Top Ten Tuesday, as always, is hosted at my other blog — The Broke & the Bookish
This week’s topic: Top Ten Favorite Supporting Characters in Books
I suck at knowing which characters are TRULY minor/secondary characters and I realize I need to make note of these TRULY minor characters that I love when they come along.
The Books:
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (Loved Cinna and Rue. They both impacted Katniss in such a profound way).
Paper Towns by John Green ( I loved Radar (and Ben too) and their obsessive Wiki love and Radar’s Santa collection)
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell (Reagan isn’t SUPER minor but I had to include her because she really helps Cath come out of her shell but doesn’t try to change her!)
Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley ( I couldn’t choose between Al and Bert because both had such an impact on Lucy & Ed. They both left an impression on me)
Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins (Lola’s dads are MY FAVORITE EVER. They are so supportive and wonderful. I also want to give a shout-out to HEAVENS TO BETSY — the coolest dog ever.)
Just One Day by Gayle Forman ( Dee is an awesome friend to Allyson and I really loved him and how he kept it real)
Cinder by Marissa Meyer ( Iko is Cinder’s robot friend and I JUST LOVE IKO.)
This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales (Mel is this awesome bouncer at the club and he just is an all around awesome old man that I loved so much!)
Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta (Sigh Raffy and Chaz <3)
Honorable Mention: I didn’t know if they were minor enough but ROAR from Under the Never Sky series and Kenji from Shatter Me series!!
So tell me…do you love any of these supporting characters? Tell me some of YOUR favorites? Also, how do YOU define a “supporting” or “secondary” character?
Betty says
Be excited. I’m actually commenting through my phone. You know how big of a deal that is. You read my heart with Rue! I was so close to throwing her on my list. Yay for Cinna!!! <3
Jamie says
I’m impressed, doyke! THAT IS DEDICATION *slow claps* We are going to see Catching Fire together right?? I got really excited talking about THG. We’ll watch THG first, sob over Rue and eat ice cream…Alden’s of course.
Betty says
I am all for this plan. When does that come out??? I’m excited! Burrito bowls round 2. You also need to introduce me to Vampire Diaries??? And YOU need to be introduced to Switched At Birth. Sleepover time! hahaha
Shelly says
I have Cinder on my TBR list, and I’m really eager to get into it. I had a tough time figuring out my secondary characters too; but I tend to get too overly attached to the supporting cast making them often, more important than the main cast.
Jamie says
Cinder is SO GOOD! I hope you enjoy it when you get to it! Lots of great characters!
YES that happens to me TOO! So hard to distinguish between major/minor though! SIGH.
Tiff @ Mostly YA Lit says
Can we have some applause for Cinna, please? Also, Dee (he’s on my list, too)?
No fair including characters from Fangirl and This Song Will Save Your Life when they’re not even out yet! =p I’ve been WAITING for those books!
Jamie says
CINNA LOVE! <33
AH I'M SORRY I JUST COULDN"T HELP IT. That's how fantastic they are!! We must discuss when you read them!
Tiff @ Mostly YA Lit says
You’re on – too many amazing Sept releases – looking forward to your reviews!
Rose @ The Bedtime Bookworm says
Iko came so close to being on my list! I ended up replacing her with Balder from Going Bovine though. I really love Iko though.
Janita (Book, Interrupted) says
I love Cinna too! I put Johanna Mason on my list instead, but he would definitely be on par with her. I also put Iko on my list too XD I love her so much. She’s like every teenage girl in existence.
Alexia @ Adventures in Reading says
Okay so my list is largely populated with THG and HP (you haven’t finished yet so I won’t share that part of it) I’ll just share my Hunger Games list.
THG Trilogy
Finnick
Cinna
Annie (I know she was barely in there but I don’t care)
Johanna
Prim
Pretty sure this will be my Friday post.
DannyBookworm says
I did love Rue – she was a fantastic character who truly impacted Katnis – totally right my friend.
Iko is soo cute, so excited you mentioned her (or it?) and in this regard, I’d love to add Razor from The Iron Prince series – sooo awesome and equally cute!
Reagan was phenomenal!
Isabella @ Delicious & Fictitious says
Jellicoe Road, such a good choice! But there are so many great characters in that novel that I couldn’t pick one and had to instead choose a secondary character from another Melina Marchetta book haha.
Sara (of The Page Sage) says
Rue and Radar are the best! Also, Cinna is great, too, as are Lola’s dads. I’m looking forward to reading about Reagan once Fangirl comes out!
My TTT
Nicole @ WCW says
I almost went with Mel, but settled on Vicky instead! Mel was so close to making my list though. Rue, Cinna and Iko are also great choices, and I can’t believe I didn’t think of them! Great list this week!
michelle_etc says
Oh my gosh, I love that you have Lola’s dads and Dee on your list! Love love love them! And Raffy and Chaz — how hilarious was their banter? So adorable, those two. <3 Fab list!
Jen @ Pop! Goes The Reader says
Ah, Rue. Oh, what’s that? It’s just the sound of my heart breaking. She was one of the first characters I thought to add to my own Top Ten Tuesday list this week as well and I doubt I’ll ever be able to forget her. It’s a testament to Suzanne Collins’ writing that a relatively small character was able to make such an impact. I can’t count the number of times I’ve already seen Rue featured on other people’s Top Ten Tuesday lists this week!
I can’t speak to many of the other characters on your list this week as I’ve yet to read the books in question, but I absolutely cannot wait to read Fangirl, This Song Will Save Your Life and Jellicoe Road. I’ve particularly heard a lot made of the latter, and need to sit down and take the time to read it as it really sounds like one I would enjoy 😀
Lucy @ The Reading Date says
We have Dee in common – yay! And I love that you included Lola’s dads…they are wonderful. I need to re-read This Song Will Save Your Life but I remember Mel being awesome. Such a good book overall!
Christianna says
How the hell did I forget Cinna! He’s one of my favorite characters in HG! Well at least you didn’t forget him! I also put Iko on my list, she’s just awesome!
My TTT
Lee says
I have to agree about Iko. She was a great secondary character and friend in Cinder!
Holly says
I would definitely count Roar and Kenji as secondary/minor characters (I guess…I haven’t actually read book 2 of either of those series yet, so not sure if they are more prominent in those)
Pixie says
I had a hard time. I adore so many characters that getting my list down to just ten? Freakin’ hard. O_O Haha. Love your list even though I haven’t read most of the books yet (but they’re on my tbr–can’t wait to read Fangirl and Lola for sure!) I can’t believe I didn’t think of Dee. Ack. Loved him. Cinna is on my list! One of the best characters ever in my opinion.
I was going to say Roar also, but I didn’t know if he would’ve been considered too much of a main character or not like you said. I think in the first book he’d have been considered a supporting character because his role was more of a minor one there–but I heard he becomes more into the major role for the second? I hadn’t read the second just yet. 🙂 But he’s awesome! 🙂
Anyways, great list! Have a great week! <3
Pixie
The Bookaholic
Chrissi Reads says
Cinna and Rue are on my list too. I can’t believe I forgot Iko though. I love that character!
Wendy says
How do you always come up with such great TTT’s? I wouldn’t know what I would answer, I guess..
Andi says
This is a great list! I had trouble deciding what was a secondary character as well. I ended up picking people that were important to the story but not the main voice. Not sure if that is the definition, but I’m sticking with it. 🙂
My TTT List
tabithasbookblog says
I had a really hard time with this weeks topic! I was at a loss with whether or not a character played too large of a role to actually be a minor, and in the end I just went with the ones who weren’t the main character or focus of the plot!
But oh my goodness your list! Dee, Iko, and Lola’s dads were all favorites of mine and I wish I’d thought to include them in my list!
– Tabitha – My TTT
Cassie says
I’m just so mad at myself for forgetting both Cinna and Rue, and even Finnick! ARGH.
But I love IKO also!! <3 And you mentioning This Song Will Save Your Life anddd Fangirl characters gives me LOTS of hope for those books!
–Graffiti Moon is going on my fall list. END OF STORY.–
Brittany @ The Book Addict's Guide says
I can’t believe I forgot Cinna! I’m honestly kicking myself this morning haha.
Lola’s dads!! How great were they!?! Totally forgot about Lola at all! Sheesh. And I realized as soon as I went to bed last night that I forgot ALL about Reagan. Okay, your list is basically everyone I forgot haha! 🙂 (Iko too.)
Jacque says
Great Choice with Lola’s Dads. I never considered them, but I did include Anna and Etienne as secondary characters in Lola. I LOVED them in Anna and the French Kiss and was SUPER excited each time they appeared in Lola, even though Cricket and Lola were AWESOME in their own right.
Here is my TTT: http://jacquesbooknook.blogspot.com/2013/08/top-ten-tuesday-most-memorable.html
Decadent Kane says
I don’t think I’ve read most of these. LOL But I did see the hunger games- so I know who Rue is- great secondary list.
~Decadent
My Blog
Andrea @ Beauty but a Funny Girl says
Cinna, Rue, and Iko are definitely my favorites from this list. Okay… so maybe they’re the only novels from the list that I’ve actually read. 🙂
My TTT!
Brandyn says
I struggled with the whole “who exactly is a secondary character” question too. That’s why I didn’t put Isaac from tFioS or Roar from “Under the Never Sky”.
I wish I had thought of Lola’s dad’s (although I don’t know who they would have replaced).
Great List!
Maura says
I love Cinna! I really thought about putting Rue on my list too. I’d love it if you checked out my TTT http://wp.me/p1Rf2y-4r I love your blog! (:
Daphne says
I totally dropped the ball this week. I forgot to include anyone from Hunger Games & Harry Potter. But I totally included Iko, too! Mel is awesome, also, and I wanted to include Elise’s new friend at the club, but I couldn’t remember her name & was too lazy (and running late) to look it up. I’ve seen Reagan on a lot of lists & I should be starting that soonish…
Brandy says
I sometimes pull Jellicoe Road off the shelf just to read all the scenes with Raffy and Chaz.
Rebecca @ The Library Canary says
Iko and Roar made my list too! Cinna is such a good choice! I love him! Great list!
My Top Ten
Candice @ The Grown-Up YA says
Lola’s dads were flipping awesome! I loved how absolutely perfect they were! And Cinna… and Reagan.. and and… I want to redo my list! Or at least expand it to 20 people!!!
Brianna says
Fun topic. For me, supporting characters are best friend types or coworkers or pets. Of course, there are dozens of types of supporting characters – parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc., but usually whoever the sidekick of the main character is.
Christina (A Reader of Fictions) says
I ALMOST put Reagan on my list. She’s an awesome secondary character, but I ended up making it into ones I want to be besties with basically, so…I didn’t. Lol. DEE! I was going to put him on the list but couldn’t remember his name. I suck.
Ashley says
Cinnaa nd rue are the only ones I’ve read, but I’ll definitelyagree with those two.
Alice says
Cinner and Rue! Completely agree!
Jennifer aka YA Book Nerd says
I really liked Rue and Prim – they needed more time.
I loved Cinna!
elena says
<3 Cinna! Hmm, I would describe a supporting character as someone who isn't the main character or love interest. But like, if they take up a lot of page time a la Hermione and Ron in Harry Potter, I don't really consider them supporting characters?
Kaley @ Books Etc says
Good call on Cinna, Rue, and Lola’s dads! I loved her dads, too! 🙂
Emmah says
I haven’t read any of the books you mentioned above.
But one of my favorite supporting characters is Uriah from Divergent. SO mad they didn’t put him in the first movie.
Sandra @ Tea Between Books says
I only know Rue and Cinna. This is depressing! I really have to catch up on :p
Jessica says
I liked Iko a lot! And I’ve been really wanting to read Fangirl!
Jackie Lea Sommers says
Raffy and Chaz were #6 and #7 on my list!!
http://jackieleasommers.com/2013/08/26/most-memorable-secondary-characters/