Riot Grrrl Reads

I still don’t really like Clary much, but I hated her in the first 3 books in the series. She was needy and annoying to the other Shadowhunters, and was just desperate to be accepted. However, in the last 3 books in the series, she was much more independent. Finally she didn’t need Luke or Jace to be constantly looking out for her, and I cared about her much more.

2. Alec Lightwood from The Mortal Instruments

Alec was so moody at the start of the book, but he was just confused and jealous. Over the course of the book I definitely grew to love him (to the extent of him being one of my favourite characters ever) because he’s now so confident and sassy. He developed into his true personality which we didn’t see in CoB and CoA.

3. Bree from The Manifesto on How to be Interesting

The whole point of this book was character development, so if Bree didn’t change the book would just be pointless! She was really insecure at the start, yet at the end she was really confident and had great self-esteem. She learnt so much through the book which I think was really important for the readers to learn too.

4. Britt Pheiffer from Black Ice

Although I hated Britt throughout the entire book, she changed well through the story. The whole point of her trip (so the book) was to win back her ex-boyfriend, yet she came back completely over him and instead being more about herself. For the majority of the book, she was pretty useless and couldn’t do much, but was much more independent at the end.

5. Juliette Ferrars from the Shatter Me Series

Juliette was the person who gave me inspiration to write this post. She started off the series as a really irritating character because just cried every page. In Ignite Me, she made great decisions for herself (most of the time!), and finally stopped crossing out every word! She was much more independent, compared to Shatter Me, where she had to have Adam *cringes* do everything for her.

Do you agree with any of my choices? Or think I've missed someone out? Let me know below, I'd love to hear what you think!

As a female (that sounds weird saying / typing), I much prefer a female main character to a male one. But, many authors write girls awfully, making them sound weak and pathetic. Here are my top 5 favourite female protagonists:

5. Hazel from The Fault in our Stars by John Green

I have chosen Hazel because she is so witty and funny. Don't get me wrong, I hated The Fault in Our Stars, but I loved Hazel because, although she is in love with Augustus, she doesn't let her love change her personality, or make her 'dumb', like what has happened in many YA romance books I've read. She is also very determined, as she won't let the cancer get in the way with her life. This brings her at #5!






4. Britt from Black Ice by Becca Fitzpatrick

I have chosen Britt because she becomes very independent, and stands for what she believes. I did absolutely despise her at the beginning of the book, because she was weak, pathetic, and too dependent on other people. I also hated her in the middle of the book - actually, I hated her almost all the way through the book - because she fell in love with her kidnapper. This is utterly ridiculous. She says "His eyes flashed, but behind the quick anger, I saw deep sadness" - this is utterly ridiculous. He has kidnapped her, threatened her, and held her hostage, yet she makes excuses for him. This is the way sexism is promoted against women, and I very strongly disagree with it.

But the reason Britt is on my list, is because she changes. At the end of the book, she says how she has changed, and how she is now all for rights for women "I could talk all I wanted about insecurities and female independence". I know that one measly statement does not - at all - shows that the character has changed. But, the reason I actually like Britt is because she keeps on going. She is put through very tough conditions, and is really pushed to her maximum, but she barely ever has a melt-down, and cries. There is plenty I don't like about her, but the reason she is #4 is because of her perseverance, and how she keeps her self together.

3. Cath from Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

I have chosen Cath because I can relate to her so much. She would much rather stay inside and get lost in a good book, than go out and socialise with other people. That is something I can definitely relate to. Another reason I have chosen Cath is because she changes throughout the book. At the start, she just starts college, and is extremely reliant on her twin sister. As the book develops, she pushes herself more to go out and meet new people, to go to social events, and eventually, to get a boyfriend. I like this because, although those are things that some people would find very easy, it is hard for Cath. She pushes herself in her own personal way, which means social people would discount that as an issue.

The main reason I have chosen Cath to be #3 is because I can relate to her so much at the start of the book, and - I must say - has inspired me to go out more with friends and to be more social.

2. Rosie from Love, Rosie by Cecelia Ahern

I have chosen Rosie because she is so mentally strong. I think she is a good role-model, as not everything (when I say not everything, I mean barely anything) goes her way, yet she carries on, and consistently gives her everything into making things good for her family. You can tell by her actions that her daughter is the most important thing in her life - by a mile - and you can tell that she loves her daughter more than anything. I like this because I think it is an amazing quality to have - to be devoted to somebody so completely that even when your own life is a complete mess, you do everything in your power to make it good for them.

I also like Rosie - and the book in general - because all of the men in her life mess up badly. They all treat her really badly, and they all take advantage of her massive heart, yet she continues to carry on. I really like the fact that the men are the idiots, and the women keep calm. The main reason Rosie is my #2 is because the fact that she is so strong, and rises above all the idiot men in her life, who mess up all the time.

1. Tessa from The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare

I have chosen Tessa for many reasons. Firstly, *POSSIBLE SPOILERS* she saves the day - maybe the whole group would have died without her. They all come to save her, but in actual fact, she saved all of them.

Secondly, she is in love with 2 people, each of them she loves equally. This is not a reason to like a character, but the reason I do like her is because she doesn't fuss and make a massive deal about who she's going to pick. She is confident, and chooses one of them, and while they are both alive, she is unhappy if she was with just one of them. She does not bear that burden, by telling them both that she is in love with their best friend, instead - selflessly - keeps it to herself. I admire that because she is so considerate - she knows that the 2 men she is in love with would not want to know that she loves someone else at the same time as loving them, so bottles it up, at the expensive of herself.

My final reason for putting Tessa as my #1 female protagonist is because she loves reading. This may seem like a bit of a stupid reason to like a character, but it just seemed like the icing on the cake to an amazing character!

So there's my top 5 female protagonists, but what are yours?