Who She Is: Amy Gumm’s story might sound familiar to you. She’s a girl who lives in the middle of Kansas until a tornado shows up one day and whisks her off to a magical land called Oz. Except that Oz isn’t so magical these days, because Dorothy (yes, that Dorothy) returned and took…
Heroines Who Rock: Hope Walton from Into the Dim
Heroines Who Rock: Hope Walton from Into the Dim by Janet Taylor Who She Is: Hope Watson is basically an orphan. Her mom’s missing presumed dead and her adopted dad has moved on—he’s already engaged and planning his honeymoon. To keep her out of the way her dad ships her off to her maternal aunt…
Heroines Who Rock: Anya Balanchine
Who is she? Anya Balanchine starts the series as a 16-year-old mafia princess. She’s treated differently because of her father and the family she was born into. Anya’s journey is seen through 3 books, and spans years. Anya grows from mafia princess to ruthless leader of the family through necessity, and sacrifice. Why is she…
Heroines Who Rock: Jo from These Shallow Graves
Jo Montfort from “These Shallow Graves” by Jennifer Donnelly Jo Montfort is beautiful and rich, and soon—like all the girls in her class—she’ll graduate from finishing school and be married off to a wealthy bachelor. Which is the last thing she wants. Jo dreams of becoming a writer—a newspaper reporter like the trailblazing Nellie Bly. Wild aspirations…
Heroines Who Rock: Cassie from The 5th Wave
We’re excited about “The Last Star,” which comes out next Tuesday, so in commemoration of the third and final “5th Wave” installment, we’re catching up on an old feature to highlight what makes that trilogy’s main character such a compelling heroine. Welcome to our new contributor Claire for her very first post! Cassie Sullivan…
Heroines Who Rock: Celaena from Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
In the dark, filthy salt mines of Endovier, an eighteen-year-old girl is serving a life sentence. She is a trained assassin, the best of her kind, but she made a fatal mistake: she got caught. Young Captain Westfall offers her a deal: her freedom in return for one huge sacrifice. Celaena must represent the prince…
Heroines Who Rock: Attia from Incarceron
Imagine a living prison so vast that it contains corridors and forests, cities and seas. Imagine a prisoner with no memory, who is sure he came from Outside, even though the prison has been sealed for centuries and only one man, half real, half legend, has ever escaped. Imagine a girl in a manor house…
Heroines Who Rock: Evanjalin of the Monts from ‘Finnikin of the Rock’
I’m not a huge fan of medieval fantasies (at least in print). I was strong-armed by my oldest brother to read “The Hobbit” as a child and resented him for it. I never went on to read “The Lord of the Rings.” While many of my childhood friends were reading “The Mists of Avalon,” I…
Heroines Who Rock: Karou from ‘Daughter of Smoke and Bone’
There’s nothing like a fabulous, kick-ass heroine to compel you to read even the longest of book sagas. Personally, I return to tales of princesses, warriors, hunters, and other extraordinary girls, because the young women at their core move me, inspire me, help prove that girls are no longer passive damsels in distress but individuals…