Welcome to the first round of our fan-favorite March Madness tournament! In this round, check out the sixteen women in our Books bracket.
Molly Weasley
The matriarch of the Weasley family in the Harry Potter series, Molly is everything girls should look up to in female characters and women in general: courageous, supportive, strict when necessary, protective, and overall loving to all her family and friends. Molly Weasley is proof that you don’t have to wield a sword or shoot laser beams out of your eyes to be a “strong female character” – the nurturing (and sometimes suffocating) mothers are just as heroic and worth appreciating as the ladies in capes and cowls. – Gabby Taub
Marisa Coulter
Determined, cunning, and power-hungry, Mrs. Coulter – mother of Lyra, the His Dark Materials trilogy’s Eve – begins the narrative as one of its main antagonists, oft utilizing her manipulative charm as one of her greatest weapons. By the saga’s end however, her arc comes to fruition as, overwhelmed with her love for Lyra, she relinquishes all previous associations, dedicating her whole self to the protection of her daughter. – Hannah Pingelton
Trilian
A mathematician and astrophysicist, Trillian is unfortunately one of the only humans left after the Earth’s scheduled demise by the bureaucratic Vogons. She is also unfortunately left to travel with the dim-witted and impulsive President of the Galaxy. Trillian somehow keeps her companions from getting themselves killed with her impressive knowledge of the galaxy and quick decision-making skills. – Joel Wallick
Alanna of Trebond
If there’s one woman in young adult fantasy fiction that is the quintessence of badassery, it’s Alanna the Lioness. From disguising herself as a boy – and getting away with it to knightdom – to fighting gods older than written language, she makes one hell of a woman, disregarding gender roles, adversity, and her own personal demons. – Christina Casano
Johanna Reyes
This Johanna hails from Veronica Roth’s Divergent trilogy, where she serves first as a representative of the Amity faction, only to later disband and become one of the leaders of the Allegiant, an underground insurgent group determined to escape a fenced-in, dystopian Chicago. A survivor of abuse, Johanna is not only a natural leader and keen political maneuverer, but also fiercely loyal to the greater good. – Hannah Pingelton
Johanna Mason
This Johanna, the outspoken District Seven victor of Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games trilogy, achieved renown by winning her Hunger Games, where she feigned weakness until the Games’ end, at which point, she unleashed “a wicked ability to murder.” Her weapon of choice is an axe, though she is just as adept with her words, which she wields sharply and without censorship. – Hannah Pingelton
Eowyn
The shieldmaiden and daughter of the House of Eorl is a fan favorite from J. R. R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy. The niece of King Théoden, Éowyn is given the reins to the kingdom of Rohan to rule in his stead while he rides to war, but chooses instead to disguise herself as a man and ride to war as well. There, during the Battle of Pelennor Fields, she faces the Witch-king of Angmar, whom no man can kill, and, announcing that “no living man am I!” slays him once and for all. – Hannah Pingelton
Jessica Atreides
It’s not easy being the mother of the messiah, but Lady Jessica Atreides – mother to Dune’s messianic Paul Atreides – doesn’t just manage it, she handles it like a master. A member of the all-woman Bene Gesserit, Jessica stands out not only because of her role as Paul’s mother, but because she stands up to the ages-old organization to follow what she believes is right. – Feliza Casano
Alexia Tarabotti
Being scorned by Victorian society because of her Italian heritage and dark skin, her state as a spinster, and her intellectual interests never bothered Alexia in the slightest. Armed with a razor-sharp wit, impeccable fashion taste, and her willingness to use her trusty parasol to defend herself, Alexia held her own against intellectuals, evils scientists, vampires and werewolves throughout the course of 5 books. Her intellectual prowess and deeply analytical nature, along with her power as a soulless, made her one of the most powerful people in all of England, and earned her the respect and admiration of the Queen and the supernatural community, including the untamable werewolf that would end up being her husband. – Lorraine Acevedo Franqui
Dedicate Rosethorn
Named for her beauty, her love for plants, and her sharp tongue, Dedicate Rosethorn of the Winding Circle Temple in Emelan is an incredible woman with magic and internal strength that could destroy a mountain. Her harsh exterior hides an intensity and love for her partner, Dedicate Lark, and her adoptive son Briar, and that love is what truly makes Rosethorn one of my favorite characters not only in the Circle of Magic quartet, but in all of Tamora Pierce’s novels. – Feliza Casano
Marla Singer
Crazy is in the eye of the beholder. What we see as crazy in Marla Singer is her trying to figure out the world around her, much as the narrator is trying to figure out his own world. She operates on her own time in her own way, changing the world of the narrator as the story progresses. – Christina Casano
Brienne of Tarth
Brienne the Beauty has honor, dignity, and a strong sense of duty. Though her physical appearance is used against as a barb against her, she uses her build to her advantage. A fierce warrior that almost defeats Jaime Lannister in a fair fight, she makes one of the most badass characters in A Song of Ice and Fire. – Christina Casano
Elphaba
As the green-skinned protagonist of Gregory Maguire’s novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, Elphaba Thropp starts out as an ambitious and intelligent student at Shiz University, where she befriends the popular Galinda and embarks on a long quest of self-discovery. As a woman who fights to be in control of her own destiny, Elphaba lives by her own moral code and is totally unapologetic about it. She believes in herself and in her cause – no matter what the ending might have in store for her. – Gabby Taub
Meg Murray
If you’ve ever felt bad about yourself, Meg Murray has shown you how to overcome that self-hate. Her journey reflects the abilities of women to find where their families and their passions intersect to create a very full life. – Christina Casano
Elizabeth Bennet
The epitome of sass and humor comes in the form of twenty-one-year-old Lizzie Bennet, a woman dealing with the craziness and drama of living in a house with five daughters in the Regency era. With the hero of the piece being the incomparable Mr. Darcy, we have a heroine that makes leaps and bounds in character development with the beautiful and endearing qualities that make us fall in love with the story. – Christina Casano
Jane Eyre
Since her childhood, the odds were never in Jane’s favor. Mistreated by every social institution in her life and forced to endure far too much physical and emotional pain, Jane Eyre still managed to grow up into a formidable woman with unbeatable strength, independent thought, impressive wit and an indomitable spirit. She might have known she was not beautiful, but she still appreciated her own worth – emotional, spiritual and intellectual – and held her own self-respect above everything, even the love of her life. – Lorraine Acevedo Franqui
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