Heroine – Booking Through Thursday
This week’s Booking Through Thursday question is:
Who is your favorite female lead character? And why? (And yes, of course, you can name more than one . . . I always have trouble narrowing down these things to one name, why should I force you to?)
Hmm…well, thank goodness we’re not limited to one. 
My first choice, as of three months ago, would have been Anita Blake in Laurell K. Hamilton’s series. She is sassy, confident, and up until book five, stuck to her morals. But she’s starting to become rather trashy and amoral, and I hear it only gets worse. So scratch her.
I know Lyra from His Dark Materials is only 13, but she’s pretty awesome. She’s not over-the-top for her age, and I just like her. She’s strong headed but is really just trying to do the right thing. I love her! And I love Serafina Pikkala for being such a good witch, but maybe I just like saying her name. It’s rather lyrical.
I don’t know how many people felt about Rachel from Moloka’i, but I thought she was very real. She wasn’t perfect, but she’s someone I would definitely look to as a role model (if she were real, of course). She did her best. At the end of my life, I hope I can say the same.
I remember loving Jane Eyre, but alas, it’s been so long since I’ve read that book that I really don’t remember much about it anymore.
OH! How could I forget Hermione. I loved that she was always reading and learning. And she could do magic. And I think she’s the cutest thing in the movie.
How about you? Who’s your favorite female lead character? If you answered this on your own blog, leave a link here and I promise I’ll come read it and most likely leave a comment too. 
(I’m going to out myself and say that this is a perfect example of how I’m not very wordy…I’m very concise. I don’t expand a whole lot and I hope you can read between the lines and really *get* what I’m trying to say.)
| Tags: booking through thursday, Books, btt, female lead, heroine 23 comments »
February 28th, 2008 at 12:14 am
Choosing was hard for me too! I haven’t heard of some of the ones you mentioned so I guess I should check out your reading list–always looking for more good books to read!!
*smiles*
Kim
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February 28th, 2008 at 12:15 am
Oh, Serafina’s a fun choice!
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February 28th, 2008 at 12:38 am
I agree with Hermoine and Lyra. When I read fantasy novels as a teen, the female characters were always passive observors. It’s nice that there’s been a shift
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February 28th, 2008 at 1:09 am
Interesting- Most of those books I have never heard of
)
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February 28th, 2008 at 1:11 am
Great list, Trish! You’ve some good choices there! And I’m definitely with you on Anita Blake & Hermione!
Happy BTT!
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February 28th, 2008 at 3:09 am
Hi!
Serafina Pekkala has a lyrical name, because it’s in Finnish, which is a very lyrical language =) “Alavilla mailla hallanvaaraa”, like we say (that means “there’s a risk of frost on the low grounds”, but sounds so beautiful it doesn’t really matter what it means).
It was pretty neat to bump into a Finnish name when reading the book, it’s such a rare occurance.
I’m not sure how much I liked Lyra – she’s nice, sure – but Hermione, obviously. I mean who doesn’t like Hermione?
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February 28th, 2008 at 3:16 am
Hermione? I completely forgot her!
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February 28th, 2008 at 5:27 am
hmmm…maybe i’m partial because i’m from jersey too, but i get a kick out of stephanie plum from the janet evanovich series.
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February 28th, 2008 at 6:02 am
Jane Eyre is my fave. You should re-read it!
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February 28th, 2008 at 7:03 am
Funny! My post also started with, “It would have been Anita Blake, but. . .” I’m so glad it wasn’t just me being a prude that turned me off to that series.
Lezlie
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February 28th, 2008 at 7:17 am
I haven’t heard of most of these except Jane Eyre — she was on my list.
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February 28th, 2008 at 7:43 am
Rachel Kalama from Moloka’i– excellent choice and one of my favorites, too.
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February 28th, 2008 at 9:14 am
Oh, definitely, Lyra is a great female character!
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February 28th, 2008 at 10:05 am
Hermoine and Lyra both rock – there are some very strong younger female protagonists out there!
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February 28th, 2008 at 10:16 am
I did wonder about Hermione, but I couldn’t really say she’d changed my life, whereas the women I did choose definitely have.
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February 28th, 2008 at 1:19 pm
Jane Eyre would have been a good choice but I went with Pippi. Happy BTT.
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February 28th, 2008 at 3:16 pm
I’m with you on Hermoine and on Anita. She was such a great character and yes, unfortunately, it only gets worse.
cjh
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February 28th, 2008 at 9:26 pm
Hmmm … I’ve never hear of them.
I played too
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February 28th, 2008 at 9:36 pm
Hermoine is cool, though I didn’t put her on my list. I don’t know why she didn’t end up on my list – she just doesn’t have that something to make her one of my favorites, whatever that something is. Lyra and Serafina – they were ok and I remember liking Serefina a bit but they didn’t strike me as awesome. Unfortunately, I haven’t read the other two (though Jane Eyre is on my list).
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February 29th, 2008 at 11:54 am
Stephanie Plum or Scout from To “Kill a Mockingbird.”
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February 29th, 2008 at 12:14 pm
Hermoine’s a great choice.
I didn’t connect well enough with His Dark Materials to be able to say one way or another about Lyra. And the others? I haven’t read them!
I’ve got some other picks at my place. And an interesting discussion about strong women in the comments, too.
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February 29th, 2008 at 11:15 pm
Hermione almost made my list, but I decided to stop at five. She’s a great character. Rachel was another one I considered listing. She had such an amazing spirit. I haven’t yet read Pullman’s books, but I did meet Lyra in the movie recently and can understand why you’d count her among your favorites.
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March 3rd, 2008 at 10:27 pm
okay, i am new to this..I didn’t do too well with this question.
I liked the paperback vs. hardback one better…you should check that one out too.
anyway, I enjoyed your blog, it was a nice visit.
http://exlibrisbb.blogspot.com/2008/03/booking-through-thursday-favourite.html
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