Let The Characters Drive This Book Already

I like characters. I like them a lot.

In fact, they’re my favourite part of a book (although I’m partial to good writing and interesting plots too). But, when the prompt was “character driven” all I could think of was cars. And driving.

So I apologise in advance. I really do. But this is a gif filled post. My condolences to your eyeballs.

I’m linking up with The Broke and the Bookish for their incredibly awesome meme: Top Ten Tuesday. This is a meme involving lists, peoples. LISTS! I love lists.

This week’s prompt is: Top 10 Books For Readers Who Like Character Driven Novels

1. Zac and Mia by A.J. Betts

I was actually cautious of this book because, hello, cancer book?! I do have a shred of respect for my feels (not much, but some). I AM TIRED OF CRYING OVER BOOKS. Just kidding. I so am not. But I kind of absolutely loved this. Zac was like sponge cake, to Mia’s peanut brittle.

The book is completely about them and their cancerous journeys.

2. Sinner by Maggie Stiefvater

Yeah, yeah, you’re sick of me raving about Maggie Stiefvater. Do I always put at least one of her books on my lists? Um. I think so. But HEAR ME OUT!

Maggie Stiefvater’s books are always focused firstly on the characters. They pop off the page faster than pizza from a box into your mouth. I’m sorry about all the food references. And Sinner? It is one thousand percent about Cole and Isabel and their raucous journeys to stowing their snark for two seconds and remembering that they like each other.

3. Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas

I had to think about this one for 2.4 seconds. Is it more character focused or plot? It’s a thriller…so the plot is a huge deal. But without us inserting ourselves into these devious little teenagers minds we wouldn’t be a) so shocked at the outcome, and b) so emotionally traumatised, and c) STILL SITTING HERE SCREAMING BECAUSE…

How could it turn out that way?!

4. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz

I practically wear out my fingers every time I type that title. I’ve read poems that are shorter. (What? I really have! And have you read Ernest Hemingway’s shortest story of all? It is 6 words! SHORTER THEN THIS BOOK’S TITLE.)

But I digress.

This book is so character-focused it’s kind of slow for the first 50%. But then you’re completely immersed in their lives and there is no stopping. It’s also the most beautifully written book of ever.

5. Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock by Matthew Quick

This book is horrifically depressing and sad and unfair. It made me wail for quite a few nanoseconds.

I highly recommend it.

6. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Cath is also my book-world twin. She is. If I was in a book, I would probably be Cath (minus the Levi, but plus the peanut-butter-meals-instead-of-facing-the-cafeteria). That aside, this is also fantastically character driven because it is about Cath, who is an introvert, going to college and being a writer and feeling abandoned and being an introvert.

Did I mention introvert?

It is the best introverted representation I’ve ever read.

7. Messenger of Fear by Michael Grant

This book is wickedly a) freaky, b) awesome, c) characterised. Well, not all the characters are human. But that doesn’t matter, does it? How fussy are you going to be! It’s about Human Like Things, okay?!

8. Looking for Alaska by John Green

Interestingly enough this book actually involves An Incident With A Car. I won’t tell you more. SPOILERS, DUH. But least to say the entire novel is about several characters whose lives are tangled messes of teenage hormones and huge thoughts and infinities.

Wait! Not infinities. Wrong book. Where were my notes…

Oh yes, Great Perhapses. Sort of like infinities, but less infinite.

9. All The Truth That’s In Me by Julie Berry

This is about a girl who’s tongue has been mutilated, which is basically like Death of the Outcast in her 1800s Puritan village. (I really don’t like Puritans. Have you read The Witch of Blackbird Pond? The Puritans have serious meanness issues.)

Seriously, though, Judith takes a bit of warming up at first, but then she learns to absolutely stand up to the cruelty. I am proud of this girl. GO YOU!

10. Divergent by Veronica Roth

The entire book is Tris asking: “Who am I?” which would’ve been easily answered if she took a long holiday by herself…because (don’t they say) you figure out who you are when you’re not influenced by other people 24/7? If they don’t say it, maybe they should.

But no. Tris went the knife-throwing-boyfriend-punching-cake-eating route. It worked out.

Kind of.

By the way, I love all these books.

I recommend them to you by default.

Are your eyeballs okay? Not too overstimulated by crazy gifs? (Honestly, I don’t always do this. In fact, I try to have only 2 or 3 gifs per post unless I’m doing a specific gif review.) So calm your wee eyeballs sockets and freely admit to me: did you spend more time reading this or just watching the gifs again and again and again?

I am guilty of the latter. #5 is my favourite gif.

The books are good too.

your turn, my delightful blogglings! do you like your books to focus on characters heavily? or are you more of a plot-or-worldbuiling-type-person? agree with any on my list? what would be on your list?! (and link me your TTT posts if you wish it!)

Cait has been reading very hungrily today, since she started ALL THE BRIGHT PLACES. She’s been tweeting about it she’s so darn enthusiastic for this beautiful book. The only problem is: it doesn’t come out till January. She has to wait THAT LONG to tell you about it. (This is the part where she cries.) Darnit reading ARCs too early. In other news, she picked EON up from the library. Dragons, peoples, dragons.