There is something quite marvellous about a heroine who refuses to sit still, who will not be told what she cannot do, and who charges headlong into adventure while the world insists she ought to be embroidering cushions. If you are searching for books with female protagonists who are bold, clever, and absolutely unforgettable, then you have come to the right place, and I shall endeavour not to waste your time.
What follows is a carefully curated collection of stories featuring heroines who fight dragons (sometimes literally), outwit villains, defy expectations, and occasionally learn to fly. Whether you prefer your adventures swashbuckling or subtle, ancient or modern, these books shall not disappoint.
1. The Wendy by Erin Michelle Sky and Steven Brown
If you have ever wondered what Wendy Darling might have become had she been given a sword instead of a thimble and a ship instead of a nursery, then this is precisely the book for you.
In this utterly captivating reimagining of Peter Pan, Wendy is no mere storyteller awaiting rescue. She is an orphan in eighteenth-century London with dreams of captaining her own ship—a notion so preposterous to the men around her that they cannot help but underestimate her at every turn, which she uses to magnificent advantage. Wendy trains in navigation, marksmanship, and swordplay, eventually joining England’s secret service in the fight against the mysterious Everlost.
Readers have called this “the best YA fiction I’ve read in years” and praised Wendy as “close to the pinnacle of perfectly-created strong female heroines—both soft and feminine, as well as tough, witty, self-aware, moral, hard-working, and tenacious.” The writing has been described as wonderfully whimsical, with an omniscient narrator whose keen wit and sharp humour give the story a fairy-tale quality reminiscent of Barrie himself—yet entirely fresh.
The complete Tales of the Wendy trilogy is now available, so you needn’t suffer the agony of waiting between volumes.
2. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
In the dystopian nation of Panem, sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen volunteers as tribute to save her younger sister from almost certain death—and in doing so, becomes the spark that ignites a revolution.
With her bow and arrows and fierce determination to survive, Katniss has been called “the most important female character in recent pop culture history.” She is no damsel in distress; she is the one doing the rescuing, thank you very much. Her courage, strategic mind, and unwavering loyalty to those she loves have inspired countless readers to be braver in their own battles.
3. Circe by Madeline Miller
The goddess Circe, daughter of the sun god Helios, discovers she possesses the rare gift of witchcraft—and for this crime of being different, she is banished to a lonely island forever. Or so the gods believe.
What unfolds is an epic tale spanning millennia, in which Circe transforms from overlooked and underestimated immortal into a powerful witch who refuses to be anyone’s victim. She encounters legendary figures—Daedalus, the Minotaur, Odysseus himself—and proves that true strength comes not from divine blood but from choosing who you wish to become.
4. Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
Celaena Sardothien is the most feared assassin in her kingdom, which is precisely why the Crown Prince offers her freedom in exchange for becoming his champion in a deadly competition. There is only one small catch: she must survive.
What begins as a contest of lethal skill evolves into something far more dangerous when competitors begin turning up murdered. Celaena must use not only her deadly abilities but her wit and courage to uncover the truth—and discover a destiny far greater than she ever imagined.
5. Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
Alina Starkov has never been good at anything—or so she believes, until a terrifying attack reveals she possesses a dormant power that could save her war-ravaged country. Suddenly, this ordinary mapmaker’s assistant becomes the most important person in the kingdom.
Set in a world inspired by nineteenth-century Russia, this tale of magic, darkness, and self-discovery follows Alina as she learns that true power requires not just discovering your abilities but deciding how to use them.
6. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Elizabeth Bennet is witty, intelligent, and rather too sharp-tongued for polite society—and she will not marry for anything less than love, no matter how financially imprudent this makes her.
When she meets the proud and seemingly disagreeable Mr. Darcy, sparks fly in quite the wrong direction. What follows is a delicious dance of misunderstanding, wounded pride, and eventual recognition that first impressions are not always to be trusted. Elizabeth remains one of literature’s most beloved heroines because she refuses to compromise herself for convention.
7. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
“I am no bird; and no net ensnares me,” declares Jane Eyre, the plain, poor, and fiercely independent governess who refuses to be diminished by her circumstances. Her journey from abused orphan to self-reliant woman blazed a trail for every heroine who came after.
When Jane falls in love with her brooding employer, Mr. Rochester, she insists on being treated as his equal—a revolutionary notion in Victorian England. This novel gave voice to a woman’s inner life with unprecedented honesty and remains as powerful today as when it shocked readers in 1847.
8. The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
Lyra Belacqua is a clever, passionate, and magnificently stubborn child who grows up running wild through the halls of Oxford University—until she stumbles upon a sinister plot involving kidnapped children and a mysterious substance called Dust.
Armed with a truth-telling device called an alethiometer and accompanied by her daemon Pantalaimon, Lyra embarks on a journey to the frozen North that will ultimately span multiple worlds and challenge the very foundations of authority. She proves that courage and compassion are the truest forms of strength.
9. Graceling by Kristin Cashore
Katsa has been able to kill with her bare hands since she was eight years old—a Grace that has made her feared throughout the seven kingdoms and forced into service as her uncle’s enforcer. She believes herself capable only of violence.
When she meets Prince Po, a fellow Graceling who challenges her in combat and perception alike, Katsa begins to question everything she knows about her abilities and herself. The truth she discovers about her Grace transforms not only her future but her understanding of what strength truly means.
10. Sabriel by Garth Nix
When eighteen-year-old Sabriel receives word that her father, the Abhorsen—a necromancer charged with ensuring the dead stay dead—has been trapped in the realm of Death, she must venture into the magical Old Kingdom to save him.
Armed with her father’s sword and bandolier of bells, accompanied by a sardonic talking cat with questionable loyalties, Sabriel faces Free Magic creatures and risen dead with courage that belies her years. She represented a welcome change in fantasy literature: a capable, intelligent young woman as protagonist without apology.
11. Legendborn by Tracy Deonn
After her mother dies in a suspicious accident, sixteen-year-old Bree Matthews infiltrates a secret society at UNC Chapel Hill—descendants of King Arthur’s knights who are preparing for a magical war.
This groundbreaking novel places a young Black woman at the centre of Arthurian legend and refuses to let her be diminished by either the fantastical or the all-too-real challenges she faces. Bree is fierce, grieving, powerful, and utterly compelling as she uncovers truths about magic, history, and her own lineage.
12. Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley
Eighteen-year-old Daunis Fontaine has never quite fit in—caught between her hometown and the nearby Ojibwe reservation, between grief and duty, between who she is and who others expect her to be.
When she witnesses a shocking murder, Daunis agrees to go undercover for the FBI, drawing on her knowledge of chemistry and traditional medicine to track a lethal new drug to its source. This thriller pulses with authentic depictions of Native community life and features a heroine whose intelligence and courage are matched only by her heart.
13. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
The four March sisters—Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy—have captured hearts for over 150 years with their warmth, squabbles, dreams, and devotion to one another. But it is Jo, the headstrong, ambitious, manuscript-scribbling Jo, who has inspired generations of young women to pursue their passions regardless of what society dictates.
Jo’s determination to become a writer, her refusal to be “proper” when propriety feels like a cage, and her loyal heart make her a heroine for any age. This is not merely a book about growing up; it is a book about becoming yourself.
14. Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
Red-haired, imaginative, and gloriously talkative, Anne Shirley arrives at Green Gables by mistake—the Cuthberts wanted a boy. But this orphan girl with her dramatic soul and capacity for both trouble and transformation soon becomes indispensable.
Anne’s journey from unwanted foundling to beloved daughter, scholar, and teacher demonstrates that the greatest adventures often happen in our own hearts. Her irrepressible spirit, fierce intelligence, and gift for finding beauty in ordinary things have charmed readers for over a century.
Finding Your Next Favourite Heroine
Each of these remarkable books offers something different: swashbuckling adventure, quiet determination, magical discovery, or the simple revolutionary act of a woman insisting on being herself. Some heroines wield swords; others wield wit. All of them refuse to be told what they cannot do.
The best stories with female protagonists do not merely place a woman at the centre of the narrative—they allow her to be fully human: brave and frightened, strong and vulnerable, extraordinary and gloriously ordinary by turns. These fourteen books understand that truth and deliver heroines you will not soon forget.
Happy reading, and may your next adventure be everything you hoped for.
