Top Ten Favorite Characters in Christian Fiction
1. Aurora Rose Norquest (The Awakening by Angela Hunt) She suffers from agorophobia. She does not step outside her apartment building. Her mother died and now she's all alone. There's something about her character that really teaches. I can't explain it, but I can feel it.
2. Olivia "Libby" Marsden (Come Home to Brewster by Roxanne Henke) She is the main character of the whole series. She's the matriarch of the Marsden family. She's not perfect and she doesn't try to be. She suffers the loss of her best friend and goes through a depression which may or may not be related. She's not a perfect mother, but she's a Christian mother, and she's a good example.
3. Leah Ebersol (Abram's Daughters by Beverly Lewis) Abram's Daughters was the first series by Beverly Lewis that I read. It was my first foray into Amish literature. My liking her has nothing to do with us sharing the same first name. Beverly Lewis does write strong, independent women. Amish females can't really be independent. Their rules say they have to be obedient to their fathers and then their husbands. Leah is pretty independent herself and has this great relationship with her "aunt."
4. Amelia "Amy" DeVries (Home to Hickory Hollow by Beverly Lewis) Amelia is a musician. She's a world renowned violinist. On the side, in secret, she plays fiddle music--country music on the fiddle. She loves her parents and she loves her music, but she wants more. She doesn't want to be just a violinist. She also wants to use her talent for Christ. She represents a connection between our world and the Amish world and how it can teach us without us becoming Amish.
5. Danni Banning (Restoration by Terri Blackstock) In the beginning Danni is a brat. That's probably not even harsh enough. She doesn't want to be home. She longs for the busy life she was supposed to have in DC with her fiance. She learns and she becomes a good Christian woman. I like what she has become. She's finding God and following God. She's a great example for her younger siblings and most everyone else in their community.
6. Mark Green (Restoration by Terri Blackstock) He's got a bad reputation and it's nothing he's done. His dad owns adult bookstores and with Mark's brothers has done some pretty bad stuff in their neighborhood. Mark's family so everyone automatically assumes he's part of the trouble as well. Mark is a friend of Danni's. Danni gives him the benefit of the doubt. He needs that. He shows her. He shows us, the reader, who he really is. He is a Christian man. He loves and cares for others even when they think the worst of him. He's amazing. He makes me want to be a better person.
7. Shelly Graham (Clouds by Robin Jones Gunn) She wanted to see the world. It was her dream. That's why she ran away from her boyfriend. She thought he wanted to tie her down. Some years have passed, maybe it's only five, but time has gone on. Shelly's returns home and she shows that sometimes you can't return home, but you can return and make it home. She reconnects with her sister. She reconnects and learns from her past. Shelly needs that to continue on with her life. She needs to let go and forgive herself. Reading her story I feel so passionate for her.
8. Jonathan Renfield (Clouds by Robin Jones Gunn) He was stung by his best friend and she would not reconnect with him. What was he to do? Move on. He had no choice. He wrote her a letter. She didn't write back. He did move on. But, did he? Mind and heart? He thought so. But, was he correct?
So, I could only come up with eight! That's all right.
Emily Castles is a twenty-six-year old Londoner who ends up getting mixed up in these mysteries. Three Sisters, Emily attends a party and ends up witnessing what she deems a murder. No one believes that someone has died, so on top of proving who did it, she has to prove that it actually happened.
Showstoppers brings in Emily's neighbor, Victoria, who runs a dance studio named Showstoppers. Victoria has been receiving threatening letters from someone who knows about something from her past. She lets Emily in on the event and Emily ends up becoming involved when this mystery invades the dance studio.
