Top Ten Tuesday: Favorite Character Relationships

/ Kristi

It’s time for another Top Ten list from That Artsy Reader Girl, and today’s topic is “Favorite Character Relationships.” I love a close relationship that develops over the course of a book or a series, or even one that is in place at the start of a book and is shown well by the author. For this list, I’ve decided to steer clear of romantic relationships and instead chose those between friends or relatives. I only ended up with 9, and I ran out of time to expound on any of these, so with the book name, I’ve only given the people in the friendship in question and a brief explanation of their relationship to each other. The book title links to the book on Goodreads, and I’ve shared a link to my full review of each book as well. It’s probably no surprise that each of these books is a 4-5-star read for me, mostly 4.5 and up. These are listed in the order in which I read them, longest ago to most recent.

Spoiler notice: For some of these books, the relationship could be a bit of a spoiler. If you see the cover of a book you don’t want to be spoiled on, please skip past it, just in case.

Kevin Parsons and Dr. John Francis – student and professor
Thr3e by Ted Dekker – See my review here.

Stanley Yelnats and Hector Zeroni – co-prisoners 
Holes by Louis Sachar – See my review here.

Myrad and Walagash – future son-in-law and father-in-law
The End of the Magi by Patrick W. Carr – See my review here.

Gammon and Maraly – father and daughter (found family)
The Warden and the Wolf King by Andrew Peterson – See my review here.

Dr. Gibson and Molly – father and daughter
Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell – See my review here.

Sophie and Mamie – almost daughter-in-law and mother-in-law / Mamie and Penny, Thea, & Betsy – elderly woman and wards
The Indebted Earl by Erica Vetsch – See my review here.

Ryland Grace and Rocky – fellow space travelers
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir –  See my review here.

Lina and Doon – friends
The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau – See my review here.

Vincent and Lili – adopted brother and sister / Vincent and Georgia – second cousins
Beneath the Swirling Sky by Suzanne Collins – See my review here.

Have you read any of these? What’s on your list this week?

33 thoughts on “Top Ten Tuesday: Favorite Character Relationships”

  3. I haven’t read “Wives & Daughters” but do love the miniseries adaptation. (Now I want to read it again.) I also see Ted Dekker’s novels here and there and know they’re very well received and popular. Haven’t ever read one though… maybe someday. 🙂 Thanks so much for visiting my website today.

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    • I really like that miniseries too! I watched it before I ever read the book, same with North and South.

      To be honest, I haven’t read a lot of Ted Dekker’s novels, and I’ve only really liked 2-3 of the 7-8 that I’ve read. But the ones I do like, I like a lot.

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    • I’m not sure the ending left it very open for a direct sequel, but I would not mind knowing what happened…elsewhere in the galaxy (trying to avoid spoilers for anyone who hasn’t read it, so hopefully that’s not too vague). On the other hand, if Weir did write a sequel for Ryland himself, I’d definitely still read it.

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  8. I could have sworn I commented here! I was very impressed by the way Weir developed Rocky as a character. I think he’s growing as an author given how close Watney & Jaz were as far as voices.

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    • I have not read Artemis, partly because I’ve read it’s not as good as The Martian, but I suspect I will someday. A lot of people say that Ryland Grace is too similar to Watney, too. I don’t have enough experience with The Martian to be anywhere near an expert on the subject, but while I can see some similarities (they’d have to have some similar qualities to both be sent on space missions), they have different feels to me, too. Weir knocked it out of the park with PHM, and I’m excited to see what else he might come out with.

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      • Martian and Artemis are two very different novels. One of them is about a stranded astronaut trying to keep himself alive, and the other is about a slightly reckless young woman on a Lunar colony trying to keep herself alive after a perfectly innocent heist she planned goes wrong and she kinda sorta poisons her hometown. Okay, the main difference is that in one the main character is a rebel and a sympathetic criminal. 😉 I don’t remember Ryland as being similar to Mark or Jazz….but Ryland was in a MUCH different circumstance than either. I think the main problem people had with Mark/Jazz is that Jazz sounded very much like Mark (in terms of her attitude, humor, etc) despite being an Arab woman and not a generic white dude. My question is, who gets to be the authority on what Arab women raised on a lunar colony would sound like???

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        • Heh, good point. I think the comparison with Ryland to Watney is that he “sciences” the same way, but again I say, they’re both men who are smart enough to be sent on missions into space. It makes a lot of sense for them to look at things the same way, scientifically, and there’s quite a different dynamic for Ryland, as you said. I’ve liked both of the Weir books I’ve read so far, which is why I figure I’ll read Artemis before long.

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