This was an enjoyable work of memoir/literary criticism, as the author revisits her literary heroines from childhood to present day. I couldn't help but compare it to [b:Spinster: Making a Life of One's Own|22889766|Spinster Making a Life of One's Own|Kate Bolick|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1415580758s/22889766.jpg|42459922]'s 5 Awakeners--I read Spinster first, and I think it's more... sophisticated of an endeavor? Although her perspective as a British-Iraqi Jewish woman looking for herself in so many classic British heroines is intersting, How to Be a Heroine's conclusions are not quite groundbreaking (any character written in the 1800s is probably not a flawless feminist icon; be your own heroine!) but I still enjoyed Ellis' literary trip down memory lane, especially since I've just been revisiting Little House and To Kill a Mockingbird myself. It certainly left me with a few more books I want to re-read (and a few I want to read for the first time).