Amy from Little Women. I think the 2019 film did a lot to help improve the public’s perception of her, but she still deserves so much more love. The best part about her character is watching her grow from being a spoiled, petulant child into a self-assured, pragmatic woman. Her interests are also often viewed as ‘frivolous’ by readers, but that doesn’t make her character any less compelling. (I also may be writing this to make up for the fact that I hated Amy when I read the book as a kid!)
Not a movie adaptation, but there is a 2006 television adaptation of Jane Eyre that I think does a great job in showing a strong friendship between Jane and Mr Rochester before they fall in love. Their relationship seems much more fleshed out and believable compared to the film adaptations of Jane Eyre.
Rhysand from the ACOTAR series. Saying progressive buzzwords without any substance does not make him attractive. I’ve heard he becomes a massive hypocrite later in the series too, so apparently he’s even worse than I remember.
My favourite best friend character is Nora from Red, White and Royal Blue (I may be a bit biased because we share the same name) She is a passionate, loyal, easy-going and quick-witted, and she is able to balance the other characters in the book with her charm and charisma and is the definition of a best friend as she always pulls through and is super supportive in any situation!
Both Casey McQuinston and TJ Klune both amazingly develop their characters in their writing – enabling the readers to truly connect with them as we read about their personalities in immense detail, go through their experiences and feel their emotions and observe their amazing character growth that we love to see!!
I would love a spin-off/crossover with Myla, Niko, Wes and Isaiah from One Last Stop (OLS) and Nora, June, Pez and Bea from Red, White and Royal Blue (RWRB)! Throughout OLS and RWRB, Casey McQuinston develops authentic and relatable characters and develops their beautiful bond with the main characters of their corresponding book, so it would super amazing to see the dynamic between all of the characters (I would imagine their dynamic to be electric and instantaneously radiate sunshine and good vibes)!
I’m not actually a huge villains fan – usually if I don’t like the protagonist of a book I just won’t finish it. So if the main characters are so uncompelling that the villains seem more appealing, its a sign that this probably isn’t a book for me. That said, I love Ianthe Tridentarius, and I think she should be in everything. She’s so entertainingly horrible! I’m obsessed with her.
I would LOVE to pull a black tie party heist with the Crows from Six of Crows/Crooked Kingdom. I know that’s not just one character but indulge me.
I often feel like fans of The Raven Cycle tend to brush over Blue Sargent and have a pretty shallow reading of her in favour of the more popular boys in the series. You don’t get her like I do.
Kennit from The Liveship Traders. In a book full of complex and complicated characters he, by comparison, is more the typical moustache-twirling villain, but he is written so charismatically and captivatingly that every chapter he was in forces the reader to look at him and only him as if he was the centre of the world (though that doesn’t make his actions excusable or anything).
This isn’t actually a novel but Annie from Attack on Titan. She was a great character in the first season, and in later seasons we only see a tiny bit from her, and I feel there was more to be said about her.
I fall for the ‘black sheep’ weak-to-strong character ALL THE TIME. Best example is Wintrow from Ship of Magic where he has strong morals but is cast in an environment where no-one cares about it and looks down on him for being ‘weak’, but he has a strong will and stays true to himself, which I find admirable.
It would probably have to be Inej from Leigh Bardugo’s Six of Crows duology. She’s brave, smart, strong and the badass ninja that everyone needed.
Cardan from the Folk of the Air series by Holly Black. I have a huge weakness for morally questionable characters, and Cardan is no exception. He’s the kind of character that you can’t decide whether to love or hate.
I’m not sure what the exact trope is, but I recently fell in love with Ari and Dante from Benjamin Alire Sáenz’s Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe. They are such different characters with unique personalities but they complement each other perfectly. I loved how Dante helped Ari to open more about himself and his family and come to terms with his feelings. If you haven’t read this amazing book, I highly recommend!
Annabeth Chase because I grew up wanting to be her and that will never fade.
Tamsyn Muir.
Zachary Rawlins from The Starless Sea because he gets such cool experiences.
