One of the reasons fanfiction is so popular with readers is that these original stories give books’ secondary or little-known characters their own chance. A writer can present his or her own opinion of how a character responded to a scenario covered in the book or send this figure on their own new adventure.

I wrote Harry Potter fanfiction for most of middle school and feel quite protective over the idea of giving secondary characters their own story. When done well, these spin-offs are amazing. The Top Ten Tuesday meme over at The Broke and the Bookish chose to address this concept by asking for our top characters we’d want to get their own book. Here is my list!

1. Molly Weasley (Harry Potter series, by J.K. Rowling) – The fanfic author Bad Mum has written some amazing Weasley stories, and many of her head canons have become my own and have led to my soft spot for Molly. She is a strong maternal figure who demonstrates how far your love for family can take you. That being said, I’d love to read a prequel to the original series that’s about her life – growing up with her twin brothers, going to school and falling in love with Arthur, and raising her children during two wars.

2. Mr. Dryden (Dreamland Social Club, by Tara Altebrando) – In this book, Jane’s dad is a rollercoaster designer and her mother was the daughter of famous Coney Island locals. The story starts years after Jane’s mom has died, and her father is an absentminded parent who is absorbed in his work. I am deeply intrigued by her parents’ love story, what her father thought of her mother’s carnival background, and how he began designing carnival rides. Do you sense a theme yet? I seem to be interested about parents’ lives before they had children. I think a book told from Mr. Dryden’s point of view would be so fascinating.

3. Mr. Tumnus (The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, by C.S. Lewis) – Now, from the Narnia series, I’ve only read this book, Prince Caspian, and half of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. However, from what I know about the series (I could easily be wrong!), none of the books describe the initial realization that the four monarchs have suddenly vanished. I’d love to read about the state of havoc that Cair Paravel and the entire country descended into and what the royal advisors ended up doing, specifically Tumnus.

4. Lydia Bennet (Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen) – P.D. James’s book Death Comes to Pemberley provides an extremely dramatic insight into the troublesome Lydia’s life after marriage, but I really don’t dig its plotline. I would like to know about Lydia’s childhood, how she felt as the youngest of five girls, and the dirty details of the fateful trip that led to her eloping with Wickham. The poor girl could easily become disgusted with her husband after a year or two, and I’d want to read about the fallout (a tad bit morbid, I know).

5. Finnick Odair (The Hunger Games series, by Suzanne Collins) – I once read a fanfiction story about Finnick’s life before and during his Games, and I became a little obsessed with him afterwards. I’m totally up for a book explaining how badly the Capitol emotionally and physically manipulated him, and how this position led to what I assume was success as a mentor in later Games. Plus, I want to know more about Finnick’s relationship with Annie. 

What about you? What secondary characters would you like to have their own book?