I missed the prompt for Top 5 Wednesday this week, independent ladies. Since I just picked up Yes Please by Amy Poehler from the library, I figured I’ll still do a post about it! There’s been a lot of great independent ladies in YA lately, and what better time to celebrate than February. Galentine’s Day and Valentine’s Day is the best time to show some love.
While obviously everyone knows about Katniss from The Hunger Games and Hermione from Harry Potter, I thought I’d try to feature some leading ladies who maybe aren’t as well-known. Let’s give all these leading ladies the love they deserve!
Independent Ladies
Frey from The Boneless Mercies
Frey leads her Mercies on an epic quest to defeat the monster in the North. The monster that no man has been able to defeat. This re-telling of Beowulf is all about the ladies, and I absolutely enjoyed this more than Beowulf. And I still can’t get over that cover!
Katsa from Graceling
I don’t think Katsa gets enough credit, especially since she came about around the same time as Katniss. She’s stronger than most of the men she encounters, all about being true to herself instead of changing for a man. Have you read Graceling yet? You definitely should!
Melinda from Speak
Melinda has a different kind of strength when we compare her to characters like Katniss. But it take s a certain kind of strength to learn how to stand up for yourself and speak up, which is exactly what Melinda does.
Rumi from Summer Bird Blue
I haven’t seen Summer Bird Blue on enough lists from last year, so I’m including it here. Rumi is trying to figure out how to deal with her sisters death, and is sent to Hawaii to do so. Like Melinda, her strength is different than what you would normally picture. But strength through grief is also worth noting!
Blue from The Raven Boys
You always see a lot from the boys from The Raven Cycle, but I don’t think Blue gets enough credit. She keeps those boys together through a lot! Plus she helps magnify psychic powers, which is also pretty cool.
I’m ashamed to say I haven’t read any of these books… I’m saving them in Goodreads as a I type this 🤔
I’m actually happy to hear that! Haha. I was hoping to shed some light on books that don’t get a lot of attention. Glad to hear they sparked your interest! 🙂
Oooh, what a great post. Hmmm. I can’t think of any independent ladies at the moment…
Thank you! And I hate that, when your mind suddenly goes blank. Haha.
Yessss, Blue! 😍 She really doesn’t get enough credit. I need to reread The Raven Cycle soon. I’m not familiar with the others on your list but my list would probably include Aelin (Throne of Glass series), Claire (Outlander series), Feyre (ACOTAR series), Eve (In Death series) and a ton of others – I read a lot of books by Nora Roberts and Linda Howard and their heroines are almost always strong, independent and outspoken. ☺️
She really doesn’t! I think a re-read is in order before her new book comes out this fall! Those are all great ones too! I thought about including Aelin, but I wanted to focus on characters that maybe aren’t mentioned as much. 🙂
All these are such great choices! I’d like to mention Ginny, from Harry Potter – she became a famous Quidditch player and earned her own title in the world without anyone else’s help.
Thank you! And Ginny is great too; I feel like she never gets enough credit because she was so brushed aside in the movies.
of all these ive only eread the raven cyclke but yes i agree bolue is p awesone 🙂 she rly does guife the boys a lot
She really does! Her and Ronan are probably my favorites from that series. 🙂
Ugh I LOVED Speak when I read it in high school! Still sticks with me to this day!
Yes! Have you read the graphic novel adaptation? It is stunning!