Paperback's Pondering's is a weekly discussion when I take a topic and well, ponder about it! This week's topic is all about strong female leads.
I have a love-hate relationship with romance novels. On one hand, I love the chemistry, fluff and of course, otp's that you can get out of a good romance. However, the reason that some of them don't appeal to me is because they can sometimes portray girls to be weak and helpless without a guy. Now this is not just limited to romance! There can sometimes be that problem in fantasy, dystopia and more, where the girl is swept off her feet by some gorgeous guy, who seems to make everything better.
Luckily, I haven't read a book with this problem in a long time, but it is still an on-going thing that I think needs to be talked about. My first question is: why is it always a girl? Who says that a magnificent heroine can't swoop in and save her partner, who is in distress. It doesn't always have to be a damsel.
I have a huge admiration for The Hunger Games series, because I've always thought of Katniss to be very independent. She doesn't need a "strong" man to come do all the dirty work for her, she is her own person. I don't like it in books when they portray a girl to be weak, because let's be honest, no girl is!
I think that it is not only great to have a kick-ass female lead, but I also think that it would be great if more YA books didn't have a girl falling in love at all. Who says that you necessarily need to find a boyfriend? Yes, it can add a great deal of cuteness to be the plot, and I'm not saying that a love is a bad thing, but wouldn't it be nice to just change it up a bit?
I absolutely love how the world is advancing in the issue of feminism. Girls are seen as strong, independent, and a force to be reckoned with. This is what I love to read about.
I'd love to know what you think about female leads! What are some of your favourite books that feature these women?
Emily @ Paperback Princess
