Top 5 Wednesday: Best Character Arcs/Development

Okay, so another Wednesday is upon us, so it's time for another Top 5 Wednesday!

As I've mentioned in the previous post, this series was created by Lainey (check out her Goodreads page). There is a group on Goodreads, which anyone can join and begin participating. Also, here is a list of all people who are a part of this series.

Alright, this week's topic is Best Character Arcs/Development, and I had trouble composing this list, I just couldn't think of 5 at the top of my head, but here it goes:

5. Leo from the Heroes of Olympus series by Rick Riordan

I think Leo is an amazing character, funny and sarcastic and such a smart-ass and I love him. But also, I love how his character develops, how he comes to terms with his demons and becomes so confident and determined.

4. Percy from the Heroes of Olympus and Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan

I think these books are generally great when it comes to character arcs, but Percy is the obvious one. He drastically changes from the first book, he becomes such a strong character, but also more realistic and observant and aware of the world he lives in and how it works. Especially after spending time in Tartarus. I guess it's game changing to spend time down there. Go figure.

3. Tris from the Divergent series by Veronica Roth

Tris grows so much as a character. She begins as this girl who is scared, and doesn't know who she is, and becomes this character who is confident, and doesn't even need to define herself, because she is who she is. No need for labels. And by the end of Allegiant, she is determined and brave and capable of making hard choices. 

2.Ari from Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

I think character arcs are more difficult in stand alone novels, since there isn't much space for it. Still, Ari is an amazing character. He starts out being this angry kid, mad at his mom, dad, brother and mostly himself. He doesn't know who he is or what he is doing. But by the end of the book, he kind of overcomes his demons and comes to terms with his true self.

1. Clary from the Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare

Clary is one of my favorite female characters. I usually tend to dislike female youngish characters in series, but I really like her. She grows so much, becomes strong and independent and comes to terms with her powers, stops being afraid of them and embraces them. I think her development through the books is massive and really well written.

The Mortal Instruments Series VS The Infernal Devices Series

VS

I've been thinking about doing some different styled posts, rather than just writing reviews, so I came up with the idea of kind of comparing these two series, The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices.

These books were written by Cassandra Clare and they are both set in the same universe, the world of the Shadowhunters. 

The Mortal Instruments has six books in total: City of Bones, City of Ashes, City of Glass, City of Fallen Angels, City of Lost Souls and City of Heavenly Fire.  

This is a urban fantasy young adult series and this is basically a series that everyone has read and/or heard about so I don't think that I have to go into the plot. It is based around Shadowhunters, who are basically half human-half angel warriors who protect the world from demons. I love this series. I think the world is really amazing and intriguing and I love the way it was built. Every book adds on to the main premise of it, and you are always discovering new things, but they are nicely interwoven into the already existing story. I adore the characters in this book, everyone of them. I usually don't get along with main characters that are youngish girls, they tend to annoy me at one point or the other, but I really like Clary. She is a strong character. Maybe not so much at first, but she has great character development and really develops more and more with each book, and kind of ends up being really great. I love every single character in this book. I really do. Jace, Izzy, Alec... I feel like her characters are complex in a way and I just enjoy them so much. They change so much through the series and grow with it, which is great. And Magnus Bane is one of the greatest characters ever, obviously. I love the plot here. It has twists, and it's gripping and these books were definite page turners for me. I read them so quickly and I couldn't get enough. Especially City of Glass and City of Heavenly Fire, which were my favorite. This turned into one of my favorite series ever and I can't wait for the next installments. 

With that being said, I picked up the prequel series, which is set in the Victorian era and deal with the lives of the ancestors of the characters from The Mortal Instruments series. 

The Infernal Devices series consists of three books: Clockwork Angel, Clockwork Prince and Clockwork Princess. I was hesitant to pick this up, because I am not a big fan of books taking place in that era, but still everyone was saying how they actually prefer The Infernal Devices so I had to see for myself. Now, when I read the first two books, I was not impressed at all. It wasn't bad by any means, it could never be, but to me it could never have been compared to The Mortal Instruments. The thing is I don't like Tessa very much. I don't hate her, but I am not the biggest fan. But I love all the other characters so so much. I may even dare to say that I prefer them to the MI characters. Maybe. I don't know. But, I do love them. Will and Jem are amazing and have an amazing relationship which is so beautiful that it's painful. I adore them honestly, both in their own way. But for me, the plot in these books was underwhelming for me. I don't think it's very thought through, and I don't know, it seemed stretched somehow, and I just didn't find it exciting. I was not really into it that much. But, after reading Clockwork Princess and bawling my eyes out for three hours and not sleeping throughout the night, I was inclined to say that I loved the books. I think the ending of Clockwork Princess was one of the saddest and most beautifully written endings that I have ever read. Honestly, that was the best part of the whole series. It was heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time. I just loved it a lot.

With all that being said, I would give The Mortal Instruments series kind of an edge, because I just didn't enjoy the plot in The Infernal Devices. But I do love the characters in both series and the world and the writing really sits well with me.