# Ladies (or Guys) - tell us about a great book with a strong female character!



## Cheryl Shireman (Feb 11, 2011)

I love novels with strong female characters. Tell us about a novel you enjoyed with a strong female character. 

Of course, my first thought is Scarlett O'Hara. Was there ever a stronger woman? True, that strength was not always harnessed in the most positive of directions, but if I was in a tough situation, I'd want Scarlett on my team!

I also love the novels of Elizabeth Berg. While her characters might not appear to be strong in the beginning of the novel, they always seem to find an inner strength that rings true. As a writer, these are also the kind of characters I like to write about.

I just finished reading The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls - a gripping memoir that reads like a novel. You will be fascinated by the story of this woman - how she found the strength to overcome some real difficulties in childhood.


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## Cherilyn (Dec 27, 2010)

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon-Claire is a wicked strong character
White Oleander
Midwives
My Sister's Keeper, Handle with Care, or basically anything by Jodi Picoult

That's what I can think of off the top of my head.


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## Gone 9/21/18 (Dec 11, 2008)

"A" book? My thoughts go to series. Dana Stabenow's Kate Shugak series (my favorite is "Breakup," although I don't know that's the one that shows the most strength in Kate). Nevada Barr's Anna Pigeon books (again my favorite may not be the one that shows just the most strength in Anna - "Firestorm").


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## Liv James (Feb 16, 2011)

I really like the main character, Blair, in Linda Howard's book To Die For. She doesn't put up with any crap and she is funny, too.


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## Guest (Mar 1, 2011)

I highly recommend everyone check out this hilarious flowchart about what makes a strong female character. It's definitely worth a few smiles. 

http://www.overthinkingit.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/Overthinking-It-Female-Character-Flowchart-590x529.png


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## fearless74 (Mar 1, 2011)

Hello, yes I read Glass Castles, very moving story. It's hard to believe how people live through such trials.

Laura

_--- edited... no self-promotion outside the Book Bazaar forum. please read our Forum Decorum thread._


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## ReaderK (Jan 5, 2011)

For those who enjoy fantasy fiction (sword/sorceress kinds of books), I think most books by Mercedes Lackey are chock full of strong women who value brains and integrity over big ol' hooters and an unhealthy dependency on men to rescue them. Lackey and Marion Zimmer Bradley were foremothers of a sub-genre of fantasy fiction in the 70's and 80's which emphasized women as protagonists of consequence. 

Before these two authoresses became popular, women in fantasy fiction were often relegated to simply beautifully useless damsels in distress, awaiting some strange hero to come find & save them. And the few strong women protagonists were masculinized and lost all their femininity or were some "she-woman man-hater". 

I love Lackey's women in her Valdemar series (such as Tarma, Kethry, Talia, Kerowyn, etc.) and her Diana Tregarde series as well. But then again...JK Rowling's Hermione Grainger is a wonderful sprite as well! And she's smarter than her two male cohorts combined! (Sorry...I know the Harry Potter series is not in e-book format yet, but I have the actual books). 

I think women as strong protagonists are taking more of a prominent role and that is a good thing, especially to empower our young ladies early on! It's wonderful to read about a character who is strong, smart, and hasn't lost the soul of her womanhood.


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## purplepen79 (May 6, 2010)

ForeverJuly, that flowchart is pretty as well as funny--when it first came up on my screen, it looked like a multicolored bed of flowers pattern from some 70s wallpaper. 

To continue with the fantasy recs, I recently enjoyed Peri (short for Periwinkle), the main character in Patricia McKillip's _The Changeling Sea_. Peri loses her father in a fishing mishap, and as a result, has a feud with the sea that leads to some unexpected results. I really liked her spunk and wildness.

To echo some other posts here, _Glass Castle_ is amazing. Also, I love Chiyo from _Memoirs of a Geisha_.

Heroines I love from the classics: Elizabeth Bennett from _Pride and Prejudice_, Jane Eyre from of course, _Jane Eyre_, Scarlett from _Gone with the Wind_, Scout from _To Kill a Mockingbird_, and Mary Yellan from _Jamaica Inn_.


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## Blanche (Jan 4, 2010)

Stieg Larsson's Lisbeth Salander from "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo."  She is one resilient cookie.  I would want her and Scarlet on my team.  

George R.R. Martin also puts forth strong women roles in his "Song of Ice and Fire" series.  Cersei Lannister is tough as nails (and wicked... OMG she is wicked).  Arya Stark is an up-and-coming formidable force, and Catelyn Stark is relentless.  She just keeps on coming and she is looking for paybacks.  And there is always Daenerys Stormborn... but hey... who isn't tough when they can control dragons? 

And finally, on the lighter side, there is MacKayla Lane from Karen Marie Moning's "Fever" series.  She starts off as a southern belle and ends up as a kick-butt demon-killing machine.  She could spend the morning pulverizing monsters and then go to coffee with you and get a manicure.


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## JRTomlin (Jan 18, 2011)

I love strong woman characters. All of Elizabeth Moon's female main characters are strong. My own favorite is Paksenarrion in _The Deed of Paksenarrion_. However, Kylara Vatta in her _Vatta's War_ series is also extremely strong. Ofelia in _Remnant Population_ is not only a strong woman, but a strong elderly woman which is pretty much unheard of in science fiction.


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## Cuechick (Oct 28, 2008)

I have already mentioned it on another thread and it is not in Kindle format but The Queen's Gambit about a female 
chess prodigy is easily one of my all time favorite books. I just re-read it and a rarely do that. Beth is not a character I will ever forget, not always likable but her drive and ambition are very riveting to witness.

The Hunger Games Trilogy also features a strong female lead, Katniss and I just started Pope Joan... which seems to fit the bill as well.


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## Cindy416 (May 2, 2009)

Any of Patricia Cornwell's books that feature Kay Scarpetta have the aforementioned Scarpetta as a very strong female character. I think that the J.D. Robb "In Death" series of books has a very strong female character, too, in the person of Eve Dallas. (I'm only on the fourth of around 40 books, but I doubt that Eve will become less strong.  )


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## K. A. Jordan (Aug 5, 2010)

Anything by Elizabeth Peters has strong female protagonist. Her Amelia Peabody series is very good and very funny.


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## MichelleR (Feb 21, 2009)

For a YA option:



It's a modern day retelling of Little Red Riding Hood with sisters. Scarlett saves her sister, Rosie, from a fenris (werewolf) and is now consumed with hunting them and protecting women. Rosie hunts with her, but her heart might not be in it. It's a little bit Buffy as seen in The Wish. (Forgive the geekiness.)


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## Cheryl Shireman (Feb 11, 2011)

I'm loving all of these recommendations!


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## Margaret Jean (Aug 31, 2010)

Cheryl Shireman said:


> I love novels with strong female characters. Tell us about a novel you enjoyed with a strong female character.
> 
> Of course, my first thought is Scarlett O'Hara. Was there ever a stronger woman? True, that strength was not always harnessed in the most positive of directions, but if I was in a tough situation, I'd want Scarlett on my team!
> 
> ...


I just have to mention Garnet Sullivan. She can be a real pain in the a** but she's tough, smart and funny. She always lands on her feet. Unfortunately the classics render most women as victims and too often victims of themselves. Tess D'Ubervilles, Emma Bovary, Anna Karenina. Jane Austen is a notable exception. Her Emma in *Emma* is real, flawed, but smart, kind, tough and resilent. This was a dare of some kind, to write a novel about such a woman in Austen's day. Still is, I'm afraid.


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## sighdone (Feb 4, 2011)

Why only ladies?  

Most of David Lodge's books have strong well drawn female characters.


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## yomamma (Feb 10, 2011)

I really loved the strong friendship between the two main characters in COLD MAGIC by Kate Elliott. Cat is a gently bred-girl who has to learn how to defend herself, and her transition from helpless to the one in charge is pretty darn awesome. The book is kind of a steampunky/icepunk with magic, but was a ton of fun to read.


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## cegrundler (Aug 16, 2010)

Check out Christine Kling's Seychelle Sullivan series. Seychelle is a tugboat captain, keeping her late father's business running aboard the tug he built. Enjoyable, well-written and very intelligent, with a highly capable protagonist. Surface Tension is the first in the series and a fun read, especially if you like nautical settings.


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## J. Carson Black (Feb 27, 2011)

Sue Grafton's Kinsey Millhone.  Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum.  In the thriller world, Tess Gerritsen, Lisa Gardner and Alex Kava have great female protagonists.  Also, check out NO MERCY, by Lori G. Armstrong, and also her Julie Collins series set in South Dakota.  Julie Collins is an absolute original, and Lori is one of the best writers to come down the pike in years.  (Lori also writers cowgirl erotica).

Michael Prescott has two strong female characters - sort of co-protagonists, in MORAL FAULTS, which was nominated for a Thriller Award a few years back.


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## history_lover (Aug 9, 2010)

If you liked Gone with the Wind, you might like Forever Amber by Kathleen Winsor (though not available on Kindle).

And if you like historical fiction, I highly recommend Helen Hollick's "Forever Queen" for a strong female protagonist.


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## Averydebow (Jan 20, 2011)

The cyberpunk/sci-fi _Otherland_ Series by Tad Williams has a slew of POV characters, one of them being Irene "Renie" Sulaweyo, a virtual engineering instructor who ends up voyaging into a bizarre virtual world to save her trapped little brother. Contrary to the butt-kicking, in-your-face female protagonists common in urban fantasy (whom I also like, don't get me wrong) Renie has a quiet strength, borne of raising and supporting her younger brother and caring for her alcoholic, verbally abusive father. Her determination to salvage her family is the root of her strength and it fuels her through four massive novels. She kind of crept up on me as a favorite character, but I couldn't forget her, even long after I had finished the books.


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## nmg222 (Sep 14, 2010)

'The Handmaid's Tale' by Margaret Atwood
'Pillars of the Earth' by Ken Follett


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## chipotle (Jan 1, 2010)

I just finished this book and I thought Meg was a pretty strong character or at least she turned into a strong character as a result of her trials and tribulations. Susan Elizabeth Phillips' fixation on small town bullies is pretty weird but overall I liked the book.


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## LaRita (Oct 28, 2008)

I'd recommend _*The Dollmaker*_ by Harriett Arnow. The main character fights a losing battle to keep her mountain traditions intact in WWII Detroit. A classic piece of mid 20th century American literature.


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## Cuechick (Oct 28, 2008)

LaRita said:


> I'd recommend _*The Dollmaker*_ by Harriett Arnow. The main character fights a losing battle to keep her mountain traditions intact in WWII Detroit. A classic piece of mid 20th century American literature.


This sounded interesting but I just looked at it and the kindle version is priced more than $2 over the _paperback_ which gets it put into my "never mind" file.


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## katie kitty (Feb 28, 2011)

For some reason Wendy Darling from "Peter Pan" comes to mind. She did a pretty good job "keeping it together" in Neverland.


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## Steph H (Oct 28, 2008)

Tesh-Dar from KB's own Michael Hicks's "In Her Name" novels.  She's one kick butt blue alien warrior fighting machine!


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

**** a few posts have been deleted. . . 

Authors, please do not promote your own books here in the Book Corner.  That's what we have the book Bazaar for.  Especially don't pretend you're someone else to do it; it tends to really turn people off.

Everyone, if you see a post that you think is not appropriate -- has self-promotion, bad language, personal attacks, etc -- the proper response is NOT to call the poster out in the thread, but to use the "report to moderator" link to let us know about it.

And now back to the discussion!  ****


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## purplepen79 (May 6, 2010)

Blanche said:


> George R.R. Martin also puts forth strong women roles in his "Song of Ice and Fire" series. Cersei Lannister is tough as nails (and wicked... OMG she is wicked). Arya Stark is an up-and-coming formidable force, and Catelyn Stark is relentless. She just keeps on coming and she is looking for paybacks. And there is always Daenerys Stormborn... but hey... who isn't tough when they can control dragons?


Great listing of the formidable females in Song of Ice and Fire . . . he writes the women's perspectives particularly well in that series, I think.

And _Forever Amber _ is a great book--thanks for reminding me of it. I love that time period and Amber is a great character. As my favorite essayist Florence King describes it, "a novel about a seventeenth-century English vixen who climbed up a ladder of men."


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## JRTomlin (Jan 18, 2011)

These are novels I read years ago, some such as _A Room With A View_ several times. To tell you the truth, I haven't checked to see if they're available for Kindle (which I should and add them to my Kindle collection).

Anyway older novels with strong women, I would say, are:

_The Awakening_ by Kate Chopin
_To the Lighthouse_ by Virginia Woolf
_A Room With A View_ by E.M Forster (one of my all-time favorites)
_The French Lieutenant's Woman_ by John Fowles


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## Lenc324 (Feb 16, 2011)

I love Alafair Burke's books.


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## Cheryl Shireman (Feb 11, 2011)

Oh - The Woman's Room by Marilyn French. Not sure why, but that book hit me hard when I read it many years ago. I am not sure that I would define the characters as strong, but it is certainly a strong book focused on the issues of women.

Just finished rereading Home Safe by Elizabeth Berg last night. Her characters often start out kind of weak and maybe even a little lost (just like all of us!), but then they always seem to find an inner strength. I love that about her books. I can relate to those kind of characters.

And one of the first books I bought for my Kindle was The Neighbor by Lisa Gardner. The price is a bit high - 7.99 for the Kindle and for the paperback version, but it was definitely a book about a strong woman character and had my interest on every page. If I remember correctly, I bought it at a reduced rate when it first came out (?).

How about some more great recommendations!  Thank you!

I hope everyone is getting some good suggestions for future reading.


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## Ruth Harris (Dec 26, 2010)

WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN by Lionel Shriver is about a strong woman facing excruciating circumstances.

Jackie Collins writes about strong women, Hollywood style.  There are lots to choose from.

SCRUPLES by Judith Krantz was a huge bestseller in the 80's...a novel for women about a larger-than-life woman.

Lisbeth Salander in the Steig Larsson books is a strong & very tough woman who survived a devastating past.

Anita Shreve's THE PILOT'S WIFE is about a woman whose strength is tested by an unfaithful husband.


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## Cheryl Shireman (Feb 11, 2011)

Bought Pilots Wife and have not read it yet. Also have the Larsson books and have heard nothing but good stuff about them. Just haven't had the time to actually read them. That is the ONLY bad thing about being a writer - you don't always have as much time to READ as you would like.  But it is a good problem to have!

Anyone else loving the Larsson books? The one thing I hear over and over again is that the first one is hard to get into (slow start and tough to read due to many foreign sounding names) but then you are hooked and can't put it down.


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## Ruth Harris (Dec 26, 2010)

Cheryl, Sorry to say I'm a Larsson drop out.  I thought them poorly written (might be a translation issue) & too much telling & not enough showing.  Anyway, I'm in the minority since most people love them.


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## Geoffrey (Jun 20, 2009)

It's not available on kindle but Octavia Butler's _Parable of the Sower_ and _Parable of the Talents_ are wonderful dystopian novels with a strong female central character.

As a kindle available choice,and also a wonderful dystopian novel, I also really like Sheri S Tepper's Gate to Women's Country:


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## Alessandra Kelley (Feb 22, 2011)

I love Stella Gibbon's "Cold Comfort Farm", a hilarious satire of gloom-and-doom wretched farm life novels.  The heroine, Flora Poste, is practical and sensible and completely unfazed by the ridiculously gothic tragedy she has been thrown into.  She methodically deals with each character's melodramatic problems and brings order, common sense, and happinesss to what had been a Steinbeck-like state of decay.

For fantasy novels, Sheri Tepper also has a variety of series with good, strong female protagonists, including Mavin Manyshaped and Jinian Footseer.  I also like "Marianne, the Magus, and the Manticore".


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## Alessandra Kelley (Feb 22, 2011)

Oh, and I agree with Geoffrey about Octavia Butler.  Wonderful, wonderful books.  But also very painful.  She deals a lot with issues of slavery and subjugation in a science fiction idiom, and pulls no punches.


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## Julia444 (Feb 24, 2011)

I love the Robin Hudson series by SPARKLE HAYTER.  She had a whole series of mysteries with a funny, spunky heroine that came out in the 90s and early 2000's.  Now I think she's in Paris working as a reporter.  But her heroine is strong, opinionated, and loveable.  

I haven't checked yet if they're available on Kindle, though--I just got my Kindle as a present and LOVE it.

Julia


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## Shayne Parkinson (Mar 19, 2010)

A few more:

One of my very favourite books: _Till We Have Faces_ by C.S. Lewis
Anne Bronte's _The Tenant of Wildfell Hall_.
Becky Sharp of _Vanity Fair_ - something of an anti-heroine, but resourceful and a real survivor.
_Katherine_ by Anya Seton.
Tiffany Aching in her own series of Discworld books by Terry Pratchett.


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## Cheryl Shireman (Feb 11, 2011)

Ruth Harris!  I applaud you for admitting that you dropped out of the Larsson books!

Now there's a strong woman for you! Keep going against that tide girl!  Love it  

I read the first chapter and didn't get much further, but I am going to give it another try. I may be dropping out with you!


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## PraiseGod13 (Oct 27, 2008)

Cheryl Shireman said:


> I read the first chapter and didn't get much further, but I am going to give it another try. I may be dropping out with you!


The advice I was given was "Do not give up... stick with these books" and I did. And I'm so glad!! So, FWIW.... I'll pass that advice on to you. Just like any other book.... they're not for everyone... we all have our likes and dislikes.

For my favorite strong female character... always... Claire from Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series.


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## Ruth Harris (Dec 26, 2010)

Oh, Cheryl, thank you!  Now I don't feel so alone.  Please report back when/if you try another chapter  because I'm also willing to be disagreed with (grudgingly, I admit, but still...).  Anyway, I plowed through about 2/3 of the first one & still didn't "get it."

We strong women have to stand together!  Just typing this reminds me of Steve Jobs' commercial "Think Different."

And we do.  ;-)


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## jessicakaye (Feb 18, 2011)

I don't know if any of these are on kindle, but they're some of my favorites....

The _Thursday Next_ series, by Jasper Fforde.
_Ella Enchanted_ by Gail Carson Levine(YA)
_The Two Princesses of Bamarre_ by Gail Carson Levine(YA)

Thanks for starting this topic! I'm picking up lots of good reading suggestions


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## Jan Hurst-Nicholson (Aug 25, 2010)

Clan of the Cave Bear.


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## Margaret Jean (Aug 31, 2010)

foreverjuly said:


> I highly recommend everyone check out this hilarious flowchart about what makes a strong female character. It's definitely worth a few smiles.
> 
> http://www.overthinkingit.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/Overthinking-It-Female-Character-Flowchart-590x529.png


That is truly hysterical and hysterically true!


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## Alessandra Kelley (Feb 22, 2011)

Oh yes! -- The Tiffany Aching books by Terry Pratchett: "Wee Free Men", "A Hatful of Sky", "Wintersmith", and "I Shall Wear Midnight".  Marvelous, wonderful heroine!  I've read these to my children, but they're also terrific reading for adults.  Full of Pratchett's humor, but also a lot of shrewd observation.

I hope everybody's heard of Terry pratchett, but if not, his fantasy humor books are well worth reading.  (Until the Harry Potter books he was the UK's best-selling author)  He has many strong female characters, including the witches Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg ("Wyrd Sisters", "Witches Abroad", etc.), and Death's granddaughter Susan Sto Helit ("Soul Music", "Hogfather", etc.).

I've read these books again and again.  They're great fun.


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## Tear (Mar 3, 2011)

ITA with Lisbeth Salander.  Also just finished a free book from Amazon, Shatter (children of man)  SciFi but loved it!


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## A K Smith (Feb 15, 2011)

JRTomlin said:


> I love strong woman characters. All of Elizabeth Moon's female main characters are strong. My own favorite is Paksenarrion in _The Deed of Paksenarrion_. However, Kylara Vatta in her _Vatta's War_ series is also extremely strong. Ofelia in _Remnant Population_ is not only a strong woman, but a strong elderly woman which is pretty much unheard of in science fiction.


In sci-fi, I'd also add Lois McMaster Bujold (the Vorkosigan books). But only her sci-fi heroines kick butt. For some reason, her fantasy heroines are weak and subservient. Unfortunately, the only ones available on Kindle are the fantasy novels. However, her most recent hardcover book, Cryoburn, contains a CD with ebooks of all her previous Vorkosigan books. So you get something like 10-15 books for $25.


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## Cheryl Shireman (Feb 11, 2011)

I feel like I need to go through here and write down all of these titles.

Great suggestions!

I am in the middle of reading Elizabeth Berg's novel - Talk Before Sleep. It is about a group of women rallying around one of their friends who has breast cancer.

Very moving and a great look at friendship.


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## mima (Jul 16, 2009)

Patricia Briggs, one of my fav authors, writes urban fantasy books with strong heroines of the typical leather-clad, tattooed, honed, tough chick covers. but my fav series is one she seems to have abandoned, alpha&omega. Anna is an abused young woman who has never thought of herself as strong, but discovers she has the rarest gift of all. Her discovery of self-worth can only go so far through her guy. It has to come from within. I liked it because it was different. Sometimes the toughest are the ones who just managed to survive, ya know?


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## LaceyReah (Mar 15, 2011)

The strongest female characters I ever read were in the novel, The Mists of Avalon, a story of King Arthur from the perspective of the women.  Funny, I thought I'd think of more but I guess there are less strong female characters in novels than I thought.  When I was a playwright, I made it a point to create strong and complex roles for women so actresses could really display their craft. 
My novel, Fireflies by Lacey Reah displays some very strong vampire women.  It's an erotica.  The lead characters are very strong women.  The lead is a career woman who does what it takes and the love interest is a free artist who does what she loves and stops at nothing to get what she wants.  I'm working on a novel right now, not an erotica, that displays more strong females.  I find strong women very fascinating.


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## brianrowe (Mar 10, 2011)

As a young male writer, I've funny enough always been more attracted to stories about strong female protagonists, than male ones. My first novel SLATE tells the story of a female casting director who uses her job for sex, and my third novel TOWNHOUSE features a young pregnant female writer who ultimately becomes an action heroine. I guess my obsession with ass-kicking protagonists started with Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and I've just been enamored with this kind of character ever since.


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## Grace Elliot (Mar 14, 2011)

Cherilyn said:


> Outlander by Diana Gabaldon-Claire is a wicked strong character
> White Oleander
> Midwives
> My Sister's Keeper, Handle with Care, or basically anything by Jodi Picoult
> ...


That's funny because I read Outlander recently because of the strong MALE character, Jamie Fraser, but you are right, Claire is a brilliant, well rounded, strong female character - determined and yet not melodramatic. My one slight niggle with the book was that it was so obviously set up for sequels in the last 25 %. 
A great read none the less.


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## RJ Keller (Mar 9, 2009)

sighdone said:


> Why only ladies?





Plotspider said:


> I'm not a lady, but...





brianrowe said:


> As a young male writer...


I think if you change the title of the thread, you'll get a lot more great suggestions. Guys like to read and write about strong female characters, too.


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## valleycat1 (Mar 15, 2011)

Thursday Next in Jasper Fforde's series (The Eyre Affair, The Well of Lost Plots, Something Rotten, etc), if you enjoy satire/fantasy/alternate realities/puns/political send-offs/british humor....


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## Mehryinett (Feb 19, 2011)

Has anybody mentioned David Nicholls's One Day? The female lead is so lovely. And that's all I'm going to say about that book, other than: read it.    

Actually he's pretty good at fairly feisty girls   I think Starter for Ten had quite a strong female love interest.


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## Courtney Cantrell (Mar 16, 2011)

Hi all!

I'm new to the Boards, and this is only my second post here, so I hope I'm not getting ahead of myself. : )

Not sure how to share this, but when I think of strong heroines, I think of Katie Pratt. She's the main character of my friend Aaron's "Ghost Targets" series. Katie is strong-willed, smart, sexy -- and endearingly vulnerable on the inside. She's the only female in a futuristic FBI unit filled with men, and she holds her own with ease and carries herself with grace. Every time I get my hands on a new manuscript, it's a joy to get into her head again.

Aaron is here: http://www.kboards.com/index.php?action=profile;u=36162

and his Katie novels are on Amazon here: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0045Y1LJQ/?tag=kbpst-20 and here: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004NIFW6W/?tag=kbpst-20.

Happy reading! : )


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## bordercollielady (Nov 21, 2008)

Has to be  Lisbeth  Salander.. in  the Stieg Larsson books.   What a female!   I would have so loved to read more books by Larsson.


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## Cheryl Shireman (Feb 11, 2011)

I'm feeling like I have to give the Larsson book another chance.

Will try again tonight. 

I actually WANT to like the books, because I always like to read books in a series.

Trying again....


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## pixichick (Mar 1, 2011)

If you are into a good mystery with a hard-boiled female sleuth, I love the Sunny Randall character in Robert B. Parker's books.  She's pretty sweet


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## Joseph Robert Lewis (Oct 31, 2010)

I like Amber Macx in Stross's _Accelerando_. She's beyond intelligent, resilient, creative, and ambitious. She builds her own empire before she's twenty, and that's not too shabby.


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## CegAbq (Mar 17, 2009)

Marcia Muller's Sharon McCone series
Tamora Pierce's various series (starts with the Alanna series)
Melissa Marr's Wicked Lovely series


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## Lisa Lim (Mar 16, 2011)

Ohhh, definitely Tatiana from the Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons. The sequel to that book is Tatiana and Alexander and both books are flawless. My 2 favorite books of ALL time. It is an epic love story and it is phenomenal!!!


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## kcrady (Dec 17, 2009)

A K Smith said:


> In sci-fi, I'd also add Lois McMaster Bujold (the Vorkosigan books). But only her sci-fi heroines kick butt. For some reason, her fantasy heroines are weak and subservient. Unfortunately, the only ones available on Kindle are the fantasy novels. However, her most recent hardcover book, Cryoburn, contains a CD with ebooks of all her previous Vorkosigan books. So you get something like 10-15 books for $25.


The Vorkosigan books are available at Baen.com


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## TheSFReader (Jan 20, 2011)

kcrady said:


> > In sci-fi, I'd also add Lois McMaster Bujold (the Vorkosigan books). But only her sci-fi heroines kick butt. For some reason, her fantasy heroines are weak and subservient. Unfortunately, the only ones available on Kindle are the fantasy novels. However, her most recent hardcover book, Cryoburn, contains a CD with ebooks of all her previous Vorkosigan books. So you get something like 10-15 books for $25.
> 
> 
> The Vorkosigan books are available at Baen.com


The cryoburn ebook is available for 6 $ (http://www.webscription.net/p-1252-cryoburn.aspx) , and you get to download the CD's image.
The CD is also available legally @ http://baencd.thefifthimperium.com/ (legal, but buying the book recommended)

I'm not OK with your assessment with Heroines in Fantasy : In Palladin of Souls, Ista kind of Kicks ass too ...


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## hsuthard (Jan 6, 2010)

I agree with the mentions of Anna Pigeon and Kinsey Milhone, both are women I love to read about and look up to. Oh, and Patricia Briggs' Mercy Thompson (I like her much more than Anna, personally). I love that Mercy is a mechanic. 

And Sarah Paretsky's V.I. wars Aesop is brilliant. How cool that she has INITIALS! 

One of the reasons I enjoy Urban Fantasy so much is because of the prevalence of strong female leads. Michelle Sagara's Cast series has a wonderful female lead.


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## Cheryl Shireman (Feb 11, 2011)

Okay - I, due to popular demand...I changed the title of the thread to include the guys...

Ladies *(or Guys)* - tell us about a great book with a strong female character.

So - guys - join the discussion!

(although I have to wonder if a woman's idea of "strong" might be different from a man's)

Will be interesting to see!


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## RobertLCollins (Feb 1, 2011)

I won't plug one of mine; it's going to disappear for a while. Instead, I'll put my support behind Lisa Shearin and her "Raine Benares" books. It's a fantasy series featuring Raine, an elf who fights, cracks wise, loves, and is bonded to a soul-sucking magic rock. Lisa Shearin is a great author and a nice person. As it happens, the next book in the series, *Con & Conjure*, is due out in the next week or two.

Here's where you can find out about the series: http://www.lisashearin.com/


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## dmburnett (Feb 4, 2011)

I loved that you listed Scarlett.  She is the ultimate strong female!


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

dmburnett said:


> I loved that you listed Scarlett. She is the ultimate strong female!


Scarlett O'Hara?

See, and I think she's a whiny self-centered witch. Except I'd spell that last word with a B.


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## EchelonPress (Sep 30, 2010)

_--- edited... no self-promotion outside the Book Bazaar forum. please read our Forum Decorum thread._


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## Cheryl Shireman (Feb 11, 2011)

Now, Scarlett's morals might be a little askew, but  you had to admit - she WAS strong!

She took on the Yankees, she fought to keep Tara while Ashley WHINED about how he was of no use to her, she married men she didn't love so she could hold on to the family home and keep a roof over the head of all of the rest of the family (while they talked about how horrible she was). And Rhett was able to leave her under the bridge with that sickly horse and buggy (with the Yankees right overhead) and go do the valiant thing and fight the losing battle because he KNEW she was strong and would make it back hom.

Whiny? No way. 

Self-centered. Waaaaay! Yep. You've got a point there.

But definitely strong.


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## fancynancy (Aug 9, 2009)

I enjoyed the fantasy character of Lisbeth Salander, but I think it's even more interesting when the woman is real or could be real.  As you mentioned, Jeanette Walls is a real woman.  I even know someone who knows her, and she is the genuine article.  As for fictional characters, I love a character like Dr. Hema in Cutting For Stone.  As strong as they come, but she seems like a real person, made of flesh, bone and blood like the rest of us.  (For that matter, the same goes for male characters!).


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## Plotspider (Mar 15, 2011)

Some classic strong females I've liked in other people's stories: 

1.  Mrs. Frisby from the Rats of NIMH
2.  Sophie from Howl's Moving Castle
3.  Clarice Starling in Silence of the Lambs
4.  Corrie Ten Boom (a real person who did real things, but she's one of the stronger women I've seen in literature).  
5.  Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter novels.  

I removed my other post because I might have inadvertently been self-promoting there.  I didn't mean to break any rules, as I really do think those things about my own protagonist, but I don't want to do inappropriate self-promotion.  

J. Gullage


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## hsuthard (Jan 6, 2010)

One of the things i appreciate in a strong female character is when they're not part of a couple. Part of what makes me question listing Scarlett in this thread is that she was always so focused on her men, Ashley and Rhett. 

The ones I mentioned are pretty much always single, or at least away from their men pretty regularly. (Anna Pigeon, Kinsey Milhone, and V. I. Warshawski.)

I like my females to stand alone from their men.


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## Plotspider (Mar 15, 2011)

hsuthard said:


> One of the things i appreciate in a strong female character is when they're not part of a couple. Part of what makes me question listing Scarlett in this thread is that she was always so focused on her men, Ashley and Rhett.
> 
> The ones I mentioned are pretty much always single, or at least away from their men pretty regularly. (Anna Pigeon, Kinsey Milhone, and V. I. Warshawski.)
> 
> I like my females to stand alone from their men.


One thing I noticed about all the ones I listed just then was that they were not part of a couple...anymore or at the beginning. At least, for most of them, they don't look for a man to solve their problems for them no matter what. I would add to this the protagonist to Fargo (the movie, though I'm not sure if it was ever based on a book, so don't know if it counts).


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## BrassMan (Dec 8, 2008)

fancynancy said:


> I enjoyed the fantasy character of Lisbeth Salander, but I think it's even more interesting when the woman is real or could be real.


Among my favorite five novels of all time is Luis Urrea's _The Hummingbird's Daughter_, a literary account of his great aunt Teresita Urrea. Just take a look at the reviews it has! (One of them is mine.) Teresita lived in El Paso for a short time, where I grew up and went to school. I had never heard of her before, and shame on El Paso's public schools and local historians for that.

I'll not self-promote either, but I do admit I modeled one of the characters in my latest after her....

It's a terrific novel, says this paisano:


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## Cindy416 (May 2, 2009)

Al, when I saw your name as the last poster in this thread, I realized that I should have mentioned Ana Darcy as a strong female character. Sorry for the oversight.


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## SteveMalley (Sep 22, 2010)

Scarlett O'Hara remains one of my favorites-- I don't much like her, but I sure as hell admire her! 

Recently, I've also enjoyed the mother in Cherie Priest's BONESHAKER. She's strong and brave and determined and thoroughly awesome. And the heroine of Theresa Schwegel's OFFICER DOWN. Like Scarlett, Samantha Mack is hard-drinking, hard-driving and headed for some very dark places, but you still find yourself cheering for her. 

Oh, and critics of my own POISON DOOR seem to respond to the strong female leads...


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## Harry Shannon (Jul 30, 2010)

Can't recall if already posted this, but "Void Moon" by Michael Connelly had a terrific female lead character and a great plot.


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## Cheryl Shireman (Feb 11, 2011)

Okay - so I woke up at 4 in the morning and couldn't sleep so (of course!) I grabbed my Kindle. I read Waiting For Spring by R.J. Keller. Couldn't put it down until 6:30 a.m. when I finished it. WOW!

This is Keller's first novel and it is reallly powerful. It deals with a woman who has just gone through a divorce. She is trying to start over, despite a whole closet full of ghosts from her pasts (okay - not REAL ghosts). She is strong AND incredibly weak. Loving and hateful. Nurturing and self-destructive. I read a lot and few novels have captured me in the way this one just did. Warning - definitely strong language and some sex scenes for those who are offended by such. But those scenes were so a part of the character that the novel would have been incomplete without them. And this novel would probably appeal to women more than men.

No - I don't know the author. I am just happy to promote this book. I am already looking forward to her next.

LOVE finding a new writer! And such a complex, strong (and weak) female character.


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## Christopher Meeks (Aug 2, 2009)

Cheryl Shireman said:


> Anyone else loving the Larsson books? The one thing I hear over and over again is that the first one is hard to get into (slow start and tough to read due to many foreign sounding names) but then you are hooked and can't put it down.


Lisbeth Salander! I'll pitch in and shout I'm loving the Larsson books, and it's exactly as you said--the first is hard to get into. The second and third are amazing--incredible depth to every major character and such complexity that somehow all comes together. In fact, I blogged about the whole experience yesterday at http://www.redroom.com/blog/christopher-meeks/stieg-larsson-and-la-traffic

I highly recommend starting with the audio book or the movie of "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" to pull you into the series.


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## RJ Keller (Mar 9, 2009)

Cheryl Shireman said:


> Okay - so I woke up at 4 in the morning and couldn't sleep so (of course!) I grabbed my Kindle. I read Waiting For Spring by R.J. Keller. Couldn't put it down until 6:30 a.m. when I finished it. WOW!
> 
> This is Keller's first novel and it is reallly powerful. It deals with a woman who has just gone through a divorce. She is trying to start over, despite a whole closet full of ghosts from her pasts (okay - not REAL ghosts). She is strong AND incredibly weak. Loving and hateful. Nurturing and self-destructive. I read a lot and few novels have captured me in the way this one just did. Warning - definitely strong language and some sex scenes for those who are offended by such. But those scenes were so a part of the character that the novel would have been incomplete without them. And this novel would probably appeal to women more than men.
> 
> ...


Wow...thank you! Now I feel really bad about being an outspoken bag earlier in the thread. (It's a feeling I get a LOT, I'm afraid.)


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## Christopher Meeks (Aug 2, 2009)

I'll also second "Waiting for Spring"--a thoroughly involving book. (Spring started yesterday, so you have to wait no longer: get a copy.)


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## Cheryl Shireman (Feb 11, 2011)

RJ - You are welcome!

And I guess I better go back and read the thread again, I didn't even realize you had made a comment - let alone had been an "outspoken bag".  LOL

I remember seeing your cover on a post somewhere (great cover, by the way, and the reason I went to check out your book), but I didn't realize it was THIS post. Guess that should tell me that I am posting too much and writing too little!  

Seriously - LOVED the book. I hope you are writing another one. I was crying so much during certain parts that I found it hard to read! Woke up with mascara all over my blanket!!

If you have such a thing (and you SHOULD if you don't) I would love to be added to your "reader email list" so I can get news of your next novel. I will definitely buy it.

If you want - send me a private message and I would be happy to give you my email address.


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## EGranfors (Mar 18, 2011)

Of course, the Hunger Games series.

Then there is the main squeeze for the protagonist in Rock n Roll Rip-Off--she's no dummy--two steps ahead of her boyfriend!  Love her.

Chicana--here on Kindleboards.

The Necessary Hunger, Southland, and Wingshooters by Nina Revoyr. All of these deal with strong women (girls) trying to beat the odds against them as both girls and minority girls at that.

The Book Thief.  My all-time favorite book, strong men and strong women.

Am I allowed to say my book has a strong heroine and a whole group of strong female role models.


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