#lmao my ideal character is a jane eyre inspired feral girl who fights an evil church or something i guess

[flying-elliska]

Hey i see that you made book commentary sometimes and Im trying to get back to reading so I wondered if you do some recs for great female protagonist? You really don’t have to of course but thank you so much if you do :)

Ooooh what a great question I love it ! That said it also really depends on what type of protagonists you like, haha, because that can be super subjective. But here are a few cool, complex female protagonists I love :

- Noemi from Mexican Gothic (Silvia Moreno-Garcia). My fave book last year, a twist on the gothic lit trope of a young woman arriving at a creepy old manor full of secrets, Jane Eyre vibes but in Mexico. Noemi is confident, frivolous and very sharp-minded, flawed but ultimately badass, which she needs to survive the horror she's landed in. I loved that her lust for life is presented as an advantage when faced with a family of creepy European eugenists who hold her cousin captive. I just loved her inner voice in general, and the book is big on female solidarity and the importance of women being believed and trusting themselves.

- Lyra from His Dark Materials (Philip Pullman) My fave books as a kid, also very readable as an adult. Lyra is wonderful, half-feral, resourceful and very unruly, which serves her well when she's faced with a child-abducting authoritarian church. Her special talent is the ability to make-up stories on the spot to get herself out of any sticky situation. It's such an important message for little girls, that you don't have to be obedient all the time, especially when the world is after you. The series really doesn't do justice to her spirit.

- Jane from Jane, Unlimited (Kristin Cashore.) This book is just so cool. It's a modern riff on Jane Eyre (lol notice the theme) and also a choose your own ending thing, where the book splits at a point where Jane has to make a decision - each ending becoming a different genre (sci-fi, fantasy, crime, horror, romance) and highlighting a different side of her character, which is such an interesting take on the idea that our choices make us who we are. I need to reread it.

- Vasya from the Winternights Trilogy (Katherine Arden) Another feral weird girl (another theme here) in this Russian folklore inspired medieval tale. She talks to horses and sees spirits and sticks out like a sore thumb in her little peasant community ; she's free spirited, reckless, stubborn as hell, and refuses to be cowed by the gender norms of her society (but not in that fake YA kind of way where it makes things too easy for her). She's also deeply kind and compassionate even as she goes through some really awful shit. I love her a lot and seeing her come into her power is awesome.

- Immanuelle from The Year of the Witching (Alexis Henderson). She lives in a fantasy version of a Puritan cult and is somewhat of a pariah because of her mother's involvement with witchcraft before she died. She's very brave and very caring, but also very much a product of her society who was taught women are meant to be subservient. She has to unlearn that and she keeps struggling between her need for independence and truth, and her need to be loved and fit in. It feels very real and very compelling (and also scary, since this is a horror book).

- Tiffany Aching, from the Tiffany Aching Series (Terry Pratchett) She is a witch in training and the books follow her from age nine to her late teens as she grows into her job, befriending a family of rowdy, chaotic miniature fairies. She's down to earth, practical and clever, and her calling is caring for people even when it's difficult or not very rewarding. These books are really a comfort read for me, funny and warm and full of wisdom.

- Diane, Duchess of Tremontaine and Ixkaab Balam from Tremontaine (Ellen Kushner and others). This is a prequel to the Riverside series (fantasy without magic but full of queer people, also awesome) centered around two women who are two equally complex forces of nature : one is a scheming duchess who came from humble beginnings and hides her cleverness behind her beauty, the other is a disgraced trader's daughter who becomes a spy to preserve her family's fortune. The whole thing is written as a serial with episodes by different authors, there are 2 seasons so far (I need to catch up with the last one) and it's a lot of fun.

Honorary mentions to the Six of Crows duology (fantasy heist + gang of misfits found family) and the Diviners series (1920s New York but with magic and grisly murder) who have ensemble casts with great female characters. There are probably others but these are the ones that come to mind right now....I feel like I need to read more non YA books....