Each week, my friend Miriam goes to my blog to read my postings (she’s a great friend!), and we end up talking about my Top Ten list. Sometimes she’s in agreement, sometimes she’s surprised by my choices and wants to know more about them … and sometimes she wants to come up with a list of her own!!
Below, then, is my dear friend’s version of her Top Ten Best Book Characters – her criteria: they must make kick-ass dinner party guests! Please note: this list is not in any particular order.
Anne Shirley (Anne of Green Gables)
I wanted to be this free spirit growing up. I admired her ability to leave her filter behind and speak from the heart. I also would have killed for her red hair.
Raymond Winston Tyler Jr. (Invisible Life)
I fell in love with Raymond. It didn’t matter that he was gay. Or black. Or fictional. I loved him. The more conflicted he was, the more I wanted to put my arms around him and tell him that everything would be OK. I love the way he grew up and the man he became.
Jenn Lancaster (Bitter Is The New Black)
She reflects my inner bitch. She says all of the things that I am thinking, but am not quick enough to articulate. She is quick-witted, sarcastic and a complete mushball on the inside. I want her to be my BFF.
Erin Brown (Laid Bare)
This is a chick that I tip my hat to. She says what she wants and gets it, in bed and out. She should hold a seminar. She could kick Carrie Bradshaw’s ass.
Billy Colman (Where the Red Fern Grows)
A young boy and his complete and utter love of his dogs. ‘Nuff said.
William and his Grandmother (Free to Be You and Me)
All he wants is a doll to hug and hold? Doesn’t care that his brother and other kids think
he is a pansy? Now, I admire a kid who can resist pressure and march to the beat of his own drummer. And Grandma? Love her for not being stuck in the past and recognizing his uniqueness. Thirty-something years later, and I still think that William is probably out there somewhere, one hell of a good dad, and one hell of a great husband.
Catherine Dollanganger (Flowers in the Attic)
Probably way too mature for me when I was 12 and clearly I didn’t get all of it at the time, but I did love the strength that this young woman showed in an impossible situation. If I close my eyes, I can still picture what she looked like. The movie was garbage.
Unnamed narrator (Candy)
This was fantastic, in a watching a beautiful car crash sort of way. This book follows the day-to-day struggles, triumphs and ultimate demise of a heroin addict and his girlfriend. It was almost impossible to look away and put this book down even though it’s graphic, horrible, depressing and more often than not pointless. I spent the whole book hoping that they could just get clean long enough to come out on the other side.
Amanda Hesser (Cooking for Mr. Latte)
She is passionate and she loves to cook and eat. Add to that the fact that she is an amazing storyteller, and her tale of romance and food will seduce you. And there are recipes! Beat that!
Gordie Lachance (The Body, a novella from Different Seasons)
He’s amazing character in a tale of the loss of innocence and the passage into adulthood. Sigh, I loved Stand by Me – yesterday, today and tomorrow.
Honorable Mention:
Winston Shakespeare, in How Stella Got Her Groove Back. Yum.
I loved Anne Shirley! ^^
Great list.
Check out my top 10 here