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Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Top Ten Tuesday: Favorite Families

I'm jumping in on another Top Ten Tuesday hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, just in time for freebie week! I decided I'm going to talk about my favorite bookish families.  I have a soft spot for family dynamics, whether sibling or parent-child.  Growing up in a big family was so fun (and crazy) and played a huge role in making me who I am today.  Here are ten of my favorite fictional families (in no particular order):

The Beaumont family from Savvy (and Scumble) by Ingrid Law.  Oh how I love the quirky wildness of not just the immediate Beaumonts, but the whole crazy extended family.  Reminded me of my own family's hectic reunions.

The Ryves brothers in the Demon's Lexicon series by Sarah Rees Brennan.  What a sticky, interesting, realistic relationship they have.  And it just gets better with each book.  To a lesser extent, I also like the Crawfords too.  Really, this book is filled with fabulous family dynamic.

Carter and Sadie Kane from the Kane Chronicles by Rick Riordan.  I just finished listening to The Throne of Fire on audio and it was absolutely hilarious!  I fell in love with the sibling banter, the growing relationship between these two.  A perfect book for brothers and sisters to both read and enjoy.

The March family (of course!) from Little Women by Louisa May Alcott.  Can any family list be complete without the Marches?  I adore the four daughters, with a soft spot in my heart for Jo, naturally.  I loved reading about the ways they understand each other and the ways they don't.  How different and yet how similar.  Definitely rang true for this girl with four sisters.  And don't forget Marmie! 

The Bennets from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.  The ultimate family of frivolous and sensible sisters (and parents).  I adore how Lizzy and Jane can understand one another so well, and still love their ridiculous younger sisters.  And the parents, I wish we had a story about them falling in love (or not falling in love as the case may be).  To a lesser extent, I also like the Dashwoods in Sense and Sensibility, though I think they are too extreme for my taste.

Kendra and Seth from the Fablehaven series by Brandon Mull.  Much like the Kanes, this brother-sister team is full of fighting and love, butting heads and working together.  There is something about brothers and sisters that makes such an interesting dynamic.  They can get along so well, but they can also fight like the dickens!  (Which, come to think of it, is the way sisters are too.)

The de Luce sisters from the Flavia de Luce books by Alan Bradley.  Oh I will never get over the antics these rivaling sisters throw at one another.  Spiteful, bitter enemies, but still managing to hide a regard for each other deep under the surface.  A realistic, if slightly scary look at sisters.

The Pevensies from the Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis.  I just loved how they all had to work together (at least in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe) to accomplish anything.  Each one is so individual and there is a lot of envy and rivalry, but they hold fast to each other in the end. 

The princesses in Entwined by Heather Dixon.  Seriously, putting twelve princesses into a story sounds like a nightmare (not to mention real life)!  But I just fell in love with those oldest three and how unique and fun they all were.  Again, each one was important to the story, but in different ways.  It seems they all have different strengths and weaknesses.

The Weasleys from the Harry Potter books by J.K. Rowling.  Really, who doesn't love this collection of red-haired brothers and sister.  Every one of them was unique, every one of them had strengths, and I loved each of them to bits.  Nothing quite like a big family to make me feel at home!

Who are your favorite fictional families?

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23 comments :

  1. Ah good one! I love this list! I would agree with them all.

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    1. Thanks! I'd like to see a similar list from you sometime :)

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  2. I love Kendra and Seth and their family. I love this list. kaye—the road goes ever ever on

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    1. Thank you, kaye. Kendra and Seth certainly kept me on my toes.

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  3. Oh, The Weasleys, how I love them AND the Burrow. AND I love that you included the princesses from Entwined, Dixon really excelled at characterization.

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    1. Oh the Burrow. Don't we all want to live there? I adored Entwined's princesses, especially Bramble.

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  4. Great idea for a list topic!! I don't know if I could think of 10 literary families who I love. Hmmm...

    Happy reading and thanks for stopping by my TTT!!

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    1. I'm sure you could if you sat down to think about it :)

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  5. A great topic and I also love many of the families you selected: The Bennets, Seth and Kendra, and the Weasley's. I would add the Penderwick's, the Stark's of Winterfell, and the Lannister's.

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    1. Oh the Penderwicks! How could I forget. But I don't recognize the other two - what are they from?

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  6. Great list. Also, have you read Penny from Heaven? I love that big Italian family!

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    1. I haven't read it, but I have it on my shelf *shame* It has been there for some time. But now I may just need to move it up!

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  7. Fantastic list! I love the Weasleys and Marches and the Kane siblings especially. I also love the friendship between Jane and Lizzy Bennet. I think it would help you cope with a mother like Mrs. Bennet if you had a sister you could commiserate with! I still need to read some of the others on your list like Entwined which I recently bought.

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    1. I think I'd totally need a sister to help me cope with Mrs. Bennet! Oh, that woman. Entwined is a fabulous read :)

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  8. Fun idea! And now, of course, I'm looking at all the books I haven't read yet and shaking my head in shame.

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    1. No need to shake your head in shame! None of us will ever be able to read everything we want :)

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  9. I love this top ten idea. Are you familiar with the Nerdy Book Club? They are looking for people to do top ten list posts. This would be perfect! As a kid I loved Betsy Byars' Not-Just-Anybody-Family and The Quimbys. Of the books I've read lately, I haven't really thought in terms of family. I wonder if that is because books for middle and high school sort of downplay the role of family and focus on the independence of the protagonist more? You got me thinking!

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    1. No, I've never heard of the Nerdy Book Club, but I think I'd fit right in :) I'd love to do a top ten post for them. I think definitely a lot of MG and YA books downplay family or have terrible missing parents so the protag can go off on adventures.

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  10. I love your topic. I too grew up in a huge family and love a good family story. One of my biggest pet peeves in YA lit is the absent/horrible for no good reason parent/family. I loved the de Luces and Weasleys. I also loved the family in Five Flavors of Dumb by Antony John.

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    1. I loathe the missing parents almost as much as the horrible ones :) I haven't read Five Flavors of Dumb, but heard great things about it. This only solidifies my desire to read it!

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  11. I do like the Bennets and the Weasleys. I wouldn't mind being a member of the Weasley family. Harry finally got the family he deserved :)

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  12. The Bennetts, the Weasleys and the Marches - yep, you got all my favorites! Fun post.

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