5 Heroines Way Better Than Twilight's Bella Swan

Katniss Everdeen, Blair Waldorf and more make up our list of YA characters who've made the jump to the big screen

By Rosemary Brennan Nov 01, 2012 10:11 PMTags
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Sure, Twilight's Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) has completely dominated the box office the past few years, but she's not the first heroine to make the jump from the bookstore shelves to the big (and small) screen.

And if we're being completely honest, she's certainly not the best. For starters, her life revolves around her sparkly beau Edward (Robert Pattinson). We don't blame the girl; after all, the guy's who's been 17 for "a while" did say "You are my life now."

Swooning aside, we like our female characters to be a bit deeper. You know, have outside interests and have friends other than a BF's adopted siblings. While there are countless literary heroines whose determination and general awesomeness put freesia-scented, clumsy Bella to shame, let's take a look at some of the recent YA books whose leading ladies leads have made quite an impression on Hollywood.

1. Katniss Everdeen, The Hunger Games: We've got a huge spot in our hearts for The Girl on Fire. Not only does Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) step up and take care of the fam after her father's tragic death, she also volunteers to take her sister's place in the reaping. Once at the games, girl outwits all the other tributes, shakes up things with Gamemakers and still manages to hold onto some of her humanity. We're still weeping over Rue!

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2. Elena Gilbert, The Vampire Diaries: When it comes time to vote for "Best Overall" at Mystic Falls High, there's a good chance the title will go to Elena (Nina Dobrev). She's an honor student, a former cheerleader and as nice as can be. When it comes to love triangles, Bella's got nothing on her: She has not one, but two vampires (who happen to be brothers) vying for her affections. Plus, the 18-year-old's goals involve more than an eternity of sparkle vision: She has dreams of becoming a writer. That whole becoming-a-vamp thing is sure to give her lots of story ideas.

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3. Clary Fray, The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones: In the flick out August 2013, after New Yorker Clary (Lily Collins) comes home to find her mother missing and a demon from another world wreaking all sorts of havoc on her apartment, the 15-year-old slays the beast. She then joins up with a kickass group of Shadowhunter teens to uncover the truth about her mother and learn how to handle any other baddies she might encounter.

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4. Blair Waldorf, Gossip Girl: The Queen Bee of the UES commands genuflection wherever her designer pumps take her. In the early days of the show (and books), the prepster even had minions to do her bidding. Blair (Leighton Meester) is beyond stylish, smart as a whip and, oh yeah, just a wee bit manipulative. Love triangle between a werewolf and a vampire? Pshaw, this girl's got royalty, trust fund cuties and even rock star spawn chasing after her. And let's not forget that Waldorf ambition—she's Ivy League educated (OK, Chuck did help her get into Columbia) and she scored a gig at W magazine.  

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5. Hermione Granger, Harry Potter: Is there anything this witch can't do? Answer: No, no there is not. Hermione (Emma Watson) is brilliant—remember this is the Hogwarts students who used a Time-Turner so that she could enroll in more classes—she's also the best friend anyone could ask for. And when her boyfriend deserts her in the middle of the woods, does she curl up in some tree, waiting for frostbite to take her out of her misery? Hardly. She keeps calm, magics on and continues the hunt for Horcruxes like a boss.  

Did your favorite heroine make this list? Or maybe you're a loyal member of Team Bella? Sound off in the comments!