The Guardian has asked male readers to send pictures of them reading books featuring female characters that they admire to counteract claims that boys don’t like reading about girls. I beg to differ, personally. Off the top of my head I can think of at least five spectacular admirable female characters in fiction. I have written character features of at least three of them (though one of them is not from a book or film and is a deeply flawed character with a horrific past to make up for). So who are they? Those I have already written about I have linked to the character study for more detail. Continue reading →