The 52 Book Club: 2026 Challenge discussion

WEEKLY CHECK-IN
February 19, 2024 -- Week 8

For this week's discussion, let's chat about favorite book characters!

Who are some of your all-time favorites (and what book are they from)?
What draws you to these specific characters, or makes them so memorable?

Jo March was always a favorite growing up. I wanted to be her. I have no idea how many times I read Little Women.

If I wasn't wanting to be Jo, I wanted to be Nancy Drew. I checked out every Nancy Drew book in my library that I didn't already own (and made sure to know when they got new ones in all through my growing up and high school years) at least once.

Elizabeth Bennett has been a favorite since high school.

And Christy (from Catherine Marshall's book of the same name) was a favorite in middle school and high school. I owned a paperback copy and you could tell it was well-read.

Flinx, from Alan Dean Foster's Pip and Flinx series, might very well be the first fictional character I ever fell in love with. Plus, wouldn't it be cool to have a minidragon as a pet? (The only reptile I was never really scared of growing up was Pip, because I just knew if we met in real life she'd be completely different from all the lizards and snakes and such at the zoo. I mean, yeah, I knew she was imaginary, but I also just kind of knew that she'd be cool.)

Why? Jo, Elizabeth, and Christy were all nerdy book types, like me, so I saw myself in them. I thought it was just so cool that Nancy was able to solve mysteries. (I was brought up on shows like Matlock and Murder, She Wrote, and Agatha Christie books, so she was like them, but my age.)
Flinx was a loner, a bit of an outcast, and I was never popular in school, picked on, made fun of, etc. so again I saw just a bit of myself in him, but also saw how he handled that, which I think was important for me at that age.

Alanna of Trebond and Olau and Pirate's Swoop from The Mark of the Lioness Series.
Harmonie Granger from Harry Potter.
Nesta Archeron from ACOTAR.

All brilliant, fierce, passionate women that grow into their potential. Some had a more difficult time than others, but all found love and happiness and exemplified their strengths for the greater good.

My favorite character is Horton the Elephant from Horton Hatches An Egg. He is loyal and sticks to his commitment even through adversity. Those are qualities that are extremely important to me. I think it is a very underrated Dr. Seuss book. I love that he got rewarded in the end.

Sirius Black from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
It didn't hurt that he started off as a cute black dog. Still, Sirius always cared about his friends and family. He was a brave and loyal friend, with a temper and misguided tendencies at times. Still, he risked his life to keep Harry safe even when Harry wanted him dead. Sirius is also a very tragic character. It was bad enough he was framed for countless murders and betraying Harry's parents to You-Know-Who, but Sirius was the one to give that wisdom to Peter Pettigrew. Also, who cast the spell that made Pettigrew the Potter's Keeper? Professor Dumbledore! Twelve years rotting away in Azkaban going mad, and Dumbledore knew the whole time that Sirius was innocent. Yet he never did anything to defend Sirius, because if he did, Harry would never have been with the Dursley's, and then Lily's magic wouldn't have been able to protect him until he came of age. All for this, Sirius remained imprisoned, so I have a very soft spot in my heart for him.

Rhysand from ACOTAR
Rhys is very fun, and he's such a flirt! Rhys is also a lot like Sirius. Everyone pins him as the villain, but it's all an act to so he can protect the ones he loves. He's willing to put his wants and needs last, and rather suffer if it meant someone else's happiness. He's a great leader and warrior, and rather share his crown with his mate than claim the throne for himself.

Mr. Darcy and Ms. Lizzie Bennett from Pride and Prejudice
They are very humorous and intelligent individuals who care deeply for the ones around them. They have to put up with the expectations of others, yet find their own happiness with each other.

Junebug and Morgan Mcbride from the McBrides of Montana series
Junebug is a pistol! Talk about a wildcat. She is hilarious, but a good bit of it is just an act. She might be tough, and certainly no lady, but she loves her brothers and deep down she's just a kid who really does get into too much trouble. I love her interactions with Morgan the best. He's gruff around the edges, but he deeply loves his family.

Twilight from Spy x Family, Vol. 1
He's really serious, but he's also a great actor. It was awesome seeing such a serious man suddenly have to take on the responsibly of being a father. Anya isn't the easiest child to raise, but he's been nice watching Twilight develop a fatherly relationship with her.

Marbas and Naberius from The Tale of the Outcasts, Vol. 3
I love Marbas! Watching him grow as a character and develop a relationship with Wisteria. He's a demon, so they shouldn't have feelings like love, yet it is so clear he loves Wisteria and would do anything for her. She's his person (friendship, not relationship!!!). Same thing with Naberius and his person - Lady Blackbell. However, Marbas is a fire lion demon while Naberius is a geological wolf demon. Lady Blackbell and Wisteria are friends, so by default Marbas and Naberius had to spend a lot of time together. They are clearly friends yet they rib each other all the time and are constantly fighting. Still, no one is allowed to hurt them expect each other. I love them so much. They make me laugh until I cry!

It was always Atticus Finch until Harper Lee ruined him for me in Go Set a Watchman, but I choose to remember him as the ideal father and lawyer seeking racial justice he was for so many years.

Also Anne Shirley, Fitzwilliam Darcy, Theodore Laurence, Louisa Clark, Mary Poppins, Hermione Granger, Mrs. Weasley, and the Lorax.

Where Can I Flee by A.M. Heath is my all-time favorite book, and I love all of the characters, but especially Frank Harper, who is featured on the cover.

Nana, the cat from Travelling Cat Chronicles. Funny, savvy. Epitomizes what makes cats so lovable to the hoomans who love them.

Eliza Bennett, of course. But I also love Jane almost as much. In fact, I'm happier for her when she gets her man than I am for Eliza, because she held fast to her love for Bingley through even more trying circumstances. Like Eliza, Jane is who I'd like to be...but I'm not. I'm Eliza, passionate and opinionated and a bit thoughtless and obtuse sometimes.

Harriet Vane, from the Peter Wimsey series (Dorothy Sayers). Intelligent, talented, and fiercely independent. It takes four books for Lord Peter to convince her to marry him, LOL. If a man isn't willing to work for it, he doesn't deserve you.

Harry Bosch, Michael Connelly's iconic cop. As endearing as he is maddening. I admire his unswerving commitment to getting justice for crime victims, rich, poor, good, bad. He really does live by his motto of, 'everybody counts, or nobody counts.'

Maggie Sullivan - M Ruth Myers series set in 1930s Ohio. Smart, tough, no-nonsense and independent. She's a dame in the best sense of the word.

Margaret, Are You There G-d... OMG. When did Judy Blume put that spy camera into my 12 y/o life? I, too, moved from the city to a puzzling suburban enclave at that age, and I even had the same kind of friends and did the same stupid things with them! So, yeah, I really relate to Margaret.

Scout, To Kill a Mockingbird. When I was 7-8 (Scout's age), I was living in a small Southern town, and got up to similar silly adventures with my brothers. Only difference was that I was the eldest, not youngest child. Mum was a single parent professional, just like Atticus, and I grew up amidst a bunch of well-meaning but nosy and hyper-traditional family members. Racism abounded as well. One day, I need to finish the novel I've started about an incident in our town that was scary for everyone there who wasn't a racist hell-bent on a lynching.

I often have favorite characters in books that I am reading, some stay favorites, some fade. A few of those who stayed are:

WInnie the Pooh - when I was a kid, I loved the way he was unflappable, the fact that he got along with everyone, and his wisdom that was imparted through seemingly random statements.

Laura Ingalls Wilder and Anne Shirley were special for the same reason. They both showed me what life was like in other places and other times. I have always had a huge curiosity of what other people's lives were like.

The Sneeches on the Beaches from Doctor Suess. They were a great illustration of how you can't really judge someone without knowing them.

Emma Hart from A Woman of Substance who started out as a maid with nothing and became the matriarch of a huge family and the owner of a global business before it was common for women.

Darry and Sodapop from S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders because they stepped up to raise their brother and sacrificed their own dreams in the name of family.

The titular character from A Prayer for Owen Meany was unlike any character I had ever met before. The amount of wisdom he has throughout the entirety of the book and the fact that he knows exactly what to do for any given situation always left me stunned.
I highly recommend this book.

As others have said:
Jo March and Elizabeth Bennett. Bookworms who were willing to buck the system without breaking any actual laws.

The fish in The Cat in the Hat. I would also be the one quivering and saying "no we're going to get in trouble!"

Daine and Numair from the Immortals series by Tamora Pierce.
Hermione Granger, Ginny Weasley, and Luna Lovegood from Harry Potter.
Matilda, Sophie, Charlie, Danny, James, and The Boy from Roald Dahl's

Gideon the Ninth. She's kind, and naive, if you could say so. I admire her need to protect and help.

Iago from Othello and Kaz Brekker from Six of Crows are the two that immediately come to mind. I just love how sneaky and good at plotting they both are. Intelligent characters who aren't insufferable know-it-alls who always win are my weakness

Ramona Quimby and Anne Shirley. I don't know that they would have hung out at recess. I'm sure Ramona would have scandalized Anne.

Let's see,

Charlie Davidson from the Charlie Davidson Series by Darynda Jones. Charlie's pretty chill and damn hilarious. Both humble and confident in herself.

Nix the Ever Knowing or Nucking Futs Nix from the Immortal's After Dark series by Kresley Cole. Nyx is crazy... and a crack up.

Luna Lovegood from the Harry Potter series by JK ROWLING. I just like weird crazy characters... and Luna fits the bill.

Cecil Gershwin Palmer from Welcome to Night Vale books by Joseph Fink. He's the voice of Nightvale and he brings us the weather, what's not to love.

Cassian from the ACOTAR series by Sarah J. Maas. I know the majority fawns over Rhys, but I'm a Cassian girl

Heather wrote: "Luna Lovegood from the Harry Potter series by JK ROWLING. I just like weird crazy characters... and Luna fits the bill."

Count me as another who thought Luna was a fantastic character!