Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature/meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week’s topic is Top Ten Character You’d Like To Check In With – as in, see what they’ve been up to in the last 5 to 100 years.
I’ve limited this to characters who don’t show up in sequels and whose middle and later lives we never get a glimpse of. So no Anne Shirley Blythe (who’s about my age by Rilla of Ingleside), no Hercule Poirot or Miss Marple, no Roderick Alleyne or George Felse (whose careers we follow through a number of years.) I’ve also eliminated characters whose stories haven’t ended yet (I’m looking at you, Kvothe, Isaac Vainio, Cinder, and Mary Russell!)
So who do I want to catch up with?
Kel (Keladry of Mindelan) from the Protector of the Small series (Tamora Pierce). We know what happens to Alanna after her series, but what about Kel? When we leave her, she’s a full knight; she’s in charge of a camp of refugees that’s rapidly turning into a small town; she might or might not have a thing for Dom. . . I want to know what happens to her next – and what happens to her in 10 years, and 20, and 30. I’m pretty sure they won’t leave her in charge of that camp forever. Will she ever be in command of a company? Teach at the page school? Are there more wars on Tortall’s horizon? (I rather hope not.) And while we’re at it, what about Neil? Owen? and the rest of Kel’s friends?
Mary Lennox from The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett). What happened when she, Colin, and Dickon grew up? Did their friendship survive, given the class differences? Did Colin and Dickon fight in the Great War – or perhaps their sons? (The timeframe for The Secret Garden is a bit hazy, but it seems to be sometime in the latter third of the 19th century.)
Kate Sutton and Christopher Heron from The Perilous Gard (Elizabeth Marie Pope). With Elizabeth on the throne at last, what will their lives be like? Kate isn’t exactly meek; her tongue could get her into hot water again.
Diana Bishop and Matthew Claremont from the All Souls Trilogy (Deborah Harkness). Though the threats to them appear to be resolved, I think there’s still a lot of opposition. . . and things won’t be easy for Matthew as head of his vampire family, either. I’d also like to know what happens to Gallowglass; I’ve got a soft spot for him.
Kit Tyler and Nat Eaton and Hannah from The Witch of Blackbird Pond (Elizabeth George Speare). Sure, it’s obvious Kit and Nat are meant for each other, but that doesn’t mean a marriage between them will be easy – they’re both pretty strong-willed, for one thing. And sailing has its dangers – does Nat survive? Do they grow old together? And does Hannah heal at all, with Nat and Kit’s care?
Percy and Annabeth from the Percy Jackson series and the Heroes of Olympus series (Rick Riordan). OK, we’re probably going to get at least a glimpse of them somewhere in the Magnus Chase books (it can’t be coincidence that the hero of the Norse-mythology series is named Chase – just like Annabeth.) But I want more Percy and Annabeth! And while I think they’ve more than earned a quiet life, somehow I don’t think they’re going to get one.
Who do you want to catch up with?
Lark
Oh, Kit and Nat! I’m with you on that one. (Such a great book.) And I always wanted to know what happened to Grace and Carrie from the Laura Ingalls Wilder books.
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Lark_Bookwyrm
Oh, yes, good point – me too!
Lory @ Emerald City Book Review
Did Christopher succeed in his drainage scheme? That’s what I really want to know.
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Lark_Bookwyrm
From what I know of British agriculture in the fen country, probably so. 🙂
Lianne @ eclectictales.com
Good point about Mary and her friends from The Secret Garden. Now that I think of it the timelines were pretty hazy so it’d be curious to know how the Great War had affected them…
Slightly off topic but I’m so excited to get my hands on The Book of Life soon 😀 I think I’m going to put everything aside and just re-read all the books again 🙂
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Lark_Bookwyrm
I did that, too – reread the whole series when The Book of Life came out! I’ll probably re-read them again in a year or two. There’s so much in them, I know I didn’t catch everything the first time around (or the second or third, in the case of the second and first books respectively.) The Book of Life definitely needs a re-read; there was a lot going on!
Katherine @ I Wish I Lived in a Library
I’m kicking myself for forgetting about Mary Lennox! Yes I’d love to know what happens to her. Shockingly I haven’t read the rest of these but I really want to read the Percy Jackson series and The All Souls Trilogy. Actually I have read The Witch of Blackbird Pond but I remember nothing but that I loved it. I’m looking forward to rereading it and getting to know the characters again.
Katherine @ I Wish I Lived in a Library recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Characters I’d Like to Check In On
Lark_Bookwyrm
I hope you get a chance to read the All Souls trilogy! And the Percy Jackson books are really fun, and quite quick reading. OTOH, you could listen to the audiobooks – the guy who narrates the first series is very good. Now I’m off to check out your TTT!
Jan
These are great choices, Lark! One of my daughters loved The Secret Garden–read it over and over. I haven’t read all of these books and some I’ve forgotten quite a bit (The Witch of Blackbird Pond). And I haven’t finished the All Souls Trilogy yet . . .
Jan recently posted…What are these characters doing now?
Lark_Bookwyrm
That’s me with The Secret Garden, too. I still reread it at least every few years. How are you liking the All Souls books?
Jan
Oh, I meant to add that I love your new header and added design. The dragon is wonderful!
Jan recently posted…What are these characters doing now?
Lark_Bookwyrm
Thank you! I’m so happy with him and the header and the whole design.
Vanessa
Good question.
Though with many characters I’m not sure I want an official/canon statement on how they end up. All too often when authors revisit old friends many years later, we discover that things didn’t work out the way we thought they should have/wish they would have, and then we’re left with this lifelong bad aftertaste to such wonderful stories. Such was my experience with The Keeping Days series (Norma Johnston). The first three books led one direction, but in the fourth (written and set many years later), the author does a 180 almost 🙁
Same thing goes for The Secret Garden. The TV miniseries did revisit the characters as adults after WWI. Not sure if it’s considered canon, or not. Also, there is this:
http://misselthwaitearchives.com/
My daughter is currently tearing through my old Trixie Belden series. Trixie was only 14 when they stopped writing them, so there’s plenty to wonder about what happened later. There used to be tons of fanfic out there on the subject…I can remember reading through reams of it during my lunch breaks. (That would have been about 2000-2001.)
And….I’ve run out of time…got to run now.
Lark_Bookwyrm
I heard about the TV miniseries revisiting them as adults, but I don’t consider it canon because who knows what the original author had in mind! Thanks for the link to the YouTube fanfic series, though – I watched the first one and it’s an interesting approach. I think I’ll watch a few more and see where it goes. 🙂
I liked the Trixie Belden books, too, but didn’t have access to that many of them.
RO
This is a great topic, and because I can hardly remember my own name these days, I’d be hard pressed to remember characters to see follow-up on, though I’ve met some great ones in my reading life. Kudos to you for being so organized to do this and it’s fun to read about, as well. Hugs…and hope your Friday is Fantastic!
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Lark_Bookwyrm
Thanks, RO! Have a great Friday, yourself! 🙂