Over the years, I have read hundreds of books, and on occasion, I have run into several characters that reminded me a bit of myself. This Top Tuesday was a fun theme to try out and is from the That Artsy Reader Girl blog.
"I looked at him, and saw myself." - Hiccup Haddock III (DreamWorks' How to Train Your Dragon)
1. Felicity Merriman (American Girl Series by Valerie Tripp):
--The American Girl series and Little House on the Prairie books got me into historicals when I was in elementary school. While Felicity and I don't really have a lot in common personality-wise (she felt much braver than me and abhorred "proper lady" things like sewing and such), she was the first book character that had siblings in the exact same gender and order as I did (until my youngest brother came along). I also could totally relate to her as the eldest and her relationship with Nan the "perfect younger sister" too!
2. Meg Murry (A Wrinkle in Time et al. by Madeleine L'Engle):
--From the very first chapter, Margaret "Meg" Murry came alive and was instantly relatable as a young tween/teen. Meg was also the oldest child and her feelings of awkwardness, ordinariness, and dislike/frustration with herself (I think self-loathing is too harsh a term, but you know what I mean) ... I felt she was just like me (minus her genius level math skills). Watching Meg grow up throughout the books made me hope that those awkward adolescent phases would pass and that I might run into a Calvin O'Keefe of my own someday ...
3. Lehman Bardon (The DragonKeeper Chronicles by Donita K. Paul)
--While I adore and slightly relate to the protagonist wizard apprentice and DragonKeeper, Kale Allerion, I chose to list Bardon, the by-the-book squire introduced in the second novel of this series. Initially, Kale thinks of him as a strict, stuffy rule follower, but I could relate to Bardon's caution and introvert tendencies. Being thrust on a quest because his superior denies him the chance to become a squire, the young lehman questioned what his future would hold if unable to continue down the path to knighthood that he had trained for his whole life. That uncertainty of the future was something I was familiar with when I first read the series as a young adult ...
4. Jennifer Lim (Sushi Series by Camy Tang):
--While I love all of the cousins in the Sakai family, Jennifer Lim was the one whose personality seemed closest to my own. I'm thankful that Camy Tang chose to write a novella for Jen after she finished the trilogy covering her other cousins, but I've always wished that it could have been a full length novel like the other girls got ... Not sure if Zondervan still has publishing rights for the Sushi Series, but if so, they TOTALLY dropped the ball when they could have hyped up this series as the Contemporary Christian Fiction alternative to Crazy Rich Asians (which was also published years before CRA)!
5. Barriss Offee (Star Wars Legends novels by various authors)
--Before the animated Clone Wars series messed it up, I really liked Barriss Offee --serious, studious, compassionate ... I could relate to her type of upbringing and balancing what you were taught and how that works when the rest of the world doesn't share all of those views ...
6. Matthias (Redwall by Brian Jacques)
--There's so many characters that Brian Jacques created that I love, but Matthias was the first. He's clumsy, makes mistakes, but he doesn't give up and becomes a legendary hero in his own right.
7. Jill Pole (The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis)
--In case you haven't sensed a theme with these characters ... I relate to those ordinary, everyperson types. Jill isn't brave at first, but through Aslan and her adventures in Narnia, finds her voice and the courage to stand out and be a hero.
8. Princess Yona (Yona of the Dawn manga by Mizuho Kusanagi)
--A sheltered princess forced to grow up quickly after her father loses the throne to an usurper, I can relate to Yona's slight obliviousness at times, but also to her sense of justice and desire to rely on herself and not trouble others.
9. Elinor Dashwood (Sense & Sensibility by Jane Austen)
--I always picture myself as the least emotional sister, the one the holds it together, the oldest, responsible one ... Kind of like Elinor. While she's not my favorite Austen heroine (it's Lizzy Bennett of course), I think she's the one who's the most like me.
10. Rose Campbell (Rose in Bloom by Louisa May Alcott)
--Even though it was written over 100 years ago, Rose was going through a lot of things girls everywhere do when growing up. I could relate with Rose in many aspects ... troubles with superficial friends, temptation to do things (i.e. read books) that parents or guardians don't want you to, wanting to make a difference with your life, using your gifts for good, trying to discover your heart and letting yourself fall in love ... not that I've fallen in love, when Mac Campbell is out there setting high standards, LOL.
Who are some literary characters that you relate to?
"I looked at him, and saw myself." - Hiccup Haddock III (DreamWorks' How to Train Your Dragon)
1. Felicity Merriman (American Girl Series by Valerie Tripp):
--The American Girl series and Little House on the Prairie books got me into historicals when I was in elementary school. While Felicity and I don't really have a lot in common personality-wise (she felt much braver than me and abhorred "proper lady" things like sewing and such), she was the first book character that had siblings in the exact same gender and order as I did (until my youngest brother came along). I also could totally relate to her as the eldest and her relationship with Nan the "perfect younger sister" too!
2. Meg Murry (A Wrinkle in Time et al. by Madeleine L'Engle):
--From the very first chapter, Margaret "Meg" Murry came alive and was instantly relatable as a young tween/teen. Meg was also the oldest child and her feelings of awkwardness, ordinariness, and dislike/frustration with herself (I think self-loathing is too harsh a term, but you know what I mean) ... I felt she was just like me (minus her genius level math skills). Watching Meg grow up throughout the books made me hope that those awkward adolescent phases would pass and that I might run into a Calvin O'Keefe of my own someday ...
3. Lehman Bardon (The DragonKeeper Chronicles by Donita K. Paul)
--While I adore and slightly relate to the protagonist wizard apprentice and DragonKeeper, Kale Allerion, I chose to list Bardon, the by-the-book squire introduced in the second novel of this series. Initially, Kale thinks of him as a strict, stuffy rule follower, but I could relate to Bardon's caution and introvert tendencies. Being thrust on a quest because his superior denies him the chance to become a squire, the young lehman questioned what his future would hold if unable to continue down the path to knighthood that he had trained for his whole life. That uncertainty of the future was something I was familiar with when I first read the series as a young adult ...
4. Jennifer Lim (Sushi Series by Camy Tang):
--While I love all of the cousins in the Sakai family, Jennifer Lim was the one whose personality seemed closest to my own. I'm thankful that Camy Tang chose to write a novella for Jen after she finished the trilogy covering her other cousins, but I've always wished that it could have been a full length novel like the other girls got ... Not sure if Zondervan still has publishing rights for the Sushi Series, but if so, they TOTALLY dropped the ball when they could have hyped up this series as the Contemporary Christian Fiction alternative to Crazy Rich Asians (which was also published years before CRA)!
5. Barriss Offee (Star Wars Legends novels by various authors)
--Before the animated Clone Wars series messed it up, I really liked Barriss Offee --serious, studious, compassionate ... I could relate to her type of upbringing and balancing what you were taught and how that works when the rest of the world doesn't share all of those views ...
6. Matthias (Redwall by Brian Jacques)
--There's so many characters that Brian Jacques created that I love, but Matthias was the first. He's clumsy, makes mistakes, but he doesn't give up and becomes a legendary hero in his own right.
7. Jill Pole (The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis)
--In case you haven't sensed a theme with these characters ... I relate to those ordinary, everyperson types. Jill isn't brave at first, but through Aslan and her adventures in Narnia, finds her voice and the courage to stand out and be a hero.
8. Princess Yona (Yona of the Dawn manga by Mizuho Kusanagi)
--A sheltered princess forced to grow up quickly after her father loses the throne to an usurper, I can relate to Yona's slight obliviousness at times, but also to her sense of justice and desire to rely on herself and not trouble others.
9. Elinor Dashwood (Sense & Sensibility by Jane Austen)
--I always picture myself as the least emotional sister, the one the holds it together, the oldest, responsible one ... Kind of like Elinor. While she's not my favorite Austen heroine (it's Lizzy Bennett of course), I think she's the one who's the most like me.
10. Rose Campbell (Rose in Bloom by Louisa May Alcott)
--Even though it was written over 100 years ago, Rose was going through a lot of things girls everywhere do when growing up. I could relate with Rose in many aspects ... troubles with superficial friends, temptation to do things (i.e. read books) that parents or guardians don't want you to, wanting to make a difference with your life, using your gifts for good, trying to discover your heart and letting yourself fall in love ... not that I've fallen in love, when Mac Campbell is out there setting high standards, LOL.
Who are some literary characters that you relate to?
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