While there is no shortage of heroes in history and adult fiction, strong male leads are increasingly difficult to find in the YA genre.  Most young adult fiction is written by women for women, but there seems to be a growing trend in YA novels geared toward teenage boys.  With writers like Rick Riordan, Eoin Colfer and Anthony Horowitz topping bestseller lists, one can only hope that soon boys will get the representation they deserve.  Here is a list of my favourite YA heroes, in descending order.

1.  Harry Potter from the Harry Potter series by JK Rowling.

You probably knew Harry Potter would feature somewhere on this list, didn’t you?  Well, there are many reasons the most famous character in YA literature is my favourite hero, not the least of which is the fact that the Harry Potter series was one of the first YA series I read.  Perhaps I am biased, but I can also justify my choice.  No matter how many horrible things happen to him, no matter how awful things get, Harry perseveres.  He does things 99% of teenagers would not be capable of doing; he shows courage he never knew he had.  But he is not perfect and his friends are usually there to help him through the tough times.  Harry is a flawed hero, which makes him my favourite. Continue reading →