Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the bloggers over at the Broke and the Bookish. Book bloggers from all around create lists based on the chosen topics, and post links to the host blog to share our love of books. This week we’re looking at our favorite second characters in books. Sometimes these characters can be written one-dimensional, but many authors have written some fascinating characters with as much depth (or more!) as the novel’s protagonist(s). Here are a few who surprised me, made me laugh, and tugged at my heartstrings.
Top Ten Favorite Secondary Characters
[sidekicks, best friends, and people of interest]
1.) Drew Leighton in The Sea of Tranquility – On the surface, Drew seems like womanizing party boy and the complete opposite of Nastya (I think an appropriate adjective would be “douchey”). But he’s Josh’s BFF for a reason, and we get to know a side of Drew that very few people ever get to see.
2.) Hana in Delirium/Pandemonium/Requiem – I didn’t notice her much in Delirium, as I figured she was supposed to be the stock-character BFF. Lena was “supposed” to leave her behind (as she did in Pandemonium) when she rejects The Cure. It was in Requiem where Hana truly shines, carrying the novel’s B-plot and making some difficult choices.
3.) Ruth in Hero – She’s my favorite chain-smoking superhero.
4.) Soap in Etiquette & Espionage – Soap is a sootie helping to run the airship for Mademoiselle Geraldine’s Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality. He’s also Sophronia’s partner in crime espionage. He’s polite, works hard, has a devious side, and totally has a mad crush on Sophronia.
5.) Ruby Oliver’s Mom in the Ruby Oliver Quartet – Awful, absent, neglectful, uninterested, and authoritarian parents are such a cliche in YA. I love that Ruby Oliver’s mom is slightly annoying, but loves the CRAP out of her kid exactly like she is. Best scene? When she read Empowering Your Girl Child and supported Ruby’s coming out process. Note: Ruby is straight.
6.) Clove in The Hunger Games – Is there any Clove fanfiction? Because this girl fascinates me, and I’m convinced that the career tributes were actually complex characters with tragic stories to tell.
7.) Aech in Ready Player One – Wade Watts can’t find Halliday’s Easter Eggs in OASIS without a little help from a loyal sidekick. Even though Aech is “just” a virtual friend, revelations from second half of the novel made my heart happy.
8.) Pepe in Sloppy Firsts – I mean, he’s BLACK ELVIS and obviously the coolest kid in Jessica Darling’s school.
9.) Al in Why We Broke Up – When we first meet Al, Min is throwing him a Bitter Sixteen party. He’s smart, impeccably dressed, ambiguously gay, and such a good friend to Min throughout her drama in the story. He steals the show in this novel and remains one of my favorite representations of masculinity in YA…even if the novel is sub-par.
10.) Lydia Bennet in Pride and Prejudice – Oh, sweetie. Bless. At least, that’s what a good Southern woman would have to say. However, I like Lydia. I’d be friends with her because she probably has a lot of fun adventures to talk about. She added some spice and dramatic tension to that novel.
Which are your favorite secondary characters?
