My therapist would say my passion for “Gary Stu” characters comes from a childhood of inadequacy. I was always smaller than the other kids (even the girls). I was sooo awkward. Sports? Forget about it. Also, I was a kleptomaniac. Wait… I’m not sure I was supposed to tell you that last one. When I open up a book and become an attractive, smart, athletic pseudo-Ryan my inner child takes the wheel of a monster truck. And life is good.
In Télesphore, the glowing color of your palm determines your place in society, and shaking hands permanently mixes your shade. When 16-year-old Bruno accidentally kills a royal soldier, he goes from favored to fugitive. His only chance at survival is to become someone else. That means a haircut, change of wardrobe, and getting rid of his once cherished Blue. Now he’s visiting parts of town he never knew existed and making friends with people he would've crossed the street to avoid days ago. Luckily, Bruno’s parents have arranged a deal to clear his name and get his life back.
All Bruno has to do is abandon his new friends and let an innocent boy die in his place.
My friend said this was his favorite book. I thought it sounded lame. “The Name of the Wind?” What kind of poetic garbage is that? Then my cousin also said it was awesome. So reluctantly, I picked it up. The first 100 pages were pretty good. But then BAM - it was officially my favorite book of all time. How did that happen? Magic. Specifically, Rothfuss wrote such incredible detail and realism into the magic system it made me repeatedly try to perform it myself (after which I would become irritated and curse my mundane existence.)
Also, Kvothe. He’s what many would (derogatorily) call a Gary Stu, which is the male counterpart to a Mary Sue (a character that is way better at everything than everyone else and can do no wrong.) Maybe it’s because I never really felt superior in anything growing up, but reading about Kvothe kicking the crap out of life makes me glow inside. The Name of the Wind is the closest thing I’ve found to Hogwarts. And if Rothfuss makes me wait any longer for book three, there will be words. Four-letter ones.
The lyrical fantasy masterpiece about stories, legends and how they change the world. The Name of the Wind is an absolute must-read for any fan of fantasy fiction.
'This is a magnificent book' Anne McCaffrey
'I was reminded of Ursula K. Le Guin, George R. R. Martin, and J. R. R. Tolkein, but never felt that Rothfuss was imitating anyone' THE TIMES
'I have stolen princesses back from sleeping barrow kings. I burned down the town of Trebon. I have spent the night with Felurian and left with both my sanity and my life. I was expelled from the University…
Speaking of wish-fulfillment, Rezkin is simultaneously the most competent and incompetent young man I’ve ever had the pleasure to read about. He’s a Gary Stu because he is basically a warrior god. His only weakness is his lack of experience in… everything else. (He does grow savvier as the series progresses, but until it he does, hilarity ensues.) This is definitely my second favorite book (very closely following The Name of the Wind.) I want to be Rezkin so hard. Until then I’ll have to be content reading the book over and over and over.
Raised and trained in seclusion at a secret fortress on the edge of the northern wilds of the Kingdom of Ashai, a young warrior called Rezkin is unexpectedly thrust into the outworld when a terrible battle destroys all that he knows. With no understanding of his life’s purpose and armed with masterful weapons mysteriously bestowed upon him by a dead king, Rezkin must travel across Ashai to find the one man who may hold the clues to his very existence.
Determined to adhere to his last orders, Rezkin extends his protection to…
This was the first Brandon Sanderson novel I read and it started my life-long love affair with him. That didn’t come out quite right…
Kelsier is like Robin Hood and Spiderman combined. The only thing cooler and more perfect than him is the antagonist, who is basically a god, so you don’t get much more Gary Stu than that. The funnest part of Mistborn is watching Vin (the little orphan girl) become a Mary Sue in her own right. The magic system is almost as good as Rothfuss’s, and the Lord Ruler is officially the most bad@$$ villain ever… except maybe King Leck in Graceling… that creep gives me nightmares.
Brandon Sanderson - the international phenomenon who finished the Wheel of Time sequence - introduces a fantasy trilogy which overturns the expectations of readers and goes on to tell the epic story of evil overturned in a richly imagined world.
A thousand years ago evil came to the land and has ruled with an iron hand ever since. The sun shines fitfully under clouds of ash that float down endlessly from the constant eruption of volcanoes. A dark lord rules through the aristocratic families and ordinary folk are condemned to lives in servitude, sold as goods, labouring in the ash…
Okay, so Finn is an androgynous cartoon character but he’s the embodiment of childlike innocence, bravery, and self-sacrifice. I started with the TV series and fell in love with the characters and humor. (Ice King is my favorite and he’s basically the antithesis of a Gary Stu, so he balances Finn out nicely.) After finishing the 13 seasons on Hulu I started on the graphic novels. It’s definitely the weirdest cartoon around and the plot lines are kinda random, but there are so many gems. Watch the first season. If you don’t like it, then we can’t be friends. So don’t even try.
It's ADVENTURE TIME! Join Finn the Human, Jake the Dog, and Princess Bubblegum for all-new adventures through The Land of Ooo.
The totally algebraic adventures of Finn and Jake have come to the comic book page! The Lich, a super-lame, SUPER-SCARY skeleton dude, has returned to the the Land of Ooo, and he’s bent on total destruction! Luckily, Finn and Jake are on the case...but can they succeed against their most destructive foe yet? Featuring fan-favorite characters Marceline the Vampire Queen, Princess Bubblegum, Lumpy Space Princess and the Ice King!
Harry Potter would be the obvious choice for number five, but no one needs the recommendation to read that. Matilda by Roald Dahl was my favorite book growing up. She’s about as Mary Sue as you can get. Maybe it’s because I felt over-intelligent and under-appreciated as a child, but I read that book like it was cocaine. Brainpower conquers bullies! Every nerd’s dream.
We’ll call Matilda “Matt” so it fits my list. Who knows, maybe she was a boy all along. Hard to tell with those Quentin Blake illustrations.
11
authors picked
Matilda
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This book is for kids age
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10, and
11.
What is this book about?
Puffin Audiobooks presents Roald Dahl's Matilda, read by Kate Winslet. This audiobook features original music and sound design by Pinewood film studios.
Matilda Wormwood is an extraordinary genius with really stupid parents.
Miss Trunchbull is her terrifying headmistress who thinks all her pupils are rotten little stinkers.
But Matilda will show these horrible grown-ups that even though she's only small, she's got some very powerful tricks up her sleeve . . .
Kate Winslet's award-winning and varied career has included standout roles in Titanic, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Finding Neverland, Revolutionary Road and The Reader, for which she…
I have published over 50 books, including award-winning and bestselling titles. I am also a publishing executive and editor with 20+ years of professional experience. My latest The Twins of Auschwitz: The Inspiring True Story of Young Girl Surviving Mengele’s Hell, with Eva Kor, got a stellar review by Archbishop Desmond Tutu and is an international bestseller. As well as spearheading four publishing startups, I have run my own business, Editorial Services of L.A. I was Editorial/Publishing Director for Golden Books, Price Stern Sloan, Intervisual Books, Hooked on Phonics, and more. I am also the Publisher & Editor in Chief of NY Journal Of Books, the premier online-only book review site.
This is the Inspiring true story of a young girl surviving Mengele’s hell. This is an incisive, harrowing, and touching memoir of Eva Mozes Kor and her twin sister Miriam, who are sent to Auschwitz only to be torn from their parents and given to Josef Mengele, "The Angel of Death," for his evil and damaging experiments on human subjects.
In the voice of the ten-year-old Eva, we learn about what life was like in the death camps and how a child survives when food, water, comfort, and care are absent. At times heartbreaking and at other times a triumph of the will of a child to survive, this is a memoir that is not easily forgotten.
The Nazis spared their lives because they were twins.
In the summer of 1944, Eva Mozes Kor and her family arrived at Auschwitz.
Within thirty minutes, they were separated. Her parents and two older sisters were taken to the gas chambers, while Eva and her twin, Miriam, were herded into the care of the man who became known as the Angel of Death: Dr. Josef Mengele. They were 10 years old.
While twins at Auschwitz were granted the 'privileges' of keeping their own clothes and hair, they were also subjected to Mengele's sadistic medical experiments. They…
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