100 Awesome Fictional PoC
Because doing a meme is a much better use of my time than working on my Conclusion or tomorrow's lesson plans. Shut up. Gacked from jacinthsong, who made a similar list of 100 Female Characters:
100 Non-White Characters I Love
In no particular order except the one I thought of them in. From texts I have consumed from the age of 4 (Astro Boy) to last week (Order of the Stick). Criteria for inclusion: They are all people I would like to meet in real life, and picture myself getting on with well (or at least interestingly!).
1. Pagan Kidrouk, from Catherine Jinks' Pagan books. Stroppy, scruffy, sarcastic little Arab kid (his term; it's the middle ages and modern-day national identities wouldn't make much sense) dropped into the middle of thirteenth-century France. Got to love him.
2. Charles Gunn, Angel
3. Nikki Wood, Buffy. The best fashion sense of any Slayer ever.
4. Astro Boy. (I am not going to get into the rather obnoxious question of whether anime characters 'count' as PoC or not that's been dogging Airbender fandom of late -- he lives in Japan, the little boy in whose likeness he's rather creepily made is Japanese, of course he's fecking Japanese, end of!)
5. Roy Greenhilt, Order of the Stick. He regularly swaps places with V. as my favourite character. Aw, Roy, he's older-brotherliness personified: stable and steady and responsible, yes, always there to bail the others out of whatever stupid trouble they've gotten themselves into this time -- but always ready to be virulently sarcastic about it too. Love him.
6. Miko Miyazaki, Order of the Stick. Aww, Miko. She turned up, and the fandom were all 'yey, can haz hot kung-fu azn chick, fanservice nao pliz!', and instead she turned out to have, like, a personality, and a history, and a mind of her own, and to be, all things considered, a bit of an annoying jerk. It was awesome.
7. Sabine, Order of the Stick. Although it irks me a bit that the only natural-haired Black woman in the main canon is evil.
8. Durkon Thundershield, Order of the Stick
9. Lady Eboshi, Princess Mononoke
10. San, Princess Mononoke
11. Maggie Chascarillo, Jaime Hernandez, Love and Rockets
12. Hopey Glass, Jaime Hernandez, Love and Rockets. Ahh, Maggie and Hopey. Hot, snotty-nosed bi chicks, but so much more as well.
13. Isabel Ruebens Ortiz, Jaime Hernandez, Love and Rockets
14. Beatríz Garcia, Jaime Hernandez, Love and Rockets
15. Carmen Calderon, Gilbert Hernandez, Heartbreak Soup (which I think is what he's calling the Palomar series, now that they're all being bound together in book form.
16. Heraclio Calderon, Gilbert Hernandez, Heartbreak Soup
17. Luba, Gilbert Hernandez, Heartbreak Soup. She's horrible, and *amazing*, and I love her quite a lot.
18. Guadalupe, Gilbert Hernandez, Heartbreak Soup
19. Tonantzin Villasenor, Gilbert Hernandez, Heartbreak Soup
20. Vicente, Gilbert Hernandez, Heartbreak Soup
21. Chelo, Gilbert Hernandez, Heartbreak Soup. These are all my favourite characters from Beto Hernandez' Palomar series of graphic short stories, about life in a town in an unnamed region of Central America at some point in the 20th century (mysterious!). Most of them don't have last names because we mostly don't get given them. It's funny and heartbreaking and weird and beautiful, and I am happy to lend it to YOU, yes you!
22. Errata Stigmata - I actually forget which Hernandez she belongs to, but she's from the earlier stories, when they were still swapping characters back and forth. Tiny little waify girl, stricken by stigmata and relentlessly exploited by every adult she meets. I sort of want to sweep her up and hug her very tightly.
23. Dave Lister, Red Dwarf
24. Deb Lister (OK, she only appears in one epsiode, but I still LOVE HER SO HARD OMG), Red Dwarf
25. The Cat, Red Dwarf
26. Ranma Saotome, Ranma 1/2. Everyone's favourite mystically-cursed, gender-bending show-off loud-mouth martial-arts champion schoolboy. Schoolgirl. Um, could somone boil the kettle?
27. Akane Tendo, Ranma 1/2. And the only girl who really loves him. Seriously, I adore the whole dynamic of their relationship, and the fact that Akane is basically a massive dyke and that this will be the basis of her relationship with Ranma when they finally get it together (shutup, it's my fanon), So. Very. Much.
28. Nabiki Tendo, Ranma 1/2. (I could pretty much just keep listing the whole cast of Ranma, but I'm keeping it to my absolute favourites.)
29. Maurice Moss, The IT Crowd. See icon! Moss = so much <3, even though if we met in real life, he would probably annoy me and I would probably scare him.
30. Lee Jordan, Harry Potter. My all-time favourite minor HP character. He has a whole complicated backstory and future in my head, but I've never got around to writing it down.
31. Angelina Johnson, Harry Potter. Girl Quidditch captains FTW. And an honorary mention for Fred and Roxie Weasley, too -- it pisses me off no small amount that the mixed-race Weasley kids didn't make it into the Epilogue of Massive Heteronormativity, and are only interview canon. GRRR.
32. Kingsley Shacklebolt, Harry Potter. But I vastly prefer the Shoebox Project characterisation, where he spends his time waxing his head and amusing himself by using his Alpha Gryffindor aura to slap down James and Sirius when they get too annoying.
33. Charles Nancy, Neil Gaiman, Anansi Boys
34. Spider, Neil Gaiman, Anansi Boys
35. Daisy Day, Neil Gaiman, Anansi Boys
36. Mr. Nancy/Anansi, Neil Gaiman, American Gods/Anansi Boys
37. The Marquis de Carabas, Neil Gaiman, Neverwhere
38. Karim Amir, Hanif Kureishi, The Buddha of Suburbia. Thespy middle-class mixed-race bi kid in London in the early 70s. I thought he was sooo coo-oooo-oool when I first read this, age 16.
39. Jamila Anwar, Hanif Kureishi, The Buddha of Suburbia
40. Haroun Amir, Hanif Kureishi, The Buddha of Suburbia
41. Shahid Khan, Hanif Kureishi, The Black Album
42. Daja Kisubo, Tamora Pierce, The Circle of Magic
43. Briar Moss, Tamora Pierce, The Circle of Magic. I really hope he belongs here and I haven't listed him by mistake -- I seem to remember canon giving him dark skin and green eyes, and as a result I always pictured him as looking a bit like Sharbat Ghula, the green-eyed Pashtun girl whose picture was on the cover of National Geographic in the 1980s.
44. Lark, Tamora Pierce, The Circle of Magic. Oh, I'm still impressed with Pierce for writing a children's (8-11 yo) book series where a mixed-race lesbian couple adopt four kids, and getting it past the radar because at the time she was publishing it, all the wingnuts were too busy burning Harry Potter to take any notice.
45. Onua Chamtong, Tamora Pierce, Tortall-verse
46. Thayet jian Wilima, Tamora Pierce, Tortall-verse
47. Buriram Tourrakom, Tamora Pierce, Tortall-verse
48. Ali Mukhtab, Tamora Pierce, Tortall-verse
49. Yukimi noh Daimoru, Tamora Pierce, Tortall-verse
50. Numair Salmalin, Tamora Pierce, Tortall-verse. In my head, he looks like thekit, circa around 2001. Mn'yes.
51. Clarice Clifford, Alison Bechdel, Dykes to Watch Out For. She's actually my favourite, and I'm not sure why, even though I really have much more in common with Mo and Ginger.
52. Toni Ortíz, Alison Bechdel, Dykes to Watch Out For
53. Ginger Jordan, Alison Bechdel, Dykes to Watch Out For
54. Jezanna Ramsay, Alison Bechdel, Dykes to Watch Out For
55. Sparrow Pidgeon, Alison Bechdel, Dykes to Watch Out For
56. Jiao Raizel, Alison Bechdel, Dykes to Watch Out For. OK, she's only titchy, but she's already standing up to her *extremely* annoying father in an admirable fashion.
57. Bertha Mason, Jean Rhys, Wide Sargasso Sea
58. Aubrey Chorde, Something Positive
59. Pee Jee Shou, Something Positive
60. Frazz Davies, Press Gang. Awww, Frazz. Bless him. Sweet, friendly, trusting, a secret Dr Who Colonel X fan at a time when it was deeply unfashionable to be so, and thick as yesterday's custard -- or is that just an act he puts up to stop Lynda from ever making him do any work?
61. Medea, Euripides, Medea
62. Palomides, Malory, Morte Darthur
63. The Poisoned Maiden, the 1460 Buik of King Alexander. Because you've got to fucking love a girl raised on pure snake venom, who poisons men with her vagina. The Middle Ages comes up with the coolest weird shit sometimes.
64. The Gay Cannibals, the 1460 Buik of King Alexander. Do exactly what it says on the tin, they're awesome. They scare Alexander so much he has to lock them away in a secret valley until the end of time, mostly because he doesn't like to see anyone else having fun.
65. Mulan, Disney’s Mulan (shutupicanhavemyguiltypleasuresifiwant)
66. Luciente of Mattapoisset, Marge Piercy, Woman on the Edge of Time
67. Connie Ramirez, Marge Piercy, Woman on the Edge of Time
68. Bee of Mattapoisset, Marge Piercy, Woman on the Edge of Time
69. Dawn of Mattapoisset, Marge Piercy, Woman on the Edge of Time
70. Erzulia of Cranberry, Marge Piercy, Woman on the Edge of Time
71. Sappho of Mattapoisset, Marge Piercy, Woman on the Edge of Time
72. Nnu Ego, Buchi Emecheta, The Joys of Motherhood
73. Gilbert Joseph, Andrea Levy, Small Island
74. Hortense Joseph, Andrea Levy, Small Island
75. Clara Jones, Zadie Smith, White Teeth
76. Irie Jones, Zadie Smith, White Teeth
77. Alsana Iqbal, Zadie Smith, White Teeth
78. Aravis Tarkheena, C.S. Lewis, The Horse And His Boy. Is it wrong to love her for what she is -- a brave, athletic, good-with-horses, gets-over-her-own-snobbery-eventually actually-really-nice girl -- even when Lewis' racial politcs are so awful? I'm asking honestly, I'm not sure. I feel inclined to take the good, but totally understand if other people aren't willing to do so.
79. Jane Takagi-Little, Ruth Ozeki, My Year of Meat
80. Yunior de Las Casas, Junot Diaz, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
81. Oscar Cabral, Junot Diaz, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
82. Lola Cabral, Junot Diaz, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
83. Sethe, Toni Morrison, Beloved. TBH, I feel a bit funny including her in a list of 'awesome characters', but hopefully you know what I mean. God, I need to reread this book soon, it's so powerful and just... yeah.
84. Wong Loo, Nancy: Canadian Schoolgirl. This is an odd little YA book from the 1950s that I keep meaning to scan and disseminate. It's really interesting, in that it has more characters of colour more sympathetically portrayaed than any other text from this era I've ever come across. Wong Loo is the best friend of the female main character's love interest: he is quite stereotyped (studious, serious, obviously speaks English as a second language) and we're encouraged to laugh along with her at his syntax and the fact that his father owns a laundry (high comedy in 1956, I'm sure). OTOH, he's also a genuinely nice person who, towards the end of the book, has a serious conversation with the main character wherein she quietly realises, in a 1950s sort of way, that she's been being a bit of a racist bitch by laughing at him. He also does something quite sweetly heroic for his best friend, and in general he makes me quite happy.
85. Richard Dacre, Nancy: Canadian Schoolgirl. The school principal: part of the plot is driven by the fact that [SPOILERS!] he is attempting to conceal the fact that he is part-Ojibway from his students and the town at large, for fear of losing respect/his job. It's surprisingly delicately handled by the author, and we're not beaten over the head with the fact that This Is A Bad Thing, more that it's up to him what he discloses about himself, but it sucks that people exist who would make him feel ashamed about it. Quite cool, really.
86. Yo-Less, Terry Pratchett, the Johnny Maxwell books. So called because he never, ever says ‘yo’. Is quiet and well-behaved and wants to be an accountant if he grows up. I sort of love him.
87. Claudia Kishi, The Baby-Sitters Club. Yes, I too had a Baby-Sitter’s Club phase.
88. Janine Kishi, The Baby-Sitters Club. Actually, I always preferred her to Claudia. Why couldn't she have got her own series, instead of Kristy's annoying little step-sister Karen?
89. Jessi Ramsey, The Baby-Sitters Club
90. Maybelle Stubbs, Hairspray
91. Inez Stubbs, Hairspray. Mostly, it has to be said, for the line that was cut from the film: 'They kicked me out on my young, gifted and Black behind!'. Nina Simone references FT ultimate W.
92. Novinha von Hesse, Orson Scott Card, Speaker for the Dead. Yes, OSC, I know, and it sucks, and I'm sorry, and if I could, I'd smack it the fuck out of him with a clue-by-four. I'm still incredibly fascinated with the idea of a Brazilian-Portugese-speaking Catholic space colony, and with what this character's religion does to her personality and her life.
93. Si Wang-mu, Orson Scott Card, Xenocide. For similar reasons. Uneducated peasant girl turns out to be secret genius and saves the world, literally.
94. Mazer Rackham, Orson Scott Card, Ender's Game. Because the first time around, the world was saved by a Maori bloke from New Zealand who happened to be the best military tactician the world had ever seen.
95. Parvati the Witch, Salman Rushdie, Midnight's Children. Such a wonderful book, such an annoying narrator.
96. Lalita Bakshi, Bride and Prejudice. So much more fun than Lizzie Bennett :D
97. Lakhi Bakshi, Bride and Prejudice, ditto. We're back into 'guilty pleasures' territory again, aren't we?
98. Delores Van Cartier, Sister Act (Yes, yes we are. If it helps, I was 12 when this film came out, and had to deal with real nuns at school...)
99. K., Kim Stanley Robinson, The Years of Rice and Salt. The conceit of this book is that the main characters are part of the same Buddhist jati, being reincarnated together generation after generation in a world where the Black Plague really did take out 95% of Europe. The characters have different names in each incarnation, but always the same first initial, so K is Kyu, Katima, Kuo, Kali... Ze's the restless, brave, impatient, stroppy member of the jati, the one who's only happy when ze's putting things to rights, and I identify with hir a *lot*.
100. B., Kim Stanley Robinson, The Years of Rice and Salt. B. (Bold, Bihari, Bai, Bao Su...) is the loving, peaceful, affectionate one, just as worthy as K. if not more so. They frequently end up paired up together, although sometimes they're brothers or sisters or best friends, and they are so. cute. OMG.
I'm a little concerned with the fact that they often seem to come all in big groups together from the same texts, and if I hadn't been a massive Hernandez Brothers fan in my early 20s, I probably wouldn't have managed 100. As I keep saying, I really do need to diversify my reading at some stage. Still, as jacinthsong says, it's surprisingly easy and fun once you get started, and I'm really happy I did that!
ETA: Although again, the potential for arse-showing is with us always, and I'd really appreciate people pointing out any that they see.
100 Non-White Characters I Love
In no particular order except the one I thought of them in. From texts I have consumed from the age of 4 (Astro Boy) to last week (Order of the Stick). Criteria for inclusion: They are all people I would like to meet in real life, and picture myself getting on with well (or at least interestingly!).
1. Pagan Kidrouk, from Catherine Jinks' Pagan books. Stroppy, scruffy, sarcastic little Arab kid (his term; it's the middle ages and modern-day national identities wouldn't make much sense) dropped into the middle of thirteenth-century France. Got to love him.
2. Charles Gunn, Angel
3. Nikki Wood, Buffy. The best fashion sense of any Slayer ever.
4. Astro Boy. (I am not going to get into the rather obnoxious question of whether anime characters 'count' as PoC or not that's been dogging Airbender fandom of late -- he lives in Japan, the little boy in whose likeness he's rather creepily made is Japanese, of course he's fecking Japanese, end of!)
5. Roy Greenhilt, Order of the Stick. He regularly swaps places with V. as my favourite character. Aw, Roy, he's older-brotherliness personified: stable and steady and responsible, yes, always there to bail the others out of whatever stupid trouble they've gotten themselves into this time -- but always ready to be virulently sarcastic about it too. Love him.
6. Miko Miyazaki, Order of the Stick. Aww, Miko. She turned up, and the fandom were all 'yey, can haz hot kung-fu azn chick, fanservice nao pliz!', and instead she turned out to have, like, a personality, and a history, and a mind of her own, and to be, all things considered, a bit of an annoying jerk. It was awesome.
7. Sabine, Order of the Stick. Although it irks me a bit that the only natural-haired Black woman in the main canon is evil.
8. Durkon Thundershield, Order of the Stick
9. Lady Eboshi, Princess Mononoke
10. San, Princess Mononoke
11. Maggie Chascarillo, Jaime Hernandez, Love and Rockets
12. Hopey Glass, Jaime Hernandez, Love and Rockets. Ahh, Maggie and Hopey. Hot, snotty-nosed bi chicks, but so much more as well.
13. Isabel Ruebens Ortiz, Jaime Hernandez, Love and Rockets
14. Beatríz Garcia, Jaime Hernandez, Love and Rockets
15. Carmen Calderon, Gilbert Hernandez, Heartbreak Soup (which I think is what he's calling the Palomar series, now that they're all being bound together in book form.
16. Heraclio Calderon, Gilbert Hernandez, Heartbreak Soup
17. Luba, Gilbert Hernandez, Heartbreak Soup. She's horrible, and *amazing*, and I love her quite a lot.
18. Guadalupe, Gilbert Hernandez, Heartbreak Soup
19. Tonantzin Villasenor, Gilbert Hernandez, Heartbreak Soup
20. Vicente, Gilbert Hernandez, Heartbreak Soup
21. Chelo, Gilbert Hernandez, Heartbreak Soup. These are all my favourite characters from Beto Hernandez' Palomar series of graphic short stories, about life in a town in an unnamed region of Central America at some point in the 20th century (mysterious!). Most of them don't have last names because we mostly don't get given them. It's funny and heartbreaking and weird and beautiful, and I am happy to lend it to YOU, yes you!
22. Errata Stigmata - I actually forget which Hernandez she belongs to, but she's from the earlier stories, when they were still swapping characters back and forth. Tiny little waify girl, stricken by stigmata and relentlessly exploited by every adult she meets. I sort of want to sweep her up and hug her very tightly.
23. Dave Lister, Red Dwarf
24. Deb Lister (OK, she only appears in one epsiode, but I still LOVE HER SO HARD OMG), Red Dwarf
25. The Cat, Red Dwarf
26. Ranma Saotome, Ranma 1/2. Everyone's favourite mystically-cursed, gender-bending show-off loud-mouth martial-arts champion schoolboy. Schoolgirl. Um, could somone boil the kettle?
27. Akane Tendo, Ranma 1/2. And the only girl who really loves him. Seriously, I adore the whole dynamic of their relationship, and the fact that Akane is basically a massive dyke and that this will be the basis of her relationship with Ranma when they finally get it together (shutup, it's my fanon), So. Very. Much.
28. Nabiki Tendo, Ranma 1/2. (I could pretty much just keep listing the whole cast of Ranma, but I'm keeping it to my absolute favourites.)
29. Maurice Moss, The IT Crowd. See icon! Moss = so much <3, even though if we met in real life, he would probably annoy me and I would probably scare him.
30. Lee Jordan, Harry Potter. My all-time favourite minor HP character. He has a whole complicated backstory and future in my head, but I've never got around to writing it down.
31. Angelina Johnson, Harry Potter. Girl Quidditch captains FTW. And an honorary mention for Fred and Roxie Weasley, too -- it pisses me off no small amount that the mixed-race Weasley kids didn't make it into the Epilogue of Massive Heteronormativity, and are only interview canon. GRRR.
32. Kingsley Shacklebolt, Harry Potter. But I vastly prefer the Shoebox Project characterisation, where he spends his time waxing his head and amusing himself by using his Alpha Gryffindor aura to slap down James and Sirius when they get too annoying.
33. Charles Nancy, Neil Gaiman, Anansi Boys
34. Spider, Neil Gaiman, Anansi Boys
35. Daisy Day, Neil Gaiman, Anansi Boys
36. Mr. Nancy/Anansi, Neil Gaiman, American Gods/Anansi Boys
37. The Marquis de Carabas, Neil Gaiman, Neverwhere
38. Karim Amir, Hanif Kureishi, The Buddha of Suburbia. Thespy middle-class mixed-race bi kid in London in the early 70s. I thought he was sooo coo-oooo-oool when I first read this, age 16.
39. Jamila Anwar, Hanif Kureishi, The Buddha of Suburbia
40. Haroun Amir, Hanif Kureishi, The Buddha of Suburbia
41. Shahid Khan, Hanif Kureishi, The Black Album
42. Daja Kisubo, Tamora Pierce, The Circle of Magic
43. Briar Moss, Tamora Pierce, The Circle of Magic. I really hope he belongs here and I haven't listed him by mistake -- I seem to remember canon giving him dark skin and green eyes, and as a result I always pictured him as looking a bit like Sharbat Ghula, the green-eyed Pashtun girl whose picture was on the cover of National Geographic in the 1980s.
44. Lark, Tamora Pierce, The Circle of Magic. Oh, I'm still impressed with Pierce for writing a children's (8-11 yo) book series where a mixed-race lesbian couple adopt four kids, and getting it past the radar because at the time she was publishing it, all the wingnuts were too busy burning Harry Potter to take any notice.
45. Onua Chamtong, Tamora Pierce, Tortall-verse
46. Thayet jian Wilima, Tamora Pierce, Tortall-verse
47. Buriram Tourrakom, Tamora Pierce, Tortall-verse
48. Ali Mukhtab, Tamora Pierce, Tortall-verse
49. Yukimi noh Daimoru, Tamora Pierce, Tortall-verse
50. Numair Salmalin, Tamora Pierce, Tortall-verse. In my head, he looks like thekit, circa around 2001. Mn'yes.
51. Clarice Clifford, Alison Bechdel, Dykes to Watch Out For. She's actually my favourite, and I'm not sure why, even though I really have much more in common with Mo and Ginger.
52. Toni Ortíz, Alison Bechdel, Dykes to Watch Out For
53. Ginger Jordan, Alison Bechdel, Dykes to Watch Out For
54. Jezanna Ramsay, Alison Bechdel, Dykes to Watch Out For
55. Sparrow Pidgeon, Alison Bechdel, Dykes to Watch Out For
56. Jiao Raizel, Alison Bechdel, Dykes to Watch Out For. OK, she's only titchy, but she's already standing up to her *extremely* annoying father in an admirable fashion.
57. Bertha Mason, Jean Rhys, Wide Sargasso Sea
58. Aubrey Chorde, Something Positive
59. Pee Jee Shou, Something Positive
60. Frazz Davies, Press Gang. Awww, Frazz. Bless him. Sweet, friendly, trusting, a secret Dr Who Colonel X fan at a time when it was deeply unfashionable to be so, and thick as yesterday's custard -- or is that just an act he puts up to stop Lynda from ever making him do any work?
61. Medea, Euripides, Medea
62. Palomides, Malory, Morte Darthur
63. The Poisoned Maiden, the 1460 Buik of King Alexander. Because you've got to fucking love a girl raised on pure snake venom, who poisons men with her vagina. The Middle Ages comes up with the coolest weird shit sometimes.
64. The Gay Cannibals, the 1460 Buik of King Alexander. Do exactly what it says on the tin, they're awesome. They scare Alexander so much he has to lock them away in a secret valley until the end of time, mostly because he doesn't like to see anyone else having fun.
65. Mulan, Disney’s Mulan (shutupicanhavemyguiltypleasuresifiwant)
66. Luciente of Mattapoisset, Marge Piercy, Woman on the Edge of Time
67. Connie Ramirez, Marge Piercy, Woman on the Edge of Time
68. Bee of Mattapoisset, Marge Piercy, Woman on the Edge of Time
69. Dawn of Mattapoisset, Marge Piercy, Woman on the Edge of Time
70. Erzulia of Cranberry, Marge Piercy, Woman on the Edge of Time
71. Sappho of Mattapoisset, Marge Piercy, Woman on the Edge of Time
72. Nnu Ego, Buchi Emecheta, The Joys of Motherhood
73. Gilbert Joseph, Andrea Levy, Small Island
74. Hortense Joseph, Andrea Levy, Small Island
75. Clara Jones, Zadie Smith, White Teeth
76. Irie Jones, Zadie Smith, White Teeth
77. Alsana Iqbal, Zadie Smith, White Teeth
78. Aravis Tarkheena, C.S. Lewis, The Horse And His Boy. Is it wrong to love her for what she is -- a brave, athletic, good-with-horses, gets-over-her-own-snobbery-eventually actually-really-nice girl -- even when Lewis' racial politcs are so awful? I'm asking honestly, I'm not sure. I feel inclined to take the good, but totally understand if other people aren't willing to do so.
79. Jane Takagi-Little, Ruth Ozeki, My Year of Meat
80. Yunior de Las Casas, Junot Diaz, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
81. Oscar Cabral, Junot Diaz, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
82. Lola Cabral, Junot Diaz, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
83. Sethe, Toni Morrison, Beloved. TBH, I feel a bit funny including her in a list of 'awesome characters', but hopefully you know what I mean. God, I need to reread this book soon, it's so powerful and just... yeah.
84. Wong Loo, Nancy: Canadian Schoolgirl. This is an odd little YA book from the 1950s that I keep meaning to scan and disseminate. It's really interesting, in that it has more characters of colour more sympathetically portrayaed than any other text from this era I've ever come across. Wong Loo is the best friend of the female main character's love interest: he is quite stereotyped (studious, serious, obviously speaks English as a second language) and we're encouraged to laugh along with her at his syntax and the fact that his father owns a laundry (high comedy in 1956, I'm sure). OTOH, he's also a genuinely nice person who, towards the end of the book, has a serious conversation with the main character wherein she quietly realises, in a 1950s sort of way, that she's been being a bit of a racist bitch by laughing at him. He also does something quite sweetly heroic for his best friend, and in general he makes me quite happy.
85. Richard Dacre, Nancy: Canadian Schoolgirl. The school principal: part of the plot is driven by the fact that [SPOILERS!] he is attempting to conceal the fact that he is part-Ojibway from his students and the town at large, for fear of losing respect/his job. It's surprisingly delicately handled by the author, and we're not beaten over the head with the fact that This Is A Bad Thing, more that it's up to him what he discloses about himself, but it sucks that people exist who would make him feel ashamed about it. Quite cool, really.
86. Yo-Less, Terry Pratchett, the Johnny Maxwell books. So called because he never, ever says ‘yo’. Is quiet and well-behaved and wants to be an accountant if he grows up. I sort of love him.
87. Claudia Kishi, The Baby-Sitters Club. Yes, I too had a Baby-Sitter’s Club phase.
88. Janine Kishi, The Baby-Sitters Club. Actually, I always preferred her to Claudia. Why couldn't she have got her own series, instead of Kristy's annoying little step-sister Karen?
89. Jessi Ramsey, The Baby-Sitters Club
90. Maybelle Stubbs, Hairspray
91. Inez Stubbs, Hairspray. Mostly, it has to be said, for the line that was cut from the film: 'They kicked me out on my young, gifted and Black behind!'. Nina Simone references FT ultimate W.
92. Novinha von Hesse, Orson Scott Card, Speaker for the Dead. Yes, OSC, I know, and it sucks, and I'm sorry, and if I could, I'd smack it the fuck out of him with a clue-by-four. I'm still incredibly fascinated with the idea of a Brazilian-Portugese-speaking Catholic space colony, and with what this character's religion does to her personality and her life.
93. Si Wang-mu, Orson Scott Card, Xenocide. For similar reasons. Uneducated peasant girl turns out to be secret genius and saves the world, literally.
94. Mazer Rackham, Orson Scott Card, Ender's Game. Because the first time around, the world was saved by a Maori bloke from New Zealand who happened to be the best military tactician the world had ever seen.
95. Parvati the Witch, Salman Rushdie, Midnight's Children. Such a wonderful book, such an annoying narrator.
96. Lalita Bakshi, Bride and Prejudice. So much more fun than Lizzie Bennett :D
97. Lakhi Bakshi, Bride and Prejudice, ditto. We're back into 'guilty pleasures' territory again, aren't we?
98. Delores Van Cartier, Sister Act (Yes, yes we are. If it helps, I was 12 when this film came out, and had to deal with real nuns at school...)
99. K., Kim Stanley Robinson, The Years of Rice and Salt. The conceit of this book is that the main characters are part of the same Buddhist jati, being reincarnated together generation after generation in a world where the Black Plague really did take out 95% of Europe. The characters have different names in each incarnation, but always the same first initial, so K is Kyu, Katima, Kuo, Kali... Ze's the restless, brave, impatient, stroppy member of the jati, the one who's only happy when ze's putting things to rights, and I identify with hir a *lot*.
100. B., Kim Stanley Robinson, The Years of Rice and Salt. B. (Bold, Bihari, Bai, Bao Su...) is the loving, peaceful, affectionate one, just as worthy as K. if not more so. They frequently end up paired up together, although sometimes they're brothers or sisters or best friends, and they are so. cute. OMG.
I'm a little concerned with the fact that they often seem to come all in big groups together from the same texts, and if I hadn't been a massive Hernandez Brothers fan in my early 20s, I probably wouldn't have managed 100. As I keep saying, I really do need to diversify my reading at some stage. Still, as jacinthsong says, it's surprisingly easy and fun once you get started, and I'm really happy I did that!
ETA: Although again, the potential for arse-showing is with us always, and I'd really appreciate people pointing out any that they see.