This is a tough question.
I’ve read hundreds, perhaps thousands, of Christian novels, and while several characters spring to mind, they aren’t necessarily “favourite” characters. They are memorable characters, and there is a difference.
- For example, Angel in Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers is a memorable character. But she’s not always likeable, so can’t be called a favourite.
- Mrs Clara Kip in The Extraordinary Deaths of Mrs Kip by Sara Brunsvold is another memorable character. But while she is the character in the title and the person with many life lessons to share, she’s the mentor figure. Not the main character. Shouldn’t the favourite be the main character?
- Some characters are memorable and interesting for reasons they have no control over. An example of this is Libby in When the Day Comes by Gabrielle Meyer, who literally lives two lives separated by more than a century.
- And some characters are memorable for their circumstances, like Marissa Moreau in Shadows of Hope by Georgiana Daniels, a crisis pregnancy counsellor who can’t get pregnant, and discovers her new client/friend is her husband’s mistress.
But if we’re going to talk about my favourite character, it probably has to be a character that features in a series I’ve read over and over: the Love Comes Softly series by Janette Oke. It’s an oldie, but a goodie. The series centres around Marty and Clark and their children. There was a later spinoff series that featured one of their grandchildren, Virginia.
My favourite character is Drew, who married Marty and Clark’s youngest daughter, and who is Virginia’s father.
Drew is an inspiring example of a Christian man, husband, and father. He’s a bitter young man when we first meet him, but over the years he matures into a strong man of God, a man who wants to care for and protect those around him with the skills he has. He’s also a man who overcomes trials that could have broken him, but he chooses to be the survivor and victor, not the victim. And that’s why he’s my favourite.
Kristen Young was born (and spent a memorable first few months of her life) in the UK, grew up in Sydney, but now lives in the Central West of NSW with her husband, three children, and slightly neurotic dog. She has been involved in church-based ministry for over 20 years, and loves helping people of any age to see how awesome Jesus is.
Toni Shiloh is a wife, mom, and Christian fiction writer. Once she understood the powerful saving grace of the love of Christ, she was moved to honor her Savior.
