Women’s History Month is a great time to recognize and celebrate the accomplishments of women everywhere. So why should that exclude fictional characters? Spoiler alert: It shouldn’t! Books have been full of inspiring and strong female characters for hundreds of years.

I’m sure we could go back further, but no one really came here for a history lesson, right? If you’re like me, you know more than a few women who’ve shaped you and the way you read over the years. Some of them may have even become comfort reads. Maybe you immediately reach for one of the classics like Pride and Prejudice, or maybe you want something a little more modern like Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus. STEM protagonists are in right now and, frankly, I’m here for it.

Whatever you choose, now's the perfect time to reconnect with an old favorite or discover a new one. Check out the Libby app to find all of these and share them with the amazing women in your life!

Elizabeth Bennet

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

When most of us think of our favorite female lead, Elizabeth Bennett is often the first to come to mind. Darcy, of course, thought she was stubborn and impractical, but, really, she was just ahead of her time. She was sharp, funny, fiercely independent and wanted a personal connection instead of an arranged marriage. What a concept, right? Of course, all these wonderful traits also made her completely stand out in the Regency era, but she still held her own. And she’s been an inspiration ever since. In my opinion, Lizzy Bennet would definitely not tolerate the 21st century and I love her for that.

Eowyn

The Return of the King by J. R. R. Tolkien

I’m a self-professed nerd, and not only is Eowyn one of my favorite female heroes in books AND movies, but she also embodies everything I think of when I think of strong female characters. She survives on pure inner strength, is easily overpowered in battle and knows she has no real experience to call on. But she still manages to look the Witch King straight in the eye and proclaim, “I am no man,” before killing him without hesitation. She may not be the main protagonist, but she certainly makes a good argument for one. This is one of the rare occasions where the movie does the book justice. I think it might even be better, but don’t tell anyone I said that.

Miss Marple

The Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie

Admittedly, I don’t read that many mysteries, but even I know who Miss Marple is. And my favorite fact of useless knowledge is that she was based on Agatha Christie’s step-grandmother, which begs the question: What kind of life did she lead? Miss Marple usually appears as very unassuming or even confused, but is really very logical and observant of everyone around her. She's exactly the type of Jessica Fletcher character you’d expect to moonlight as an amateur detective. She also spends her free time knitting and gardening which, next to living in Miami and eating a healthy diet of cheesecake with your best friends, sounds like the best way to spend retirement.

Arya Stark

A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin

As far as the women of A Song of Ice and Fire go, Arya is hard to ignore. Despite being a social outcast who’s consistently teased for her size and looks, she becomes one of the central characters in the series. And what she lacks in size, she makes up for in resourcefulness, speed and the ability to survive by being ruthless. Even with the lengthy list of people she’s killed, she still has a moral compass and that somehow makes her more likeable. She also easily became one of my favorite characters when she named her sword Needle, although I don’t think I dislike embroidery quite as much as she does.

Maisie Dobbs

Pardonable Lies by Jacqueline Winspear

I know more than a few people who are sad to see the Maisie Dobbs series end, so it only seemed fitting to include her in this list. If you’re not familiar with this historical fiction and mystery combo, Maisie is a detective and psychologist living in London after World War I. What makes her so relatable, though, is seeing her work through her own personal trauma throughout the course of the series. I know, I know, reading is about escapism, but sometimes it’s nice to see someone else working through problems you can relate to. Maisie is one of those fictional characters that I’d gladly sit down and have a drink with while we commiserate about our lives.

Katniss Everdeen

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

At the height of the YA explosion of the early 2000s, it seemed like you couldn’t go anywhere without hearing about The Fault in Our Stars, Divergent or The Hunger Games. Katniss became one of the most talked about characters of the next three years, and then the cycle returned once the movies came out. She was selfless and brave, sometimes to a fault, and the foraging skills she learned from her father as a child basically saved her life. Resourcefulness was a given and a necessity in her family and it eventually became the sole reason she survived. In my rereads of the series, I’ve realized Katniss definitely isn’t perfect by any means, but if she were, it wouldn’t be worth rereading in the first place.

Violet Sorrengail

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

This may be a hot take since we only have two books to make this decision on, but I’m going to stand by it. Violet deals with chronic pain her entire life and is resented by everyone because of her last name and her family history - especially her mother’s. She's smaller than almost everyone and literally physically fragile. By all logic, she shouldn’t have survived any of her training, and yet she somehow defied those odds. Say what you will about her falling into the trope of “ordinary girl with overpowered abilities,” but she does what she has to in order to survive and learns to be one of the most feared riders of her class. Did she get on my nerves in Book 2? Yes. Am I still going to read the rest of the series? Also yes.

*Title availability may vary by library and region.

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