March is National Women's History Month, and the Teen Board is celebrating through a series of blog posts! Every Thursday this month, a different Teen Board member is writing a post that somehow relates to women and literature, so make sure you keep an eye out each week! The first one is by Katie N., where she talks about her favorite strong female characters in YA lit. Read on!
Have you ever noticed how the majority of famous literary characters are male? Harry Potter, Sherlock Holmes and Gandalf, just to name a few. In honor of Women’s History Month, I have chosen five female characters that bring major skills to the reading table.
1) Katniss Everdeen: From the hit trilogy The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, Katniss bravely volunteers in place of her sister for the 74th annual Hunger Games. Although Katniss has doubts about herself, she promises her sister Prim that she will try and win. When in the arena, Katniss takes her competitive nature, her passion and, of course, her archery skills and turns into a whirlwind of awesome, all to win for Prim. While in the arena, Katniss makes some friends and enemies and starts a budding romance. Katniss is definitely a strong female character that teaches everyone an important lesson of perseverance.
2) Hua Mulan: Mulan wasn’t always a Disney princess. She started out as a 17-year-old girl from the Chinese poem “The Ballad of Mulan” by a Chinese poet. Back in ancient China, women were expected to cook, clean and wait on their husbands. Mulan was a bit of a rebel; she was highly trained in martial arts and weaponry. Much like the classic Disney movie, she took her father’s place in war and obtained dozens of victories while adventuring through Asia. Mulan teaches us that labels shouldn’t stop us from following our hearts.
3) Nancy Drew: I’m sure you’ve all heard of the Nancy Drew series by Carolyn Keene. With over 60 original books, you could say Nancy is pretty well known. She’s a witty, sharp and pretty teenager that is dang good at solving mysteries! Nothing gets past Nancy and her sleuth kit. And with her best friends by her side, Nancy Drew is practically unstoppable! While solving mysteries, Nancy learns the importance of friendship, trust and loyalty.
4) Anne Shirley: From the classic book ANNE OF GREEN GABLES by Lucy Montgomery, Anne has many adventures with her friends and family. Being an orphan, Anne has moved from place to place, picking up many crazy stories along the way. At her new home in Green Gables, she whips up a lot of commotion, including being swept away in the river, getting poison ivy and falling off a roof. Although Anne gets into trouble more often than not, she teaches us that you’re only a child once, so you should enjoy every second of it.
5) Hermione Granger: The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling is one for the history books. However, it definitely wouldn’t be as amazing as it is without Hermione Granger. Hermione is the girl everyone strives to be; she is a strong, beautiful, intelligent wizard that prides herself on knowing more spells and potions than anyone else. Time after time, she helps Ron and Harry on their magical adventures. Hermione teaches us all that being a woman shouldn’t stop someone from making something out of herself.
All these ladies have something special to offer. Whether it be a mature or childish attitude or a book-smart or street-smart brain, we can learn that being a woman is a pretty powerful thing. To all our women readers: hopefully each and every one of you will go down in history. Maybe one day someone will praise your accomplishments for Women’s History Month!