My Top Ten (8)

MY TOP TEN: Heroines That Don't Suck
Lets face it a lot of female leads in books nowadays are whiny and literally don't do much of anything. It's a very annoying trend that I wish would would stop but with the success of books like Twilight and House of Night it probably won't. But there are female leads who don't suck. Here are my top ten.

1)Hermione Granger from Harry Potter by J.K.Rowling-Without Hermione, Harry and Ron would have died a long time ago and the boys openly acknowledge this. Hermione is proactive, clever, is girly but not useless, and do not make her angry because she knows curses. Pretty much all the women in HP are great but Hermione is the ultimate.

2)Annabeth from Percy Jackson by Rick Riordan-Annabeth is another really smart girl who manages to keep Percy in check but also help him. She's the daughter of Athena and it shows in the great plans she comes up with. Also, don't mess with this girl, she has hero training.

3)Katniss Everdeen from Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins-Katniss is kickbutt but compasionate and so inspiring that she helped ignite a second revolution across the 12 districts and eventually led the rebels to victory over the Capitol.

4)Lyra from His Dark Materials by Phillup Pullman-Lyra is badass. She went on a journey head on, faced down an army, different dimensions and even sacrificed her first love to keep the world from falling apart.

5)Alanna/Daine/Kel/etc. from Tortall by Tamora Pierce-The girls in the Tortall series were my idols growing up. Alanna was kick butt, Daine had awesome magic and arrow skills, and Kel was smart and kick butt. Pierce writes some of the best well-rounded female characters in YA. See also Tris, Sandry, and Daja from Circle of Magic.

6)Rose from Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead-Rose takes some warming up to but you can't help but be charmed by her by the end of this series. She's kick ass but vulnerable at the same time and somehow manages to keep herself together during court plots, vampire attacks, and romantic drama.

7)Evie from Paranormalcy by Kierstan White-Evie is a charming character. She's naive but strong at the same time and just so full of life that you can't help but grow to love her and want her to be okay.

8)Sophie from Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins-Sophie is another character that's just charming. She tries her best with the hand that she's been dealt even when that hand she's been dealt sort of sucks.

9)Cam/Bex and co. from Gallagher Girls by Ally Carter-Forget princesses. These girls may go to a faux finishing school but in actuality they're training to be spies.

10)Gemma from the Gemma Doyle Trilogy by Libba Bray-Gemma Doyle is one of the best examples of character growth that I can give. In the beginning Gemma isn't much but by the end she's pretty awesome. Has some of the best female characters in YA.

Adult heroines: Mercy Thompson, Alexix Tarrabotti from the Parasol Protectorate, Sookie Stackhouse, all the women from Women of the Otherworld, Eowyn from Lord of the Rings, Arya Stark and others from Games of Thrones.

Next Week: Favorite ghost books