TTT: Books with "Difficult" Women

Top Ten Tuesday is a Meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

This week's TTT topic: Books That Feature Characters Who....

I'm back! Finally. Kind of sort of. I'm still in the transition process. We close on our house this week and get our stuff soon after. Then comes the unpacking. But I'm getting in more time for reading again. (Stay tuned.)

In the meantime, this week's Top Ten Tuesday was one I couldn't pass up. When I saw this week's topic, I immediately though of my favorite kind of heroine: The "Difficult" Female. Who finds these fine ladies difficult? Usually the people in their stories angry that they won't fit in the nice neat boxes they want to stuff them in. And they won't go quietly into them either. I find it strange that many times readers don't like these heroines either, probably because they are my everything.

Difficult Woman: The Queen of Attolia

Who Finds her Difficult: Pretty much everyone else in the book including herself.

Why I Love Her: She is ambitious, ruthless, intelligent, and an excellent, organized administrator. Attolia is my favorite character of all time.

Difficult Woman: Harriet Vane
Who Finds her Difficult: A lot of puffed up self-righteous people with too many opinions on things they know nothing about. Herself. Peter (the hero), but only because he wants her to see herself and him clearly, not because he's trying to conform her to anything.j
Why I Love Her: Harriet is fiercely intelligent and introspective. I identify with her on a lot of levels, particularly her struggles in this novel.

Difficult Woman: Kate Sutton
Who Finds Her Difficult: Everyone trying to get her to stay where they put her.
Why I Love Her: She is intensely curious and stubborn. While those to trait combinations get her in trouble, they also save her (and Christopher) in the end. She is also all that is sassy and snarky.

Difficult Woman: Aravis
Who Finds Her Difficult: Pretty much every male in the novel.
Why I Love Her: This young girl concocted a brilliant plot to escape an arranged marriage and her own future.

Difficult Woman: Meg Murry

Who Finds Her Difficult: Everyone (including herself) except Calvin who just revels in who she is.

Why I Love Her: Reading this book as a child is the first time I ever remember fully seeing myself in a character in a book. Introverted, smart (but feels not quite smart enough), awkward, Meg means more to me than I could ever properly put into words.

Difficult Woman: Kat Stephenson

Who Finds Her Difficult: Everyone with firm ideas of how proper ladies should behave and everyone who wants her highly inquisitive self out of their nefarious business.

Why I Love Her: Read the Kat books if you haven't, and I guarantee you'll love her too. She's vivacious, smart, loyal, stubborn, and devoted to her family.

Difficult Woman: Rose Lee Carter

Who Finds Her Difficult: Her Family (particularly her cousin and grandmother)

Why I Love Her: Rose's journey of discovery, both of herself and the world around her, is a beautiful story. I adore her brain, her ambition, her stubbornness, and her heart.

Difficult Woman: Tiffany Aching
Who Finds Her Difficult: Anyone Who Attempts to Cross Her
Why I Love Her: Tiffany is a heroine who grew in to her stature as a difficult woman over time. I loved watching her become the confident, talented, wise woman she is.

Difficult Woman: Tori Beuagrand

Who Finds Her Difficult: Everyone in some way or another.

Why I Love Her: Tori exudes a fierce determination and confidence even when she is floundering and falling apart inside. She is a firm friend and willing to make any sacrifice necessary to protect those she loves.

Difficult Woman: Charlotte Eason
Who Finds Her Difficult: Men with a small minded view of what women can and should be doing. Her parents. Eugene (the hero), but only because their relationship is complicated, not because he wants her any differently.
Why I Love Her: Charlie is ambitious and wants to do her best at the job she's been given. I love the way she figures out the tension between her heart and her head and reconciles the two.

I could have an endless list for this particular topic, which is why I'm so strict about actually limiting the TTT lists to ten. These are definitely my favorite though.

Do you enjoy any character considered a "difficult" woman?

Comments

Favorite Kissing Scenes

When thinking of a favorite things post I could do for February I decided it would have to be kissing. I've already done couples and I was feeling in the mood to do something fluffy and Valentine's related. So kisses it is. I read more MG than YA, and the YA I read tends to not focus on romance so this was actually harder than I expected it to be though a few jumped into my head right away. (And one of my choices does actually come from a MG book. One is adult. Gasp!) The actual scene from the book is quoted followed by my thoughts. The king lifted a hand to her cheek and kissed her. It was not a kiss between strangers, not even a kiss between a bride and a groom. It was a kiss between a man and his wife, and when it was over, the king closed his eyes and rested his forehead against the hollow of the queen's shoulder, like a man seeking respite, like a man reaching home at the end of the day . - The King of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner Turner doesn't write the

TTT: Most Recent Additions to My TBR List

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly themed blog hop created by The Broke and the Bookish and now hosted at That Artsy Reader Girl . This Week's Topic: Most Recent Additions to My TBR List From Most Recent to Least: What books have recently caught your eye?

Serafina and the Black Cloak

Serafina and the Black Cloak by Robert Beatty is a thrilling tale of mystery and adventure set at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC in 1899. Having lived in Asheville and visited the house several times, there was no way I was going to pass up a chance to read this. (Also it's MG fantasy, always a bonus for me.) Serafina lives in secret in the basement of the Vanderbilt's spacious vacation home. She has lived there most of her life. Her father worked on the house as it was being built and is the mechanic who runs the massive generator and keeps the electricity going. Serafina is the chief rat catcher, slipping through the halls of her massive home secretly and quietly. She is light on her feet, sees well in the dark, and is quick enough to catch the vermin and keep them out. Serafina knows she if different and strange. Her father insists she stay hidden. But all that changes when one night Serafina witnesses a horrible crime. A little girl, a guest in the house, is fleein

This Side of Home

What attracted me to This Side of Home by Renee Watson was the cover. The story hooked my interest. The characters made me fall in love. Maya has lived her entire life in the same neighborhood in Portland hanging out with the same group of friends: her twin sister Nikki, their best friend Essence, and Ronnie, Malachi, and Devin-three boys her father mentors. They have plans for the future that involve each other: prom, college, life. But things in their neighborhood are changing. People are moving in and starting new businesses. Property values are going up as a result. In addition to change, this is also causing trouble. Essence has to move out of her house when the owner decides he can make more money selling it than renting it. The racial demographics of the school, which has been mostly African American, is shifting. This presents new challenges and choices for Maya and her friends. It brings new people into their lives at the same time. Maya has to figure out how-and if-she wa

Shorter Musings MG Fantasy

Here are some shorter musings on recent MG fantasy reads. Anya and the Dragon by Sofiya Pasternack This book is fun. It is a book full of adventure, an obvious bad guy, some more complicated morally gray area characters, and a strong, brave heroine. It is also a book about friendships, community, and fighting for what is right. All things that usually work for me really well. While I enjoyed this, I did feel it was a little overlong and there were certain plot points at the end I didn't love. However, there were things I thought were done really well, such as Anya's Jewish faith and the idea that power needs to be challenged. In the end it was a middle of the road read for me, but it is one I will certainly be recommending to dragon and fantasy adventure lovers I know! R is for Rebel by J. Anderson Coats This is tough because I usually really like Coats's books. I had such a hard time with this one though on so many levels. It's difficult to get into because t

Random Musings of a Bibliophile

Search This Blog