Top Ten Tuesday: Most Inspirational Characters

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This meme was created because they are particularly fond of lists. 

Top Ten Most Inspirational Characters...
(I was going to pick all fictional characters, but Deb at Readerbuzz had all non-fiction so I am stealing from her and including some real folks in my list)

1. Katniss from Hunger Games--she's tough, smart, and isn't taking any crap (though she did sometimes drive me crazy when she didn't "get it")
2. Celie from The Color Purple--another a tough woman who went through hell, but found the good in life
3. The Sisters from Shanghai Girls--I liked their relationship, their tenacity, and their sense of adventure
4. Melinda from Speak--to go through what she did (twice), rat out her classmates, figure herself out, and survive it all speaks volumes
5. The main girl from Sold--I can't remember her name, but to be a child slave and survive intact is enough to get you on this list for me
6. The man from The Samurai's Garden--he has stuck with me for years as has the book. He was gentle, caring, and so very interesting
7. Zainab Salbi started the non-profit Women for Women and wrote the book Between Two Worlds (her experience growing up as the daughter of Saddam Hussein's pilot)
8. Greg Mortensen wrote Three Cups of Tea and Stones into Schools and is making an incredible impact on education and girls in Afghanistan
9. Hermione from the Harry Potter books--what can I say? She is smart, funny, wise, pretty, and she puts up with Harry and Ron. She rocks!
10. Monique from Monique and the Mango Rains--Monique was a real midwife in Mali who stole my heart when I read her story of working for women's reproductive rights and rights in general. She made a huge impact in her village and area of Mali