May contain book spoilers.
Books are diverse: one could be similar to another while, at the same time, being vastly different. This could be explained by authors having their own way of thinking and their own views of the world. And with that comes a variety of characters.
When it comes to reading, characters can be as simple as an animal that doesn’t talk but shows itself through its actions. Or even a character having an accent because of where they were from or where they are in the book.
What are book characters that have big personalities and create a form of understanding or fondness for them?
In my mind, these are the diverse characters in fantasy that create personality.
Dorothy Must Die is committed to the endeavors of Oz. Amy Gumm, a persistent girl, is swept up by a tornado. And instead of what she expected she’s met by evil. All is upside down, witches are no longer the villains, and the characters that once were good no longer show cruelty to all Oz. Scarecrows, tin woodsmen, and lions, oh my! She’s particularly important to the book because she is careful to make decisions, and instead of pretending that nothing is happening she faces it head on and helps Oz, even while met by characters she doesn’t truly trust, she still wants to help a place she’s not tied to.
Alice in Zombieland, an ending as great as a beginning. And a plot even thicker. Ali Bell grieves the loss of those she cared deeply for and now is pushed to a new location. She doesn’t believe the truth of what’s happened. Now, she’s even being faced with a new school. Where she meets Kat Parker, a kind girl, with secrets just as anyone. With great strength and determination, she protects the ones she loves. Ali isn’t going to let the people she’s some to trust be hurt by things that should be legends, she wants to believe it’s all a lie, just as anyone would. She’s placed with responsibility, but still keeps quiet about it. It provided the reader with a character to sympathize with.
Shiver is a book in the view of Sam, a wolf, who is as in-depth as one can get. However, he is a wolf with a guilty conscience. He is intelligent with just as tragic a path as any, but also, even as a mythical creature, he’s faced with a past that could’ve happened to another. He’s a character that people could relate to.
Ruby Red is all about time. Gweneth Shepherd is simply a girl in the shadow of her cousin, who had been bred into the gene, and learned what to do. Though, instead she is the one who gets the gift of being able to travel in time. She’s scared, the life she knew would be gone, and now she’s faced with learning everything her cousin had learned since her birth. She’s experiencing emotions, she doesn’t act based on how she thinks others will act, even if her cousin could do it better, she acts with the fear in mind.
Guest focuses on Mollie’s hatred for a changeling that was replaced for her brother. She’s hostile towards the Changeling, Guest, she hates the ways he looks, and how he acts as an infant too. So, of course she’s more than willing to risk a dangerous journey to trade Guest for her little brother. Even when Guest attempts to save her she ignores him and continues on. Later she finds out that he had been right, and that it will turn out to be mandatory that she listen. Molie is a character that people can place themselves in. While blinded by hate she doesn’t trust Guest.
None of these characters are exactly the same. When put into a life or death situation all of them respond differently. Amy Gumm is ready to help, though she doesn’t belong to Oz, she’s compassionate and sees the ruins that Oz has been put through, and even without trust she’s ready to help. Ali Bell is pushed toward fighting because if she doesn’t the people she cares for will get hurt, and makes her decisions for them, even making it her priority. Sam believes there’s no antidote, and remembers the past, as the cold brings about his changing into a wolf, and wants to have no regrets before his wolf form is permanent, accepting his believed fate. Mollie hates Guest, she’s never actually seen him as her brother, or imagined his side of things, she just hates him because her brother was taken by his kind. The characters are all pushed through different means, even putting their life on the line to help others, or simply accepting what’s coming.
