Strong Females in YA with S. Usher Evans

Thanks to Jackie for letting me hang out today! I'm really excited to write a guest blog about something near and dear to my heart - favorite strong female protags.

A strong female, or really, a strong character in general, is one that faces an insurmountable problem and deals with it. Perhaps they dally a bit and make a few mistakes, but they don't shy away from their responsibilities (at the end, anyway). They don't rely on anyone else to solve The Problem (though they get help). They just Do.

And often times, my favorites do it with more than a healthy bit of sass. So without further ado, here's my top list of gals:

Meda

Soul Eater Series Eliza Crewe

Meda is hands-down one of my favorite characters. The author captures such a fun and devilish voice with her and the book is hard to put down. She's a half-demon, so her strength is resisting that evil side of her, the one that hungers for souls. Temptation is everywhere, and while she doesn't always make the right call, when the real hard stuff is on the line, she does. Watching her struggle to remain good in the face of pure evil is delightful, and I just can't say enough about these books.
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Lizzie Bennett

Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen

Let's talk about my never-not-reread book, Pride and Prejudice. First of all, Lizzie takes your patriarchy and tells you to shove it. She's not interested in marrying for money (however ill-advised for a woman in 19th century England that may be). She's also not interested in your shade, Mr. Darcy nor your drama, Caroline Bingley. She will do what she's going to do and that's that.

Lauren Dailey

Empath S. Usher Evans

Sorry, had to stick one of mine in here. It might surprise you that I chose Lauren over Lyssa, as the latter is a pirate butt-kicking bounty hunter. Lauren is the epitome of what I consider strength, because she legit has none at the beginning of the book. She is drowning in her own depression but is too scared to let anyone know. She'd prefer that a man come in and solve all her problems, and one very handsome guy does. But what she learns is that unless she, herself, takes charge and deals with her problems, they will never go away. And buried problems, like dragons in mountains, will always resurface.
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Elisa

Fire and Thorns Series Rae Carson

Elisa is another girl who starts off not-so-strong, but finds it. She's pudgy, she's whiny, and in the opening scenes, she's off to marry a king that she doesn't know. But one kidnapping and trudge through the desert later, she suddenly realizes that you find strength when it's all you have. The series continues as she grows and struggles with political infighting and wars. She doesn't always make the right call, but she learns from it. And at the end of the series, she's basically all, "I'm in charge. Deal with it." Girl after my own heart.
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Jesse Sullivan

Jessie Sullivan Series Kory M. Shrum

Yet another girl who takes none of your nonsense. Jesse will die so you don't have to, then she wakes up a few hours later and you continue on your lovely life. Yes, she has actually died 67 times--and she's more perturbed that she keeps losing her shoes when she wakes up later. Throw in a heck of a lot more intrigue, religious implications, and more than enough snark. Jesse's got a bit of an "eff it" attitude, but she also does the right thing when it counts. I'm dying for the rest of this series...pun intended.
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About the Author

S. Usher Evans is an author, blogger, and witty banter aficionado. Born in Pensacola, Florida, she left the sleepy town behind for the fast-paced world of Washington, D.C.. There, she somehow landed jobs with BBC, Discovery Channel, and National Geographic Television before finally settling into a “real job” as an IT consultant. After a quarter life crisis at age 27, she decided consulting was for the birds and rekindled a childhood passion for writing novels. She sold everything she owned and moved back to Pensacola, where she currently resides with her two dogs, Zoe and Mr. Biscuit. Evans is the author of the Razia series and Empath, both published by Sun’s Golden Ray Publishing.
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