My Top Ten Favorite Book Heroines

Here we go, my next Top Ten Tuesday! To learn more about this meme, click here to check it out over at The Broke and the Bookish. This week's prompt is "favorite book heroines," which is probably my favorite prompt yet. Here are my top ten (links go to my reviews, or Goodreads if I haven't reviewed the book/series yet):

1. Hermione from Harry Potter - Okay, so everyone is going to have Hermione on her list. But there's a reason for that! Hermione is a strong, smart, independent girl who uses her brains instead of her brawns to win the day, and doesn't insist on being the macho, warrior-girl who steals the show. She loves her friends, protects the exploited, and she loves to read. I ask you, is there anything better than a main character who loves to read? No, there is not.

2. Jenna from Septimus Heap - I love those books so much. And I love Jenna, because she goes through so much (finding out she's adopted, training to be Queen, meeting her birth father, etc.), but never caves. She comes to grips with her identity as Princess as the series progresses, embracing what started out as nothing but a millstone around her neck, but never loses hold of her own identity. She is Jenna Heap, the only girl in a family with seven boys.

3. Aubrey from Love, Aubrey - How can you not love this poor, heartbroken heroine? Her father and sister died in a car accident before the  book begins, and her mother abandoned her out of grief. Aubrey moves in with her grandmother, and is both incredibly strong and incredibly weak - just like a real person is when they grieve. She has good days and bad days, wonderful ones and terrible ones, and I, the reader, absolutely love her for the way she comes to grips with everything that has happened.

4. Annabeth from the Percy Jackson and Heroes of Olympus books (link goes to my review of Blood of Olympus)- Can I get a "you go, girl!"? Everybody loves Annabeth. She's strong, smart, and clever, with just enough imperfection to make her the perfect heroine. She doesn't go gaga over Percy, date him by the end of the first book, and forget how to be useful by the end of the second. She takes
her time, she gets to know him first, and she puts the fate of the world before her personal feelings. That's my kind of heroine, and one that I would be honored to call a friend in real life!

5. Creel from the Dragon trilogy - Creel is hilarious, stubborn, and clever, more concerned about her friends the dragons than she is about her own safety. She turns down a handsome reward in favor of a dress shop in the city. I love her dress designs, and just reading about them makes me forget I don't actually care about clothes that much! I love her gung-ho personality, and the way she isn't afraid to rush out there and get her hands dirty. I also love her relationship with Prince Luka, who is a friend first and a love interest second.

5. Frankie from the Knightley Academy books - Frankie is so hilarious I can barely stand it! She stands out as the only girl at an all-boys boarding school when she gets kicked out of yet another boarding school and must come live with her father, headmaster of Knightley Academy. While she
isn't the main character, I love her to pieces (right alongside Henry, I'd have to say), and admire her guts, determination, and refusal to be anyone but herself. Also, she is really, really funny.

6. May from the Half Upon a Time books - May is, like a lot of the heroines on this list, a strong and witty female character who shares the stage with an equally strong and witty male character. What I love about May, though, is that her situation is different from most of the others. It's not just that she gets thrown into some terrible situation; her whole world is literally tossed upside down as she is kidnapped into a world where fairytails are real life (but fairies don't have tails), and her entire identity is thrown into question as she fights a battle that revolves around her grandmother, a woman not as ordinary as May once thought.

7. Amanda from the Willow Falls books - There isn't really anything in particular that I love about Amanda's personality or idenitity, as she's a pretty typical middle school girl. I just love her for the
situations she is put in, the way she deals with them, her willingness to use her predicaments to help others however she can, and her extremely sweet childhood friendship/blooming romance with her best-friend-since-diapers Leo.

8. Lina from the Books of Ember - The thing about Lina is that she is so strong in so many ways, but she still acts her age. At twelve years old she has lost both parents and loses her grandmother. She is the only family member left for her baby sister Poppy, and she takes that very seriously. She also entertains childish dreams about being the saviour of Ember along with her friend Doon, finding a way out of their collapsing underground city and announcing it grandly in front of everyone. She is determined, brave, and smart, but also has as many fatal flaws as the next person.

9. Molly from the Silver Bowl trilogy - I love Molly because she is strong, independent, and powerful, but she also knows her place. Growing up at the palace, she isn't broken. She merely chooses to obey her superiors so that she won't lose her job. Later, she is never forward with the prince: even when he has bad ideas, she remains respectful as she shoots his suggestions down in flames. I love her for her strength and suppleness, her sense of humor and adaptability that allows her to be a real, likeable character instead of the obnoxious brat she easily could have become with less self control.

10. Cimorene from the Enchanted Forest chronicles - Cimorene has been one of my favorite heroines since I was small. She is clever and independent, a princess who turns tradition on its head when she seeks out a dragon to "capture" her so she won't have to marry a prince. She is very practical, keeping house for her dragon friend and meeting every challenge that comes her way. Whether it's wizards (they dissolve in water mixed with lemon!) or the king of the Enchanted Forest (a cute young man Cimorene's age), she keeps her cool and gets things done as efficiently (and often hilariously) as possible.

What are your favorite book heroines? Let me know in the comments below!