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 — 1,574,679 ratings
2 Pride and Prejudice
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4.23 of 5 stars 4.23 avg rating — 968,838 ratings
3 To Kill a Mockingbird
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4.22 of 5 stars 4.22 avg rating — 1,395,339 ratings
4 Jane Eyre
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4.06 of 5 stars 4.06 avg rating — 646,378 ratings
5 Gone with the Wind
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4.22 of 5 stars 4.22 avg rating — 462,999 ratings
6 Little Women (Little Women ...
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3.97 of 5 stars 3.97 avg rating — 729,334 ratings
7 Anne of Green Gables (Anne ...
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4.2 of 5 stars 4.20 avg rating — 261,424 ratings
8 The Girl with the Dragon Ta...
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4.04 of 5 stars 4.04 avg rating — 778,931 ratings
9 The Diary of a Young Girl
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4.04 of 5 stars 4.04 avg rating — 901,553 ratings
10 Graceling (Graceling Realm,...
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4.12 of 5 stars 4.12 avg rating — 121,747 ratings
11 The Golden Compass (His Dar...
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3.87 of 5 stars 3.87 avg rating — 489,823 ratings
12 Matilda
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4.22 of 5 stars 4.22 avg rating — 194,884 ratings
13 City of Bones (The Mortal I...
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4.14 of 5 stars 4.14 avg rating — 310,593 ratings
14 Vampire Academy (Vampire Ac...
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4.21 of 5 stars 4.21 avg rating — 156,668 ratings
15 Alice's Adventures in Wonde...
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4.04 of 5 stars 4.04 avg rating — 193,874 ratings
16 The Angel Experiment (Maxim...
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4.08 of 5 stars 4.08 avg rating — 88,914 ratings
17 The Secret Garden
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4.09 of 5 stars 4.09 avg rating — 320,027 ratings
18 Alanna: The First Adventure...
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4.27 of 5 stars 4.27 avg rating — 40,575 ratings
19 Pippi Longstocking
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4.08 of 5 stars 4.08 avg rating — 61,297 ratings
20 Emma
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3.96 of 5 stars 3.96 avg rating — 229,926 ratings
21 Moon Called (Mercy Thompson...
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4.18 of 5 stars 4.18 avg rating — 60,644 ratings
22 The Book Thief
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4.35 of 5 stars 4.35 avg rating — 302,705 ratings
23 Poison Study (Study, #1)
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4.2 of 5 stars 4.20 avg rating — 45,104 ratings
24 Outlander (Outlander, #1)
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4.08 of 5 stars 4.08 avg rating — 196,591 ratings
25 The Handmaid's Tale
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3.97 of 5 stars 3.97 avg rating — 250,233 ratings
26 The Mists of Avalon (The Mi...
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4.09 of 5 stars 4.09 avg rating — 89,821 ratings
27 Bridget Jones's Diary (Brid...
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3.67 of 5 stars 3.67 avg rating — 392,190 ratings
28 Wuthering Heights
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3.76 of 5 stars 3.76 avg rating — 427,852 ratings
29 The Color Purple
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4.11 of 5 stars 4.11 avg rating — 195,534 ratings
30 The Help
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4.44 of 5 stars 4.44 avg rating — 740,693 ratings
31 The Scarlet Letter
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3.3 of 5 stars 3.30 avg rating — 272,299 ratings
32 The Chronicles of Narnia (C...
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4.22 of 5 stars 4.22 avg rating — 208,124 ratings
33 A Great and Terrible Beauty...
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3.77 of 5 stars 3.77 avg rating — 105,312 ratings
34 Coraline
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3.95 of 5 stars 3.95 avg rating — 137,897 ratings
35 The Host (The Host, #1)
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3.86 of 5 stars 3.86 avg rating — 350,287 ratings
36 Howl's Moving Castle (Howl'...
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4.29 of 5 stars 4.29 avg rating — 57,889 ratings
37 The Silence of the Lambs  (...
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3.97 of 5 stars 3.97 avg rating — 224,989 ratings
38 Rebecca
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4.15 of 5 stars 4.15 avg rating — 143,140 ratings
39 Divergent (Divergent, #1)
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4.39 of 5 stars 4.39 avg rating — 293,155 ratings
40 Wicked: The Life and Times ...
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3.43 of 5 stars 3.43 avg rating — 307,819 ratings
41 Sense and Sensibility
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4.03 of 5 stars 4.03 avg rating — 438,067 ratings
42 Sabriel (Abhorsen,  #1)
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4.17 of 5 stars 4.17 avg rating — 66,661 ratings
43 One For The Money (Stephani...
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4.0 of 5 stars 4.00 avg rating — 189,651 ratings
44 Magic Bites (Kate Daniels, #1)
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4.08 of 5 stars 4.08 avg rating — 26,719 ratings
45 Anna Karenina
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3.98 of 5 stars 3.98 avg rating — 182,989 ratings
46 Twilight (Twilight, #1)
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3.58 of 5 stars 3.58 avg rating — 1,648,226 ratings
47 Halfway to the Grave (Night...
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4.24 of 5 stars 4.24 avg rating — 51,407 ratings
48 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
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4.21 of 5 stars 4.21 avg rating — 156,031 ratings
49 Marked (House of Night, #1)
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3.79 of 5 stars 3.79 avg rating — 186,686 ratings
50 Dead Until Dark (Sookie Sta...
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3.96 of 5 stars 3.96 avg rating — 253,590 ratings
51 The Witch of Blackbird Pond
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3.89 of 5 stars 3.89 avg rating — 59,177 ratings
52 Romeo and Juliet
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3.72 of 5 stars 3.72 avg rating — 912,265 ratings
53 Tess of the d'Urbervilles
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3.65 of 5 stars 3.65 avg rating — 82,466 ratings
54 A Thousand Splendid Suns
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4.28 of 5 stars 4.28 avg rating — 386,930 ratings
55 Mansfield Park
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3.77 of 5 stars 3.77 avg rating — 117,760 ratings
56 Guilty Pleasures (Anita Bla...
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3.99 of 5 stars 3.99 avg rating — 65,034 ratings
57 Dead Witch Walking (The Hol...
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4.02 of 5 stars 4.02 avg rating — 50,158 ratings
58 Persuasion
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4.12 of 5 stars 4.12 avg rating — 181,182 ratings
59 The Blue Sword (Damar, #1)
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4.24 of 5 stars 4.24 avg rating — 27,484 ratings
60 The Lovely Bones
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3.68 of 5 stars 3.68 avg rating — 858,218 ratings
61 Breakfast at Tiffany's
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3.88 of 5 stars 3.88 avg rating — 62,894 ratings
62 A Wrinkle in Time (Time, #1)
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4.04 of 5 stars 4.04 avg rating — 315,041 ratings
63 The Awakening
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3.59 of 5 stars 3.59 avg rating — 69,020 ratings
64 Provocateur
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4.79 of 5 stars 4.79 avg rating — 87 ratings
65 Kushiel's Dart (Phèdre's Tr...
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4.09 of 5 stars 4.09 avg rating — 29,121 ratings
66 Ella Enchanted
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3.95 of 5 stars 3.95 avg rating — 163,668 ratings
67 Bitten (Women of the Otherw...
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4.07 of 5 stars 4.07 avg rating — 39,089 ratings
68 The Historian
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3.71 of 5 stars 3.71 avg rating — 120,702 ratings
69 Fried Green Tomatoes at the...
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4.19 of 5 stars 4.19 avg rating — 95,162 ratings
70 Dealing with Dragons (Encha...
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4.14 of 5 stars 4.14 avg rating — 31,010 ratings
71 The Joy Luck Club
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3.82 of 5 stars 3.82 avg rating — 346,969 ratings
72 Cold Mountain
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3.72 of 5 stars 3.72 avg rating — 95,011 ratings
73 Atlas Shrugged
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3.67 of 5 stars 3.67 avg rating — 148,495 ratings
74 Vanity Fair
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3.7 of 5 stars 3.70 avg rating — 44,656 ratings
75 Memoirs of a Geisha
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4.0 of 5 stars 4.00 avg rating — 780,815 ratings
76 I Capture the Castle
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3.98 of 5 stars 3.98 avg rating — 31,205 ratings
77 The Poisonwood Bible
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3.94 of 5 stars 3.94 avg rating — 353,506 ratings
78 Much Ado About Nothing
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4.04 of 5 stars 4.04 avg rating — 100,465 ratings
79 Bloodlines (Bloodlines, #1)
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3.76 of 5 stars 3.76 avg rating — 604 ratings
80 Girlfriend Trouble
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4.6 of 5 stars 4.60 avg rating — 5 ratings
81 Island of the Blue Dolphins
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3.75 of 5 stars 3.75 avg rating — 129,440 ratings
82 The Red Tent
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4.12 of 5 stars 4.12 avg rating — 236,356 ratings
83 The Princess Bride
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4.23 of 5 stars 4.23 avg rating — 325,139 ratings
84 Flow Down Like Silver: Hypa...
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4.44 of 5 stars 4.44 avg rating — 740 ratings
85 The Eyre Affair (Thursday N...
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3.92 of 5 stars 3.92 avg rating — 54,997 ratings
86 Daughter of the Forest  (Se...
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4.29 of 5 stars 4.29 avg rating — 20,402 ratings
87 The Secret of the Old Clock...
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3.92 of 5 stars 3.92 avg rating — 24,076 ratings
88 The Other Boleyn Girl (The ...
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3.99 of 5 stars 3.99 avg rating — 234,320 ratings
89 Crocodile on the Sandbank (...
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4.0 of 5 stars 4.00 avg rating — 20,838 ratings
90 The Secret Magdalene
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4.16 of 5 stars 4.16 avg rating — 1,596 ratings
91 Girl with a Pearl Earring
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3.78 of 5 stars 3.78 avg rating — 223,911 ratings
92 Medea
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3.78 of 5 stars 3.78 avg rating — 21,030 ratings
93 Houdini Heart
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4.41 of 5 stars 4.41 avg rating — 574 ratings
94 Charlotte's Web
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4.1 of 5 stars 4.10 avg rating — 416,896 ratings
95 Sunshine
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3.81 of 5 stars 3.81 avg rating — 18,933 ratings
96 My Sister's Keeper
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4.01 of 5 stars 4.01 avg rating — 442,784 ratings
97 Mrs. Dalloway
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3.76 of 5 stars 3.76 avg rating — 74,137 ratings
98 Darkfever (Fever, #1)
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4.19 of 5 stars 4.19 avg rating — 56,178 ratings
99 I'd Tell You I Love You, Bu...
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3.84 of 5 stars 3.84 avg rating — 67,375 ratings
100 Neverwhere
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4.15 of 5 stars 4.15 avg rating — 125,406 ratings
1,925 books · 2,668 voters · list created July 23rd, 2009 by Kevis Hendrickson (votes) .
Lists are re-scored approximately every 500 seconds.


Kevis
Kevis
1144 books
697 friends
Heather
Heather
490 books
9 friends
Greyweather
Greyweather
1304 books
39 friends
Katherine
Katherine
121 books
2 friends
K.
K.
80 books
16 friends
Killthepopular
Killthepopular
512 books
28 friends
Holly
Holly
2319 books
8 friends
Shayla
Shayla
1093 books
8 friends

More voters…


Comments (showing 1-21 of 21) (21 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.


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