Tag Archives: heroines

My Top 10 (Er, Or So) Movie/TV Heroines (& Maybe Books Too…)

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Today’s topic is Top Ten Favorite Heroines From Books, but I did this topic just barely over a year ago for a TTT Rewind, so I thought I would focus on my favorite heroines that I know exclusively from movies and TV. And I got carried away. Ahem.

This week’s list is in no particular order…

1. Peggy Carter from Captain America/Agent Carter

peggy-carterWhat an amazing coincidence that today is the day of the Agent Carter TV season finale! If you’ve read this blog for a while you know I love me some Peggy Carter. I think she is awesome in basically every way.

2. Jemma Simmons from Agents of SHIELD

Simmons_Season2You know who is also a big fangirl of Peggy Carter? Jemma Simmons from Agents of SHIELD! Jemma might not have the ability to kick butt the way Peggy does, but she’s incredibly gifted in science and uses her abilities to fight for what’s right.

3. Lady Sif from Thor

lady-sifAnd one more from the Marvel universe! Lady Sif is basically like Peggy Carter from another realm. She is also way more awesome than Jane Foster, who I don’t dislike, but she’s not Sif.

4. Kate Beckett from Castle

Kate-beckett2I’ve been watching Castle since day one, and I’ve always liked Beckett, but I think I’ve come to really like her more and more these past two or three seasons. I’ve definitely enjoyed watching her character grow.

5. Olivia Dunham from Fringe

Anna-TorvSpeaking of character development, there’s also quite a bit for Olivia Dunham in Fringe! Some of you were here for my Fringe journey back in 2013, and you saw just how crazy hooked I got on the show. That passion has definitely died down now, but I still have a lot of love for Olivia.

6. Dax from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

daxNow that Charlene has finished DS9 (sorry for anyone else who hasn’t but might one day) I can safely say Jadzia AND Ezri Dax! This might be a cheat, because they are two different people, but oh well, too bad. They are different but I love them both. Jadzia is so spunky and smart, and Ezri I can just completely relate to.

7. Princess Leia from Star Wars

leiaI mean, she’s a princess who can shoot and fight for the cause. She’s pretty awesome.

8. Kaylee from Firefly

kayleeI love Kaylee. She’s sweet and fun and loyal and good at what she does.

9. and 10. Susan Ivanova and Delenn from Babylon 5

babylon5ladiesI debated with myself for a while about whether or not to include these two before I finally decided to. I feel quite separated from the show these days, even though I only saw it 2-3 years ago, I think because it doesn’t have the community like Star Trek; and also unlike Star Trek and Fringe, I didn’t find any Babylon 5 podcasts to enrich my experience. But when I think back to the show, and these two women, I’m just blown away all over again. Both of these women exhibit strength in different ways and they go through such interesting arcs. I’ll say it again: if you are a fan of science fiction, you should really watch this show (just look past the production value, they were on a budget).

BONUS Runner-Ups: Deanna Troi from Star Trek: The Next Generation and Molly Mahoney from Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium.

AND BECAUSE I CAN’T STOP…

BONUS #2: My Top 6 Fave Heroines from Books That I’ve Read Since Last Year!

(1) Hermione from Harry Potter, (2) Vin from Mistborn, (3) Cress from The Lunar Chronicles, (4) Seraphina from Seraphina,  (5)Alina from The Grisha Trilogy, and (6) Deryn from The Leviathan Trilogy

OK I AM DONE NOW.

Who are your favorite heroines from books/TV/movies? 

My Top 10 Book Heroines

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Today’s topic is REWIND! (Pick from previous topics that you want to do again or may have missed) After looking over the list of past TTT topics, I decided on top 10 heroines. This week’s list is in no particular order.

1. Jo, Little Women

jo-readingI read Little Women in high school and I feel she was really the first character I just really clicked with in a big way. I had liked several other characters before her, but I felt if I lived in Jo’s time and with her family, I would be a lot like her, with her love for writing, reading, and theatre. She is often the rock for her sisters and I think she is a very strong character and a good role model for young ladies.

2. Katniss, The Hunger Games

katniss-archerI think most of us will agree that Katniss is a strong character, and not just because she manages to get out of The Hunger Games alive twice and stick it to President Snow, but because of how she takes care of the people she loves. Just the fact that she volunteers for Prim shows her character and bravery. She goes through a lot and goes through a lot of emotional turmoil because of it, but I think she comes out even stronger in the end, because she is finally able to allow herself to truly love someone to the point of being completely vulnerable with him.

3. Liesel, The Book Thief

liesel-bookthiefLiesel goes through a lot as a foster child living in Nazi-occupied Germany during WWII. She loses so much but also gains so much, and while her story is largely tragic, it also ends in hope, as she learns how to express herself through the words she has grown to love, and she is able to move forward in her life.

4. Cinder, The Lunar Chronicles

CinderWhen I started reading Cinder, it amazed me how quickly I connected with a cyborg character. She is strong and independent, and though there were times when she was uncertain how she was going to be able to move forward, she never truly gave up. And I love getting to see her throughout the rest of The Lunar Chronicles!

5. Elliot, For Darkness Shows the Stars

fordarknessshowsI love Elliot, and I’m just going to copy and paste what I said about her in my review of For Darkness Shows the Stars: “She was independent but still loved and leaned on others. She was smart and stood her ground. She was fiercely loyal and self-motivated. I related to her a lot, at least personality-wise. But instead of irritating me (except when she wouldn’t give Kai a chance to talk to her, but more on that later), she inspired me. But she was not perfect. She constantly struggled over the beliefs of what she was raised to believe versus the changes she was seeing in her world. Sometimes others had to guide her and remind her that they were there for her and that she didn’t have to fight her demons alone.”

6. Persis, Across a Star-Swept Sea

star-sweptI adore Persis… She is smart, cunning, determined, loyal, and independent. She’s not perfect, but she is so interesting and dynamic and I loved every moment I was reading about her.

7. Lucy, The Chronicles of Narnia

dawntreader-lucyLucy was the one to discover Narnia and to first truly believe in it. Though the youngest of her siblings, she was able to lead them to Narnia and to Aslan. In Prince Caspian, she is the one that sees Aslan before anyone else, and by the time of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, though she still has her struggles, she has also grown up so much since her first time there.

8. Elizabeth, Pride and Prejudice

elizabeth-p&pPerhaps as the main character of a romance classic Elizabeth does not seem like an obvious heroine, but she was willing to stand her ground against her mother’s wishes for matrimony, as well as against a match with a very wealthy man (though we all know how that ends up changing), in a time where she most certainly was considered foolish for doing so. She is too prejudiced to see beyond Darcy at first, but she at least she does not blindly accept what her society would want her too.

9. & 10. Maddie and Queenie, Code Name Verity

codenameverity2If you’ve read this book, I don’t think I have to explain this one. And if you haven’t, I don’t know how I can. These girls are extremely brave. I feel that’s about all I can say!

BONUS! Two Favorite Heroines from Film & TV!

heroinesBasically, I could fangirl about Olivia Dunham (Fringe) and Peggy Carter (Captain America) all day, especially Peggy. I love them both. They’re strong and independent, yet feminine and kind. We need more ladies like these in our stories.

Who are your favorite heroines?