This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
Obviously, as major book nerds, we are reading books pretty much all the time and occasionally come across a female character that completely takes our breath away. There are many, many female characters out there that we have fallen a little bit in love with, that we admire and are inspired by. The list of ten women below are heroines that have stayed with us over time. We could add many more if we dug through our own personal libraries, but these are the ones right there, at the forefront.
So, in no particular order:
1. Cannie Shapiro from Good In Bed by Jennifer Weiner – Cannie works for a newspaper. She is smart, funny and kind. Then she reads about herself in a column by her ex-boyfriend called Loving the Larger Woman and is plunged into misery. She turns it around though, and goes on to have the most amazing year of her life. I love how Cannie reacts to the situation given to her and how she rises up from the low moments through perseverance in order to achieve her dreams.
2. Jo March from Little Women by Louisa May Alcott – Jo March is a big favourite with the Novelicious Team. Victoria, Kerry and Amanda all suggested her with Kerry saying it was her perseverance when it came to being published that made her such a great heroine.
3. Helen Walsh from The Mystery of Mercy Close by Marian Keyes – In all the other books about the Walsh sisters, Helen does not come across as an attractive heroine. Amusing yes. Feisty, yes. But not admired. Until we got an intimate glimpse into her thoughts in The Mystery of Mercy Close. Then, said Jennifer, we saw how strong she was as she battled depression.
4. Lucy Honeychurch from A Room With a View by E. M. Forster – Our reviewer, Kelly, says, and I'm going to quote her fully as I couldn't say it better myself: "I love her because she is almost a silent heroine, she starts off extremely naive and her eyes become open during her journey through the book. I love her innocence yet she has incredible strength."
5. Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins – Katniss, a favourite of Amanda's, volunteers to replace her sister in The Hunger Games. As most people don't survive the games, it is an amazing act of kindness, bravery and sisterly love. Katniss goes on to become what Kerry can only describe as a "badass".
6. Hermione Granger from The Harry Potter Series by JK Rowling – Who doesn't love Hermione? Geeky, a swot, rather plain looking. Born from muggles, but thanks to her bookishness and bravery, she goes on to help Harry Potter defeat the worst wizard of all time. Hermione proved you could be a book nerd and cool, which we're all about here at Novelicious.
7. Elizabeth Bennet from Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen – What list of heroines would be complete without Elizabeth? She is perhaps one of he most admired and one of the most loved characters in British literature and is a particular favourite of deputy editor, Debs.
8. Minny Jackson from The Help by Kathryn Stockett – She is hot headed and will not tolerate anyone who crosses her. She is also the best friend of Aibileen and together they help Miss Skeeter write her book about The Help.
9. Matilda from Matilda by Roald Dahl – Matlida's parents are not very kind to her, calling her some awful things and generally mistreating her. But Matilda is a genius. Underestimate her at your peril. Hurrah for another bookish heroine!
10. Scarlett O'Hara from Gone with The Wind by Margaret Mitchell – Originally published in 1936, the story of Gone with the Wind has endured. Kerry loves Scarlett because she was just so feisty and strong.
Do you have a favourite literary heroine?