2014 Favorites: Female Protagonists

So I'm doing a thing. I've reviewed all the books I've read in 2014 and put everyone into categories with my favorites in each one. I find it only appropriate to start out with my favorite female protagonists since I read so many books with girl POV's this year. Watch out because there are (minor) spoilers for the Museum of Thieves and All These Things I've Done below. If you don't want to know then skip the book!

Kyra is a poison maker. She throws darts full of poison at her victims well there is really only one person she wanted to make a victim of her former friend, the princess. Kyra is not only skilled at making poisons but being a Seer which is something she tries to deny but she couldn't deny the chaos that she sees in her world's future. So she becomes a fugitive when that fateful dart misses. Kyra is the type of girl that does not need saving. In most cases she's the one doing the saving. She battles off massive creatures to save her friend. She is skilled, stand offish, but must really care about the world if she is willing to be an outcast to save it. 










You'll see the Keepers Trilogy on these favorite lists a lot. Goldie is the center of those stories when she steal something very precious - herself. She lives in a town where kids are chained up in order to protect them from kidnappers or death. At a certain age you are no longer chained up to a parent or a Guardian but she is denied that right so she steals herself away. She goes to the Museum of Dent where a group of thieves guards the dangers within from leaking out and destroying the world. Goldie becomes an excellent thief. She saves her friends on multiple occasions. She always will do anything to help out a friend. She shows compassion, heart, and loyalty throughout her journey. At one point she's kind of taken over by a spirit so she has to find it within herself to stay off the killer spirit within her. She's the most fearless middle schooler you will ever meet.

Daughter of Smoke & Bone is incredibly mysterious. I could not figure out Karou's relationship with any of the "monsters" in the story as well as this one angel. There's things that go down here that show you how much spirit and courage Karou has. She's a normal girl with blue hair and a monster for a guardian. She draws her amazing friends like they were story book characters and everyone loves her art in class but what her classmates don't know is that they are all real. Karou really cares about her friends whether they are human or otherwise. Sure, she has to keep massive secrets from both sides but she does it ultimately for her happiness. Her whole story she cares about her friends but she doesn't let their views get in the way of her happiness. She's a girl who stands up for what she believes in and doesn't let anyone get in her way in the most courageous way possible. 

Yelena goes through a lot throughout her whole entire life. I won't mention what happened in her younger years. Let's just say it was probably worst than her time spent as a poison tester. Yelena is the person who eats meals before diplomats in order for her to warn them if it is poisoned. She doesn't exactly want the job but it is better than being locked up and too weak to save herself. Yelena trains to become a poison taster by drinking and learning about poisons. There's always an antidote on hand but still... that's got to suck. She doesn't really whine or complain. She actually becomes stronger in her new circumstance with the help of some friends. She also learns about her magical abilities and where they come from. Yelena overcomes so much and still becomes stronger by the end of it. She is a survivor.

Kat is amazing. She's completely rebellious to everyone around her and only does things if she knows that it's the right thing to do for herself and for others. She's super sassy in a time where girls were married off to the highest bidder. She's also very loyal which is a trait I love in a character. She single-handedly gets her sisters married to the loves of their life when they mess up their chances. She has an intense sense of wrong versus right and she always chooses to do the right thing even if it isn't the most popular decision. 

Celaena is the world's greatest assassin at only eighteen. She should be dead. She was sent to a life working at the salt mines where people don't usually survive past a couple of weeks. She's VERY narcissistic about her abilities but honestly why can't a girl be proud of her abilities and let everyone know about them? She has pride which can sometimes veer off to having a big ego. So Celaena has her flaws but everyone does so I like how real she really is. She has moments of kindness towards those around her that makes you wonder what she would be like if she wasn't made to be an assassin. She cares about the people around her even though she still doesn't trust people. Compassion, strength, and loyalty - the best traits a female protagonist can have.







The Program is an unbelievable fantastic story that you should really read if you haven't done so already. Sloane lives in a society where kids have a high rate of suicide. In order to combat this, the government will send a person to the program in order to make them... better. But when you come out of the program you are not the same person. You forget all the people who have "influenced" you to become depressed or made you suicidal. Sloane wasn't allowed to grieve for her brother so she leaned on his best friends James' shoulder. They fell in love and the program wants to take that away. There are so many intense feelings when it comes to love. Feelings that could lead you down the wrong path. Sloane is forced to be brainwashed while trying desperately to hang on to her memories of her brother, her friends, and her love. The amount of will power she maintains is astonishing. She also tries so hard to get back to James. She goes through great lengths to fight back the program in her own way. She fights for the person she loves and for that she has become one of my favorite female protagonists.

Loyalty. It's a theme here isn't it? Anya is one of the most loyal persons of them all. She is her siblings protector. She wants to make sure her brother doesn't get mixed up in the family business which is illegally selling chocolate. She's from a mafia family which has gotten both her parents killed and has left her older brother damaged. The lengths she goes to keep her family safe makes me very proud to have read her story. She also gets sent to jail for something she didn't do and even when it would benefit her not to - she stands up for the little guy or girl in this case. She always tries to do what is best for her family and others (sound familiar?). She is a leader and I can see her becoming very prominent in the black market with her families business in the future. There are two more books I have left to read in her story and I see so much potential in her. She's so going to rule New York.

Who has been your favorite female protagonist in 2014?