Characters Count
A Booklist of Unforgettable Characters in YA Fiction
September 2 & 3, 1998


Adventure and Suspense
Will Hobbs, Bearstone
Chap Reaver, Mote
Gary Paulsen, Woodsong ; The Transall Saga
Theodore Taylor, Sniper

Fantasy



Kara Dalkey, The Heavenward Path
 Monica Furlong, Juniper ; Wise Child
Gail Levine, Ella Enchanted
Robin McKinley, Blue Sword ; The Hero and the Crown
Philip Pullman, The Golden Compass ; The Subtle Knife
Jane Yolen, Dragon's Blood series

Sports



Bruce Brooks, Moves Make the Man
Chris Crutcher, Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes
Walter Dean Meyer, Slam!
Will Weaver, Striking Out
Virginia Euwer Wolff, Bat 6

History



Sara Tuvel Bernstein, The Seamstress: A Memoir of Survival
Karen Cushman, Catherine Called Birdy (and others)
Paul Fleischman, Bull Run
Betty Greene, Summer of My German Soldier
Jackie French Koller, The Primrose Way
 Trudy Krisher, Spite Fences
Kathryn Reiss, PaperQuake
 Graham Salisbury, Under the Blood-Red Sun
 Mildred Taylor, Roll of Thunder , Hear My Cry

North Carolina Writers & Locations



Sarah Dessen, Someone Like You
Sandra Forrester, Sound the Jubilee
Suzanne Newton, I Will Call It Georgie's Blues ; Where Are You When I Need You
William Hooks, Circle of Fire
Mary Lyons, Letters from a Slave Girl
 Leon Walter Tillage, Leon's Story

Learning the World



Lesley Beake, Song of Be
Fran Buss, Journey of the Sparrows
Suzanne Fisher Staples, Shabanu ; Haveli
Sherry Garland, Song of the Buffalo Boy
Frances Temple, Taste of Salt

Family



Christopher Paul Curtis, The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963
Cynthia Grant, Mary Wolf
Walter Dean Myers, Somewhere in Darkness
Rodman Philbrick, The Fire Pony
 Gary Paulsen, Harris and Me
Rita Williams-Garcia, Like Sisters on the Homefront

Finding Self
Francesca Lia Block, Girl Goddess #9
 Cherie Bennett, Life in The Fat Lane
Melvin Burgess, Smack
Brock Cole, The Facts Speak for Themselves
Jenny Davis, Sex Education
 Paul Fleischman, Seedfolks
 Karen Hesse, Out of the Dust
Terry Hesser, Kissing Doorknobs
Valerie Hobbs, How Far Would You Have Gotten If I Hadn't Called You Back?
Davida Hurwin, A TIme for Dancing
Annette Klause, Blood and Chocolate
 Norma Mazer, When She Was Good
 John Marsden, Letters from the Inside
Michelle Magoriam, Goodnight Mr. Tom
Han Nolan, Dancing on the Edge
Cynthia Voigt, Izzy, Willy-Nilly ; Dicey's Song (and others)
Ellen Emerson White, The Road Home