Let's Hear it for the Girls of 2010!

Obviously I didn't even touch upon all the boy awesomeness of 2010 yesterday.  The post was getting a tad long and I wanted to wrap it up, so today I'm going to showcase a few more boys for your pleasure!  Along with the girls, of course.

Boys first, though. :)

Peeta Mellark (THE HUNGER GAMES)
I'll go ahead and admit I was totally and completely team Peeta when reading THE HUNGER GAMES series.  His story is utterly heartbreaking.  **SPOILER ALERT**  If you don't want to see what happens in the end, stop reading... Yes, I felt bad for Katniss having to go through losing Peeta's love right when she was starting to grasp just how much she cared for him, but think about what happened to him.  He lost the love of his life.  She was stolen from him, and not in death--which is often considered the worst way to lose someone, but isn't really--but in the most horrific way possible.  They turned her into a monster in his eyes.  I don't think he ever got that pure love back for her even after they were married.  He had to constantly battle the false memories in his mind. Some may think Prim was the ultimate victim in the story, but I disagree.  She knew what she was getting into by going into a war zone, but Peeta suffered something worse than death.  His entire being was changed for the whims of the politicians and everything he'd been was stripped from him.

Tamani (WINGS)
Yup, I'm team Tamani, too.  David is all right and all, but I kind of feel like he's a usurper.  Laurel made promises to Tamani to try to remember him and be with him and the poor guy has had to just sit back and hope everything turns out all right.  Plus, he's a faerie.  Faeries ALWAYS win in my book.

Lend (PARANORMALCY)
Okay, a guy who can look like anyone??  That's pretty awesome.  Plus, he's super badass by breaking into possibly the most secured government facility in the world.  Sure he got caught eventually because Evie can see through glamours, but still.  He's very cool and sweet and I loved all the innocent flirting going on between him and Evie.

Xander (MATCHED)
Poor, poor Xander.  He had everything he wanted after the Match Ceremony, but the powers-that-be decided to make a little experiment out of his and Cassia's lives.  I felt like he didn't even get a chance to be the one Cassia chose.  She was ecstatic for the first few pages that they'd been matched, but as soon as the people in charge put another guy into her head, poor Xander was forgotten.  I liked the book and thought it was beautifully written, but I was team Xander from the beginning and couldn't get over the fact that he just kind of sat on the sidelines while other people ripped his life to shreds.

And finally...

Martin (THE MOCKINGBIRDS)
He's just the kind of guy you hope to have around after something horrible like a date-rape happens (well, God willing, that never actually happens or has happened to any of us).  He's understanding, patient, protective, and has soft brown hair that makes a girl start thinking about getting close to a guy again. :)  Plus, he's a science geek, and science geeks are cool.

Time for the girls!  I know, you probably want to hear more about the boys (and there are plenty more), but this post is getting long again.

Alice Cullen (TWILIGHT)
Sure, Bella is the MC, but Alice was my favorite.  She was bubbly, sweet, and totally kickass.  She's exactly what I like to read in a strong female character.  She knew she was strong, but she didn't wave it in everyone's face.  She embraced her femininity and it made her stronger still.

Evie (PARANORMALCY)
ANOTHER girl who is completely kickass but has retained her femininity.  I fell instantly in love with her pov and wished I had a sparkly pink taser named Tasey.  The way she fights through her world crumbling to pieces around her with dignity (and not a false sense of pride) is encouraging.  She doesn't spout off for pages about how she's too strong to worry about the stuff around her or feel doubt.  She's real and heartbreakingly wonderful.

Nora Grey (HUSH, HUSH)
Kind of naive and very innocent, she keeps letting people into her life she probably shouldn't.  But it's great because it's real.  What teenage girl CAN'T relate to that?

Katniss Everdeen (THE HUNGER GAMES)
Oh, poor Katniss.  A tool for the whims of others.  Even at the end, she's manipulated into doing exactly what someone else wants (of course, it probably needed to be done, anyway).  You feel sorry for her the whole way through even though she doesn't look for your pity.  If ever there was a tragic heroine, she would be it.

Alex Patrick (THE MOCKINBIRDS)
She's a victim of date-rape and pretty much broken throughout the whole book.  She's like this terrified little mouse, hiding from her rapist as much as she can, but she struggles through her fear to see justice done.  In the end, she moves on in the best way possible.  She doesn't revel in her vengeance towards him.  She sees he's punished justly and then forgets about him.  She's heroic and mature.  Her story is something everyone should read.

The end!  Yes, there are certainly many more amazing female characters out there, but I want you guys to tell me your favorites and why.  I can't wait to hear what you have to say! :)