To me, the mark of a great book is when you feel like you have lost a new friend when you finish the last page and close the cover. When the characters come alive and take over a place in your psyche, that is when you know you have made a literary friend, and believe me, I have made many over the years! Here are just a few of my "friends" you may also enjoy...
Claire and Sydney Waverley are sisters, but as different as sisters can be. The two main protagonists of Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen, they dominate the pages of this gentle tale about family and redemption, first loves, old evils, an eccentric old lady, an interfering apple tree and a few sprinkles of magic. I loved the easy unfolding of this story as it weaves in and out of the North Carolina springtime, bringing the two sisters together until I ached to stay with them long past the last page.
I have been friends with Anna Pigeon, Park Ranger, for over a decade now. Anna is the heroine of a series of mystery novels by author Nevada Barr. Each novel is set in a different national park, lending oodles of atmosphere as Anna wanders the woods and deserts, discovers truths about herself over the course of the books, and of course, solves a murder mystery or two. Anna is not a cookie cutter character – she is brassy and broad, honest but tough, and not exactly in the bloom of youth, and yet, I just want to hang out with Anna any chance I get. Track of the Cat was the first novel in the Anna Pigeon series, and Barr just released her latest this spring: Winter Study, set in Isle Royale National Park. This is a great mystery series that breaks the usual mold of private investigator-or-cop, and features a less than perfect female heroine.
The character of Cornelia Brown dropped into my life unexpectedly when I read the debut novel from poet Marisa de los Santos, Love Walked In. The world of Cornelia immediately pulled me in – her struggle to find love, and her struggle to find herself and her place in her world as she finds herself caring for eleven-year-old Claire. This novel unrolls in alternating chapters from Cornelia then Claire’s point of view, making the book even more layered. I was thrilled when de los Santos released a follow up, called Belong to Me, which continued the story of Cornelia and Claire, now several years later and how their lives have progressed. These gentle, lyrically written novels were impossible to forget when I finally came to the end.
Shane Scully is a hardboiled LAPD detective in the series of novels by Stephen J. Cannell (of television writing fame). I have really enjoyed following along as Scully finds a wife and family, finds his place in the LAPD, and always finds the perpetrator of the heinous crime du jour. Scully is such a great first person character, and I particularly enjoy listening to the audio editions of Cannell novels, narrated by Scott Brick. Brick's voice is so Scully to me that I can no longer read the novels - only listen. The latest Scully novel is Three Shirt Deal, and was released earlier this year.
Perhaps best known for writing the Princess Diaries novels for young adults, Meg Cabot has also written several “chick lit” novels for an adult audience. Among them are two series: the Queen of Babble series featuring neurotic wedding dress restorer Lizzie Nichols and the Heather Wells series, about a former pop star turned college dormitory supervisor. Witty, pop-culture filled dialogue, cute boys, outlandish situations and lot of fun in New York City fill both. Both Heather and Lizzie feel like old girlfriends that you would love to dish with over bonbons and mojitos. The Queen of Babble series just completed, with the titles Queen of Babble, Queen of Babble in the Big City, and Queen of Babble Gets Hitched. The Heather Wells series is still being written, with these titles released thus far: Size 12 Is Not Fat, Size 14 Is Not Fat Either and Big Boned, with two more books slated for release.
These are just a few of the literary friends I have made over the years, but believe me, there are plenty more! Elizabeth Bennett, Harry Potter, Bella and Edward, Claire and Jamie Fraser, Cannie Shapiro, Elinor and Marianne Dashwood, Claire and Henry DeTamble, Novalee Nation, Bridget Jones… the list goes on and on! Who are some of your favorite literary friends? I am always looking for new friends to add to my ever-expanding list!
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