Top Ten Tuesday #12: Top Ten Favorite Heroines

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/meme created by The Broke and the Bookish.

I'm so in love with this week's topic for TTT. I love reading about strong female characters. When I'm reading a book where the main character is too passive or too dependent on others - and most cases this tends to be a girl (I've never read a book where this has been an issue with a male protagonist) - chances are I get really frustrated with that character. But when a strong, independent heroine strolls across the pages, massive squeeing ensues. I know I don't actually have ten today but these are the ladies who win the title as my favorite heroines.

My Top Favorite Heroines

Celaena Sardothien from Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas - Celaena is the newest addition to my top favorite heroines. She is the ultimate definition of a badass female character. She's the kingdom's greatest assassin but she's still a girl. A girl who loves food - chocolate cake! - pretty dresses, puppies, and books. Celaena also isn't without her flaws and fears but she faces all of those with confidence and strength. Also, I want to give a non-spoilery shout out to Nehemia because she's pretty awesome too in her own way.

Blue Sargent from The Raven Boys Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater - I just love Blue so so much. She is definitely not afraid to tell it like it is. She's comfortable in her own skin, a little strange, a lot smart, and she can juggle four very different Raven boys with confidence, sass, and humor.

Annabeth Chase from the Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson series -Annabeth is nobody's sidekick. If you couldn't pick up on that just from her character arch, then she says so herself at one point. Being a daughter of Athena, she's smart but also extremely brave and strong. She's the absolute perfect match to Percy though she can definitely hold her own. I mean, she followed the the Mark of Athena to recover the Athena Parthenos and defeated Archne all with a broken ankle and all by herself.

Alanna of Tortall from The Song of the Lioness Quartet by Tamora Pierce - What other little girl grew up knowing she wanted to be a knight regardless of the fact that girls weren't allowed but fought for it anyway? As we watch her grow up, we see that she's not afraid to love (though she was initially) but at the same time, her falling in love doesn't define who she is. She always remains true to herself even if it means she might die for what she believes in.

Daine Sarrasri from The Immortals Quartet by Tamora Pierce - I almost lumped Alanna and Daine together since they're both from Tortall but quickly realized that wasn't fair to either of them. Daine lost everything she loved at a young age but grew up to be a powerful wild mage. What has always stood out to me about Daine's story is that there basically was no love interest until the last half of the last book. She rocked those books all on her own. By the way, Daine made archery cool way before Katniss.

Eowyn from The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien - That meme = enough said. Eowyn is basically the original female fantasy heroine.

Hester Prynne from The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne - I haven't read The Scarlet Letter since high school but Hester Prynne but Hester has always stood out to me as a classic heroine. Though she's scorned by society she continues to live while the men in her life are consumed by their sins.

Hermione Granger from Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling - This list seriously could not be complete if Hermione wasn't in it. She's the brains behind all of their adventures even when she's petrified. She's not afraid to throw punches (literally) or to fight for things that no one else believes in like freedom for house elves. She obliviated her parents memories of her to save their lives. Hermione is the brightest witch of her age and she's basically, the reason why Harry and Ron aren't dead - or worse expelled.

Did any of my favorites make it to your list? Did one of your favorites not make it to my list? Let me know! I love reading about awesome heroines!