I'm linking up with That Artsy Reader Girl for another Top Ten Tuesday.
This week we're talking about great characters who aren't the main characters of their books. This is what I came up with, but I know there are many more I just didn't think of!
Abby is a major character in the Creekwood books, but she's never gotten her own book. She goes through a lot over the course of the series — moving to a brand-new place, making new friends, dealing with a stalker-ish classmate, and exploring her own sexuality.
Her story isn't the focus of the book, but let's stop and appreciate all that President Claremont has to deal with as the first female president of the United States, not to mention one whose son causes multiple international incidents!
Working in education consulting, one point I heard made during my first year at my current organization was that we tend to talk about kids in rural areas as if the goal is to educate them so they can leave. But what about educating the ones who want to stay and remain part of their local community? Unlike the novel's main character, Dylan is genuinely happy to stay in her hometown with her baby and doesn't want to be lumped into everything her friends are trying to escape. Props to her for not letting someone else dictate what happiness should entail for her.
I don't want to say too much because it involves a plot twist, but Jack is misunderstood for much of the book and brings out the main character's shadow side, only to prove to be more complex and human than expected by the end.
One of my favorite scenes in this lengthy classic involves Marcela, who is initially portrayed as a cruel temptress who drove a man to kill himself for love for her. But when we finally meet her, she delivers an excellent defense of what would today be called "friendzoning," saying it isn't her fault if men fall in love with her and that doesn't mean she's obligated to love them back, and if they want to be ridiculous about it that's on them. Not what I expected to find in this work from the early 17th century!
Again, I don't want to spoil anything, but there's a secret about the incorrigibly sweet youngest Lynch brother that comes out during the course of these series that would be incredibly hard to live with, so let's all spare a thought for Matthew. (And also I haven't read Mister Impossible yet but I'm looking forward to it, so don't spoil any further developments!)
I tend to be in the minority for how much I enjoy Mr. Bennet as a character, but I appreciate the way he stays grounded amid his wife's constant anxiety and how he cares more about Elizabeth's happiness as a person than her value as a marriageable young woman.
Polgara does, thankfully, get her own prequel in this universe, but she's still a secondary character in the two main series. She's awesome and nearly unflappable and incredibly clever, and I'm glad she gets a little slice of happiness after making sacrifices for centuries for the sake of the world.
Susan is the proverbial black sheep of the Pevensie kids, the one who misses out on the final adventure because she's become too "worldly" to go back to Narnia. But so what? People have diverse interests and need to explore their identity as they grow, and if Susan is interested in "nylons and lipstick and invitations" at the moment, good for her. After the events of the last book, she likely gets a shake-up in her priorities anyway.
The main character's best friend, Zuzana is a spitfire of a girl who has little patience for things that she doesn't like but deep loyalty for her friends. She's funny and brave and has some of the best lines in the book.
Who are some other great secondary/minor characters?
Looking back:
One year ago I was reading: Everyday Antiracism, Still Life, and Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk
Five years ago I was reading: The Big Four and A Prayer for Owen Meany
Ten years ago I was reading: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
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