[Turtle9 Posts: 79 Status: Offline]

I'm looking for books with a large cast for a paper I'm writing. Would prefer that the book have a single main viewpoint character surrounded by many secondary characters. I'm open to books that juggle a large cast well or those that do a poor/ confusing job of it. I'm also interested in books that have a lot of characters involved in a scene (as I've found that many large cast books only focus on 2-3 characters per scene). Any suggestions greatly appreciated! So far I'm looking at the Harry Potter and Hunger Games series, Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys, and A Nothern Light by Jennifer Donnelly.

[HDWestlund Posts: 1,007 Status: Offline writer and bookseller]

THRONE OF GLASS by Sarah Maas has a pretty large cast, though the second book on introduces a second viewpoint character.
ETIQUETTE AND ESPIONAGE series by Gail Carriger
THE DIVINERS series by Libba Bray (though viewpoints do shift--it's still pretty epic in scope)
CONSPIRACY OF US series by Maggie Hall
INVENTOR'S SECRET series by Andrea Cremer

[mrh Posts: 4,803 Status: Offline www.marciahoehne.com WWW]

SOME KIND OF HAPPINESS by Claire Legrand has a pretty big cast for MG.

[Barbara Etlin Posts: 2,258 Status: Offline WWW]

AUDREY (COW) by Dan Bar-el is a fabulous MG with, I kid you not, about 20 viewpoint characters, each with a distinctive voice and POV.

[rab Posts: 541 Status: Offline WWW]

Not exactly what you're after, but Nikki Grimes' Bronx Masquerade shifts from one perspective to another, with a ton of voices. A more recent YA with two main narrators, Jandy Nelson's I'll Give You the Sun, has a lot of different characters, and a few scenes with several characters. At least, if I'm remembering it accurately!

[dinalapomy101 Posts: 1,894 Status: Offline Happy writing to all! WWW]

BEAUTY QUEENS by Libba Bray is multiple POVs and lots of them.
TEN by Gretchen McNeil is one pov where the ten other characters slowly get killed off (based on AND THEN THERE WERE NONE by Agatha Christie).

[writerjenn Posts: 309 Status: Offline WWW]

HARRIET THE SPY, by Louise Fitzhugh.
THE LIST, by Siobhan Vivian.
UNWIND, by Neal Shusterman.
EVERLOST, by Neal Shusterman.
DAUGHTERS OF EVE, by Lois Duncan.

[Turtle9 Posts: 79 Status: Offline]

As mentioned, I'd prefer a single POV character with a large supporting cast, but thank you all for the reading list! And I'm still open for more suggestions, particularly if you can think of books that have a lot of characters featured in a single scene.

[JulieM Posts: 945 Status: Offline WWW]

POOKIE ALEERA IS NOT MY BOYFRIEND (MG), but it uses a cast of narrators - https://www.penguin.com.au/products/9780702249280/pookie-aleera-not-my-boyfriend

[J-Bert Posts: 257 Status: Offline WWW]

Sheila Turnage's series starting with THREE TIMES LUCKY has a lot of characters. There are many scenes at the town cafe where almost the whole town is there.

The Great Greene Heist by Varian Johnson has a big cast, but if I'm remembering correctly it's multiple POV.

The Sammy Keyes mysteries often have a lot of characters and are all in Sammie's POV.

Might also look at Daughter of Smoke & Bone series by Laini Taylor (mostly one main POV) and the Raven Cycle series by Maggie Steifvater. (I haven't read the last two yet--I think the first two are mostly in Blue's POV with a few chapters in others.)

Oh, also Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater has a fairly large cast but two POVs.

[writerjenn Posts: 309 Status: Offline WWW]

As mentioned, I'd prefer a single POV character with a large supporting cast, but thank you all for the reading list! And I'm still open for more suggestions, particularly if you can think of books that have a lot of characters featured in a single scene.

Of the books I listed, I think HARRIET THE SPY fits that main-character-with-supporting-cast best. The others are closer to ensemble casts (the Shusterman books tend to have three main characters, the others more), but worth looking at for variety of technique. And all the books I listed have at least one scene where all or most of the characters are present at once.

I'm also rereading a classic MG, THE HORSE WITHOUT A HEAD by Paul Berna, that has a huge cast: 10 kids plus several adults who are major characters. There isn't a single POV character, but there are scenes where all 10 kids are together.

[dinalapomy101 Posts: 1,894 Status: Offline Happy writing to all! WWW]

I just finished THE LOOSE ENDS LIST by Carrie Firestone. One 1st person narrator pov, a cruise ship full of other important characters!

[Sheila Posts: 98 Status: Offline I write and illustrate for children of all ages. WWW]

How about WONDER? It has multiple points of view although not so much a lot of characters in individual scenes. Hilary McKay's books often slip in and out of various characters' points of views and she has a lot of characters. Not exactly what you're looking for but worth reading if you're not familiar with her work. Her SAFFY'S ANGEL and DOG FRIDAY are both  wonderful and do have scenes with a small crowd of characters. Another oldie but goody is THE PINBALLS by Betsy Byars.

[sarah_create Posts: 361 Status: Offline Sarah Johnson WWW]

Some of Shannon Hale's books fit this category. (Princess Academy, for example.)  So does Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card. The classic, Alice in Wonderland, also has a large cast, as does The Hobbit.
I can't think of any with large casts that are written poorly.
There are obvious challenges to writing a large cast. (And the cast may shrink a bit during revision, after feedback from other writers or an editor. If two different characters perform the same purpose, they will often be combined.) I wonder if certain types of books have large casts. (For example: Is it more common with fantasy?)

Good luck with your paper.

[Barbara Etlin Posts: 2,258 Status: Offline WWW]

THE VIEW FROM SATURDAY by E.L. Konigsburg. If I remember correctly, it's written in 3rd person (maybe omniscient?) and has five main characters and a lot of secondary characters.