Top Five Wednesday: Female Characters

As you all know, I love lists and books. So in order to combine both I've decided to start a Top Five Wednesday series. Top Five Wednesday is a series created by Gingerreadslainey. To see the complete list of participants look here! On the Goodreads group YouTubers or Bloggers can find a new book-related topic posted every week. Bloggers are encouraged to list their top 5 books that fall within that category on their blog and share it.

 

This week's category is Female Characters. I perused my bookshelves and pulled out all of the books containing my favorite female characters; then, I quickly realized that I would need to reevaluate and get rid of a few. So, I have my top 5 plus one honorable mention. I'm not planning on going into a full bio of the book, if you're interested in what the book is about and what others thought of the book, check out Goodreads. Keep reading to find out what they are...

 

**Most of these books can be purchased on Thriftbooks.com. If you purchase any of these books through my affiliate link, which can be found here or by clicking on the title of a specific book, I will receive a small commission for every book that you purchase. I have used Thriftbooks.com to purchase a number of books and have had no problems, their prices are hard to beat and their customer service is wonderful.

 

This is the pile of books that I started out with... definitely a few too many!!
 

Honorable Mention:

Starting out with my honorable mention, I chose Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde. Don't confuse it with Fifty Shades of Grey. Not that book. I want to talk about the character Jane. If you've read the book, you know who I'm talking about. If you haven't read the book, I don't want to give anything away so don't ask too many questions :) Jane is a part of the lowest-class in the world that Fforde has created. She and Eddie, the main character, come to know each other through a series of events. Jane is very good at pushing people away; however, as the story progresses we see Jane open up more and more to Eddie. Jane is willing to fight for her cause and, despite how it looks to others, she doesn't want to get anyone involved and hurt them in the process. Jane's personality is her "shield" against hurting others and being hurt by others. She's a pretty sarcastic character which makes her enjoyable to read about. She didn't make my top 5 because we don't really get to know much about Jane throughout the book. I'm looking forward to knowing her more when Fforde writes & publishes the next book in the series.

 

Number Five:

The female character that happens to be in 5th place is Thora. Thora can be found in the novel that goes by the title of Thora by Gillian Johnson. The book that is pictured is the second book in the series, I don't own the first book, yet. This was one of my favorite books growing up and I adored the main character. As a child, I loved that Thora was goofy despite everything she went through. I also loved the fact that she was a mermaid;  come on, who doesn't want to be a mermaid? Also, for clarification, mermaid law commands that she must spend 10 years at sea and 10 years on land; that's why she has legs. As an un-child (am I an adult? am I a child? who knows!!) I really appreciate that Thora, while portrayed as goofy and silly, was able to hold conversations with adults and be semi-serious.

 

Number Four:

Ah, The Book Thief. I love this book so much and Liesel Meminger holds a special place in my heart. I love Liesel; I love her curiosity and her love of reading. The relationship between her and her foster father is perfect, as well. Another quality that Liesel has and that most of the female characters on this list have is that she is willing to work to get what she wants. I could go on and on about what I love about Liesel. She's such a joy to read about. I would encourage you to pick up this book just for the sake a Liesel.

 

Number Three:

You're going to find this author mentioned A LOT on here. I've been reading through most of his books this year, which is in progress. One of his characters that I love is Thursday Next, from the Thursday Next series. Starting with The Eyre Affair, Thursday kicks butt. She is a 'literary detective' which means she solves crime that revolves around literature. This book is very hard to explain quickly and in a way that flows; head over to Goodreads to check out their bio. I'm sure it's much better than mine. I love seeing Thursday's adventures, I just picked up the 4th book in the series, Something Rotten.

 

Number Two:

I'm not sure how someone can have a 'top characters list' without including Matilda. Matilda loves reading.... check! She is super curious.... check! She is willing to make sacrifices in order to get what she wants (books).... check! And most of the adult characters in the book hate her.... what more could she be that would make a reader love her more? I can't think of anything. If you haven't read this wonderful book by Roald Dahl, do it!

 

Number One:

Clarisse from Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 is pretty much who I want to be if Bradbury's world ever comes to be. Clarisse is pretty much the only reason this book happens. For those of you who read it in high school and never again, Clarisse is the young woman who lives next door to Guy Montag, the main character. Her family is anti-book burning; however, they never say that outright. Clarisse believes in sitting around and talking to each other as opposed to just staring at the screen on the wall. She throws Guy's thinking completely for a loop and changes his entire mindset. I love Clarisse and I love her 'traditional' thinking. She's not afraid to say what she feels or challenge other's thinking and she fully believes in what she feels. The only complaint I have against Clarisse is how ditsy she's portrayed; however, I suppose that's what they would have thought about her thinking. They would have thought that she was completely out of her mind, crazy, and a 'dreamer'. So my only complaint is invalid. I encourage you, read this book! If you read it in high school, read it again. If you've never read it, read it. If you read it last week, read it.....you get my point... 

 

Thanks so much for reading! Who are your favorite female book characters? Have you read Fahrenheit 451? What are your thoughts? Let me know in the comments!!