Best Female Lead Characters
This list features books from all genres with the most interesting female lead characters.
1 The Hunger Games (The Hunge...
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4.44 of 5 stars 4.44 avg rating — 1,650,044 ratings
2 Pride and Prejudice
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4.23 of 5 stars 4.23 avg rating — 997,674 ratings
3 To Kill a Mockingbird
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4.22 of 5 stars 4.22 avg rating — 1,439,083 ratings
4 Jane Eyre
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4.06 of 5 stars 4.06 avg rating — 661,626 ratings
5 Gone with the Wind
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4.23 of 5 stars 4.23 avg rating — 473,512 ratings
6 Little Women (Little Women #1)
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3.97 of 5 stars 3.97 avg rating — 742,285 ratings
7 Anne of Green Gables (Anne ...
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4.2 of 5 stars 4.20 avg rating — 272,118 ratings
8 The Girl with the Dragon Ta...
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4.04 of 5 stars 4.04 avg rating — 807,515 ratings
9 The Diary of a Young Girl
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4.05 of 5 stars 4.05 avg rating — 924,692 ratings
10 The Golden Compass (His Dar...
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3.87 of 5 stars 3.87 avg rating — 501,851 ratings
11 Graceling (Graceling Realm,...
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4.12 of 5 stars 4.12 avg rating — 126,765 ratings
12 Matilda
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4.23 of 5 stars 4.23 avg rating — 203,669 ratings
13 City of Bones (The Mortal I...
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4.14 of 5 stars 4.14 avg rating — 326,965 ratings
14 Vampire Academy (Vampire Ac...
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4.2 of 5 stars 4.20 avg rating — 163,343 ratings
15 Alice's Adventures in Wonde...
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4.05 of 5 stars 4.05 avg rating — 204,019 ratings
16 The Angel Experiment (Maxim...
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4.08 of 5 stars 4.08 avg rating — 92,352 ratings
17 The Secret Garden
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4.09 of 5 stars 4.09 avg rating — 333,289 ratings
18 Alanna: The First Adventure...
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4.27 of 5 stars 4.27 avg rating — 43,129 ratings
19 Pippi Longstocking
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4.08 of 5 stars 4.08 avg rating — 63,516 ratings
20 Emma
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3.96 of 5 stars 3.96 avg rating — 237,883 ratings
21 Moon Called (Mercy Thompson...
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4.18 of 5 stars 4.18 avg rating — 63,371 ratings
22 The Book Thief
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4.35 of 5 stars 4.35 avg rating — 314,399 ratings
23 Outlander (Outlander, #1)
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4.09 of 5 stars 4.09 avg rating — 202,072 ratings
24 Poison Study (Study, #1)
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4.2 of 5 stars 4.20 avg rating — 46,519 ratings
25 The Handmaid's Tale
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3.97 of 5 stars 3.97 avg rating — 258,483 ratings
26 Bridget Jones's Diary (Brid...
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3.67 of 5 stars 3.67 avg rating — 400,145 ratings
27 The Mists of Avalon (Avalon...
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4.09 of 5 stars 4.09 avg rating — 93,120 ratings
28 Wuthering Heights
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3.77 of 5 stars 3.77 avg rating — 441,846 ratings
29 The Color Purple
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4.11 of 5 stars 4.11 avg rating — 202,264 ratings
30 The Help
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4.44 of 5 stars 4.44 avg rating — 772,119 ratings
31 The Scarlet Letter
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3.3 of 5 stars 3.30 avg rating — 282,660 ratings
32 The Chronicles of Narnia (C...
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4.22 of 5 stars 4.22 avg rating — 213,017 ratings
33 The Host (The Host, #1)
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3.86 of 5 stars 3.86 avg rating — 366,794 ratings
34 Coraline
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3.95 of 5 stars 3.95 avg rating — 142,293 ratings
35 A Great and Terrible Beauty...
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3.77 of 5 stars 3.77 avg rating — 108,145 ratings
36 Howl's Moving Castle (Howl'...
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4.29 of 5 stars 4.29 avg rating — 59,572 ratings
37 Rebecca
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4.15 of 5 stars 4.15 avg rating — 147,247 ratings
38 The Silence of the Lambs  (...
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3.98 of 5 stars 3.98 avg rating — 228,490 ratings
39 Divergent (Divergent, #1)
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4.39 of 5 stars 4.39 avg rating — 319,077 ratings
40 Sense and Sensibility
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4.03 of 5 stars 4.03 avg rating — 448,351 ratings
41 Wicked: The Life and Times ...
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3.44 of 5 stars 3.44 avg rating — 314,254 ratings
42 Twilight (Twilight, #1)
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3.58 of 5 stars 3.58 avg rating — 1,696,169 ratings
43 Magic Bites (Kate Daniels, #1)
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4.08 of 5 stars 4.08 avg rating — 27,779 ratings
44 Sabriel (Abhorsen,  #1)
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4.17 of 5 stars 4.17 avg rating — 68,485 ratings
45 Anna Karenina
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3.98 of 5 stars 3.98 avg rating — 188,293 ratings
46 One for the Money (Stephani...
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4.0 of 5 stars 4.00 avg rating — 196,346 ratings
47 Halfway to the Grave (Night...
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4.24 of 5 stars 4.24 avg rating — 53,763 ratings
48 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
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4.21 of 5 stars 4.21 avg rating — 160,437 ratings
49 Marked (House of Night, #1)
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3.79 of 5 stars 3.79 avg rating — 193,682 ratings
50 Tess of the d'Urbervilles
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3.66 of 5 stars 3.66 avg rating — 85,430 ratings
51 Dead Until Dark (Sookie Sta...
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3.95 of 5 stars 3.95 avg rating — 262,064 ratings
52 A Thousand Splendid Suns
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4.28 of 5 stars 4.28 avg rating — 400,135 ratings
53 Romeo and Juliet
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3.72 of 5 stars 3.72 avg rating — 931,269 ratings
54 The Witch of Blackbird Pond
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3.89 of 5 stars 3.89 avg rating — 61,839 ratings
55 Mansfield Park
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3.77 of 5 stars 3.77 avg rating — 120,143 ratings
56 Guilty Pleasures (Anita Bla...
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3.99 of 5 stars 3.99 avg rating — 67,784 ratings
57 The Lovely Bones
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3.69 of 5 stars 3.69 avg rating — 881,131 ratings
58 Breakfast at Tiffany's
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3.88 of 5 stars 3.88 avg rating — 61,128 ratings
59 Persuasion
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4.12 of 5 stars 4.12 avg rating — 187,703 ratings
60 Dead Witch Walking (The Hol...
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4.02 of 5 stars 4.02 avg rating — 52,190 ratings
61 A Wrinkle in Time (Time, #1)
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4.04 of 5 stars 4.04 avg rating — 320,741 ratings
62 The Blue Sword (Damar, #1)
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4.24 of 5 stars 4.24 avg rating — 28,090 ratings
63 The Awakening
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3.59 of 5 stars 3.59 avg rating — 72,073 ratings
64 Provocateur
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4.8 of 5 stars 4.80 avg rating — 89 ratings
65 Bitten (Women of the Otherw...
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4.07 of 5 stars 4.07 avg rating — 40,280 ratings
66 Kushiel's Dart (Phèdre's Tr...
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4.09 of 5 stars 4.09 avg rating — 29,447 ratings
67 Ella Enchanted
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3.95 of 5 stars 3.95 avg rating — 168,135 ratings
68 The Historian
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3.71 of 5 stars 3.71 avg rating — 123,469 ratings
69 Fried Green Tomatoes at the...
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4.19 of 5 stars 4.19 avg rating — 101,435 ratings
70 The Joy Luck Club
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3.83 of 5 stars 3.83 avg rating — 351,245 ratings
71 Atlas Shrugged
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3.67 of 5 stars 3.67 avg rating — 152,464 ratings
72 Vanity Fair
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3.7 of 5 stars 3.70 avg rating — 46,125 ratings
73 Dealing with Dragons (Encha...
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4.14 of 5 stars 4.14 avg rating — 32,002 ratings
74 Memoirs of a Geisha
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4.01 of 5 stars 4.01 avg rating — 798,911 ratings
75 Cold Mountain
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3.72 of 5 stars 3.72 avg rating — 97,413 ratings
76 I Capture the Castle
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3.98 of 5 stars 3.98 avg rating — 31,942 ratings
77 Much Ado About Nothing
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4.04 of 5 stars 4.04 avg rating — 102,223 ratings
78 The Poisonwood Bible
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3.94 of 5 stars 3.94 avg rating — 360,319 ratings
79 Island of the Blue Dolphins
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3.75 of 5 stars 3.75 avg rating — 132,534 ratings
80 The Supremacy
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4.76 of 5 stars 4.76 avg rating — 41 ratings
81 The Red Tent
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4.12 of 5 stars 4.12 avg rating — 242,252 ratings
82 Bloodlines (Bloodlines, #1)
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3.77 of 5 stars 3.77 avg rating — 622 ratings
83 Obsession (Parish Secret's,...
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4.89 of 5 stars 4.89 avg rating — 65 ratings
84 Parish Secret's (Parish Sec...
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4.64 of 5 stars 4.64 avg rating — 94 ratings
85 Charlotte's Web
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4.1 of 5 stars 4.10 avg rating — 429,356 ratings
86 Girlfriend Trouble
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4.0 of 5 stars 4.00 avg rating — 6 ratings
87 The Princess Bride
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4.23 of 5 stars 4.23 avg rating — 332,211 ratings
88 The Eyre Affair (Thursday N...
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3.92 of 5 stars 3.92 avg rating — 56,242 ratings
89 Flow Down Like Silver: Hypa...
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4.45 of 5 stars 4.45 avg rating — 781 ratings
90 Daughter of the Forest  (Se...
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4.29 of 5 stars 4.29 avg rating — 21,094 ratings
91 The Secret of the Old Clock...
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3.92 of 5 stars 3.92 avg rating — 24,797 ratings
92 Medea
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3.78 of 5 stars 3.78 avg rating — 21,634 ratings
93 Crocodile on the Sandbank (...
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4.01 of 5 stars 4.01 avg rating — 21,945 ratings
94 The Other Boleyn Girl (The ...
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3.99 of 5 stars 3.99 avg rating — 241,154 ratings
95 Houdini Heart
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4.42 of 5 stars 4.42 avg rating — 618 ratings
96 The Secret Magdalene
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4.16 of 5 stars 4.16 avg rating — 1,647 ratings
97 Girl with a Pearl Earring
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3.78 of 5 stars 3.78 avg rating — 230,633 ratings
98 My Sister's Keeper
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4.01 of 5 stars 4.01 avg rating — 457,377 ratings
99 Sunshine
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3.81 of 5 stars 3.81 avg rating — 19,217 ratings
100 Mrs. Dalloway
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3.76 of 5 stars 3.76 avg rating — 75,589 ratings
2,099 books · 2,816 voters · list created July 23rd, 2009 by Kevis Hendrickson (votes) .
 · 
Lists are re-scored approximately every 500 seconds.


Kevis
Kevis
1194 books
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Heather
Heather
490 books
10 friends
Greyweather
Greyweather
1308 books
39 friends
Katherine
Katherine
121 books
2 friends
K.
K.
80 books
16 friends
Killthepopular
Killthepopular
528 books
30 friends
Holly
Holly
2327 books
8 friends
Shayla
Shayla
1097 books
8 friends

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Comments (showing 1-23 of 23) (23 new)

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message 2: by Killthepopular (new)

Killthepopular Heh, now the wasp factory is in this list, does this make the whole list a spoiler?


message 3: by Rae (new)

Rae love Jane Eyre- my fav book of all time.


message 4: by Michele (new)

Michele Milliner Scout is one of the best female characters of all time!


message 5: by Susanna (new)

Susanna The form to add books to the list is at the right-hand side of the page.


message 6: by Marion (new)

Marion Jane Eyre is the best, hands down.


message 7: by Tiffany (new)

Tiffany I agree, Jane Eyre!!!


message 8: by Teresa (new)

Teresa I like most of the female leads on here, but I've got to disagree with Katsa from Graceling. She was just a little too rough and i guess... savage (not sure that's the right word) for me?


message 9: by Nancy (new)

Nancy Brady I am sure that I haven't gotten to it yet, but what about Dagny Taggart from "Atlas Shrugged"? Or Dominique Francon from "The Fountainhead"?


message 10: by Alex (new)

Alex Perry Medea? Really? Well I suppose that's definitely an... interesting female character. Maybe a little psychotic but certainly strong!


message 11: by Lila (new)

Lila I LOVE Pride and Prejudice. I've never read Jane Eyre but I should. The gemma doyle series was the best series ever I'm really mad about the way It ended. The stephanie plum books are awesome. I also love anne of green gables.

my top picks were:

1: Pride and prejudice
2: A Great and Terrible Beauty (Gemma Doyle Trilogy)
3: Anne of Green Gables
4: One For The Money (Stephanie Plum Series)


message 12: by Koosh (new)

Koosh Mine were:

Unraveled
Duke of Shadows

Loved the female leads!


message 13: by Kimikimi (new)

Kimikimi Lila wrote: "I LOVE Pride and Prejudice. I've never read Jane Eyre but I should. The gemma doyle series was the best series ever I'm really mad about the way It ended. The stephanie plum books are awesome. I a..."

Yeah, it makes them hard to re-read :(


message 14: by Amelia (new)

Amelia Who's been smoking what to conclude that Harry Potter has a female lead? Main supporting character yes, but lead...not unless Harry has a secret!

Much Ado and Inkheart are debatable as well, I would say that they both have male leads with female main supporting characters.


message 15: by Kevis (last edited Sep 02, 2012 04:56pm) (new)

Kevis Hendrickson Amelia wrote: "Who's been smoking what to conclude that Harry Potter has a female lead? Main supporting character yes, but lead...not unless Harry has a secret!"

I agree, Harry Potter does not belong on this list. Now Harriette Potter would be a different story altogether. ;)


message 16: by Marie (new)

Marie Why is Twilight here? Do people actually think Bella is a good female lead?


message 17: by Amelia (new)

Amelia Ha! Well, in the last book, maybe, Marie.


message 18: by Marie (new)

Marie Amelia wrote: "Ha! Well, in the last book, maybe, Marie."

Having your vampire husband chew your baby out of your womb makes for good leading woman material? Bella should be left out of this list for coming up with the name Renesmee.


message 19: by Amelia (new)

Amelia That is the WORST baby name EVERRRRRRRRRRR!

Also, I think my idea of her as a good female lead in the last book only popped into my head in comparison to New Moon, during which I was hoping she would just die already and stop with the whining...


message 20: by Jack (new)

Jack Hi everyone,

I have created a new group called Goodreads All Sorts and I'd love for people to join it or just even just give it a look. It's a group that discusses anything and everything. There will be monthly group reads, movies, and music. There is a folder for everything you could think of. I'd really like if people could spread the word because I'd love for the group to be a success. Here is the link to the group:

http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/9...

Thanks very much,
Jack :-)


message 21: by Kelley (last edited Apr 01, 2013 03:29pm) (new)

Kelley Ceccato I have looked at a number of Goodreads lists that are meant to feature strong female characters... and somehow "Twilight" ends up on every darn one of them. I have talked to some fans of the series, and even THEY acknowledge that Bella is a horrible excuse for a heroine. They have other reasons for liking it (not very good ones, but hey...). I find it hard to believe anyone would be deluded enough to call her a "Best Female Lead Character." I look at these lists because I want to read books that feature strong heroines, and when I keep seeing that book/series when I know well that Bella is as far removed as any character could be from the type of heroine I'd like to read about, well, it gets on the nerves a wee bit.

Maybe more specific criteria should be laid down -- or else some mechanism be put in place which would give voters the chance to explain their choices.


message 22: by Anne (new)

Anne Jane Eyre below Katniss? -.-"
This needs to be fixed, I think.


message 23: by Sheryl (new)

Sheryl Twists and turns, and finally, hope,


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