Top Ten Tuesday - Top Ten Books for Readers that like Character Driven Novels

Top Ten Tuesday is weekly theme hosted over at The Broke and The Bookish.

So it's Tuesday once again. Funny how that day keeps coming around. Anyway, Tuesdays bring lots of fun things - NCIS, NCIS New Orleans, Agents of SHIELD (if you watch that one), new movie, cd, and book releases. And of course Top Ten Tuesday. This week the topic is the top ten books that are character driven novels. I actually found this one to be rather hard. I mean, how many books can I actually say that I've read that are character driven? Let's see what ones I managed to come up with.

1. The Harry Potter Books by JK Rowling- These are very much character driven in the fact that Harry must accept his destiny and be willing to give his life, if necessary, in order to defeat Lord Voldemort. Sure Harry has his ups and downs as he grows up.

I've seen that Harry has a lot of responsibility for one so young. And to me, the way that he manages it is part of the delight of this series.

2. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy by JRR Tolkien - The story's simple. Hobbit Frodo Baggins of the Shire is tasked with seeing that the One Ring is taken to Mordor and cast into the fires of Mount Doom. Sounds simple right? Well, not really. Frodo's small. He doesn't know the way and there are all sorts of creatures out to see that he won't succeed. That's why the Fellowship is formed. And why Samwise accompanies him all the way to Mordor.

I think that Frodo's journey is one that truly shows friendships. The meaning of what exactly a true friend is.

3. The Hunger Games Series by Suzanne Collins - Katniss's main goal is to save her sister. She had no intention of becoming a figurehead for a revolution. But she does. But Katniss herself feels that she's lost something of who she is in order to become the Mockingjay.

I'll admit, that it took me halfway through Hunger Games to like the book. I adored Catching Fire, and felt I needed therapy after Mockingjay. Because just how much can one person endure?

4. Les Miserables by Victor Hugo - Jean Valjean is a man who made a mistake. Yes that mistake cost him twenty years in prison and then he spends the rest of his life trying to overcome the stigma of being an ex-convict. When he is given the chance to save one who is suffering, he turns his back, later regretting that decision and raising an orphaned girl as his own child. Yet still his past haunts him even as he and his daughter find themselves in the midst of the Revolution in Paris. Ultimately, he is faced with the chance to forgive the man who has hunted him all the years or not.

I don't think I've ever read (or seen or heard) a book that is a character driven as this. This story has become my favorite Broadway musical, but it's the story of forgiveness that gets me every time.

5. The Anne of Green Gables Series by Lucy Maud Montgomery - Anne Shirley is an orphan, a dreamer, and not wanted. At least until she comes to Green Gables to live with the Cuthberths. It's there that she discovers what it is like to have a family and to be loved. It's there that she learns to be herself.

I love Anne. I've loved the books growing up and the movies. Anne's tale is one that helps me to dream.

6. Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers - Michael Hosea is a man of God. He lives his life in such a way that others know he is a Christian. Yet when he's asked to marry a prostitute, he obeys. And he loves Angel so completely that she doesn't know quite what to think.

I've read this book many times. It is a beautiful story of grace, forgiveness, and unconditional love. I'd have to say that this particular book is driven by both Angel & Michael.

7. The Ballantyne Legacy Series by Laura Frantz - Each book, Love's Awakening, Love's Reckoning, and Love's Fortune tells of a new generation. And each one is very character driven. The legacy that Silas Ballantyne has worked hard to create is what drives these novels.

I couldn't just pick one of this series. They are too beautiful. Seriously read them.

8. Short Straw Bride & Stealing the Preacher by Karen Witemeyer - The Archer brothers live on the their ranch and prefer to shoot first and question later. But it's the circumstances that have led to their being mostly hermits that drive the first one. And when one young lady gets caught in the mess, there's only one option - one of the brothers has to marry her. Then in Stealing the Preacher, Crockett is kidnapped on his way to an interview. And of course mayhem ensues.

I thought both of these books showed how important family is to each other. And I just loved them.

9. The Book Thief by Markus - I can't say I've read this one. It's on my reading list. But it hit a Goodreads list of Character Driven Novels.

10. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green - Another one that keeps coming highly recommended that I've not read. Also on the same Goodreads list.


So there you have it. My list. And yes, I selected movie covers on most of them. What would you say your top ten character driven novels are? Share in the comments.