Introverted Reader Features

Mary Hightower is one of the main characters in Everlost by Neal Shusterman. And I think part of the reason I want to write about her is because of that "Queen of Snots" moniker. My inner 12-year-old giggles every time. Mary is too good to be true, right from the beginning. She's a ruler in a limbo for children who've died but don't "get where they're going." They're stuck in a shadow of our world that they call Everlost. "Her" children are mostly very young, which is what gets Mary called the Queen of Snots. Mary rules a skyscraper and she has accumulated a smorgasbord of all the things that children love best. Okay, maybe not all the things, but everything she can get her hands on. There are tvs and video games and jump ropes and other children to play with. She even trades around to get the children real food, an almost-unheard-of luxury in Everlost. But you can't help but wonder what's in it for her. She's so...regally condescending?... that I was immediately waiting for her true colors to come bursting from behind her mask. No one is that good. No one. And this is coming from a goody two shoes. She is a sort of mother to all her children, even though she's only 14 or 15 herself. So I was wondering for a while if that was what she got out of it: unconditional love from "her children." But that doesn't seem to be it either. In her every scene I found myself inspecting her, trying to find out what her angle is. Oh, and she loves to write books full of advice for newcomers to Everlost. I wish I could better remember some of the things she writes. She's totally serious but she comes across…

Weaver Smith is not the main character in A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly (known as A Gathering Light to Brits), but he plays a big part. I would say that he's the faith of the story. Not religious faith, but faith in himself, in his friends, and their talents. Weaver is Mattie Gokey's best friend. I've written about Mattie in an earlier Character Connection. It's unusual enough for a girl and boy to be as close as they are in 1906, but what makes it really unusual is that Weaver is black. Luckily, he's living in upstate New York, so racism is not as prevalent as it would be if the story were set in, let's say, Mississippi. It's still there though. Weaver is actually from Mississippi, but after his father was murdered, his mother moved them up to New York. She is determined to give her son the best life that she possibly can. Weaver is making the most of his opportunity. He's brilliant and he's a hard worker. He's already earned a scholarship to Columbia, where he plans to eventually go into law. He and Mattie both love language and they play a synonym duel whenever they're together. He doesn't listen to the people around him who say that he's a black man and he will never be more than a field hand or janitor. He knows that there's a lot more in him than that. He has it within himself to change the world. He works at whatever he can in order to save money for college and to help his mother. He suffers his own setbacks in the story, but he is above them. He's going to pursue his dreams, come hell or high water. He's the first generation of his family to be born…

Francesca Giordano is the main character in Poison by Sara Poole. I can't write a better post than what I wrote in my review, so I'm just going to excerpt it here. Francesca was a great character. She's so very earnest in her narration. Her tone actually reminded me a little of Mary Russell, Sherlock Holmes' protégée. She's very confident in her abilities as a poisoner, but she soon realizes that she's up against a very clever opponent. She could have remained over-confident, but she adjusts her thinking. She's also living in a time when anyone outside the "norm" is a heretic and only fit for poverty and starvation at best. She's open-minded enough to learn the lessons that she needs to. She likes to kill and that disturbs her a little. She thinks of herself as a creature of the darkness. She doesn't realize that she's working for the light in a roundabout way. She can only think of her actions and her theological questions and assume that she's probably doomed. But she still continues to do her best. Who did you connect with this week? Link your post on Mr. Linky, then be sure to go check out the other Character Connections! Who do ya love? Or love to hate? You know you've got a lot to say about some larger-than-life characters, and this is the place to say it. Write a straightforward post. Draw a picture. Vlog, write poetry, write fiction, cast the role, be as creative as you want! Be sure to post the book's title and author, and be very careful not to give away spoilers while talking about how much you love your characters. Mr. Linky will be posted here on The Introverted Reader every Thursday. I have an affiliate relationship with Malaprop's, my…

Howl from Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones, is a bit of a difficult character to pin down. Early in the book, he strikes fear in the heart of the people of Market Chipping. They believe that he's there for evil purposes involving the hearts or souls of beautiful young women. He's obviously powerful. I mean, he lives in a moving castle, for goodness sake. He can exit into any of 4? 5? worlds out his front door just by turning a dial. But he can be awfully childish at times. When he gets a good fit of the sulks, he starts causing goo to ooze everywhere and other people have to run away or try to clean it up before it swallows them whole. Mature reaction there, right? He's got a good heart though and he can be counted upon to fight on the Good Side. It seems like his fights take an awful lot out of him and leave him a little closer to the Darkness than is strictly good for anyone though. He takes in strays like they're going out of style. He picks up Sophie, a young lady enchanted to look like an elderly woman, and kind of lets her run roughshod right over him. He puts up some fights, but mostly she does what she wants. His assistant is only 15, but he's an orphan whom Howl picked up nonchalantly.  He just sort of showed up and Howl never told him to leave. I just looked through the quotes on GoodReads and here are some good ones about Howl. "You must admit I have a right to live in a pigsty if I want." "I assure you, my friends, I am cone sold stober." "'I feel ill,' [Howl] announced. 'I'm going to bed, where…

Temeraire is the title dragon from His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik. Temeraire isn't supposed to be fighting for the British. He just happened to be commandeered as an egg after the French ship that was transporting him lost a battle. He hatches on board the British ship and sort of imprints on Captain Will Laurence. In this world, dragons are huge and used in the Napoleonic wars. The smaller ones can be likened to fighter jets and the bigger ones are more like bomber planes with big crews running around on them. As Temeraire grows, he develops more personality than anyone else in the books. Well, at least in the first two in the series, which is all I've read so far. He has the dignity of a cat. He expects to be fed when he demands it. He doesn't understand waiting on anyone else. He wants to be pampered and adored. But he also has a little bit of--oh, let's say Labrador Retriever about him. He's unfailingly loyal, he loves a good rub, and he likes to go fishing. It's an odd mix but it works in him. Like all dragons, Temeraire does love his bling. He's a free thinker. He never accepts an answer like, "That's because it's always been done that way." He wants to know why. If he thinks he has a better way, he won't let his idea go. I believe he got interested in books when Captain Laurence started reading to him. He starts requesting books and learning about literature and mathematics. When he goes to China he learns to write. A dragon interested in self-improvement. Who knew? When he goes to China, he gets all kinds of radical ideas. The dragons there aren't treated as glorified weapons of war. They have useful…

Teddy Daniels is a U.S. Marshal and the main character in Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane. There's a lot going on with Teddy and it's going to be hard to write about him without giving away spoilers. I will do my best. Teddy is the strong silent type. He's been sent to Shutter Island, an asylum for the criminally insane, to search for an escaped inmate. A mother of a storm is blowing up, but that doesn't deter him. He has his own reasons for wanting to check out the island and the residents. His partner is new to him, Chuck Aule. On the ferry ride, Chuck and Teddy strike up a fairly easy camaraderie by doing a quick little check of location and unit served during World War II. I loved their interactions. Teddy is haunted by memories of his wife. (I can't even remember her name. Dora? Something like that.) Seriously. He's repressing too much around her memory and his psyche is not handling it well. He lapses into thoughts of her at the oddest times and has very intense dreams about her despite trying not to think about her. He just doesn't seem to be able to move on. Teddy realizes that something strange is happening on this island pretty quickly. He's not getting much real help from anyone in his investigation and the escape doesn't make any sense. But Teddy is hard core and goes all out to find out what happened. A hurricane doesn't even stop this man. He's out doing what needs to be done in the pelting rain and roaring wind. He keeps finding cryptic clues in odd locations. He's a fantastic investigator, making intuitive leaps that you just know have to be right. He's also learned to trust no one and nothing.…

Ed Kennedy, from I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak, is an underage cab driver with no prospects. He's the very picture of your average young man. But someone has chosen him to carry out some tasks that require him to be anything but average. He has been chosen to make a difference in the lives of some complete strangers. Ed starts really noticing what's going on around him, and acting to fix what he can. How hard is it for most of us, wrapped up in own our thoughts, dreams, and worries, to notice what's going on around us? He has a small group of under-achieving but loyal friends. They get together and play cards at night. They play soccer together. They get into fights together. They are practically family. They are hysterical. One of his friends is a girl named Audrey. Ed wishes that she was more than a friend. He has it bad for her. I don't mean in a "You're so beautiful, let's have sex" kind of way. He loves her with all that he is and all that he could be. She has been hurt and she's not looking for that kind of relationship. They're both afraid of messing up their friendship. Ed develops into a bit of a philosopher. Here are a couple of my favorite quotes "It's not a big thing, but I guess it's true--big things are often just small things that are noticed." "Sometimes people are beautiful. Not in looks. Not in what they say. Just in what they are." They make you think, don't they? He also has a very choppy style that I keep unconsciously imitating. Ack! I know that Ed was funny and smart enough and loyal and brave and a little broken himself. But what really defines…