Friday, January 15, 2016

My Favorite Female Characters

Hi guys! Together I've compiled a list of my 5 favorite female characters. If you want to know more about the books they feature in, you can click on the titles and they'll take you to each book's Goodreads page.


Let's start!

Elphaba from Wicked by Gregory Maguire


Let it be heard once and for all: Elphaba is my favorite female character of all time. Yep. In Maguire's adult retelling of the Wizard of Oz, Elphaba is a very human characterization  of the Wicked Witch of the West whom you can't help but root for. Born with green skin, this very special girl grows to become a very intelligent young woman who sees the hidden horrors of her world's society and decides to do something about it. And as she sets out to do what she can to change things, her transformation into the legendary Wicked Witch of the West begins. She's a rebel. She's a feminist. She's simply awesome. 

Cinder from the Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer


All the leading ladies from the Lunar Chronicles are pretty cool but Cinder remains my favorite. Each book in this series is based on a fairytale and Cinder is based, as you can guess, on Cinderella. She's a rather unique Cinderella in that she's a mechanic! She's always covered in oil stains, she's very down to earth and she's quite a strong female character  and that, too, without being your traditional kick-ass heroine. I mean, she doesn't even really knows how to fight but she's still a pretty cool female character. She's got her sensitive side and has the same apprehensions any young girl in her situation would have. And yet, she still succeeds to become a strong character with a lot of potential for great things. 

Cath from Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell


Most of us who've read this book have probably recognized themselves to some degree in Cath. I mean, she's an introvert, she's a fangirl, she writes fanfic and she's pretty much a book nerd. Cath and her twin sister are beginning university and while her sister is pretty hyped for it, Cath is equally anxious. She'd rather be typing away on her computer than talking to people around the campus. And yet, as she begins to let people in and actually try her hand at this university thing, things slowly begin to get swinging for her. This book was very realistic while remaining super endearing and Cath is a great character a lot of us are bound to relate to.

Alana from the Saga graphic novels by Brian K. Vaughan


Now here's an actual kick-ass female character. In this epic sci-fi graphic novel series, there's an ongoing war between two alien species. When two people from these enemy races, Alana and Marko, fall in love and have a child together, authorities and bounty hunters alike begin to hunt them down. Alana fiercely loves her family and never shies away from grabbing a gun or wielding a sword to defend them. She's super flawed too, but in my opinion, that just makes her a very relatable character. 

Agnes from Burial Rites by Hannah Kent


In 1839, Iceland, a woman called Agnes is accused of murder and until her sentence is finalized, she's banished to a remote farm in the care of the family who owns it. This family is initially horrified to be housing a criminal but as time passes and the date of the final sentence looms closer, they begin to discover the truth about Agnes. What I loved about Agnes is that she never, at any point in the novel, seeks the sympathy of this family. She quietly offers her help around the house and keeps to herself mostly and it only after some time that everyone, the reader included, that we begin to get to know her. In her own way, Agnes is pretty much a strong character of her own right.

So those were my favorite female characters. Leading ladies in books can be pretty bad-ass sometimes ^^ Do you have a favorite female character? Let me know in the comments!

Source

Cover art by Of Stacks and Cups via Pagemodo

9 comments:

  1. This is a great list! I'm not familiar with your last two picks, but Agnes in particular piques my interest. Burial Rites sounds really good. I'm more of a fan of Wicked the musical than the book, but I do love that Elphaba is so strong. Cath and Cinder I totally love! :) Great picks!

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    1. Oh I loved Burial Rites. The world building and atmosphere really brought the story to life. I haven't watched Wicked the musical but it's definitely something I want to do one day.

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  2. I love Cath and Cinder! I feel like I relate to both of them equally. I also really love Tris from Divergent and Cammie from the Gallagher Girls series! Pretty good picks you made!

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    1. Yeah, part of what made Cath and Cinder so cool characters is that they are very relatable. I wasn't that big a fan of Divergent but Tris was indeed a strong character.

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  3. Looooove Cinder and Cath <3 They are both admirable, strong and impressive ladies! I'm actually reading Winter at the moment and have been constantly reminded how much I love and admire Cinder. Cath was just one I could relate to completely, so I have all the love for her too :) I still need to read Wicked and Saga though but they're on my tbr shelf! Awesome post^^

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    1. I love how strong Cinder and Cath were. Cath has a different sort of strength but which is equally important. I hope you're enjoying Winter! Yeah, this book definitely does Cinder's character justice. I was rooting for her throughout the book! She's definitely my favorite leading lady in the Lunar Chronicles.

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  5. The only book I've read out of these is Cinder. And yes, she is pretty great! My favorite female character of all time is Rose Hathaway from the Vampire Academy series. She is so funny and smart and brave and fiesty and just wonderful!! Love this post! :)

    ~ Lefty @ The Left-Handed Book Lover

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    1. Rose is a pretty cool character too. I love how determinate and quirky she can be! Thanks for dropping by :)

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