Ok ok ok, I’m going to get bagged out for this, but Harry Potter. Yes, he can be an annoying little shit in a couple of the books but really, I’ve loved him all along. No parents, bandied about by everybody, and he still gets the jobs done, while passing school as well. Though I couldn’t really say Harry without including Hermione and Ron. I don’t believe you can separate them. Harry is who he is because of the people around him, and that’s one of the important messages of the book. You don’t need to do everything on your own, you don’t need to be perfect, it’s ok to ask for help. That’s what makes him my favourite. Also, Samwise Gamgee. In my opinion, he is the true hero. Loyalty, bravery, perseverance, strength of character. Frodo basically failed, Samwise and Aragorn are the heroes. And they aren’t perfect either, but they overcome their troubles for the sake of the ones they love. They keep going. They don’t give up, no matter how hard it gets. I wish I could be like that. And one more I just remembered: Lyra Belacqua from His Dark Materials Trilogy by Philip Pullman. She is an ordinary girl, a tomboy, a feral. Then she gets the weight of the world thrust on her shoulders. There is so much depth to these books and all of the characters that I hardly know where to start. Again, the not perfect aspect appeals to me, she must perform a great act of betrayal to continue her quest and she must break her own heart to save the world, after falling in love for the first time. She tells lies to get by and when this doesn’t work for the first time she must reassess who she is. She is the strongest female character I have so far read of.