"This is for all my bad girls around the world.
Not bad meaning bad, but bad meaning good, you know?"

Define Bad: Something undesirable and unwelcome.

"Bad" is quite a subjective word. It can be related to many things and people. However, not everyone will categorize the same things as bad. I define bad as defying the cultural norms. It doesn't make what the things these characters do wrong, it just makes them potentially unacceptable.

In YA, a lot of attention is often brought to the "bad boys". The tough, hard to get boys that make the readers' hearts melt. What makes these guys bad? Sometimes it's the general things: gangs, fights, drugs. Other times it's the moods, the attitude and the actions. These attributes come together to make an irresistible bad boy.

I'm no exception to this female fascination of saving the bad boy from the dark side. However, what I've always found interesting is the bad girls. The girls who resist society's norms to put them in dresses and prance them around like princesses. I envy the athletic girls, who can fight and defend themselves and their loved ones.

YA fiction is the best place for these girls and whilst reading I've come across some fantastic ladies that are worthy of our love and attention. I believe they are referred to as KICKASS HEROINES!

Rose Hathaway

Vampire Academy - Richelle Mead
Behold, the Queen of the bad YA girls. Rose is spunky, she is strong, courageous and outgoing. She will fight for what she thinks is right and won't let anyone stop her.

Katsa

Graceling - Kristin Cashore
She is a weapon that can be exploited but Katsa realizes that she can only be exploited if she allows it. Katsa isn't one to be ordered around. Instead she realizes that all actions done by her even under order are her actions. Katsa also has some unpopular opinions on marriage and family, however they are her opinions and she fights to keep them; this makes her respectable to me. Also, she can kick butt all day, not to mention trek up a snowy mountain and kill feral beasts.

June Iparis

Legend - Marie Lu
June is more the good girl gone bad. She is intelligent and talented but she also feels a lot of empathy. She is a good doer and will follow her beliefs no matter where they take her in order to do what is right.

Celaena Sardothien

Throne of Glass - Sarah J. Maas
Celaena is a hardcore fighter with a knack for survival. She doesn't fit herself into society's norms by wearing a dress and prancing around, instead she makes the society prance around her.

Meg

Going Too Far - Jennifer Echols
Meg  is more of the traditional rebellious bad girl. She has blue hair, gets arrested, hangs with the wrong crowd but Meg is a survivor. She fights for herself even when it seems like she isn't.

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Bad girls are just as amazing bad boys. They are people who defy the norms, some of those norms are not killing people but when put that little murderous streak aside, these are strong women. They are defined as "bad girls" but if bad girls means: strong, courageous, spirited, righteous young women then where is the sign up sheet?

CL isn't the baddest female around but she sure does do a great job personifying a free spoken, forthright young woman who is not afraid of reaching for her dreams.

-Mari

I'm a big fan of Asian culture and tend to enjoy watching/listening to their shows and music. I've recently become quite interested in K-Pop and K-Dramas so I thought I would branch out and combine some of my other hobbies with my love for reading. 

Music is another way of expressing ourselves and telling stories. I especially like Taylor Swift's music because I'm not the most talented in interpreting songs to a story, but her's are quite relatable and easy. 

2NE1 is one of the most popular South Korean bands out there, especially among the female bands. They are also known to have some interesting music videos. Come Back Home is a part of their newest album and I can relate to it easily.

I don't understand a word besides the english lyrics much like other international K-pop fans but I enjoy what it sounds like. The visuals on the other hand I understand. Come Back Home is like a dystopian book where virtual life has become a lot more interesting than real life. 

This automatically rings the bell in my head screaming:

Under the Never Sky - Veronica Rossi

The people live in Riverie, a protected city from the "wild" that is outside. The citizens live in a highly technological environment and are always plugged in to their virtual world.

I would not mind living here.

It's a scary idea that has been on everyone's mind for years. What if technology comes to a point that humans become mindless robots, addicted to a virtual world? It's something that we can all understand given that we're all hooked up to our Google machines, ready to get the latest news at any given time.

Ready Player One - Ernest Cline

I haven't read Ready Player One but it's a modern classic, I feel. This one follows the same idea of the world around us having crumbled to an extent that the people resort to a virtual reality in which to live, love and play.

Of course, the ending of the video signifies the people, especially the youth and the technology generation, standing up for themselves. Technology is expanding and we are becoming increasing dependent on it, but it doesn't mean that we are its slave. 

P.S. If you want to listen to an english version Impaofsweden sang a cover and it's quite good.

-MARI