Top Ten Tuesday (on a Saturday): Top Ten Favorite Book Heroines

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly event hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, created due to a fondness for lists. Each week they post a new Top Ten topic. After that, it's bloggers UNITE! Participate with your own Top Ten post, have fun, and get to know your fellow bloggers.

Yes...this is a Top Ten Tuesday post. Yes...I'm aware that today is Saturday. No...I don't care. :)

I actually did mean to participate in this week's Top Ten Tuesday, but I kind of had a combination of getting overwhelmed with other stuff and forgetting what day of the week it was. Obviously, I'm a mess.

This week, the topic was heroines. I've read a lot of books over the years, spanning many genres, so some of my choices are a little unique. They certainly don't all flow together, but they're all powerful characters that I loved. These lovely ladies are my top ten literature faves...


10. Rowan Mayfair. The Witching Hour by Anne Rice.

I read this book (and the others in the series) many years ago, but loved them just the same. I've been contemplating doing a reread lately. As far as powerful...umm...hello? She's a freaking telekinetic witch. I love reading the progression of her story as she learns how to properly wield her gift. She gets more and more confident and amazing as the book goes on.


9. Clare Abshire. The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger.

If your husband kept disappearing and reappearing, you'd have to be a pretty tough chick. The fact that Clare loves Henry as much as she does and manages to keep her cool through many years of this is pretty fantastic. She's both strong and gentle at the same time.


8. Meg Murry O'Keefe. A Wrinkle in Time quintet by Madeleine L'Engle. 

Again, a read from long ago, but I remember wanting desperately to be Meg when I was younger. I thought she lived the most amazing life.


7. Clary Fray. The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare.

She starts out pretty weak and more or less a disaster, but Clary grows throughout the series, becoming more sure of herself. She's pretty much a badass, let's just admit it. She faces up to vampires and demons and manages to hold her own.


6. Charlotte. Charlotte's Web by E.B. White

For a spider, Charlotte is pretty amazing. Forget that...for any character she's pretty amazing. She's able to keep that darned pig in check and keeps him from totally losing his crap on several occasions. Charlotte is a freaking rock star. She's even able to keep her cool when she's dying and has to mellow out high-strung Wilbur.


5. Ruby Oliver. Ruby Oliver series by E. Lockhart.

Ruby is independent and hilarious. She's a bit of a mental case, but I love her just the same. For all the mess that is her life, she's still pretty grounded through all of it and she's not afraid to have her own opinions.


4. Katniss Everdeen. The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins.

When I think of Katniss, I have to focus on Katniss of the books, not Katniss of the movies. The movie version is weaker in my mind. Book Katniss though, she's a pretty tough cookie considering the crap she has to face. I would've melted at the seams, but she just keeps muscling through.


3. Lisbeth Salander. Millennium series by Stieg Larsson.

This is one chick I would't want to meet up with in a dark alley. First of all, just the looks of her would probably terrify me. She is not for the faint of heart. Lisbeth is smart and ruthless. She gets what she wants and damn those who stand in her way. Don't even think of trying to overpower or intimidate her...you'll end up with some pretty traumatic memories of your own.


2. Hermione Granger. Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling.

Come on. If you're not nodding your head at this one, then you need to go reread the books. Harry Potter wouldn't have survived out of book one if it wasn't for this girl. She's brilliant and amazing. Criminy, it should have been the Hermione Granger series for all the mysteries she solves and the number of times she saves Harry and Ron's lives. Not to mention her ability to show Malfoy who's boss. This girl can handle herself.


1. Jane Eyre. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte.

My all-time favorite of favorites. Jane is the absolute best. She's smart and strong. She lives through a horrid childhood, wherein she still manages to stay fairly civil to her awful aunt and cousins. I'm pretty sure I would've lost it. She's not afraid to state her opinions and she's pretty darned independent for a woman in the 1800's. She's pretty much The Woman.


What about you? Do you agree or disagree with my choices? Have a number one pick of your own?