Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday – a weekly feature hosted by those lovely bookworms over at The Broke and the Bookish. Expect a new top ten list every week!
| Top Ten… Young Characters I’d Love to Read as Grown-Ups |
This Tuesday we’re looking at young characters we’d love to read after they’ve grown up. And since there are far too many to really do them all justice, I’ve decided to mostly go for those characters which made an impact on my childhood – for better or worse – with a few new favourites thrown in here or there. So in no particular order, here’s the literary line-up:
| 1. |
Artemis Fowl
from
by Eoin Colfer
Spoiler time. Imagine if you will a boy megalomaniac; an arrogant and resourceful genius who will stop at nothing to fulfil his most criminal desires. Now imagine that he isn’t quite the Artemis who met Holly Short, the only female captain of the LEPrecon; who through various criminal enterprises and sinister plots (with varying degrees of disaster and triumph) became almost a changed man and/or boy. This Artemis Fowl – this brand spanking new clone, this untapped criminal mastermind, this arrogant bastard of a boy-genius – is the one I want to read about. This Artemis Fowl is going to cause a riot.
| 2 |
Lyra Belacqua
from
by Philip Pullman
Ohh Pullman, you crafty devil you. We’ve had some hints – or rather outright statements – regarding future Lyra and her fascinating adventures in further education… but we want more! Who did this wonderfully feisty little girl grow up to be? Does she once more bring the world to rights? Does she fight armoured bears for a living and/or other nefarious relations? Another foray into this dark and strange world of Lyra’s Oxford – with her equally grown dæmon Pan – would not go amiss.
| 3 |
The Princess and the Dragon
from
by Audrey Wood
A book from my early childhood, The Princess and The Dragon may have been one of my first fantasy favourites. Not bad for what is essentially a picture book. Here we have a rotten princess – a bad mannered, naughty prankster who drives her kingdom to distraction – and an intelligent, eloquent and cultured dragon who spends her time reading and playing the piano forte. Much to the delight of the seemingly deceived royal family and all their subjects, the two decide to swap places and find that they’re equally more suited to being the other. But what happens next? Does the dragon marry a prince and have various well-mannered mutant children who live happily ever after? Does the princess terrorise the flocks and steal hapless virgins from the nearby villages? I’ve been waiting for this sequel for twenty-five years!
| 4. |
Maria Merryweather
from
Another childhood favourite, The Little White Horse was the epitome of magical, hidden lands; strange enchantments and ancient mysteries. Maria Merryweather, a brave an intelligent thirteen year old with red hair and freckles was my ultimate fictional heroine and I found myself lost in her world again and again. But what did the future hold for Maria and all those who fell under the spell of Moonacre Manor? I for one would love to find out.
| 5. |
Matilda
from
by Roald Dahl
Matilda finally found her place in the world at the end of her tale, but what happened next? Did she just remain the Matilda we all grew to love, surrounded by books from wonderful new authors? Or did she resent the loss of her powers and turn into the Trunchbull Mark II?! Did her powers eventually return full force leading her down the dark and depraved path to world domination?!! My money’s definitely on Matilda megalomaniac…
| 6. |
Mary Lennox
from
by Francis Hodgson Burnett
Over the course of The Secret Garden, Mary Lennox grew from a selfish and spoiled little girl into a kind and thoughtful girl whose transformation mirrored that of the garden under her care. But what happened next? Did Mary find she was more of a weed, beginning her embittered relationship with life anew? Did she re-cripple Colin to once more become the centre of his father’s attention leading to an adulthood of self-loathing and inevitable drug addiction?! I guess we’ll never know.
Ip
from
by Jen Williams
Having only read the first novel in this trilogy, I’m in little of a position to say what happens to Ip and whether she is indeed around to grow up by the end of it. However, I love this creepy and devious little girl with the blood red eyes and a penchant for human heads, and I sure as hell want to know what happens to her next! Does she grow up to be a cannibal? A blood priestess? A combination of the two?! More please!
| 8. |
Everyone
from
by J.K. Rowling
Few words are needed. Want to know everything. Right now.
| 9. |
Madeline
from
by Ludwig Bemelmans
Small, feisty and mischievous, Madeline was yet another childhood heroine of mine. But what did this fearless little lady grow up to be? A lion tamer? An acrobat? A daredevil? Perhaps all three! But I’m longing for the sequel to:
“In an old house in Paris that was covered with vines
Lived twelve little girls in two straight lines
In two straight lines they broke their bread
And brushed their teeth and went to bed.
They left the house at half past nine
In two straight lines in rain or shine-
The smallest one was Madeline.”
| 10. |
The Watson Children
from
Alan Garner saved me the trouble of wondering what happened to Colin and Susan post-The-Weirdstone-of-Brisingamen-and-The-Moon-of-Gomrath by writing a sequel from their adult perspective. Therefore all my Garner cravings are heaped on the Watson children from the wonderful fantasy novel, Elidor. Garner’s darkly fantastic tales were a mainstay of my childhood and this tale of parallel worlds and dark and terrible powers have always left me wondering what happened next. Did the Watson children-now-adults find themselves slipping through to Elidor at inopportune moments? Did the forces of darkness return to find their way into our world once more? Will I inadvertently find myself joining them as I wander the streets of Manchester?!! There’s only one way to find out…
Which young characters would you love to read as grown-ups? If you would like to join in with Top Ten Tuesday, head on over to The Broke and the Bookish and sign up!
Books by Proxy 
I nearly included Susan and Colin with an explicit rejection of Boneland… but I couldn’t. I may not have appreciated the answers Boneland gave me, but I’ve too much respect for Garner to ignore it. So I’ll be in the corner sulking over Susan.
…which makes Elidor an inspired choice. Nice one.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you! I almost completely forgot about Boneland and was close to including them anyway! But Elidor definitely has a special place in my heart so it would be wonderful to see what happened next!
LikeLiked by 1 person
OK, you have officially piqued my interest in Alan Garner’s books. The only one I’ve even heard of is The Weirdstone of Brisingamen.
Other than that, I’d definitely like to know about Madeline grown up, and Maria Merrywether. Mary Lennox and the Harry Potter cast were already on my list. Oh, and since you love The Little White Horse, have you read Linnets and Valerians? If not, you should! (And also Goudge’s more adult novels, which are wonderful.)
LikeLiked by 1 person
Alan Garner is wonderful and definitely has a special place in my childhood as I grew up around so many of the places he writes about! His books can be simple and darkly complex all at the same time. And no I haven’t read Linnets and Valerians! I really must!! Thanks for the recommendations 😀
LikeLike
L&V is not magical in the same way that The Little White Horse is, but it’s a wonderful book with a hint of magic.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great! Have looked it up and have added it to the reading list 😀
LikeLike
I had Artemis on my list this week too.
My TTT: https://jjbookblog.wordpress.com/2016/05/03/top-ten-tuesday-55/
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hurrah! Great minds eh 😉
LikeLike
As you know, we have a lot of the same characters on our lists. Sadly I haven’t read any of the other characters however I would love to read The Copper Cat trilogy and the Artemis Fowl books.
LikeLiked by 1 person
They’re both very enjoyable series and I can’t wait to continue with the Copper Cat Trilogy!! It’s such a good solid fantasy!
LikeLike
So many of these I haven’t read! The Princess and the Dragon sounds fantastic.
I hadn’t considered this change of Artemis affecting him so much; very interesting idea.
I’d be very curious about what Madeline grew up to be. A female daredevil, maybe? I could see her heading up some expedition into the jungles of Africa or the Amazon. ^_^
Thanks for stopping by my TTT!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh The Princess and the Dragon is such a wonderful children’s book. It was one of my favourite possessions and I still have it to this day! And Madeline would make a fabulous daredevil or explorer…. I’m having definite cravings for watching the madeline cartoon now too!
LikeLike
If Colfer ever does write books about a grown-up Artemis, you should totally write the cover blurb. A+ on that description! Lyra was a favourite of mine growing up and I still love her; I choose to believe that she’s a scientist now, conducting field research in various communities (witches, armoured bears, etc.).
LikeLiked by 1 person
Haha thank you! Oh and wouldn’t that be wonderful!! I’d love to see Lyra exploring more of her world and discovering weird and wonderful creatures along the way 😀
LikeLike