Welcome back to another Top Ten Tuesday. This week, the lovely meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish is fully back in the swing of things with a topic of recommending books. For me, I want to focus on the top ten books I’d recommend for those who are fans of bad-ass characters.
10. Graceling by kristin cashore
In this world, some children are “graced” with special skills/talents. Our main character is graced with the ability to kill people. She is such a warrior and a brave girl. I would posit, though, that she’s not just a bad-ass in terms of physical ability. Her willingness to go against bullies and defy unjust rulers marks her as one of the most bad-ass characters I have ever encountered.
9. The Hunger games by suzanne collins
Katniss Everdeen is not the bad-ass some people know. I think, for me, she becomes a true fighter when she faces her trauma. While I understand this girl struggled from having such heavy burdens and responsibilities heaved upon her, I think she had the issues even earlier in her life. With all of these factors in mind, I think Katniss is survivor of really tough things and that makes her a bad-ass.
8.The vanishing throne by elizabeth may
Aithinne and Karian are truly my focus in this series. They are the true bad-asses. I understand that Aileana is the heroine, and I love her, but she’s part of something much bigger. I like the exploration of trauma and abuse in this book in particular. The connection Aithinne and Aileana have is just fantastic, and bad-ass.
7.harry potter and the order of the phoenix by jk rowling
Obviously, you have to read the stories leading up to this one, but oh man, how cool is it to see Harry as a teacher. To me, I don’t believe for a second that Harry would ever work for the Ministry of Magic. He’d be a professor at Hogwarts, to provide a home to those who, like him, have no home. In this book, he becomes this role of a mentor to a group of his friends, and guides them into a war. If that’s not bad-ass, I don’t know what is.
6. A Darker Shade of Magic by v.e. schwab
Bravery is recognizing you made a mistake, and handling the consequences. Kel and Holland have that in common. It’s also about loving people with kindness, as we see with Rhy. Lila is another bad-ass for all the sass she and Alucard exchange, all the fighting tips, all the magic lessons make me love her so much. She bravely steps into new roles for herself and pushes the boundaries of her definitions.
5. the demon king by cinda williams chima
I still am reeling from this book because Han and Raisa are bad-asses. Raisa who is passionate about learning about her people, goes out to experience life in her kingdom. Han, who has a mysterious background, takes an amulet and has to fend for himself in a dog-eat-dog world.
4. Vampire academy by richelle mead
Most people would say that Rose Hathaway is the heroine of these tales. To me, I am more fascinated with Lissa. The element of spirit is hard to control, it seems, and she goes through quite the journey to develop her skill. Lissa is a bad-ass because she never uses physical force to settle her disputes. The older she gets, the wiser she becomes. I love her.
Books on my tbr that are rumored to have bad-ass characters
3. the darkest minds trilogy by alexandra bracken
Dystopia and special powers, concentration camps and kids working together: that is all I needed to hear to get this whole series. Ruby and the gang have so much potential right now.
2. The name of the wind by Patrick Rothfuss
I know the main character is a bad-ass. Just look at that cover. Freaking yes! Kvothe, from what I know, narrates his life as a boy who is accepted in a magic school. In my head, at least, he becomes a bad-ass mage. Can’t wait to read this one.
1. legacy of kings by eleanor herman
Alexander the Great is clearly going to be a bad-ass in these books. People call him the Great for reasons. I cannot wait to see what he’s like in the story. Don’t really know much about the books, but I am excited!
I really need to get to The Name of the Wind as well. It sounds so promising.
Han and Raisa are such great kick-ass characters indeed!
YES to Katniss and Ruby – they’re both such awesome characters. 🙂 Thanks for sharing and, as always, fabulous choices! <3