Monday, March 19, 2012

What makes a good MC?

One of my favorite series is the Hex Hall series by Rachel Hawkins. The MC, Sophie Mercer is absolutely hilarious. I love her. Her voice is so sarcastic, and funny, I can't help but love her. What's funny about this, is that she seems so confident in her speech and relationships with people, but she is so insecure about her powers. She uses humor to make people think she's more confident, but deep down, she struggles. I've loved seeing her grow throughout the books and become more confident. And Rachel's writing keeps me coming back. She's hilarious. If you haven't been following her on Twitter, DO IT! She's so funny.


Another favorite MC, is Chloe Saunders from the Darkest Powers trilogy by Kelley Armstrong. I don't know why Chloe stood out to me so much. I think it's because of how shy and insecure she is in the beginning of the series and how much she grows toward the end. She grows a TON. She was so scared of her ability and didn't embrace it until the end of the series, when she realized how much potential she actually had. And her relationship with her love interest was so sweet. He wasn't the average swoon worthy, hotter than average guy. He was normal. A little less cute than most love interests in books. I loved their relationship and how protective they were of each other. And it wasn't love at first sight. Which is awesome. Great love story if you ask me.


And last but not least, I LOVED Isi from the Goose Girl by Shannon Hale. One of my all time favorite books and character's. I love how Shannon Hale writes an ordinary girl who has abnormal abilities and takes them through tough situations to discover their full potential. Enna Burning is also like this book, with crazy out of control powers, and learning to control them.  If you haven't read the Goose Girl, read it. It's so good. The love story is so sweet as well. Anything by Shannon Hale is AWESOME.


After thinking of some of my favorite characters, (And I didn't mention a LOT of them) I realized I'm drawn to the shyer ones. The ones that have to grow to realize their potential. The insecure girls who would rather stay in the background than be right in the middle of everything. The ones that are forced to be great, rather than choose it. I do love the strong heroine, like Katniss, but I can't relate to her as well, since she's so kick-butt and I'm well ... not. :) The characters that I hold dear are the ones that are more like me. I love watching them change from book to book. Or, from the beginning of a book to the end. The characters I think about long after I've closed a book are the greatest. And that's what I want for my own books. Hopefully I'll be able to accomplish that someday.

Who are some of your favorite heroes, heroines?

21 comments:

i'm erin. said...

I love Hex Hall too! It was one of my favs. And I think Chloe is freaking amazing. Great MCs.

Jessie Humphries said...

I can see that about you Chantele. I think you would be a great herione!

Jenny S. Morris said...

Ah, I don't think I will ever be able to read all the books I want to. Hex Hale sounds so fun. My husband's family deals with insecurities the same way. They are hilarious. I've had Goose Girl on my list forever.

I tend to like the opposite kind of heroine. They think they can do anything because they're tough like that, but in the end they realize they need other people to fulfill their full potential.

Leigh Covington said...

I haven't read any of those. *sigh* I've heard good things about 1 and 3 tho. And I'm excited about #2 now. Sound like fun characters. I agree - I'm easily drawn to characters that are more like me. It makes it easier to relate. :)

Ruth Josse said...

Haven't read the Darkest Powers trilogy, but I totally agree with your other picks. I think I like any character that has strength whether it be quiet and gentle or kick-A.

Nicole said...

Haven't read those, but I might have to check them out. I actually love the strong heroines! One of my all time favorites is Lessa from Anne McCaffrey's Pern series.

Jeigh said...

I LOVE Enna! She's one of my all time favorites. Also, Cimorene from Dealing with Dragons. I think I like outspoken, strong heroines because I'm so non-confrontational myself, so it's nice to live through someone else for a while.

K.S. Lewis said...

I love Chloe! She's one of my favorite MC's. I loved how she grew over the three books, and I completely appreciated the way the relationship developed.

I haven't read Hex Hall or Goose Girl, but now I really want to.

I'm a big fan of Nita from the So You Want to Be a Wizard series, and Daine from The Immortals series.

Amanda Olivieri said...

I've been meaning to pick up Hex Hall for a while! I keep hearing such good things about it. I like a mix of shy vs. strong heroines--I guess it depends on the book. I can definitely relate more to the shy ones though :)

Emily R. King said...

I enjoy a character who is so real I feel like I could bump into them on the street. I felt this way about Sophie Mercer.

Luanne G. Smith said...

Kelly Armstrong spoke at our local conference last year. I'm ashamed to say I didn't know at the time what a big deal she is. I've since learned how many books and devoted fans she has.

Angela Cothran said...

LOVE Shannon Hale!!! I've never read Hex Hall...hey, don't throw stuff at me! It is on my list :)

I think I might be a slut because I fall in love with almost every main character I read!

Meredith said...

How have I not read Goose Girl yet? I'm correcting that ASAP. I know what you mean about connecting to shy girls more--I definitely do that, too!

Jolene Perry said...

I loved Speak, and was right with her the whole time.

I also love Anna from Anna and the French Kiss - she was HILarious.

Melanie Stanford said...

I just wrote a post today about how I find Bella more relatable than Katniss, even though Bella gets a bad rap sometimes.

I loved the Darkest Powers books but I haven't read the others so I'll have to put them on my TBR pile. I was thinking of The Goose Girl for my daughter to read as well once she finishes Harry Potter.

Kelley Lynn said...

The darkest power series has been recommended to me by a number of people and now by the way you describe it it sounds like it might be a great comparison title for my current MS. Its the next one to read for sure :)

prerna pickett said...

I freaking love the Hex Hall series and I'm dying to read Spell Bound. Yeah, Sophie's a pretty awesome MC...I hope my characters are half as awesome.

Angela Brown said...

I have a tendency towards characters that are either strong and believable or start off a little shy but believably grown into somewhat of an acceptance of their path. I guess that's why I could relate to Katniss. She as sacrificial and strategic from beginning to end. I enjoyed Hermione because even though she started off somewhat cocky, it came from her strength of knowledge. There was still a great deal of underlying discomfort from being a muggle. But she grew into a beautiful young woman and powerful sorceress when all was said and done.

Maggie said...

Ok. I haven't read any of those you posted, so it looks like I better get busy! My favorite MCs, hmmm.... I loved Skeeter in The Help. She was kind of the underdog.

Sarah Tokeley said...

I like reading about characters who behave how I'd like to behave if I was brave enough :-)

Katie Dodge said...

Still haven't read any of these! I need more time in the day to make a dent in my TBR pile! But I'm kinda like you. I like weakness and growth in my heroines. :)