top ten tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday: Memorable Characters

Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

Good morning everyone! I can’t believe it’s Tuesday again already. I feel like last week held so many things all at once for me so it kind of went by fast and slow at the same time. I dyed my hair for the first time ever (ahh!!) and I’m loving it. And I got to go to the drive in theater with my dog and it was just the best time. So it’s been a good week overall for me.

But onto books! This week’s TTT was initially Memorable Things Characters Have Said but…I never remember quotes very well, let alone what people say, so I will have to go with simply “memorable” characters who have stuck out to me all these years amidst the many books I’ve read.

1. Nancy Drew

We all know (I think) this famous young sleuth, but I grew up reading those iconic yellow spine hardcovers as a child and I wanted to BE Nancy. She’s daring and has the most intriguing adventures with her friends, which never ends badly for them it seems. Why wouldn’t I want to be her growing up?

2. Etienne St. Clair

I liked Etienne, but what makes him stick out from the slew of male love interests in YA contemporaries is that he’s…well, not tall. Your typical hot guy is generally tall, or at least taller than the girl, but he most definitely is not. Yet he’s attractive because he has such charisma and I think that’s important too.

3. Magnus Bane

Where Asian guys are rarer in fantasies, Magnus shines. Oh, and the fact that he wears really bright outfits and uh, has cat eyes, definitely makes him outstanding too. But there’s just no one out there like him and he’s precious and I will protect him.

4. Anne Shirley

My favourite redhead and my Canadian pride showing, this girl has the spirit and imagination I wished I had as a kid. I love her compassion, her whimsical fantasies and her ability to get back up when people try to knock her down. If I could have a favourite character ever, I think she’d come close to #1.

5. Edward Cullen

I’m sure we all have our thoughts and opinions about Edward but hey, at least he’s super memorable. All those memes out there of sparkly vampires and such do stem from somewhere. While I’m past the Twilight mania phase I once was in as a young preteen, I do still hold fond memories of my extremely fervent Team Edward stance.

6. Linh Cinder

I love the Cinderella trope, if you haven’t guessed by now, and of all the retellings, Cinder is the most intriguing. Not only is she a cyborg, but she’s a mechanic too, a profession you don’t see often in your protagonists. This sci-fi twist on a character seen in so many writings definitely made her stick out among the rest.

7. Sherlock Holmes

Back to memorable sleuths! Who doesn’t know of the MOST famous one of all? I loved Sherlock’s brain and how he connects things in ways most ordinary people would not. I thought I’d be lost trying to figure it out as a kid but the books do help even young readers keep up. He’s famous enough even his address is memorable!

8. Lara Jean Song-Covey

The girl who started this blog, I was enamored with Lara Jean, this Asian girl who could be the star of her own romantic contemporary, something less common back then. Her letter writing (and accidental letter mailing) has become iconic thanks to Netflix and I hope she stays in our memories for a good long time to come.

9. Rose Hathaway

Although Rose may seem like any other YA heroine, for some reason she really sticks out to me. I think it’s the combination of her courage/fearlessness, sarcasm and “don’t mess with this small but mighty girl” attitude that just really makes me think I’d love her in person even more than the girl I see on the page. If I ever have a vampire problem, I know who to call.

10. Kaz Brekker

With his famous cane and the way he runs his infamous establishment, he’s definitely a character I’d wonder how I’d react if I met him in person. I love his loyalty with the few people he slowly starts to let in and that he’s not easy to read, let alone be your typical protagonist.
P.S. Freddy was the perfect image I had for Kaz and I’m so happy about his casting.

That’s it for this week! How many of these characters have stuck around in your minds over the years?

Published by Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

A lifelong reader of all things YA and books with heartfelt moments that punch you with all the feels. Currently expanding my reading interests to encompass anything that makes me feel deep and resonate with the characters

22 thoughts on “Top Ten Tuesday: Memorable Characters”

  3. I’m not familiar with most of these characters, but I really do like Anne Shirley! I only read the first book in the series and my mom and my sister didn’t like ‘Anne With an E,’ so I never watched it.

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  4. Nancy Drew- I only read a few of those but I love those iconic covers. Those and the Hardy Boys have some of the best vintage covers haha! And rose Hathaway- I thought maybe I was the only person who liked the Vampire academy movie. I haven’t read the books though. 😦

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  7. KAZ AND MAGNUS
    I don’t really have anything coherent to s a y but they’re both just AMAZING characters and shdgfgdgsh
    Magnus is just beautiful and amazing and fantastic and he deserves all this world has to offer, and Kaz is… well. Kaz. I adore how Leigh didn’t try to give him agreeable morals, or make him “good”, or handsome, or a n y t h i n g. She just said it like it is- he’s a crook, he’s a villain, he kills and thieves and crimes (that a thing?) for a living.
    I would have definitely added Inej and Matthias to this list, though. Inej, because she didn’t ever consider giving up everything for her love interest (Kaz), which is horribly common amongst YA books. Especially for females. I also love how her religiousness was portrayed- growing up in India, religion occasionally tends to play a more important role than it does in the general Western world (there are exceptions, of course). Most of the times, YA books portray religion and being religious in a sort of negative way, since the religiousness often defines the whole character, and can make the character seem stuck up, tight, and backward.
    Matthias, because instead of being thrown aside for the values he was taught and immediately turned into an antagonist, he was properly redeemed before being… well. Thrown aside. *cri* It adds a layer of depth and maturity instead of just slapping labels on him and shoving him in a box.
    Once again, this is a mega long comment (apologies~) and I LOVE this post!

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    1. I love everything about this comment! I agree with you about religiousness in the Western world and how it’s portrayed in things like our books. I wish there could be more out there that portrays it as more than just a negative, backward thing sometimes. I have definitely seen things shifting a little in YA, such as Counting Down With You by Tashie Bhuiyan or Beyond the Break by Heather Buchta with the protagonist’s faith a part of who they are without being a “negative” aspect to the story.
      Also, Matthias 😭😭 You are so right about his depth of character

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