Their Eyes Were Watching God - Zora Neale Hurston

When Janie, at sixteen, is caught kissing shiftless Johnny Taylor, her grandmother swiftly marries her off to an old man with sixty acres. Refusing to compromise in spite of society's expectations, Janie endures two stifling marriages before meeting the man of her dreams, who offers not diamonds, but a packet of flowering seeds.

"This book is a part of my character now - that's how many times I've read it. I don't look to fiction to find heroes, but I have to admit that Janie has meant more to me than any other character. She's singing my song, somehow. And you realise the breadth of Hurston's talent when you find out how many other people feel exactly the same way" - Zadie Smith