This week The Broke and the Bookish are asking for our favorite character-driven books. These are books were the characters come alive for readers. They grow and develop and they are the ones driving the plot forward rather than heart-racing action. For me, these books are the ones I savor and the ones that tend to stick with me long after I have closed the book.
1. Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta. This one is a slow burner of book. It may take a while to get into it, but the patient reader is in for a treat.
2. I am the Messenger by Markus Zusak. One of my all-time favorites. I just love Ed and The Doorman.
3. I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson. I could gush about this one all day long.
4. Ask the Passengers by A.S. King. It’s really difficult to pick from A.S. Kings books. They are all character-driven and they are all beautiful and amazing.
5. The Universe Versus Alex Woods by Gavin Extence. I love this book about an unlikely friendship.
6. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz. See all those awards on the cover? This book deserves every one! Ari and Dante are fantastic.
7. We Were Liars by E. Lockhart. This is one of the best unreliable characters I have read in ages.
8. Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys. This one features a colorful cast of characters and readers will be rooting for Josie from the start.
9. Pointe by Brandy Colbert. I really enjoyed this debut novel. Theo is such a complex character. She has a lot going on!
10. Five Flavors of Dumb by Antony John. I haven’t mentioned this old favorite in a while!
It was hard to limit myself to just ten!
Happy Reading!
~Megan
YA? Why Not? 
Yes and yes to Aristotle & Dante and We Were Liars. I think those two are definitely character driven novels! I haven’t read any of the others, but great list! 😀
I haven’t read any of these… though I have read A. S. King’s The Dust of 100 Dogs, and it’s very much driven by the characters!
The Dust of 100 Dogs is an interesting read, but it is my least favorite A.S. King book. The rest of her books are nothing like that first one! If you like contemporary fiction with a little magical realism give her a second chance.
If you love Messenger, I bet I’d love Jellicoe Road. I really must read that one soon!
Yes! For sure. And if you think it’s too slow or confusing in the beginning, don’t give up on it. It’s worth the effort!
I seriously need to read Jellicoe Road already! I keep hearing about how great it is!
Aristotle and Dante and We Were Liars, yes! I also love I am the Messenger, I’m so glad to see it on your list because I feel like it’s so underrated!
Haven’t read any of these yet, some of them are on my TBR, and some of them aren’t but I want to go look into them now. Oh, wait, I’ve read We Were Liars, such a different read for me and I really enjoyed it, but I want to reread it being in the know now to see if I pick up on anything that I missed the first time round.
My TTT: http://confessionsofabookgeek.wordpress.com/2014/10/07/top-ten-tuesday-character-driven-novels/
Oh wow, I can’t believe I forgot Ask the Passengers on my own list! I loved that book. I have Jellicoe road on my NOOK, but haven’t gotten around to reading it yet…obviously I need to bump it up on my TBR list!
AHHHH I am all kinds of excited about I’ll Give You the Sun I can’t wait to read it. 😀
❤
MELINA MARCHETTA! MELINA MARCHETTA! Gosh, I CANNOT talk enough about that amazing women’s books!! x) Looking for Alibrandi is like one of my most favourite books EVERR. 😀