My Favorite Book Heroines
The theme in my newsletter for the month is hero characters. Last week I kicked off the month sharing my favorite heroines. Several readers share their favorite heroines as well so I thought I’d give you a glimpse at my favorite heroines of those of our reading group.
#5 – Dorothy from Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz Series by Frank L. Baum – I read these at maybe 10 and loved Dorothy’s sense of adventure and courage as she returned again and again to the strange land of Oz.
#4 – Nancy Drew – I read these as a pre-teen and loved Nancy’s determination and bravery in solving her mysteries. Even as a teen she believed she could make a difference and did.
#3 – Scarlett O’Hara from Gone with the Wind – Scarlett is selfish and manipulative but she is also ambitious in pursuing her goals. She never lets the fact that she’s a woman in a man’s world hold her back. Plus, she is fiercely determined, a trait I admire.
#2 – Bella from The Twilight Series – Really? Bella? In my opinion she doesn’t start out as a heroine. I connected with her character as a shy, introverted book-lover. Sometimes I felt she played a bit of a victim in her indecision between Jacob and Edward. I didn’t like that strung Jacob along. (Can you tell I was team Edward?) But, she fought for what she wanted and in the end, used her whit, realized her strength, and stood courageously against the Volturi to defend her family.
#1 – Jo March from Little Women – Okay, okay, it’s probably a cliche that an author would pick an author character as her favorite heroine. Jo marched (pun intended) to her own drummer and didn’t let the fact that her dreams were seemingly huge stop her from pursuing them. She not only wrote for herself but wanted others to enjoy her stories. She treasured her talents no matter how odd they seemed to others and used them to help her family.
Our fellow reader Thomas shared his favorite female characters with me including:
1. Miss Marple (Agatha Christie) — unassuming, unobtrusive, unflinchingly incisive
2. Mrs. Peel (The Avengers) — beautiful, intelligent, ruthless
3. Hermione (Harry Potter) — brilliant, fearless, loyal
4. Eep (The Croods) — tough, resourceful, brave
5. Ellie (Ice Age) — smart, sensitive, sarcastic
Trina share the following (and I wholeheartedly agree with Katniss)
Trina share her favorite female characters (and I wholeheartedly agree with Katniss)
- Lisbeth Salander from the Millenium series. I love how brilliant and strong she is even when faced with tragedy and personal turmoil. She does what she wants and to hell with what anyone thinks of her. She is a top notch hacker but instead of using her talents for evil she uses them for good. Anything she puts her mind too she excels at. She is kickass awesome and plus she has a dragon tattoo!!!
- I also love Katniss Everdeen from the Huger Games series because she too is strong in the face of adversity and tragedy. She loves with a fierceness that can’t be denied. She’s a fighter to the end but she also wants what every young girl wants, love and a family.
More favorite book characters from my readers
Janet Evanovich : Stephanie Plum series – Lucky , funny , great sidekick (grandmother also funny) and has many faults.
J. A. Sutherland : Alexis Carew series – This series is about a young lady breaking the “Glass Ceiling” in the future in a space military by perseverance , skill and luck.
Who are your favorite book characters?
Want to find out who the top fantasy & sci-fi characters are? Read by top fantasy character blogpost here.