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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…