Best Kick-Ass Heroines

I saw a couple bloggers make this very same post this week, so there must be an internet meme going around. Might as well give my two cents.

These are the best kick-ass heroines from books (not TV or movies). There are a lot of kick-ass heroines out there, but these are the ones that pop into the forefront of my brain.

Katniss. Duh.

She's smart, resourceful, sticks up for the weak, and sparks a revolution.

Alina is your everyday peasant. Not really good at anything, she works as a scribe for the army regiment. Until the regiment is attacked. She throws her body over her life-long friend's and unleashes a power like the world has never seen. She spends the rest of the book figuring out who is her friend and who is using her, and who is trying to kill her.

Elisa is fat. Which makes her kinda awesome on the first page. She's the second princess, and was God Chosen as an infant to do something amazing with her life. There's a jewel embedded in her belly that marks her as Chosen, and it also makes her a target. Elisa is kidnapped, marched across the desert, and through her personality and intellect, somehow takes charge of an army of rebels and helps them defend their homes from invaders. It sounds convoluted but it's really a kick-ass story for a kick-ass heroine.

The first thing Tris does is make a choice that separates her from her family and everything she's ever known. Then she stands by that choice, even though she is beaten-up, nearly killed, has to stand by as friends suffer. She comes out on top though, due to pure toughness and determination. And she does it while being true to herself.

Meliora picks up her father's revolution when he dies of sickness. She loses every single battle and gets captured. She escapes though, and manages to walk halfway across the kingdom with a mangled ankle. Mel is frustrating at times, but at least she has reasons for what she does. And no one can deny her loyalty or fierceness.

Senneth is pyrokinetic. A damn powerful one too. Maybe the most powerful mystic in the kingdom during a time where mystics are being hunted and killed. I wish I remembered a quote from the book, but I don't have it with me right now. It sums up Senneth really well. One character asks another if he ever heard of anyone who would run into danger to save a complete stranger just because they were innocent? That's Senneth. She uses her formidable power to right wrongs and help the innocent.

Tamora Pierce has a lot of great heroines, like Alanna the Lioness. If I had to pick the best Pierce heroine, it would be Beka Cooper. She chooses to be a policewoman in a dangerous town where not many police survive their first year. Not only that, but she turns out to be damn good at it. She's also really insanely shy and can barely make audible reports to her supervisor. When it comes to whacking knees and cracking heads with her baton though, Beka is awesome.

Yelena. About to be executed by the crown, the royalty decides instead she should become the food taster for the Commander. She's stuck in this role because she needs a daily antidote from the Commander to stay alive. She's smart, brave, and altogether kick-ass.

Tessa! I love Tessa. She thinks she's a princess until the king and queen are murdered. Then she finds out she's only a decoy, someone trained in weapons and poisons in case an assassination attempt is made. Tessa overcomes her rapid decline in station and sets out to restore the real princess to the throne. And kicks ass along the way.

Phedre is a unique heroine. She's into whips and chains and all kinds of pain and sex. So when someone murders her entire household, she knows just how to find out who did it. She finds out secrets amid the pillow talk and uses them to her advantage. It's the first book I read where all the kinky scenes are absolutely integral to the plot. And Phedre is one mentally tough chick.

I'll end with a contemporary heroine. DJ has a lot of issues at home and with her friends. She wants to play football, but her dad is injured and her mom works two jobs. This girl runs the entire dairy farm without complaint. WITHOUT COMPLAINT. She does what is needed to help her family and doesn't ask for anything, not even credit, for her sacrifices. She is the strength of the family and doesn't realize it.