Complex Female Protagonists
[Photo by Omar Lopez on Unsplash]
As we continue to celebrate Women’s History Month, we’re taking some time to applaud the complex female protagonists we know and love. Here are four women who are living their absolute best lives – even if that means being deceptive and making some pretty questionable choices.
Ani in Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll
As a teenager, Ani survived a mortifying – and incredibly public – humiliation while she was a student at the Bradley School. Now that she’s an adult, she’s completely reinvented herself. She has a glamorous job, a gorgeous fiancé, and the most incredible wardrobe. She even has a new first name; and soon her last name will change as well, signaling her full transformation. But Ani is hiding something. Something that can destroy her perfect life forever. Which begs the question: how much does she want to destroy?
Tina in The Assistants by Camille Perri
When a technical error in her boss’ expense report puts a reimbursement check big enough to pay off her entire student loan debt in Tina’s hands, she goes into a perpetual cold sweat. Tina is the ideal employee – flawless. She’s been the executive assistant to the CEO of Titan Corp for six years. She’s never made a mistake this big before. But she’s also never been paid anything close to what she’s worth. So, when Tina decides to cash the check and pay off her tuition, she tells herself she deserves it. She does, doesn’t she? And besides, no one will ever find out.
Beth in The Hopefuls by Jennifer Close
Beth hates Washington, D.C. with a fiery passion. It’s nothing like New York – what with its confusing traffic circles, suffocating humidity, and that special way a single flake of snow can shut down the entire government for days. But when her husband Matt gets a job working for President Obama, the two of them move – filled with excitement (Matt) and dread (Beth). When Beth meets Ashleigh, the wife of another White House staffer, she feels like she’s on a rollercoaster. Only it’s not clear whether she’s safely on the ground or about to plummet from the highest of heights.
Jane in Re Jane by Patricia Park
Flushing, Queens serves as Jane’s unescapable trappings in this Jane Eyre adaptation set in the early 2000s. Jane has worked in her family’s Korean grocery store her entire life but, in a moment of post-graduation zeal, she takes a job as an au pair for a white Brooklyn couple and their adopted Chinese daughter. Just when she’s starting to settle into her new job, she starts to form an odd bond with Beth Mazur – with her feminist teachings and her upstairs office. But what’s even odder is the attention she’s receiving from Beth’s husband Ed Farley. And to think all she wanted was to move away from working with vegetables!
