The Best Protagonists I've Read About (And the Worst Ones, Too)

 Yesterday, I was thinking about what makes a good protagonist. I know a lot of people would say that the ideal main character is good, kind, and true, but that's the kind of character I hate, so I decided to present my view on the matter.

To clarify, if a character has a point of view in the book, I consider them a protagonist.

NOTE: I would say no offense to the authors of the Worst Protagonists, but... it's pretty hard not to mean offense when you're tearing apart people's characters. I'm sure that these authors love their protagonists very much, so if you are an author and one of your protagonists is on the list, let's agree to disagree and leave it at that. 

Without further ado, let's take a look at the best protagonists.

3. Amy Anne from Ban This Book

Despite being a fourth-grader, Amy Anne is one of the most relatable protagonists I've ever read about. In her head, she's brave enough to say all sorts of things, but on the outside she's very quiet and withdrawn from the world around her. Still, she finds the bravery to stand up against censorship, and her personal journey is one I found really inspiring.

If you haven't read Ban This Book, READ IT! You won't regret it one bit.

2. Magnus from the Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard trilogy

You get so many fighting protagonists these days that you start to forget that there are also people who aren't warriors. Magnus is a prime example of this. While he's been in his fair share of battles, he's not a fighter--not really, anyway, since his sword does all the work.

That's not to mention that Magnus is funny and sarcastic. He also has those all-important character flaws. 

(The rest of the characters in the series are also awesome, my favorite being Hearthstone.)

1. Everyone in the Six of Crows duology

I need to stop obsessing over Six of Crows. But it's impossible when all the characters are so darn amazing.

I could gush for hours about the six main characters, but since I've already done that in various other posts, I'll leave it at this: READ THE BOOKS. PLEASE, OH, PLEASE READ THE BOOKS.

Now, let's get to the worst protagonists. This is going to be fun. (Insert evil laughter.)

By the way, the scale is reversed in this list, with #1 being the worst of the worst.

3. Clary from the Mortal Instruments

Clary does pretty much nothing in the whole series. I mean, I guess she sort of saves the world in City of Glass and again in City of Heavenly Fire, but most of the time she just waits around for Jace to save her like the idiotic damsel in distress she is. And--the worst part--SHE GETS CREDIT FOR EVERYTHING! It was as if the whole Shadowhunter society got together and agreed, "Yeah, so let's, like, worship the ground she walks upon. Yep, that sounds like a good idea." Maybe this series would have been good if Simon had been the protagonist, but nooooooooooooooo, we're stuck with Little Miss Not Like Other Girls instead. Bleck.

3. Rusty/Firepaw/Fireheart/Firestar from Warriors

What bugs me most about Firewhatever is how, despite being completely and utterly stupid, he is one of the best in the clan. If you read just a little of the first book, you will come to a scene where Bluestar tells Firepaw that only fire could save their clan. And then, instead of instantly realizing that only he could save their clan, he goes and thinks something along the lines of, Gee, how can fire save our clan? Fire burns things. Fire doesn't save things. Well, I'm sure that Starclan is right! Meanwhile, the reader is feeling like banging their head against the wall in frustration that their protagonist is so. Darn. Stupid. 

2. Clary from the Mortal Instruments

Clary does pretty much nothing in the whole series. I mean, I guess she sort of saves the world in City of Glass and again in City of Heavenly Fire, but most of the time she just waits around for Jace to save her like the idiotic damsel in distress she is. And--the worst part--SHE GETS CREDIT FOR EVERYTHING! It was as if the whole Shadowhunter society got together and agreed, "Yeah, so let's, like, worship the ground she walks upon. Yep, that sounds like a good idea." Maybe this series would have been good if Simon had been the protagonist, but nooooooooooooooo, we're stuck with Little Miss Not Like Other Girls instead. But even Clary has to bow down to the queen of all Mary Sues:

                                                                                                                                                                           

1. Sophie from Keeper of the Lost Cities

 

There are no three words more infuriating than Sophie Elizabeth Foster. Sophie is what the French call un flocon de neige spécial--which she already knows since she speaks every language in the human and magical world fluently. She can also read minds, teleport, and make her friends more powerful, and that's not to mention her photographic memory and clumsiness. She's twelve years old, yet she's the most beautiful girl in school (though she doesn't know it, obviously, since that would make her seem vain), had three love interests, and is the most powerful elf in the Lost Cities. The depressing thing? If you removed Sophie and all the glitter from this series, it would actually be really good. Too bad we're stupid with our genius, special, amazing, wonderful, beautiful, spectacular, fabulous, courageous, selfless, generous, incredible, super protagonist Special Sophieflake.