The 52 Book Club: 2025 / 2026 Challenge discussion

2. A character with red hair

This character-based prompt is for any character with red hair (natural or dyed.) They may be the main character or a secondary character. As a non-fiction option, you may also choose a memoir or biography about a historical or modern-day individual with red hair.


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If Not For My Baby by Kate Golden

Anne of Green Gables

Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe or Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

Ali wrote: "Anne of Green Gables"

That was my first thought. Or Pippi Longstocking. lol

The Mighty Red by Louise Erdrich

Crescent City by Sarah J Maas (any of the three from the series, since it's the main character)

I’m working through the whole Anne of Green Gables collection (I scored the whole 8-book series for .99 on kindle). By January I should be on Anne of the Island

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo . I’ve read it before but want to read the series again. The main character Lisbeth , has red hair but dyes it black.

I have several Lucille Ball biographies to read, including Ball of Fire: The Tumultuous Life and Comic Art of Lucille Ball

I also have a book on Winston Churchill: Our Supreme Task: How Winston Churchill's Iron Curtain Speech Defined the Cold War Alliance

Edited to add a Lucille Ball biography that I've read and liked:
Laughs, Luck...and Lucy: How I Came to Create the Most Popular Sitcom of All Time

Ellis Lacey from Colm Toibin's book Brooklyn is a redhead.
Major characters, Bill Denbrough & Bev Marsh from It by Stephen King are both redheads

I'm planning on reading Lost and Lassoed for this prompt (though I have to read Swift and Saddled first before I get into this one)

Pippi Longstockings by Astrid Lindgren

Jane Eyre

The requisite femme fatale in Raymond Chandler's Playback (Marlowe #7) is a redhead. Name: Betty Mayfield.

Fable and Namesake

Somehow I have made it through life without reading Rebecca, and I really want to. It sounds like her hair color isn't specified in the book, but many of the book covers and the actresses that portrayed the title character feature red hair. du Maurier was a strawberry blonde also.

I'm thinking of reading Haunted Ground by Erin Hart. Apparently, it involves a mysterious decapitated red-haired head found in a peat bog in Ireland. I liked the idea of a macabre take on the prompt.

Girl Abroad

If you are looking for fun reads try cartoon characters like
Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren, or
The cartoon and comic strip series Archie's Weird Mysteries Archie has a red headed boy written by Paul Castiglia,
Nickelodeon's cartoon and comic strip series called Rugrats in which they have a boy and his Dad named Charles and both were red-heads, Comic book is called Nickelodeon Rugrats the Newspaper Strips it is by various writers.
Looking for reads based on Dolls with red hair
Raggedy Ann and Andy Stories by Johnny Gruelle,
Looking for reads on red headed cats and dogs try
Clifford the Big Red Dog by Norman Bridwell, Garfield by Jim Davis, and Elmo, the friendly red monster from Sesame Street is by various writers.

I’m going with the Adventures of Tom Bombadil, just to get the nasty taste of Amazon’s Rings of Prime out of my head. lol

I am reading A Highland Christmas for the 2024 December mini and was reminded that Hamish McBeth is a red head so all of that series will work!

I remembered Ron Weasley but checking the list I can see that I am not alone in that😀

I have only read the first book in the Outlander series, which is listed under this prompt. Does the second book also have. redhead?

Thanks

Carol wrote: "I have only read the first book in the Outlander series, which is listed under this prompt. Does the second book also have. redhead?

Thanks"

Yes, because Jamie and Clare are the main characters in all of them.

Resisting the temptation to use an Anne book

Thanks @kerie lynn

Anne of Green Gables.

I want to read Scarlett by Marissa Myers and A Part of Your World by Jimerez.

Harry Potter (series) - the Weasley family are all ginger

Strands of Truth by Colleen Coble! Red hair MC and great book

The Weed that Strings the Hangman's Bag, by Alan Bradley



Second book in a terrific series, but easily read as a stand-alone. An important secondary character is red-headed.

Since there is a new Scarlett’s and Browne book by Jonathan Stroud coming out this year, I will most likely save this slot for that. The first two would work as well.

Any of the X-Files books would do 🤔

The Thirteenth Tale


Red headed twins

The main character in The Dictionary of Lost Words is a redhead. I unfortunately am reading it now!

Slewfoot would be a good one.

Angelina wrote: "The Thirteenth Tale


Red headed twins"

Thanks for the reminder! Haven't read this one off my own shelf in years. Looks like it's gonna be a re-read for me.

does anyone know if Katherine by Anya Seaton had red haor. the woman on the cover does!

West with giraffes has a red hair character loved the book I read it last year

Skeeter in The Help is strawberry blonde aka red hair😊

I’ll finally be reading Fable for this prompt!

I was pleasantly surprised by how many books I have on my TBR list to fit this prompt :)
Here is what I have to pick from:

*Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
*It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover
*Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
*Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
*Hocus Pocus & The All New Sequel by A.W. Jantha
*Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman
*Survive the Night by Riley Sager
*Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen
*The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman
*'Tis Herself by Maureen O'Hara
*Spare by Prince Harry
*The Pioneer Woman: Black Heels to Tractor Wheels by Ree Drummond
*Frontier Follies: Adventures in Marriage & Motherhood in the Middle of Nowhere by Ree Drummond

Now to decide which book to read :)
Hopefully these few books will help someone find a book to fit the prompt!!

HAPPY READING!!!!

Blood over Bright Heaven by M.L.Wang

Robyn, in the Strike series by Galbreath (really J K Rowling) has red hair.
So does Deborah in the Inspector Lynsey series, which is great if you like detective fiction.

I'm planning on reading My Lovely Wife

The Serpent and the Wings of Night/The Ashes and the Star-Cursed King by Carissa Broadbent would work!

I'm going to use The Third Gilmore Girl for this, since Kelly Bishop has red hair

Trista wrote: "I’ll finally be reading Fable for this prompt!"

I just read it last summer! It was a great adventure story!

I will probably choose The Thirteenth Tale which is a re-read with my book club.