Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Top 10 - Favorite Heroines that Kick Butt


Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly post hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.  

I honestly thought this would be an easy topic but as I sat down to make my list I realized that my list of heroines is fairly short as most of the books I read have a male lead hero.  Hmm....what exactly does that say about my book choices?

In no particular order of favoritism:

1. Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games series.  Hands down, the moment she chooses to sacrifice herself to the games to save her sister earns her a place in my list.  Not to mention she is a self taught archer who is fully capable of feeding not only herself but her family and surviving the games.

2. Rose Hathaway from The Vampire Academy series.  I'd want her on my team should I need to fight off Strigoi.

3. Clary Fray from The Mortal Instruments series.  Thrust into a world she never knew existed she quickly learns to be the fighter she was born to be and goes about saving those she loves most.

4. Hadassah from The Mark of the Lion series.  Talk about a woman who has incredible faith in the power of her God!  I don't want to give too much away for anyone who may want to read this series eventually but let's just say that though she isn't physically strong, this woman is emotionally and spiritually a giant!

5. Lucy from The Drake Chronicles book 1.  Having just started this series, I found Lucy to be stronger in terms of her capabilities than her best friend Solange who is the only born female vampire who either will make it through the change at 16 or will die.  Lucy is a better fighter despite her human weakness and better prepared for the world of danger around them.

6. Hermione Granger from Harry Potter.  Book smarts come in real handy in this wizarding world.  Who better to have beside you than someone who has read every book and in turn knows a ton of spells because of that knowledge?

My last heroines all come from A Song of Ice and Fire....because those books are just that cool and I couldn't choose which heroine was better than another so I went with them all.

7. Daenerys Targaryen from A Song of Ice and Fire series.  At a young age she is arranged to be married to a savage warrior and experiences vast heartache in a short amount of time only to rise up strong and capable and to lead thousands of people to freedom.  Plus...she is the mother of dragons.  Therefore, she rocks.

8. Catelyn Stark from A Song of Ice and Fire series.  This woman suffers unimaginable grief and heartache as a wife and a mother.  Yet her loyalty and devotion to her house and that of her husband stands strong and she continues to fight with her intellect to protect her son Robb and to help gain his position as King in the North.  

9. Arya Stark from A Song of Ice and Fire series.  At a very young age she is separated from her family and forced down a road that is filled with despairing situations and often times situations that seem hopeless.  She is a little warrior!

10. Cersei Lannister Baratheon from A Song of Ice and Fire series.  Love her.  Hate her.  Makes no matter what your feelings towards her are (and I loathe her), she is one conniving and manipulative woman who rules the roost for sure!  She has learned from the masters of deception and she uses that to gain power and influence climbing the ladder until she is Queen Regent when her son takes the throne.  Plus she is a fierce mother who will do anything to protect her children.

I'm sure there are many, many more that I just didn't think of but these are the ones that came to mind this morning.  Who made your Top Ten list of Kick Butt Heroines?  Leave me a comment!

19 comments:

  1. Love your list -- many of the ones I'm not familiar with are from books I want to read - in particular, the Mortal Instruments, Vampire Academy, & A Song of Ice & Fire (though I'm really on the fence about that one since they are soooo long).

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  2. That is so funny, I had the same thought about Katniss when I picked her. It's not that she won the Hunger Games that makes her kick ass, it was the moment she volunteered for her sister!

    Ok, so I like that you added Cersei and Catelyn. I totally agree with Cersei actually. That woman is a fighter for her family. Catelyn annoys me though...sometimes I think she dug bigger holes for her family...then just kind of complained about them. Eep, I know, but she gets to me. More than Cersei!

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  3. Great list! We do indeed share a few similarities! Plus there are a number of books on here for my TBR list! New follower :)

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  4. Awesome list! Daenerys Targaryen would have made my list, but I've only watched the TV shows. She is an amazing character (at least on TV)!

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  5. Great list! I love Arya! And Katniss! And Hermione!

    And I should really get around to reading Mortal Instruments & Vampire Academy!

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  6. Rose and Katniss, heck yeah. Great list, ours have a few names in common. I should really read Game of Thrones. So little time.



    New follow.

    Alise - My TTT Post

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  7. Great picks! I haven't 'met' all of those heroines but I definitely agree with your Song of Ice and Fire choices. I love Arya and Daenerys has an incredible development! I keep hearing about the Drake Chronicles so I think I'll have to give that series a shot ;)
    But you're right, once I got thinking I also had trouble making my list. I mean I read loads of books with female main characters but I wouldn't put all of them in the kick-ass category even though many of them are strong.
    Thanks for stopping by my blog earlier :)

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  8. Love your list! Katniss is just awesome! Feel free to come by and check out mine...
    http://asoutherngirlsbookshelf.blogspot.com/2012/10/top-ten-tuesday-2-favorite-kick-ass.html

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  9. Great list! Song of Ice and Fire definitely has a bunch of kick-butt heroines, though I don't know if I consider Cersei a heroine ;-) being that so far she seems fairly evil and all (I've only read book 1 though!).

    Thanks for stopping by my blog :D
    -Anya @ On Starships And Dragonwings

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    1. Heroine - "a woman of distinguished courage or ability, admired for her brave deeds" - she is indeed evil but she has crazy courage (misplaced perhaps?) and is admired (feared) for her bravery (stupidity?). Ha Ha

      She is fearless. I can't stand her, but she is a heroine in her own right. Look at it like this: heroines on the side of good and on the side of evil.

      Thanks for commenting!

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  10. We do have some in common and others I forgot (like Tris and Clary!). I love the HBO series, but I haven't read the Song of Ice and Fire books.

    Thanks for stopping by and for the follow, I'm following back :)

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  11. Hadassah definitely fits into this category. Mark of the Lion is such a great series!

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  12. Fantastic list. I forgot about Clary, and probably should have included at least one of the main female characters from A Song of Ice and Fire.

    Thanks for following my blog and for stopping by. I'm now following you :-)

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  13. No surprise that we have so many similar picks! Great list!

    Check out my TTT.

    Sandy @ Somewhere Only We Know

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  14. Hermione and Katniss on my list too. crazyness that you said that most of the books you read have male heros.. i don't know why but the majority of my books are female leads. great list though. Katie @ inkk

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  15. I don't know why I didn't think of Hermione, or even Luna, because they are two of my faves.

    Awesome list. =)

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  16. I did a toss-up between Daenerys and Arya, and today I was feeling Arya. But I'm glad to see all the ASOIAF ladies getting recognition! Martin writes excellent heroines (and anti-heroines)!

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  17. A huge YES to Dani and Arya from Game of Thrones. I've only watched the first series but they're such strong characters in different ways. Arya will no doubt be a capable fighter, mentally and physically with more studying. And poor Dani. She was only young yet she rose to her duty and new role. I admired how she kept going and continued to lead. What strength!

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  18. Definitely Katniss and Hermione. How could they not be included on this list? So I guess I really need to read the Song of Ice and Fire series. I am just not sure it will be for me! I'll have to give it a try at some point!

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