Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Kimberly's Top Ten Kick-Ass Heroines


Kimberly's Top Ten Favorite Kick-Ass Heroines


Future TTT Topics can be found here
  1. Yelena Zaltana (Poison Study Trilogy)- This girl... Don't mess with her. She is a powerful magician, lethal with the staff she carries. She is smart and her tongue is as sharp as the rest of her. If she doesn't beat you senseless with magic or her staff, she'll tear you to pieces with words alone.
  2. Katniss Everdeen (Hunger Games)- Anyone who has seen the movie or read the books knows how tough she is. She is deadly with a bow and arrow. Don't ever threaten someone she cares about,she will NOT forget it and neither will you. She started a rebellion and became the symbol of that rebellion to all of the people.
  3. Raisa ana'Marianna- (Seven Realms)- Oh my goodness. I just was introduced to this series a few months back, during the summer. AMAZING series, I'm less than a hundred pages from the end of the last book! Anyway, Raisa. She is tough. She is smart, snarky, sarcastic and could take a full grown man down, despite being built small. I can't say a lot without spoiler a lot of the series so I'll be vague. From the beginning of the series she is strong, but she only grows stronger and more... Well... kick-ass as the series continues.
  4. Cinder (Lunar Chronicles)- She's a cyborg. And totally awesome. She is handy with anything mechanical, smart and strong.
  5. Ismae (Grave Mercy-His Fair Assassin)- When her story starts off, she is already strong willed. She doesn't quite have the physical strength to match. Yet. As the story continues however, she becomes a force to be reckoned with.
  6. Tris (Divergent)- Another character that starts off strong willed, but a little afraid and doesn't really have the physical strength. That soon changes however. She chooses the most difficult faction and instead of letting those that are bigger than her bully her, she fights back.
  7. Vin (Mistborn)- She is small, not all that confident in herself, and doesn't really have much ambition. At least when you first meet her. After she meets a group of rather amazing people, she learns more of who, and what she is and becomes amazing. Strong, fast, with a quick mind
  8. Sabriel/Lirael-(Abhorson)- So I cheated with this one. I can't choose between the two of them, and they're from the same trilogy... Both of them are no nonsense, does whatever she can do to fight and do the right thing. They're both tough, but don't seem to realize how strong they actually are. They're so busy keeping others safe, or doing what they're supposed to do that they don't stop long enough to realize what they are doing is actually pretty incredible.
  9. Hermione Granger (Harry Potter)- Can anyone really make a list of heroines and not include Hermione? She is the smartest witch of her age, stands up to the strongest of foes and doesn't even falter when one of the people *cough Ron cough* walks away. She, along with her two best friends, helps to save everyone.
  10. Nita/ Dairine Callahan (Young Wizards)- I cheated again, but they're sisters! Both of them are tough as nails. They're young, 13 and 11 as their story starts out but there are a few things that set them apart. They're smart. Really smart. They're both wizards, with stronger powers than most. They come up against some of the most frighting foes, one in particular, and every time they come out on top.

I almost feel like I don't do these incredible characters justice. It's just so hard to describe them without any spoilers! Who are your favorite heroines? Are any of yours on my list? Is there a character that isn't on this list that I need to know about so I can read the book? Let me know!

76 comments:

  1. Ismae! Oh I totally agree. I should've put her on my list too. I think most of us will be putting Katniss on our lists. She's awesome! ^_^

    Janus @ The Blair Book Project

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  2. I forgot about the Study series and the Abhorson trilogy for this list. Been meaning to read Mistborn for a while, too, with the recommendations I've been getting. I'll get my hands on a copy of that eventually.

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    1. Do read Mistborn! One of the best fantasy series I've read in a long time!

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  3. Love your list! Tris and Ismae made my list too. Have you read the Graceling books? SO good and some of my all time favorite heroines! Love the ladies you mentioned that I know so I'm super excited to check out the ones that are new to me :)



    marissa

    My Top Ten

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    1. I'm going to start reading the first Graceling book! I just downloaded the first book from Audible.

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    2. Oh, you HAVE TO RIGHT NOW! Graceling is amazing! You'll love Katsa :) And Po *sigh*

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  4. Tris, Hermione, and Katniss made my list too. This was a pretty fun topic!

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  5. You got several that I totally forgot about! But we have several in common. I still haven't read the Seven Realms series, but for some reason, lately, I've been hearing about it everywhere. I'll definitely have to get myself a copy! Happy Tuesday!

    Emily @ Ed and Em's Reviews

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    1. The seven realms series is amazing, the story is incredible, twists you never see coming, all the characters are strong and kick-butt!, it's swoon-worthy, the first book starts off and then in the second book you'll never turn back!! It's different from everything that's out there, it's so refreshing to truly have an orginial story

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    2. YES! All of the above! I have so much love for this series!

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  6. Raisa ana'Marianna is AWESOME!! She should be number 1!!!! Just finished the crimson crown, so sad to see this series end but whoa that ending, BAM! i want more!!

    Raisa ana'Marianna shows that a girl can be strong and be equal and supress any guy, and own her queendom!!

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    1. I didn't put them in specific order, imagine trying to rank this amazing characters! Raisa IS awesome! I just finished Crimson Crown last night! Or... rather it was early this morning...

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  7. I just added some of these to my TBR list and bumped a few up the pile (still haven't read Divergent, fool that I am). Love your thoughts on Sabriel and Lirael, and Hermione is just awesome.

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    1. Yay! Someone else that has read the Abhorson Trilogy!!

      Hope you love Divergent!

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  8. There aren't many YA books or series that I've read, so the only ones I recognized were Hermoine and Katniss. But I agree, they are both kick-ass!

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  9. You're absolutely right about a list of kick-ass heroines net being complete without Hermoine! So of course she's on my list too! :)

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  10. I love your list!! I totally agree on the heroines from the books I have read and SO want to read the others! :)
    The Crimson Crown should be on its way here, I can't wait to read it! Raisa is definitely a kickass heroine! I'm kinda sad this is already the last book in the series..

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    1. Thanks, Daisy!

      Can't wait to hear what you think of Crimson Crown, I finished it last night. Stayed up much too late reading it...

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  11. You seriously can't exclude Hermione. I couldn't. She may not be a fighter but her intelligence saves the day quite a few times. She's an idol for us girls who just wanted to learn and do well.

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    1. Exactly! She's the best role model and idol in fiction. IMO. :)

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  12. Cinder, Tris & Hermione are also on my list! You can't leave Hermione out of this list :) If someone deserves her place.. Katniss is great, but I only liked her in the first book and from that moment on, she lost her
    kick-assness :p

    TTT @thedailyprophecy.

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  13. Hermione and Katniss? Of course! I'm ashamed I don't know the others. We must read in different genres. :-) Although I did pick up Divergent recently and look forward to meeting this Tris...

    -Jay

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  14. Great list! What about Katsa from Graceling? Most kick-ass heroine ever! Have you not read it? It appears that you are a lover of High Fantasy, so you should!

    Check out my Top Ten and Giveaway!

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    1. I just downloaded the audio for Graceling since so many people have recommended it to me! Can't wait to learn about Katsa!

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  15. I've only read three of these books/series, but a lot of the others are on my tbr pile. I'm bumping them up on my list, I'm excited to meet all these kick-ass characters!

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  17. I forgot about Katniss! I had all the ones you had that I have read though :) Great list!
    My TTT and Giveaway

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  18. Tris, Hermione , Cinder, and Katniss are on our list too! Katie @ Inkk

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  19. Hermione is another awesome person for this list, I didn't even think of adding her! I do have Ismae on my list too though :)

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  20. Great list! I have Hermione, Tris and Katniss on mine too. There's so many great ones, it was hard to stick to ten.

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  21. I didn't participate but I'm loving everyone's lists. I'm unfamiliar with most of the heroines on your list but Yay for Katniss and Hermione.

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  22. Love Tris and Ismae! How did I miss Hermione!? What was I thinking? haha

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  23. This was a fun one! And, no, you can't make a list like this without Hermione! I didn't!

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  24. Ooh good list!! Raisa is on mine as well. :)

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  25. I totally agree with Ismae, Tris, Hermione, and Yelena. I think they are awesome kick-ass heroines.

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  26. I also have Tris, Katniss and Hermione on my list =D They do really amazing.
    Great list!

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  27. I love this list! Vin? YES!, Katniss? YES!, Tris? YES!...even Hermoine? YES! All those made my TTT as well :D Oh and I have Cinder, Grave Mercy & Poison Study on my reading list...I even own the first two, so I'm very excited to check those out as well...even more so now that I see them on this list!

    Thanks for sharing...old follower!

    Micheline @ Lunar Rainbows

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    1. Thank you!! Love it when someone loves as many of the same characters as I do. :)

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  28. Hi! Cool list! Agree with Katniss, Tris, and Hermione! :D

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  29. I have Katniss, Tris and Hermione on mine too! I love kick-ass heroines!

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  30. I've only read Hermione, Katniss, and Cinder. I'm missing all these other strong gals in my reads!

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    1. Add them to your 'to be read' list! You'll love them! :)

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  31. Excellent list! I've definitely added some books to my 'to be read' pile.

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  32. We had a lot of the same ideas! Good list!!

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  33. I almost put Cinder and Hermione too! Great list!

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  34. ismae is a good one! she is great. of course, hermione is awesome. i think she will be on a lot of lists this week.

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  35. Ismae is also mine :) I agree with all of them that are in books I've read.

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  36. Totally Hermione! Not only does she fight againt Voldemort, but she fights for the house elf, and others who most people don't think about. Gosh I love Hermione.

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    1. Me. Too! So much to love about her!

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    2. I love a lot about Hermione too. She's so smart but I don't think she's kick ass because she's not impulsive enough. Ron's sister and mother are for me more kick ass than Hermione.

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  37. I had Katniss and Hermione too. It seems they are very popular picks! Great list!

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  38. Katniss, Hermione and Nita are on my list too. I love this week's topic - so many great female characters!

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  39. You have to look at my list, maybe you didn't read those books :) I totally agree with Katniss, I have her in my list too. I just love her <3

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  40. Vin should be higher than Raisa. She overcame more in her series than Raisa, and she began as a virtual slave. I love Chima's series, CC is waiting on my shelf right now, but I would never rate Raisa higher than Vin.

    Where is Polgara? She is one of the most powerful female characters in the last thirty years.

    Karigan from Britain's Green Rider series is probably one of the most human heroines, and she does anything she can avoid being one.

    No Kahlan? She has been through wars and famines and still came out on top. Add on the pressure of her being the last of her kind, and she should be in the top five easily.

    What about Annabeth? She should at least be ranked as high as Hermione

    Lets not leave out the wondergirls. Egwene, Elayne, Aviendha, and Nynave plow through baddies like crazy.

    All in all, it looks like the list is rather tilted toward books released in the last few years. That is overlooking some great female characters.

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    1. I didn't put them in any particular order, I just listed them as they came to mind. I wouldn't put myself through the torture of trying to rank them! Yes, the list has a lot of new characters. What's wrong with that? They're my favorites. Although, Nita and Dairine have been around since the early 80's.

      Tell me what books/series the characters you mentioned came from, I'd love to read about them!

      Although, since you posed this anonymously, you'll probably never see this comment. Pity.

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    2. Ah. I saw the numbers and figured that was a ranking system.

      Polgara is from Eddings's Belgarion based books. She has a 3000 year backstory. Her prequel can make a grown man cry.

      Kahlan is from Goodkind's Sword of Truth series. After about the first few books, it does get fairly mature at points.

      Karigan is from Britain's Green Rider series.

      Annabeth is from Riordan's Percy Jackson books.

      The "wondergirls" are from Jordan's Wheel of Time. Wondergirls is the fan term for them as a group since they are all very close friends and are all very powerful magically and personality wise.

      Nothing is wrong with using characters from recent books. Katnis has thousands of girls wanting to take up an ancient sport in archery. Raisa is a good character in her own way. Vin overcomes so much in her short existence. The side-effect of being top heavy with recent releases is that they can crowd out others that can be more deserving.

      Sorry about the anon post. Didn't have any of the primary options.

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    3. Thanks for the suggestions! Can't wait to read about these characters. Especially Wheel ofTime series. If Brandon Sanderson was chosen to complete the series, then it must be a somewhat similar style.

      As for numbering the characters? That's pretty much impossible within a selection like this! ;)

      And I agree, having too many new release books on the list can leave out others, but since I haven't read the other books,I couldn't exactly include them. Next time!

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  41. I'm unfamiliar with many of these series, although I heartily agree with Hermione & Nita/Dairine being on the list (although personally, Carmela is my fave, she's like the Phil Coulson of the YW 'verse).

    I suppose a couple on my list would be Karigan G'ladheon of the Green Rider series--she starts out a slightly delinquent schoolgirl and winds up a knight of the realm. Another of those sorts of epics would be Elizabeth Moon's Deed of Paksennarion, with a lowly sheepfarmer's daughter rising to paladin. I sort of have a soft spot for any of Tamora Pierce's characters but I suppose Alianne of the Trickster series is my hands down favourite.

    Shout out to Anne McCaffrey? Lessa of the Dragonriders of Pern.

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    1. Love Carmela!!

      I haven't read the Green Rider series, I'll have to check it out! And I haven't read any of Tamora Pierce, something I need to remedy.

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  42. Love this topic! Though mine was definitely heavy on Mercedes Lackey characters - she writes a lot of great heroines.

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    1. I haven' read her books! I'll have to check them out!!

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  43. I. LOVE. Your list. #4, 8 & 9 specifically. Dang. SUCH good books, and such amazing characters!

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  44. I really like a lot of the ones you've chosen for your list especially Hermione and Raisa. Just a suggestion for your to-read pile though...if you're looking for kick-butt heroine's try Tamora Pierce's books. Her main female protagonists consist of two knights, a mage, a spy, and a cop if that tells you anything. :) Happy Reading!

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  45. I did 5 kick-ass and 5 non kick-ass to make it easier... (and yes, I did include Hermione :P)

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  46. Awesome list! It seems I'll have to check out some of those series so I can watch some kick ass heroines do their thing!

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  47. I love so many of the books of this list! And the female characters!
    One of the only ones I haven't read is the Seven Realms series so I guess I better read that one soon!

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  48. I love this week's top ten! hooray for women empowerment, Yay :D

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  49. I just did my first Top Ten Tuesday yesterday! Yay!! And I just submitted my name too...thanks for letting me join! :)

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  50. Hi, I'm Terri and I'm new here. I'll be participating in Top 10 Tuesdays as often as I can! :)

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