Today’s topic was hard. There are just so many great heroines out there! And narrowing it down to ten?? Sigh. Well, here goes…

1. Blue from the Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater – She is phenomenal. Just trust me.

2. Jane Eyre from Jane Eyre (ha!) by Charlotte Bronte – Strong, independent, passionate, and true to herself. Frickin’ awesome.

3. Karou from the Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy by Laini Taylor – I wish I could be her friend in real life. And Zuzana’s, because really, they’re both great heroines, and yes this is totally a cheat to get an extra name in…

4. Vin from the Mistborn trilogy by Brandon Sanderson – While I love many heroines, there are very few that I actually feel like I relate to. Vin is one of them.

5. Genya from the Shadow and Bone trilogy by Leigh Bardugo – I could have said Alina, the narrator for this series, but for me, Genya was the real stand-out heroine. Even if she makes some bad decisions sometimes.

6. Sophie from Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones – How can you not fall in love with Sophie?

7. Katniss from the Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins – Like Vin above, I really related to Katniss. I’m one of the rare people who actually loved her part and character in Mockingjay and thought it was absolutely perfect.

8. Sarah from City of Dark Magic by Magnus Flyte – I put Sarah on here particularly because she keeps herself free of the sexual constraints so often put on women, and it was wonderful to read a character like her.

9. Wanderer from The Host by Stephenie Meyer – Technically, Wanderer isn’t female (or male), but alien. She inhabits a female body, and takes on female traits, so for the purposes of this discussion, I’m including her. She is kind and brave and loyal.

10. Edna from The Awakening by Kate Chopin – Edna’s character may be tragic, and many people think of her as selfish. For me, however, she’s also a person who throws off the restraints forced on her and moves from helplessness into control over her own destiny. For that, she deserves to be included here as a heroine.

I just realized, I didn’t choose a single heroine from Harry Potter…hrm…

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.