Who are your nominees for butt-kicking chicks?

[DirtDiva]

I wanted to be a tomboy, but I was too unco-ordinated.

What about books? I don't know how old the girl in question is, so it's a bit hard to make recomendations, but there's plenty of literature around with non-boring, non-wimpy girl characters. One that springs to mind is Lyra Silvertongue (she is a little sneaky, I admit) from Philip Pullman's Northern Lights series. Probably best for a reader of 10-12, and they're enjoyable for adults too, so he could always read it to her if they're a bit hard. There's all plenty of other stuff out there that isn't all Babysitters' Club lip gloss and boyfriends. I should be able to think of lots more examples, but my brain isn't co-operating at the moment.