1. Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee - I expect him to show up on nearly everyone's list. How could he not? He's kind, patient, thoughtful and moral. He is everything I should strive to be, even if I am rarely able to reach his level on any of the points. Really, I almost feel like I could end the list here.
2. Thursday Next from the Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde - She's strong and tough, works for the Literary Detectives (LiteraTechs), is intensely loyal and unwaveringly moral. She doesn't really have Atticus's patience but she makes up for it with humor. Plus she can kick a lot of ass.
3. Lilith from the Lilith's Brood series by Octavia Butler - She has a strong sense of what is right and wrong in very uncertain times. Like when Earth has been destroyed and your living with a group of aliens that are going to alter the human race in such a way that there will no longer be humans but instead a new species. The book has a lot of gray areas and Lilith is forced to make tough decisions over and over again. Her choice was almost never the one I would have made, but it was usually the better one.
4. Liesel Meminger, and Hans and Rose Hubermann from The Book Thief by Markus Zusak - I know I could have easily split this one up into 3 and then I'd be closer to my 10 but that feels like cheating. And I'd rather fail to hit 10 than do something lame like that. This family may seem broken and hell is broken in a few ways, so much love permeates this group during a time of immense hate. The love isn't insular but spreads to Max Vanenburg, the Jew the family hides in their basement. Anytime someone can show so much love and forgiveness in a situation where I doubt I could muster it, I'm moved.
Alright that's all I got. Anything else is starting to feel forced. So who are your favorite inspirational fictional characters?
