This week is freebie week for Top Ten Tuesday! Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature created by The Broke and the Bookish. This week I’m going to feature some books with strong character voices that I really connected with.
1. Adam (The Unlikely Hero of Room 13B by Teresa Toten)
I read this novel very recently and Adam’s character and his voice really made this book for me. He’s probably one of my favourite protagonists of all time and I couldn’t stop rooting for him.
2. Simon (Carry On by Rainbow Rowell)
Another one of my favourite characters, I mostly love Simon because of his voice. He’s so incredibly funny and adorable, and I sped through this 500 page book because Simon’s voice was so great. I also really loved Baz’s voice too!
3. Todd (Chaos Walking by Patrick Ness)
The thing that you notice immediately when you read the Chaos Walking trilogy is Todd’s voice and the unique writing in the book. It’s very distinctive and really shows who Todd is as a character.
4. Max (Max by Sarah Cohen-Scali)
The thing that made Max such a wonderful book for me was the main character, Max’s, voice. He’s arrogant and vocal about his opinions but that’s kind of why I love him. His character and personality really come through his voice and it was just so interesting to read from the perspective of a fetus and really young child.
5. Solomon (Highly Illogical Behavior by John Corey Whaley)
Solomon is an agoraphobic who hasn’t left his house in over three years. But that doesn’t make him a boring character. He was such a funny and interesting person and that really came through in his voice. I thought the writing in this book was super strong.
6. Simon (Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli)
Simon is hilarious. He’s somebody that you automatically connect with from the very first chapter. He has a great personality and his voice is extremely relatable.
7. Audrey (Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella)
Audrey is a 14 year old girl who suffers from severe anxiety and depression but she doesn’t come across that way in the book because her voice is so unique and interesting. You can feel her anxiety and shyness but at the same time, you also can feel that she’s a sarcastic and fun-loving character.
8. Frankie (Frankie by Shivaun Plozza)
If you’re looking for a spunky character with lots of sass and attitude, Frankie is the girl for you. Her voice is feisty and sassy and makes her a character who you can’t turn away from.
9. Allyson (Just One Day by Gayle Forman)
Allyson can seem like a little bit of a bland character to some, but to me, she’s so full of life and her voice was completely relatable. I really connected with her character and I thought her voice was really, really strong.
10. Alice (The Stars at Oktober Bend by Glenda Millard)
In this novel, Alice has been through a traumatic incident and now has trouble expressing herself verbally. So she writes poetry to express herself. This book was super interesting and had a great mix of prose and poetry. Alice’s voice and personality was so unique and strong in this book, and is the main reason why I loved it so much!
What are some of your favourite character voices?
I’ve been curious about “Finding Audrey,” but haven’t ever read it. One of these days I need to, especially since Sophie’s books seem like my kind of read. Great list and topic! 🙂
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Finding Audrey is just such a funny and lighthearted book, even though it explores depression and anxiety. I love Sophie Kinsella’s humour and I really want to read more by her!
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Such a great list 🙂 I absolutely adored Solomon’s voice. I also agree with Simon too!
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All these characters have such great and distinctive voices. They’re definitely not forgettable.
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Great topic! Although I read My Education by Susan Choi years ago (and didn’t rave about it at the time), the characters stick in my mind – a good indication of how well they were written!
Here’s my TTT (not as literary focused as yours, I’m afraid!) – https://booksaremyfavouriteandbest.wordpress.com/2016/06/28/mixtape/
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Ooh I haven’t heard of My Education but will definitely look it up! I love any book with unforgettable characters!
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Simon was so, so relatable, I definitely agree. He’s one of my favorite bookish characters! 🙂
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Me too! He’s just so damn loveable!
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I loved both Simons voices in Carry On and in Simon vs. I do agree that Baz is awesome as well.
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Simons are just awesome! I will definitely be looking out for other awesome Simons in YA 😀 Ahhh I want to reread Carry On so badly right now!
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You are the contemporary reading queen *bows*
I love Todd’s voice, as you would know, but at the moment because I am reading The Book Thief all I can think is Death’s narrative voice is my most favourite ever. Why is there not a spin off to this book?! He should get to narrate a whole series of heartbreaking novels.
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You flatter me *accepts crown anyway*
Omg it’s been years since I’ve read The Book Thief but Death’s voice is definitely distinctive and unforgettable. And whoa that’s a great idea! He should totally just write multiple books about different people and events, narrated by Death. You should suggest that to his publisher 😀 I would read them HAHA
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I think I’m gonna adore Frankie. I don’t think I’ve read a lot of spunky female narrators. Most of them just come off bland and too serious for me.
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Frankie is so badass and feisty. Her attitude is amazing and I adore her to death!
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Great list! I love Todd so much.
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Gahhh Todd. He’s amazing. Sometimes I still hear “Viola Viola Viola” in my head and it gives me chills XD
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One of my favorite character voices is Jane Eyre– there’s so much personality in her narration, especially at the end. I love when characters seem to be talking directly to the reader!
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I really need to reread Jane Eyre. It was a required text for English when I was 13 and I hardly remember anything about it. It’s definitely a classic that I should reread at some point though.
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AAAAH! I absolutely LOVED Audrey too. She was a brilliant character, even though the ending of Finding Audrey was too sunshine and rainbows for me.
Lovely List, and have an amazing day!
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Yeah I agree. It was a little bit too sunshine and rainbows at the end. But I really loved the humour in the book and how it was actually a really lighthearted story despite it focusing on some pretty heavy topics.
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I love this topic! I haven’t read any of these books, though I am definitely going to check out some of them now 🙂
My TTT.
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Awesome! I’m glad I’ve convinced you to check some of them out 🙂
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All of these books are on my tbr pile and I literally have no idea which book to prioritise. I’m told the Chaos Walking trilogy is amazing and since I’m making it my mission to read at least on Patrick Ness book this might be a good series to start with. I’ve also been on a major history kick this year and the concept of Max keeps drawing me in.
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You should definitely start with Chaos Walking if you want to get into Patrick Ness. It’s absolutely amazing and I binged the whole trilogy. It’s super unique and one of my favourite dystopian series I’ve read. You could also start with A Monster Calls as well since it’s much shorter and the movie will be out really soon!
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Nice List!
Here’s a link to my TTT post for this week:
http://captivatedreader.blogspot.com/2016/06/top-ten-tuesday-freebie-week-things-i.html
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Thanks for visiting 😀
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Sadly, I haven’t read any of these books but I love this topic! This is one you should suggest to B&B for everyone to do. I think everyone would have tons of books for their lists. 🙂
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Thanks Deanna! I’m glad you liked the topic and I’ll try to email B&B about it if I remember 🙂
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I am really excited to read Carry On because of Simon and Baz! I’m glad to see they have such unique voices, I’m sure I’ll also be speeding through the novel because of it!
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YAY! I hope you can pick up Carry On really soon! It was in my top 10 of last year and I’m actually dying to reread it in the next few months. I’ve missed them so much!
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Great post. I have always paid more attention to the character in general than the voice of the speaker. I should read more carefully now.
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I feel like it’s usually the voices of the characters that make them memorable for me. It’s definitely what stands out the most to me about characters that I love.
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You forgot about the voice of Jenna. She says popular things like “Excuse you–why have’t you read All The Light Yet?” Naturally.
Cheers,
Joey via. thoughts and afterthoughts.
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And excuse me but why haven’t you read it yet?! Despite me telling you every single week?
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I think my favourite was definitely Baz’s voice, it was so hilarious! You definitely picked up some great character voices here including Audrey. I have Highly Illogical Behaviour to pick up from the library, so excited!
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YAY! I think you’re going to love Highly Illogical Behaviour and the characters in it, Jeann! Can’t wait to see what you think about it!
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I’ve only read Audrey from here, but I’ve been dyiiiing to read Simon & Frankie, especially! I love sassy, spunky heroines!
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I do too! Sassy characters make everything much more fun! I love them so much ❤
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