Heroine - BTT

Another week has past (they always seem to fly by) and Booking Through Thursday has a new question:

Who is your favorite female lead character? And why? (And yes, of course, you can name more than one . . . I always have trouble narrowing down these things to one name, why should I force you to?)

At the risk of being trite and picking the same one millions of others would choose, the first heroine to come to mind is Elizabeth Bennet. Here is a girl with a family that is nothing like her, but she has a strength about her and she is witty. Even in the world she lives in, she still needs to respect the man she marries, which makes her different from many women who would just marry to secure herself a position for later in life. And if none of that works for you, she is just fun - her sense of humor and the way she was written are all amazing.

Of course, there are one or two others. Jaenelle from the Black Jewels Trilogy was great. Here is a little girl with more power than anyone in the history of her people and she collects the most amazing friends from around the world, always remaining sweet and humble. A sense of humor is also found here - in fact, it seems that is an essential part of a good heroine, in my experience.

If a girl is smart, witty, and capable of carrying herself through the plot with dignity, chances are I will like her. I know there have been other female characters that I loved but there two seem to stand out, Elizabeth because she is from one of my favorite books written by one of my favorite authors and Jaenelle because she is from my favorite series. Then again, it may be that these are my favorite books because these characters are there. Either way, I suppose that (sort of) answers as to who my Reader's Oscar for Best Female in a Leading Role would go to... or at least who I would have to decide between.