The Blog Crashers: Trisha of Trisha Jenn Reads (6 Novels with Kick-Ass Women)

The Blog Crashers is a blog event featuring book bloggers who crash into my blog for a day. They talk about themselves, their blog, books and more!

Oh hello there! I’m Trisha from trishajennreads. When Jayvee put the call out on Twitter about crashing her blog, I jumped at the chance. You see, I’ve been blogging for a long time but am just now starting to connect with the book blogging community. I love meeting new friends. And what better way to meet new friends than by spending time with friends of friends?! So, here I am. It’s lovely to meet you.

I blog mostly about reading and writing and every once in a while hit on other topics too. Jayvee gave me the option to write about anything I wanted. I started scrolling through my ever growing list of blog post ideas and we found one that we both liked the idea of 6 Historical Novels with Kick-Ass Women.

1.  A Voice in the Wind (Mark of the Lion trilogy) by Francine Rivers

Hadassah is a Messianic Jewish girl who is taken captive to Rome after Jerusalem falls. She survives the brutal journey and becomes a slave in a Roman household. Hadassah’s strength of character and determination to show love to those around her makes her a force of hope and goodness. She continues to practice her faith despite threat of execution. She continues to live her faith despite living in a world where she could die for it.

2.   Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

Claire Randall survives and thrives as a combat nurse in World War Two. She is then transported back in time and finds a way to thrive in 1743 Scotland. She navigates this completely foreign world, comes up with a backstory and new name on the spot, defies the army captain who looks just like her husband, kills the man who is trying to rape her by stabbing him in the kidney, and then manages to convince a group of highlanders to help her attack a fort. This woman is a powerhouse.

3. The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd

Sarah Grimke and Hetty “Handful” Grimke are quite the pair. Handful is a slave who learns to read and finds little ways to defy the restrictions placed on her as a female slave in early 1800s Charleston. Sarah, Handful’s owner, decides to become an abolitionist on her eleventh birthday and eventually succeeds. She is a real historical woman who rebelled against her family’s use of slaves and wrote and spoke about the evils of slavery and fought for the rights of all people. 

4. A Spy in the House (The Agency #1) by Y.S. Lee

Mary Quinn is a female spy in 1850s London. Enough said? Probably! She navigates Victorian customs and expectations and fulfills her missions while avoiding discovery and evading capture. She doesn’t let fear get in the way of anything. She’s witty and smart and I quite like her.

5. The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Skeeter Phelan has dreams that do not fit in to her parents’ or community’s ideas of what a young lady of substance should be. She sees a problem and finds a way to fix it using her skills, and she’s willing to take substantial risks to achieve her goal. And she’s a pretty kick-ass writer too.

Minny Jackson is such a strong character, and in a completely different way from Skeeter. She is headstrong and stubborn, and really, really, really mouthy. She’s full of sass and does what needs to be done, whether it’s socially-acceptable or not. She channels her fear into something useful and inspiring and puts herself at risk to protect others. Heck! She bakes POOP into a chocolate pie and feeds it to her nemesis. POOP!

6. The Perfume Collector by Kathleen Tessaro

Eva d’Orsey is a super intelligent woman who battles a host of people and situations to move herself from the absolute bottom to the top. She is mysterious and intriguing. She leaves an inheritance to a woman she has never met, Grace Munroe. Grace has the chops to accept a plane ticket to France to learn more about this inheritance and the woman who gave it to her. She also has the courage to step into the life she wants and let go of the life she no longer desires.

I tried to stick with books I’ve read and enjoyed. These women all have awesome qualities and, despite fighting some very different battles, they all come out on top because of their strength and courage.

Tell me about your favorite kick-ass female characters!

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