Fierce Females -- They Don't Need a Hero, They Are the Hero

I love stories with a great female lead.  It's wonderful to read of the girl saving the day instead of waiting meekly for a guy to do it.  So here are some of my favorite fierce females in teen stories . . .

Graceling by Kristin Cashore
In a world where some people are born with extreme and often-feared skills called Graces, Katsa struggles for redemption from her own horrifying Grace, the Grace of killing, and teams up with another young fighter to save their land from a corrupt king.

Avalon High by Meg Cabot
Having moved to Annapolis, Maryland, with her medievalist parents, high school junior Ellie enrolls at Avalon High School where several students may or may not be reincarnations of King Arthur and his court.

Prom Dates from Hell by Rosemary Clement-Moore
High school senior and yearbook photographer Maggie thought she would rather die than go to prom, but when a classmate summons a revenge-seeking demon, she has no choice but to buy herself a dress and prepare to face jocks, cheerleaders, and Evil Incarnate.

Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick by Joe Schreiber
Perry's parents insist that he take Gobi, their quiet, Lithuanian exchange student, to senior prom but after an incident at the dance he learns that Gobi is actually a trained assassin who needs him as a henchman, behind the wheel of his father's precious Jaguar, on a mission in Manhattan.

Beauty Queens by Libba Bray
When a plane crash strands thirteen teen beauty contestants on a mysterious island, they struggle to survive, to get along with one another, to combat the island's other diabolical occupants, and to learn their dance numbers in case they are rescued in time for the competition.


More Fierce Females --
Afterworlds by Scott Westerfeld
Dangerous by Shannon Hale
Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor
Divergent by Veronica Roth
Dumplin' by Julie Murphy
Dust Girl by Sarah Zettel
Fallout by Gwenda Bond
Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers
Hunter by Mercedes Lackey
I Become Shadow by Joe Shine
Impossible by Nancy Werlin
Picture Me Gone by Meg Rosoff
Rebel Belle by Rachel Hawkins
Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein
A School for Unusual Girls by Kathleen Baldwin
Seeker by Arwen Dayton
Sorrow's Knot by Erin Bow
Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
The Wicked and the Just by Jillian Coats


Check out these books on display at the Arnold Branch through April 8, 2016.