Matrix

In her first novel since writing one of my absolute favorite books, Fates and Furies, Lauren Groff is back with an incredibly bewitching new book. Unlike anything I've read, Matrix pulls you back in time and into the world of 17-year-old Marie de France. Having been cast out of the court of Eleanor of Aquitaine and deemed unfit for marriage due to her unfeminine physique and mannerisms, she is sent to England to live out her life in a failing nunnery. In time, Marie gets her sea legs, pulls from her maternal line, all warriors and crusaders, and focuses her energy on protecting her sisters and bringing the grand visions she sees to fruition. This book holds space for the pious and profane, conviction and craving, and most importantly, women's raw creative force and power in a time and place unsuited to handle it.