in time. Nora Lansing died in an accident at Grand Central station in the 1920s but something about the station and Manhattan seems to bring her back. She meets and falls in love with a leverman at the station named Joe. What follows is a poignant yet heartwarming story about love that transcends time, set in the backdrop of the Second World War and the rustic and amazing world of Grand Central station.
Read my review here.
The other perspective, wife of a time-traveller can be found in Audrey Niffenegger’s classic, The Time Traveler’s Wife (Goodreads). Another book I need to re-read. 😀
Cyborg Barbie: Cinder from Cinder
Author: Marissa Meyer | Goodreads
If you love fairy tale retellings and you haven’t read the Lunar Chronicles yet, start with this recommendation. Cinder is the retelling of Cinderella and in the Earth that she calls home, she is a cyborg and mechanic. Marissa Meyer brings fairy tale characters to life while making them unique and unforgettable. Other books in the series to check out: Scarlet, Cress, and Winter, based on Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel and Snow White respectively. This series is a treat!
Read my full review of Cinder here.
Norse Goddess Barbie: Sigyn from The Goddess of Nothing At All
Author: Cat Rector | Goodreads
Norse mythology is one of my favorite mythologies and I have come across a few books in the last few months that are inspired or ingrained in it. It is fun to see how they all round out my understanding of the world. What drew me to The Goddess of Nothing at All was it is a tale of growing up, being disillusioned about the world and figuring out one’s stand. The synopsis is beautifully written and that in itself, made me very excited to pick up this book! This is the love story of Loki and Sigyn and how their relationship evolved with Ragnarok.
I adored this book and read it with Erynn some years back (see book discussion). We are excited to discuss book 2 soon.
Baker Barbie: Reena from Accidentally Engaged
Author: Farah Heron | Goodreads
Though Accidentally Engaged is set in Canada, it could easily be set in India or any place that has a close knit Indian community. This book is Reena’s journey of coming out of the parents’ shadow and standing up on her own two feet. She is a strong and loving character with a supportive friend circle. The friendships in this book were another highlight for me. Another moment of nostalgia. I connected to Nadim’s loneliness of moving countries and being friendless for a little bit. Through Reena I saw what I could have had if I had grown up here from the very start.
Accidentally Engaged has made many readers very hungry. Check out the review and make sure to have some snacks handy when you read this book!
Animal Trainer Barbie: Ester from Untethered Sky
Author: Fonda Lee | Goodreads
Set in a fantastical world where manticores hunt humans and only the majestic birds called rocs are strong enough to triumph over them, Untethered Sky has thrill, love for a creature as a partner and the camaraderie of people in the same profession. Ester comes to the King’s Royal Mews as an apprentice, hoping to be a roc trainer. Her past is marred by the tragedy of losing her mother and brother to a manticore attack. This led to a rift between her and her father and the place that she calls home has not felt like home in a long time. So she journeys to be a ruhker and meets Zahra, her roc.
I loved the world and like Ester, I wanted to be with Zahra, flying in the sky.
Read my review here.
Circus Barbie: Tess from The Chaos Circus
Author: Renee Dugan | Goodreads
“The Chaos Circus: a citywide fair where mortals trade years for prizes in vicious attractions from which the Deathless draw their power.”
If you are looking for a quick read that will remind you of The Night Circus and Alice in Wonderland, amongst other masterpieces in Fantasy, go check out this book! I reminisced about going to a carnival as I read this one. Walking through a marketplace, every booth trying to attract you to take part in their game or spend some time watching their show… But don’t mistake this place to be as friendly as it looks. They might tell you that your desires can come true but there are costs at being and playing at the Circus.
Tessa’s memories are incomplete. All she knows is that something happened and she ended up at a mental hospital where the people tried to fix her madness. She is willing to face the trials of The Chaos Circus and get the answers she needs. Situations change, the past comes calling back and she continues to persevere, sometimes looking deeper into herself.
Read the full review here.
From my Circus TBR: Lindsey Bakken’s series, The Invisible Circus (Goodreads)
Soldier Barbie: Red & Blue from This is How You Lose the Time War
Authors: Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone | Goodreads
The urge to reread this book as soon as I finished was very strong. I don’t believe this one is even supposed to be truly understood. This is How You Lose the Time War is a complete fantasy: There are two factions with the influence on time: there are the androids, the artificial bio-engineered machines like Red (I think of them as Murderbots) and the organic, earthy shapeshifting elf-like creatures that Blue is one of.
Blue makes first contact with Red through a letter as Red is getting ready to leave at the end of a mission. Thus begins a very creative correspondence between Red and Blue over the course of multiple timelines, worlds, cities and substances. Handwritten letters are rare in this book. Red and Blue communicate through seeds, flowers, bones and chemicals. There is so much care in how they communicate. Sometimes it takes 6 months for Blue to make something Red will read and destroy after reading.
Red and Blue are on opposite sides of the war and yet their love blossoms and sparks. Read the full review here.
Mom Barbie: Dev from The Book Eaters
Author: Sunyi Dean | Goodreads
I read The Book Eaters almost a year ago and am looking forward to reading it again. Told in two timelines that eventually converge on present day, the main character and narrator is Dev. She was born to the house of Fairweather, one of the Six Families of Book Eaters. She is a princess as girls are rare in the Families and the few that exist, can only reproduce upto two times. That is the crux of the family structures and societal complications. In the present time, Devon is on the run with her five year old son, Cai. In the past, going back to her childhood days when she first met a human, Devon doesn’t yet know what being a princess entails.
Devour this book if you like reading and are looking for a twisted world where being a mother has certain strict obligations. Read my review and discussion with SK here.
Another adored Mom Barbie: Kaemada from Between Starfalls by SK (Goodreads, Review).
Bonus Barbie
Witch Barbie: Katherine from HEX by Thomas Olde Heuvelt (Goodreads, Review)
AI Barbie: The Mother from The Mother Code by Carole Stivers (Goodreads, Review)
Writer Barbie: Agatha Chrsitie from The Mystery of Mrs Christie by Marie Benedict (Goodreads, Review)
Do you have recommendations to add to the personas and lives of Barbie I mentioned above? I would love for you to contribute to this post so please share in the comments and I will include you and your book(s). 🙂
I found a chronological timeline between many of the recommendations:
The goddess of nothing at all – In the time of gods
Time after time: 1920s-1940s
Lessons in Chemistry: 1960s
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow: 1980s-2000s
The Book Eaters: present day; alien infiltration
Cinder: Post World War IV
This is how you lose the time war: All over
Thank you so much for perusing this list! Check out my monthly appearance in Lindsey’s newsletter (subscribe here) and stay up to date for what we are creating together on Instagram!
Thank you for taking the time to read this post! Have you discovered any books from this selection that pique your interest?
Cover image: Photo by XINYI SONG on Unsplash
Oh? I love this idea!! Good thinking! 🥰