>V-Day Confessions

by Roger Sutton
Feb 14, 2006 | Filed in Articles & Opinion
>The question is, what literary character could make you see stars, complete your life, take you dancing and love you forever?

I'll go first. When I need to feel highbrow, I go with Emma's Mr . Knightley. But my heart truly belongs to John Sandford's Lucas Davenport, who can cook, shoot, and design computer games, and whose best friend is a nun.

Limiting myself to children's books . . . as a young teen I had a crush on the girl Jesse in Lois Duncan's Ransom, and Monsieur Roger Tunnel in Kin Platt's The Boy Who Could Make Himself Disappear. And now I kind of have a thing for the Nac Mac Feegle, yup, all of 'em. The heart wants what the heart wants.
Roger Sutton
Roger Sutton

Editor Emeritus Roger Sutton was editor in chief of The Horn Book, Inc., from 1996-2021. He was previously editor of The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books and a children's and young adult librarian. He received his MA in library science from the University of Chicago in 1982 and a BA from Pitzer College in 1978.

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Beth

>Wow, Eugenides the Thief has a fan club. If the Queen doesn't appreciate him I'm next in line.

Posted : Feb 27, 2006 07:39

Robin

>Laurie and Professor Baer in "Little Women" when I was a child because they were funny, smart, loyal and supportive.

Pierre Bezukhov in "War and Peace" when I was older, especially as played by Anthony Hopkins in the brilliant 1972 BBC production. Pierre is also smart and loyal but more conflicted and ultimately philosophical, especially about war and power -- the perfect hero for a rebel child of the '60s.

Posted : Feb 26, 2006 08:02

Carly

>When I was younger, I adored Ted in Paula Daziger's book, There's a Bat in Bunk Five so much, that in my teens I travelled all the way over to New Jersey to be a camp counselor at a summer camp, hoping to find my own Ted! It never happened, but without that book, I would never have wanted that experience.

In my teens I fell in love with Tommy in The Gift by Danielle Steel.

Now that I'm in my twenties, I have fallen in love with Noah Calhoun in The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks and who doesn't love Mr Darcy! (I think Colin Firth may have helped my imagination even more so!) And if I'm allowed to be a teen again, I think Jesse in The Mediator Series by Meg Cabot, definately deserves crush status! I just wished those books were around when I was younger, I might have tried to have become a Ghostbuster! =0)

Posted : Feb 26, 2006 07:44

Roger Sutton

>re English majors under forty: I'm just guessing that both grad and undergrad English courses have changed a lot since the mid-70s, and that literary crushes have become more expansively defined to include such non-canonical figures as Giles on the Buffy show.

Posted : Feb 21, 2006 05:09

Anonymous

>Lord Peter Wimsey. Is there anyone else?

Posted : Feb 19, 2006 06:27

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