Tuesday 20 January 2015

Top Ten Tuesday | Womance


Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature created at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week you compile a list of ten books which coincide with that week's theme. You can find out everything you need to know about joining in here!

This week's theme is a freebie, so today I thought I'd share with you some of my favourite female friendships! If guys can have a bromance, girls can have a womance!




Katniss and Johanna from The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins: I know so many fans of The Hunger Games are huge supporters of Katniss and Peeta's relationship, but it's always been one of my least favourite aspects of the series for a bunch of reasons I won't bother getting into now. Personally one of my favourite relationships in the series, other than the ones between Katniss and Prim and Katniss and Rue, was the friendship between Katniss and Johanna. Everyone worships Katniss, and I think Johanna is one of the few people who keeps her grounded and makes her feel semi-normal. I love their dynamic, and I wanted more Johanna in Mockingjay.

Agnes and Rosalie from Agnes Grey by Anne Brontë: Whether the relationship between Agnes and Rosalie can be described as a friendship is debatable, but it's certainly interesting and was one of my favourite things about the novel; by exploring the relationship between a governess and her ward Brontë explored what is expected of women regardless of their station and class. This is a great classic, and one I highly recommend - Anne has been the forgotten Brontë for too long!

Cinder and Iko from The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer: I want an Iko of my own. She's adorable, and I love that her and Cinder are such good buddies; Cinder goes through so much crap that she needs someone loyal like Iko on her side.

Ismae and Anne from Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers: The most obvious friendship in the His Fair Assassin trilogy is the one between Ismae, Sybella and Annith, and while I also love their relationship I really loved the friendship that blossomed between Ismae and Anne in Grave Mercy. Poor Anne is surrounded by enemies, and even though she has her brother Gavriel to watch her back, Ismae becomes the confidante that a young girl in her position needs. In return, Anne makes sure Ismae feels welcome in her court. Their relationship was one of my favourite elements of the book.

Beth and Jennifer from Attachments by Rainbow Rowell: I actually liked the relationship between Beth and Jennifer more than I liked the relationship between Beth and Lincoln - oops! These two are a lot of fun, and reading their messages to each other throughout Attachments reminded me of some of the conversations I've had with my own friends.




Tonks and Ginny from the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling: I almost put Hermione and Ginny here because I do love their friendship too, but I loved how Ginny saw Tonks as a sort of cool big sister. That and I've always had a soft spot for Tonks; she's always been one of my favourites, and as a teenager I'm fairly sure she was my style icon. Not that my school would have ever let me dye my hair bright pink.

Nancy and Minerva from Pirates! by Celia Rees: This is another book in which the relationship between the two female leads is more powerful than any of the romances. I loved Celia Rees's books when I was a teen and still hold them very dear to my heart now; I think it's this book that made me want to search out more fiction in which friendship, and not romance, was the main focus.

Valkyrie and Tanith from the Skulduggery Pleasant series by Derek Landy: Like Tonks and Ginny these two have a very surrogate sister feel to them. Tanith is one of my favourites anyway, but I loved the friendship she developed with Valkyrie and always love their scenes together whenever I read these books.

Lirael and The Disreputable Dog from The Old Kingdom series by Garth Nix: One of the main reasons I love Garth Nix's writing so much is because in The Old Kingdom he created more than one female led fantasy story in which the main focus isn't romance. Sure Sabriel finds Touchstone, but that relationship is never the driving force behind the plot in Sabriel, and in Lirael Lirael's most important relationship is the one she develops with The Disreputable Dog who, despite being a dog, has always made me think of an eccentric, all-knowing auntie.

Ellie, Nadine and Magda from the Girls series by Jacqueline Wilson: As a child Jacqueline Wilson was one of my favourite authors; I read everything she wrote until the publication of Love Lessons which I didn't like at all. I don't like to say I grew out of her writing because I don't know if you can grow out of an author that you love, but as a teenager I didn't like her books directed at teenagers at all despite having loved all her children's books as a child. Having said that, the Girls books are definitely directed at a teenage audience and I loved them; Ellie is a fantastic heroine for Teen fiction, and I loved the emphasis this series has on friendship. And I don't think it hurt that I absolutely loved the CITV adaptation, either!

What did you talk about this week?

8 comments:

  1. Yes, yes, yes! I love the concept of "womance"! What a great idea, and I love the pairings on your list. Iko is the sweetest, isn't she? I really want an Iko in my life too. :)

    Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

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    1. Thank you! =D I think we all need an Iko of our own! Thanks for stopping by. =)

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  2. Oh my goodness, YES to Katniss and Johanna! I LOVED their relationship. In my mind, they stayed BFFs and Johanna is the godmother of her children. Is it weird that I have thought that through? Also, definitely Cinder and Iko! I adore them. I want an Iko too! LOVE this list, such a great choice!
    Shannon @ It Starts At Midnight

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    1. Haha, in my mind Katniss never marries Peeta - instead she and Johanna travel Panem together, smashing the patriarchy along the way. A girl can dream.

      Thanks, Shannon! =)

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  3. I love your idea for this TTT. I love a good womance in book. There should be more! :)
    I loved how Iko & Cinder and Beth & Jennifer are chatty/teasing etc.

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  4. Great idea for a list! I really loved Ismae and Anne, Katniss and Johanna, and Tonks and Ginny. We need more awesome female friendships.

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