Top Ten Favorite Heroines

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, and this week we’re talking about our favourite topic: our favourite heroines! We’ve decided to go with both bookish and TV heroines because there are so many great ones.

Amber

1. Brooke Davis (One Tree Hill)

 

Not only does Brooke have the best name ever, she is also one of my favourite characters of all time. She has had so much crap thrown at her at home and by her “friends”, and yet she comes out on top because she is an absolute queen. She stays so strong, and even though she’s been treated horribly, she is still one of the most kind-hearted people on the show.

2. Vin (Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson)

Vin starts out as a streetrat who then becomes one of the strongest Allomancers to ever live. I absolutely adore her, and her determination and her strength. She’s a wonderful character, and even though I only finished the trilogy in December, she’s one of my all time favourites. Ever.

3. Aelin Galathynius (Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas)

She was the heir of ash and fire and she would bow to no one.

And that’s all I’m going to say because spoilers.

4. Clarke Griffin (The 100)

SKYHEDA OF AWESOMENESS. I, along with the right side of the fandom, absolutely worship the flawless goddess that is Clarke Griffin. She’s 17, almost 18, and is put in charge of almost 100 teenagers as they fight for survival on post-apocalyptic Earth. She lost her father, her mother has betrayed her, some people don’t think she’s too young to lead, and she takes it all in her stride and is the biggest badass around.

5. Arianne Martell (A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin)

“You disappoint me, Arianne.”

“Said the crow to the raven. You have been disappointing me for years, Father.”

Because Arianne is a queen and must be protected at all costs. If she’s not sitting the Iron Throne by the end I will kill everyone.

6. Veronica Mars (Veronica Mars)

 

Because of what Tatum said.

7. Rose Hathaway (Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead)

Rose is a missile of badassery who has to go through so much to save her (shitty) friend and rescue the love of her life. People are always trying to put her down, but she knows she’s awesome and I LOVE IT. Who gives a crap about modesty? Own it.

8. Raven Reyes (The 100)

She’s the youngest zero-G mechanic in 52 years and I will always pick her first.

9. Naevia (Spartacus)

One must find the right angle.

Okay, so here’s my attempt to scream about Naevia without spoiling everybody. Naevia starts out as an innocent girl, in every sense of the word, and by the end of the series she becomes a warrior goddess who takes no crap from anybody. She is abused, both physically, emotionally, and mentally, but she comes back ten times as strong. But at the same time, she’s a little broken. She’s got many, many flaws and she is deeply wounded by what she has been put through. And I love it. It’s realistic, and it shows how phenomenal she is that she can get up each day and carry on.

10. My mum

While she’s certainly not a fictional character, I had to put her on my list because she’s my favourite heroine in the world. My mum has been through a hell of a lot. I won’t go into too many details, but there was abuse, two arsehole boyfriends, five children, breakdowns – all of which accumulated in her getting royally fucked over while very few people around her helped out. And yet she carried on, managed to do a pretty damn awesome job of raising her children with no help from anyone but her parents, and I think we’ve turned out pretty well. My mum is awesome, and if anyone wants to trash single mothers then I would like to point them in her direction.

Tatum

I’m separating my favourites into TV and Books because it’s too weird for me to try and mix them. I’m a bit strange, I realize this.

TV

1. Buffy Summers (Buffy The Vampire Slayer)

 ‘No weapons, no friends, no hope. Take all that away, and what’s left?’

‘Me.‘

I don’t think I can explain how formative Buffy was for me, both as a character and the show in general. I remember watching Season Two in particular and thinking ‘well, if she can face all of that and still get up each day, I can too.’ Buffy taught me to be strong in ways I didn’t realize until I was much, much older. She taught me that girls deserve respect, that we don’t have to make ourselves smaller to fit into the world. From her I learned that strong is fighting; that just because it’s hard doesn’t mean it’s not worth it. She taught me that even with everything stripped away, who you are still exists and it can’t be taken away. Number One, forever and always.

2. Tyra Collette (Friday Night Lights)

 ‘…two years ago I had enough hate in my heart to start a freaking car.’

If Buffy was formative for me as a teenager, no other female character has been as important to me as an adult than Tyra Collette. She is one of the strongest characters I’ve ever had the pleasure to watch, and her strength comes entirely from herself. Over and over again she pulls herself up beyond the low expectations of the people around her, of the limited options her small town life offers and she respects herself enough to know that she deserves better than the hands she’s been dealt in life. Tyra overcomes the odds, whether it’s in the act of changing a tyre or being accepted into college and she does it all by fighting back against her own insecurities and fear that she’ll never get better than what she has. I love her so much.

3. Brooke Davis (One Tree Hill)

‘I am one in a million.’

Or as I like to call her, QUEEN Brooke Davis. I love her strength, her confidence and her ability to put herself back together again after the blows that life deals her (Lucas Scott & Peyton Sawyer are the grossest trash). She, like Tyra and Buffy, overcomes the odds to make the life she wants for herself. The strength it takes for a person to be able to do that never ceases to be amazing to me. Queen Brooke Davis *bows to her*

4. Veronica Mars (Veronica Mars)

‘Easy going Veronica Mars. That’s what the kids at school call me.’

Because duh. She’s Veronica Mars, teenage detective fighting for the underdog always. Veronica challenges the oppressive social system with her every action, and it’s made more powerful by the fact that in the show it is the upper classes who are always the bad guys. Veronica stands with women, with people of colour, with the poor and the downtrodden and she represents for them. Not to mention her sass, intelligence and cynicism. You don’t meet a girl like that every dynasty / Logan Echolls voice.

5. Clarke Griffin (The 100)

 ‘Leaders do what they think is right.’

‘I am.‘

The newest addition to my ‘forever faves’ list, Clarke is basically the only reason I have faith in TV again (never 4get Tara Knowles and Allison Argent, never 4give the way their characters were treated). In a season and a half, Clarke has grown into a leader figure for her people, making difficult choices and fighting tooth and claw to keep all that they hold safe. She does all of this without losing her compassion or her kindness. She’s a fully formed heroine and I’m really excited to watch her move up this list, as I’m pretty sure she will given enough time and progression.

 Books

1. Hermione Granger (Harry Potter)

‘Me!” said Hermione. “Books! And cleverness! There are more important things – friendship and bravery…’

Hello, formative character! I mean, I think Hermione is gonna be somewhere on just about every woman’s list who grew up during up the Harry Potter era, and for good reason. She is an amazing character and a heroine in every sense of the word. Harry Potter could not saved the world without her, and that is a fact. I love her ruthlessness, her courage, and I love how J.K. Rowling allowed Hermione to be all of these things while still being a girl. Hermione is emotional; she cries, she shouts, and she’s prone to storming off in a rage – in short, she has a full spectrum of emotion that illustrate just how much of a fully formed character she is. When J.K. Rowling finally releases Hogwarts: A History (keep the dream alive guys) I hope she includes a dedication to Hermione Granger.

2. Alice (Alice in Wonderland)

‘She generally gave herself very good advice, (though she very seldom followed it).’

Alice in Wonderland is my favourite book – I love the weirdness of Wonderland and Alice is the perfect heroine for such a story. She’s young and inquisitive, questioning (and shaping) the world around her.  Alice’s curiosity and precociousness were endearing to me as a child and as an adult I still love her, although now it’s fun to see the different themes and layers to her character and the story.

3. Julie (Code Name Verity)

‘Von Loewe really should know me well enough by now to realize that I am not going to face my execution without a fight. Or with anything remotely resembling dignity.’

 Bravest character, and also the most heartbreaking. Her story is one of unbelievable courage, made even more poignant by the fact that women like Julie lived and died during WWII doing the things she does in the book. It’s hard to explain why I love this character as much as I do without going into spoilers so instead I’m gonna say that everyone needs to read Code Name Verity at least once in their life – it’s that kind of book.

4. Aelin Galathynius (Heir of Fire)

‘She was Aelin Ashryver Galathynius – ­and she would not be afraid.’

Aelin could (and really should) win awards for Most Amazing Character Development. She is an immensely layered character whose entire storyline comes with a massive spoiler warning so I’m not going to talk about it here other than to say that I love characters who have inner struggles; Aelin’s own war wages with herself, pretty much, and her courage doesn’t just come from fighting evil or protecting the oppressed – she is brave because she faces every part of herself, the good and the bad. I’m so excited to see where her story takes her.

5. Lyra Belacqua (His Dark Materials)

‘…Lyra threw her cigarette down, recognizing the cue for a fight. Everyone’s daemon instantly became warlike…Pantalaimon, contemptuous of the limited imaginations of these gyptian daemons, became a dragon the size of a deer hound.’

Actual brilliant depiction of Eve in an ostensibly Biblical story. Lyra is basically a wild, vicious little girl with a mile wide compassionate streak. She loves wholly and completely, has an unparalleled gift for lying, and basically takes down an entire belief system by herself. She is a real little girl heroine – one with scabbed knees, messy hair and a stubborn will.