Well this week’s Booking Through Thursday question is an interesting one, and I can guarantee you my answer will be lengthy.

Who is your favorite female lead character? And why?

Let’s see, I actually have a couple, so here is a quick sum up.

Death from Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman series gets my first vote! She also appears in her own little miniseries and a few other authors have borrowed her too. Why? Because she’s just that cool. Forget the black hood, scythe, skeleton hands, and being male. Death is actually this cute goth girl with a head full of dark tousled curls, who wears an ankh necklace and paints the symbol of the eye of Osiris around one eye, and has a very happy disposition. Once every century she can become mortal for one day and then dies. While most would be depressed over this, she looks at it as a blessing. It’s her chance to live like humans do, and even though she says it sucks to die, the chance to live is well worth it. She’s very cheerful and looks on the bright side of things, however she is far from naive. She is full of wisdom and insight and whenever her younger brother Dream is being a melancholy fool she is always happy to give him the necessary kick in the pants, words of advice, and a smile to get him going. By far, she’s the most normal and coolest of the Endless.

Rachel Morgan from Kim Harrison’s Rachel Morgan series gets my second vote. She is a very entertaining, strong, engaging, talented and stubborn woman whose allies, friends, and enemies are always shifting around her. She’s had to compromise her morals to save her friends and save lives, and yet she never loses her identity and self. She’s a talented Earth witch with a natural acclimation and ability for Ley Line magic and yet her greatest ability is her ability to change the people she meets and give them a strength they never knew they had.

Haruhi Fujioka from Bisco Hatori’s Ouran High School Host Club is another great heroine. She’s the only female member of the Host Club at Ouran High School. Host Club? Yeah you read that right, of course, the rest of the school (sans the host club and their “manager”) think she’s a guy. Haruhi first stumbled upon the host club when she was looking for a quite place to study. When she entered the room she was immediately mistaken for a guy by all the members, although Kyouya figures it out pretty fast, followed by the others. During Tamaki’s insane antics Haruhi stumbles and breaks a very expensive vase. Since she can’t afford to replace it is decided that she will become a member of the club, first as their dog then later Tamaki sees Haruhi’s “potential” and makes “him” a host. Despite the fact that this is a shoujo manga and anime series, Haruhi is not the typical heroine. She doesn’t swoon all over the place, in reality the guys are swooning over her and she doesn’t even notice! She’s very blunt, honest and has simple looks. Haruhi is a very open minded girl, with a very calm disposition. Considering the crazy antics of her father, who is an okama (transvestite) Tamaki, and even the twins Kaoru and Hikaru, this is a very good thing.

Anita Blake from Laurell K Hamilton’s Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series gets a nod here, but with a stipulation. As far as this reader is concerned, nothing past Narcissus in Chains ever happened. The Anita of old was a strong, tough as nails kind of woman who wore her heart on her sleeve, despite her claims of not having one. She had a mission, she was dedicated, and she loved penguins. She was a paragon on justice, and vampires called her The Executioner out of fear and respect. When it came to staking vamps, her only better was her mentor - Death. I loved her then.

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