Today is February 13th, and do you know what this special day is? Galentine’s Day!
You are probably asking:
And well,
It’s a day, coined by the amazing Leslie Knope of Parks and Recreation, to celebrate all the awesome ladies and female friendships in the world! You don’t need Valentine’s Day! Galentine’s Day is all you need.
Charlotte and I decided to celebrate Galentine’s Day because 1. Leslie Knope told us to and 2. we get to talk about all the awesome fictional ladies (from books, comics, movies, + TV shows) we adore! How can we say no to that?! It is one of the besttttt day of the year.
Galentine’s Day is a perfect alternative to Valentine’s Day because you get to celebrate awesome ladies and female friendships! So let’s talk about my favorite fictional ladies!
BABBBBBBS <3! My absolutely favorite Batgirl. We can all agree that she is frickin’ badass. She can kick serious ass (ask Robin, because oh boy, he got what was coming to him); she’s highly intelligent and has a photographic memory; she reinvented herself into the Oracle, showing off her excellent computer skills to aid superheroes, after she lost the use of her legs; and she is an great mentor to the other Batgirls. I’m just totally in awe of her.
My favorite Baudelaire. This girl has been through a lot with her siblings. What I love about her are 1. she looks out for siblings since they have nobody except each other; 2. she’s so smart; and 3. she’s an inventor! She makes things that helps them escape danger. She’s such an inspiring character. (I’m refraining to write more because I’ll end up writing an essay of why Violet Baudelaire is frickin’ awesome, and that would be a long post.)
I wish Kami Glass was one of my best friends. She embraces her weird, not caring if people think she’s really crazy talking to herself; she has so much sass and wit, always making me smile; she has a curious soul, hence the reason why she’s perfect as a reporter; she’s protective of the people she loves; and she’s incredibly brave, not letting danger deter her from getting to the bottom of mysteries happening in her town. I just love her.
Laura, Laura, Laurrraaaaa. I love Laura because she is like you and me; she’s someone who fangirls over the people she idolizes. For Laura, those people are the gods. She wants to be like them. She continuously defends them when critics bash them and their purpose. She believes in them even when the whole world doubts them. Plus, she has great hair and clothing. She’s just the best to have on your side. ;D
Have you seen Alana? Because damnnnnn. That woman is frickin’ amazing. She doesn’t have a problem voicing her opinion and what she wants. If she wants to run away or have sex, she’ll do it. She is hot-tempered and stubborn, and curses a lot. She’s a big romantic. She gets jealous. She’ll do whatever she can to protect her family. And she’s unwittingly funny. Anybody would be lucky to have her in their life (if you’re an ally).
MY ROLE MODEL. I never really had anyone I looked up to, but when Leslie Knope first appeared on my screen, full of optimism and ambition, she became someone I aspired to be. She’s just so inspiring because of everything she does; she always puts 100% of her effort and energy into her projects (no matter how unpleasant it may be) and she’s incredibly encouraging to other women to empower themselves. How can I not love her?
My dear Tonks! My absolutely favorite Harry Potter character. She doesn’t appear a lot in the book, but I just fell in love with her. She’s incredibly loyal and dependable. She can change her appearance at will, which is a pretty amazing skill, and uses it to entertain and joke around. I love that despite her badassery, she is very clumsy. She just seems really fun and awesome to have around.
SUCH BADASS QUEENS. Oh boy, these four will keep you on your toes. They are mercenaries who know how to kick literal asses, and t’s amazing to see them at work. They are a sarcastic and a dark bunch. They are incredibly foul-mouthed and always create chaos wherever they go. I couldn’t decide who I loved more because all were amazing: Hannah, who is the most sarcastic and crude, and wields magic; Dee, who’s the atheist cleric who doesn’t like socializing; Violet, who turns away from her family’s dwarvish traditions and can wield a sword like no other; Betty, who loves eating candy and drugs. (That’s just a barebones description of them.)
She’s so tough and dedicated. You gotta be if you’re hunting down Histories (who are like ghosts) and sending them back to the Archive, where they are housed. They can be unpredictable at times, so Mackenzie has to know how to fight back. She is flawed; she makes bad decisions like any other person. She’s so relatable, especially seeing all the emotions and grief she has to deal with. She’s a wonderfully strong character that I really admire.
Go visit Charlotte’s post to see which ladies she picked as her favorites!
Charlotte and I have decided to host a giveaway to celebrate these awesome ladies!
The rules:
- Giveaway #1 is only opened to the US. Giveaway #2 is only opened internationally (as long as The Book Depository delivers to you).
- The giveaway will run from February 13 to 28.
- You must be 13 years (with your parent’s permission) or older.
- You will be disqualified if you pick up entries you haven’t done.
- If the winner does not respond to my e-mail within 48 hours, I will have to choose another winner.
- I am not responsible for any items lost in the mail.
1. For US people ONLY, you get to win paperback copies of Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas + The Archived by Victoria Schwab.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
2. For International folks ONLY, you get to win $20 book(s) from the Book Depository (as long as the female characters are kickass!)
Go forth and celebrate all the awesome ladies in the world! What book with an awesome female character would you recommend to me?
Oooooh. I’m not familiar with most of the characters on this list but I really really want to read The Archived! Even though I’m entering the international giveaway I’d probably still ask for a copy of The Archived if I won, haha. :D I wanna find out how awesome Mackenzie is.
The Skyscraper Throne trilogy by Tom Pollock (the first book is called The City’s Son) has AMAZING female characters. The Sabriel books by Garth Nix are also awesome! Sabriel is a pretty great character but Lirael and her talking dog (who also totally counts as a kickass female character) in the second and third book are the BEST. And Karou from Daughter of Smoke and Bone… I love her so much.
I love all the choices that you have listed here. I would add Kate Bishop from Matt Fraction’s Hawkeye series. She is amazing. Also, Karou from Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor!
I love Leslie Knope! It’s amazing how much Parks and Rec has affected me, even to celebrating Galentine’s Day and Treat Yo Self Day! I’m super sad to see it ending though. I really liked your list, especially because it included some of my favorites. Of course, I would add Katniss and Tris…
I love Mackenzie from The Archived. Alana and Tonks too. I love books with kicks female characters!
I would recommend The Darkest Minds series or The Lunar Chronicles – all the girls in these are pretty awesome.
Oh man I wish I knew Babs more so I could see her badassness. YES TO VIOLET. I think about the Baudelaire siblings and just EMOTIONS (I blame you for saying ‘they have nobody except each other’, how can I not get emotional over that line?)
I think I’m really going to love Kami, I love that she’s weird! Plus you’ve mentioned the wit and sass which also makes me hopeful. LAURAAAAA, much love for her and her unwavering support and devotion to the people she cares about. ALANA <3 WHAT A HBIC.
Our Queen Leslie Knope *bows* TONKS TONKS TONKS!! I'm remembering how she hates her first name lol (note how I'm not steering in that direction). I really need to read Rat Queens pronto. Mackenzie!! Feeling the itch to reread The Archived lol.
Seriously all the fab ladies and pfffft, mine was not better than yours. We were under a time crunch <3
Mackenzie! She’s my girl :D I love how she deals with the situation and her kick-ass attitude. ‘I don’t need a boy to help me, I can do this on my own.’ Stubborn, that’s how I like them. I’m planning to watch Park and Recreation soon and I can’t wait to meet this Leslie.
Batgirl and Hermione are coll because they’re strong
I recently just finished The Archive and it was so good! Mac is a total kickass and independent woman. I love determine and loyal she is to her grandfather and to her Keeper job. She’s a very refreshing character for me! :D
Nice picks! I’m glad to see a comic book girl get a mention. I could never pick my top heroine, so I’ll say Suzume by Generation V as my favorite of this years reads.
Oh my goodness! I have so many! Sydney from Bloodlines is at the top of my list. Rogue from X-Men (the comics, not the movies!), Katniss from THG, and Sophronia from the Finishing School series are also at the top! I love all of them so much for so many different reasons. I’d be BFFs with them all if I could.
YASSS to Leslie Knope and Violet Baudelaire! I loved Violet since she was so resourceful and just wonderful overall. Barbara Gordon is a great one, too! I personally love Gemma from A Great and Terrible Beauty because she can be so wise at times.
Ohh! Sounds like fun…is it bad that this is the first time I’ve heard of Galentine’s Day?!
But it just so happens but I spent that night reading a book with a kick butt female character. What are the chances of that? Anyways, awesome post! Good luck to everyone who enters!
Lisa
http://www.turningpages94.blogspot.com
I really want to read Yes, Please so bad because Amy Poehler looks awesome, and so does her show. Yeah. Now if this was my list, though, Veronica Mars would have been the first one on the list. :D God, I love her to bits, and she’s the most kickass lady there is.
Galentine’s Day!!! Infinitely better than Valentine’s Day, for sure. :D (And it totally makes me want to watch Parks and Recreation now… It’s crazy how many good TV shows I haven’t seen yet. *hides*) I didn’t know the story of Batgirl, but daaamn, your description of her. Lost the use of her legs, huh? Kinda reminds me of Charles Xavier — both of them continued on doing good despite all the problems they faced. Barbara’ll make a good source of inspiration for girls in the real world, too.
Is it weird that I have a huge amount of respect for characters who talk to themselves?? Because I do it ALL the time and it’s like I have this deep emotional connection to people who do the same, bahaha. I have to admit that I wasn’t planning on reading The Lynburn Legacy — the blurb made it sound too romance-y for my liking D: — but I love Kami already!
I WAS WONDERING WHO YOUR TWITTER DP WAS. AND NOW I KNOW. I was blown away by the badassery in that single picture. *O*
So this post made me realize how much I’m missing out on, because the only women I’m familiar with here is Laura and Tonks. Alina from the Grisha trilogy would be pretty high on my list of kickass ladies, though. I love how she isn’t one of those “honorable heroines” who can never be corrupted. She’s brave, she’s powerful, but she’s also so flawed. She’s my queen. <3
Paige is definitely another awesome strong female character.
Except from Celaena from “A throne of Glass” series another great heroine is Alina from the “Grisha” Trilogy, Syd from “Vicious” and from graphic novels I like Mercy from Mercy Thompson sereis! Thank you for the giveaway!
Laura is definitely my favorite, because not only do we share the same name but she’s totally like me. I’m also fangirling way too much over the people I idolize. I would add Tris (Divergent).
Eona from the Eon duology is definitely kick ass!!! And Rachel form the Courier’s Daughter trilogy by CJ Redwine!
I love love love Babs and the ladies from Rat Queens! I’m still getting use to Saga, it’s not really like anything else I’ve read but I do like Alana. The only ladies I don’t know much about is Leslie and Laura (but The Wicked + The Divine is on my TBR).
I love the three main characters from the His Fair Assassin series by Robin LaFevers: Sybella, Ismae, and Annith. Also Luna Lovegood and Captain Marvel (Carol Danvers).
And the new Thor! I love her! <3
Paige from the bone season bc shes such a bamf :D