Beloved Characters

When I read a book, I get so emotionally attached to the characters, as though they are real people that I’ve come to know. I know other people must feel this way too, which is why it baffles me when people say they don’t enjoy reading. How can you not?! You’re introduced to these characters that make you laugh and cry, and you experience this adventure with them that will stick with you for the rest of your life. I cannot be the only one who snorts in amusement at something a character says, or clenches the edges of the cover in exasperation when they do something particularly stupid. The people in the stories you read are what make the stories. Without a strong sense of the narrator, there’s something missing from the book. When you have a monotone, boring main character (cough, Twilight, cough), it makes the whole plot seem to be lacking. You don’t spend your free time voluntarily with someone you dislike, so why would you want to read a book with a dislikable main character?

Sometimes, you run across a character that just speaks to you. I have, certainly, and it makes a goofy smile spread across my face whenever they have a particular scene specifically oriented around them. Whether it’s because the character is so alike yourself, or the person you want to be, or maybe one of your loved ones that they remind you of, or just because they’re quirky, some characters you get attached to more than others. And when something terrible happens to them in the story, it’s like your world falls apart alongside theirs.

One character I will never forget goes by the name Taylor Barclay, who is not the main character but plays an important role in Elizabeth Norris’ Unraveling series. He’s incredibly smart, quick-thinking, protective, and the biggest smart-ass I’ve ever read about. He immediately captured my attention with his wit, and quickly became one of my all-time favorite fictional characters.

***MAJOR SPOILERS BELOW***

And then he died, and I bawled like a baby. I still cannot get over the fact that his death happened in the last book, and it makes me so angry because I was so attached to his character, and because his death was completely and totally unnecessary. In my previous blog post, I talked about how endings can sometimes seem like they fit the story perfectly, and other times they leave the reader disappointed. This was the latter. The ending could have been exponentially improved had Barclay survived, and the fact that he didn’t just ruined the rest of the story for me. I may be biased, but I was so heartbroken over the fact that he died. Granted, this was a darker tale theme underlying both books in the series, but I couldn’t fathom at all that he was the one to take the brunt of the problems. It completely took me off guards, which I must give kudos to Elizabeth Norris, because an unexpected ending is not something I come across often, as well as how attached she managed to make me to Barclay. That is a sign of a brilliant writer, as well as a brilliant novel. I recommend it fully to anyone interested in the sci-fi genre.