Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme started by The Broke and the Bookish, and this week’s topic is…

TOP TEN CHARACTERS WHO REMIND ME OF MYSELF OR SOMEONE I KNOW IN REAL LIFE

Oh man, this is a hard one!  Don’t know if I can come up with ten, but let’s see…

First, characters that remind me of myself:

Jess Aarons from Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson: I actually have very little in common with Jess—he likes to run, live on a farm with a bunch of sisters, and is a great artist.  I am none of the above.  But I think because of a loss I experienced when I was a young child (my infant sister died when I was 3), I really identified with Jess because of the loss he experiences during the book.  Crying while reading this book is one of my most vivid childhood memories of all time.

Anne Shirley from Anne of Green Gables: Like Anne, I spent my childhood hoping for a “bosom friend,” and I wanted to find a “Lake of Shining Waters” and a “Haunted Wood.”

Witch Baby from Witch Baby by Francesca Lia Block: Witch Baby is a sensitive teenage girl who has a hard time separating herself from the pain she sees in the world around her.  My eighth-grade yearbook page has a quote from this book: “What time are we upon, and where do I belong?”

Marianne from Sense and Sensibility: I actually don’t identify so much with Marianne anymore (I think now I’m a little more Elinor, or somewhere in between), but in high school I was a huge romantic and Marianne was pretty much my idol.

Laurel from Wings by Aprilynne Pike: Okay, I actually have nothing in common with Laurel, EXCEPT that like her, I can’t stand tight/constrictive clothing—I hate jeans and long-sleeved shirts and wear tank tops even in the winter, just with an open cardigan over them.  Do you think this means I’m a fairy???

Now, characters that remind me of people I know:

Maeve from Tallulah Falls by Christine Fletcher: Maeve reminds me a bit of my friend Tracy—wild and unpredictable, yet someone you can’t help wanting to spend time with.

Sophie from The BFG by Roald Dahl: Sophie reminds me of my sister because they’re both brave and plucky, and probably also b/c my sister loved Roald Dahl as a kid.

Gene from A Separate Peace by John Knowles: Gene reminds me a bit of my friend Matt—thoughtful, intelligent and sensitive.