The Secondary Characters Blog Hop!

Hola readers! If you follow my blog and check out my reviews you may have noticed a definite PATTERN. I love my secondary characters. Like REALLY love them, often more so than the main characters. I know that by definition a secondary character is meant to complement the major characters and help move the plot forward. But what about the Tiny Cooper's of the world? What about the Kenji Kishimoto's or the Magnus Bane's?? What happens when those characters, meant to serve in a secondary role, end up totally stealing the show (and my heart?) What happens? You celebrate them! You give them their due and their own special day of recognition with a blog hop! 

I recently wrote a post on my love of secondary characters while researching I discovered I was not alone in my feelings. I came across writer Leigh Covington's blog and discovered her Secondary Characters Blog Hop. So, you know I had to sign up:)  

Because I just published a post on my secondary character addiction I thought as my part of the hop I would re-publish that post for all you hoppers and anyone who may have missed it the first time. Writing that post turned out to be a true labor of love and I hope you enjoy it. 

And afterwards be sure to hop to all the other participating blogs. You can find the list and links HERE. :)

More Than Just Second Fiddle...On My Love of Secondary Characters

What do Han Solo, Magnus Bane, Duckie Dale and Finnick O'Dair have in common? 

They are all shining examples of unforgettable secondary characters in fiction (or in Duckie's case, film.) If you are a reader of this blog than my love of secondary characters is WELL documented. Some of my closest bloggy friends often tease me about how I have fallen, yet again, for another secondary character. In fact, I often find myself falling harder for the secondary, supporting characters  than the main characters. Does this happen to you too? It would appear that I am not alone in my feelings. Do a search on secondary characters and you will find a ton of articles and lists written by people just like me, people who can't get enough of the supporting characters found in fiction. Here is a link to a post entitled "When Secondary Characters Attack."  I even found a Secondary Character Blog Hop beginning this month for people like me! So, it seems I am in good company.

First a few facts. A secondary, supporting or minor character in fiction and literature can be defined in a number of ways. But most source's agree that they are written to complement the major characters and help move the plot events forward. A supporting character is meant to enhance the story and add depth and dimension to the plot or the main character(s). And I have found that most of my favorite secondary characters also add an element of comic relief. Give me a book with humor over dull and dry any day. Author Katie McGarry (Pushing the Limits and Dare You To) admits to sometimes enjoying the writing of secondary characters more than her main characters:

 Don't get me wrong, I have plenty of love for my hero and heroine, but sometimes I come across a secondary character who steals my heart or just makes me laugh. 

Yes! My sentiments exactly. Furthermore, what I have discovered is that the books that I enjoy, especially the books that I REALLY, REALLY love and connect with, almost always feature strong secondary characters. And yes, sometimes they do overshadow my love for even the book's main characters (which Rachel Burkot, assistant editor for Harlequin's Romantic Suspense line, termed the "Epic Secondary Character Eclipse Phenomena.") 

Loving secondaries as much as I do has really made me try to think about them more critically. And I've found that most of my favorite secondaries can be categorized into one of four groups: the sidekick character; the quirky/ eccentric character;  the mysterious and/ or charismatic character and the villain or antihero character. And I have favorite secondaries that fall into each of these groups.

Samwise Gamshee in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy

The sidekick is the classic supporting character: think Dr. Watson to Sherlock Holmes or Samwise Gamshee to Frodo Baggins. The term sidekick makes me feel very action/ adventure-y, Han Solo to Luke Skywalker, for example, but doesn't necessarily have to be. Sidekicks can be full of dry, sarcastic humor in addition to being supportive, brave, wise, and, very often, self sacrificing.









Favorite secondary sidekick characters:

• Kenji Kishimoto (Shatter Me and Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi)
• Carswell Thorne and Iko (Cinder and Scarlet by Marissa Meyer)
• Finnick O'Dair (Catching Fire and Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins)
• Roar (Under the Never Sky, Liv and Roar and Through the Ever Night by Veronica Rossi)
• Benebic "the Beast" Waroch (Grave Mercy and Dark Triumph by R. L. LaFevers)
• Zuzanna  (Daughter of Smoke and Bone and Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor)
• Kim (If I Stay by Gayle Foreman)
• Hassan Harbish (An Abundance of Katherines by John Green)
• Cokie Coquard (Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys)
• Dove and Corr (The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater)

The Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll.

The quirky/ eccentric  character is almost always humorous in some way. They are also often artsy or odd. Sometimes they are seen as an outcast or a misfit, like our friend Duckie Dale above or the eccentric Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland.

Favorite quirky eccentric secondary characters: 

• Uncle Big and Sara (The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson)
• D'Angelo (Dee) (Just One Day by Gayle Forman)
• Calla (The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater)
• Malachi Wolfe (Bloodlines, The Golden Lily and The Indigo Spell by Richelle Mead)
• Grimalkin and Ironhorse (The Iron Fey and The Call of the Forgotten Series by Julie Kagawa)
• Clive the Cat (Wallbanger by Alice Clayton)

Boo Radley (and Scout) in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

The mysterious character is just what the terms imply. He or she may be benevolent or malevolent and there is an element of the unknown  that always keeps the reader guessing.  A classic example would be Boo Radley from To Kill a Mockingbird.

Favorite secondary mysterious characters:

• Phen and Angela (Unearthly, Hallowed, Radiant, Boundless by Cynthia Hand) 
• Ronan (The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater)
• Tool (Ship Breaker and The Drowned Cities by Paolo Bacigalupi)
• Orma (Seraphina by Rachel Hartman)
• Jaguar (The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepard)
• Yolande (Sunshine by Robin McKinley)
• Brimstone (Daughter of Smoke and Bone and Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor)

Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte.

The charismatic character is often mysterious, or they may just be a character that you can't help but like, even if he or she isn't written to be the most likable. Maybe he or she is a criminal or a liar, or perhaps a sexy heartbreaker. Maybe they are ALL three. There is just something about them that fascinates the reader.

Favorite charismatic secondary characters:

• Magnus Bane (The Mortal Instruments Series and The Infernal Devices Series by Cassandra Clare)
• Kaleb (Hourglass and Timepiece by Myra McEntire)
• Sybella (Grave Mercy and Dark Triumph by R.L. LaFevers)
• Ridley (Beautiful Creatures Series by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl)
• Santangelo (Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta)
• Cosme (Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson)
• Barron Sharpe (White Cat, Red Glove and Black Heart by Holly Black)
• Gargarin (Froi of the Exiles and Quintana of Charyn by Melina Marchetta)
• Thomas McKee and Jimmy Hailler (Saving Francesca and The Piper's Son by Melina Marchetta)
• Cole St. Clair (Linger and Forever by Maggie Stiefvater)

Professor Severus Snape in the Harry Potter series  by J.K. Rowling

And finally, the villain or antihero. This is the bad guy (or girl) that you love to hate. Or it is the character that has always been presented as the villain, having no heroic qualities,  but in the end turns out to be more redeemable than expected. Professor Snape in the Harry Potter books is who I think of when I think antihero.

Favorite secondary villain/ antiheroes: 

• Froi (Finnikin of the Rock, Froi of the Exiles and Quintana of Charyn by Melina Marchetta)
• DeMalo (Blood Red Road and Rebel Heart by Moira Young)
• Samjeeza (Unearthly, Hallowed, and Boundless by Cynthia Hand)
• Willie Woodley (Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys)
• Jackel (The Immortal Rules and The Eternity Cure by Julie Kagawa)

You can probably see how many secondary characters fall into more than just one of these categories. And the ones that fall into all of them? Well, those are your SHOW STEALERS.

There are several secondaries that I have already listed who I would consider a show stealer. But if I had to choose just one? That's actually easy:

• Tiny Cooper (Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green)

(That book should have been called Tiny Cooper, Tiny Cooper.)









And I have to give a shout out to a few recent characters I have met that have grabbed my attention in a BIG way. Be on the look out for these secondaries in the coming months:

• Toby (The Beginning of Everything by Robyn Schneider)
• Sturmhond (Siege and Storm by Leah Bardugo)
• Ringer (The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey)

One thing I liked about putting this post together was seeing all the connections. Here's one:  a handful of the secondaries listed above have gone on to play larger roles or become the 'star' of their own book. This, of course makes me VERY HAPPY:)

• Froi (main character of Froi of the Exiles and Quintana of Charyn by Melina Marcehtta)
• Thomas McKee (main character of The Piper's Son by Melina Marchetta)
• Kaleb (main character of Timepeice by Myra McEntire)
• Magnus Bane (main character of The Bane Chronicles by Cassandra Clare)
• Sybella and Beast (main characters of Dark Triumph by R. L. LaFevers)
• Ronan (larger role in The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater)
• DeMalo (larger role in Rebel Heart by Moira Young)
• Phaedra (larger role in Quintana of Charyn by Melina Marchetta)
• Cole St. Clair (larger role in Forever by Maggie Stiefvater)

Something else that is evident: John Green and Melina Marchetta ROCK at crafting amazing secondary characters.

Green excels at writing quirky, often adorably nerdy, always funny, charismatic, show stealing sidekicks likeHassan Harbish from An Abundance of Katherines,  Radar and Ben from Paper Towns, the Colonel fromLooking for Alaska and, of course, the indomitable Tiny Cooper from Will Grayson, Will Grayson.

Melina Marchetta is surely the queen of creating unforgettable characters all around. And her secondaries hold just as much weight as her primary characters. Multi-layered, fully fleshed, mysterious and magnetic characters likeFroi, Quintana, Trevanion, Tesadora, Phaedra, Lirah, Gargarin and Lucian from The Lumatere Chronicles. And Thomas McKee, Tara Finke, and Jimmy Hailler from Saving Francesca and The Piper's Son. Lastly, Santangelo from Jellicoe Road.

Another interesting factoid, when you break down my list of favorite secondaries by gender:

• 34 are males
• 15  are females

(Hmmm...that might be a topic for another post as well:)

There you have it! An examination of why I am, and will always be, in love with a well written secondary character, "Epic Secondary Eclipse Phenomena" be damned;) So, who is you fave secondary? Who did I leave off my list that deserves a spot? I'll take all the amazing secondaries recommendations you can throw my way!

And a little more Duckie for the road....

(Hey, you know Iona is a pretty great secondary character from Pretty in Pink too!
 And James Spader's character and Dweezil Zappa's character...;)

Image sources: 
Han Solo, Magnus Bane, Duckie Dale, Finnick O'Dair, Samwise Gamjee, The Mad Hatter, Boo Radley and Scout, Heathcliff, Severus Snape

Coming in June! 
Click for info on how you can join in:)

Cover me, I'm Going In...My Top Ten Favorite Book Covers of Books I've Read

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

I am definitely a visual type person. I have a degree in art history and used to work as a curator at a museum of art so that would make sense, right? So, yes, book covers matter to me. I even have a Pinterest board of book covers I love. 

You can find that HERE, by the way. It features the covers here as well as favorites of books I haven't read yet:)

Behold my Cover Love....

(in no particular order)

1. The Summer I Became a Nerd

by Leah Rae Miller

This cover brings out the girly-girl in me. LOOK at those shoes! 

And those bracelets! Pardon me while I wipe the drool from my chin...

Look, here is me this past weekend at Hangout Fest rocking my own set of bracelets (and a frozen margarita! :)

2. Wild Awake

by Hilary T. Smith

I absolutely LOVE the colors on this cover. 

The oranges and slashes of purple are like a beautiful, hazy sunset. 

And that chick looks cool all rocking out too:)

3. Uses for Boys

by Erica Scheidt

I'm a romantic. 
I have a Tumblr page for the blog which is about 90% kissing photos
 (don't judge!)

This photo with all the twinkly lights is so swoony.

4. September Girls

by Bennett Madison

Told you I love kissy photos:)

Is this gorgeous or what?

 Come on, even the most grumbly and jaded of people have got to think this one is cool. 

5. Lovely, Dark and Deep

by Amy McNamara

How gorgeous is this? It could be an Ansel Adams print.

And if you look very closely the snowflakes down by the girl look like the pretty paper cut out kind. 

Seriously, I'd hang this on my walls at home. 

6. Things I Can't Forget

by Miranda Kenneally

I love all of Kenneally's book covers, those people over at Sourcebooks Fire have done an outstanding job. 

But this sweet one is my fave of the bunch:)

I love how all of the covers are shot without showing the model's faces too. 

7. Tiger Lily

by Jodi Lynn Anderson

More orange! You know everything about this cover rocks. The orange dress that resembles a flower (or tiger lily.)  

The beautiful, whimsical font, perfect for an Indian maiden from Neverland, don't you think? 

No faces (always a plus because what if my vision of Tiger Lily doesn't look like the model??) 

Just a great, great job on the cover of this one. The cover matches the beautiful writing on the pages inside:)

8. Life as We Knew It

by Susan Beth Pfeffer

Gah! How freaking awesome is this cover? And not just that incredible moon. 

Look at that lake and that beautiful house in the distance with just one light on? 

Amazing!

9. The Curseworkers Series

by Holly Black

Not always a fan of cover revamps (and for the record, I liked the old covers of this series just fine)

 but these new covers of this awesome series are WORKS of ART. 

Beautiful. 

10. Sisters Red

 by Jackson Pearce

I love, love, love graphic inspired covers and this is one of the best I have ever seen. It's also got some optical illusion stuff going on which is just a bonus, you know? Love the colors. Love the wolf. Love the font. GORGEOUS. 

And you know TEN is not enough so....

11. Five Flavors of Dumb

by Antony John

This is such a BAD ASS cover. Look at that chick. Is she rocking that look or what? Can I jump inside the cover and be her for a little while? Please? I'm a music lover so this cover is PERFECT. 

There you have it. My Top Ten  Eleven favorite covers of books I've read. 

Did any of these make your list? Link me up so I can check out your faves too:)

Coming in June! 

Click for info on how you can join in:)