Debbie: Love or Hate?

[praisecrown8]

I didn't find anything off-putting about Debbie. Throughout the book we learn a lot about her, and I think that the vast majority of it is positive. The one small error in judgement she made was trusting her friend to "take care" of certain things (which ultimately led to the kidnapping). She is warm, loyal to her friends, father and boyfriend, and doesn't seem to have trouble making personal connections despite growing up very wealthy. In other words, she doesn't seem like a snob. On the contrary, she seems quite well-rounded and genuine.

She was actually careless enough to trust her friend.

[leanne_brown17]

I didn't find anything off-putting about Debbie. Throughout the book we learn a lot about her, and I think that the vast majority of it is positive. The one small error in judgement she made was trusting her friend to "take care" of certain things (which ultimately led to the kidnapping). She is warm, loyal to her friends, father and boyfriend, and doesn't seem to have trouble making personal connections despite growing up very wealthy. In other words, she doesn't seem like a snob. On the contrary, she seems quite well-rounded and genuine.

She was actually careless enough to trust her friend.

Yes she was very careless in that!

[Faithmwangi]

I think Debbie's reaction was based on the fact that she had time to mourn and accept what happened. Also, her character feeling it did not deserve pity because she still had it good in life despite her loss. I did not find fault in her character and appreciated her honesty.

[Jsovermyer]

I didn't like her at first. I thought she was a spoiled rich kid. But I liked her better when she became interested in Bud.

[BelleReadsNietzsche]

I'm curious to know if anyone else had as strong an immediate and visceral reaction to Debbie as I did.
On the very first page, when she muses "She was blessed, and she recognized it. At 26 years of age she couldn't have asked for a better life other than losing her mother at the age of 13" my gut was reaction was that I would not be able to relate to this girl at all. The way the author writes this makes it seem as though Debbie is nonchalantly dismissing the death of her mother as a casualty of her own good fortune. Like "Well, my mom died but it's all good cause I live a pampered lifestyle! Fair trade right?"
Regardless of what the author might have done differently, I started thinking that this powerful reaction to their character was a good thing, and that it might actually compel me to continue reading because I dislike the character so much that I want to know if anything bad happens to her (Yes, I'm that person lol).
Debbie in The Face of Fear by RJ Torbert may well become a character I love to hate, which can be as enjoyable as those I just plain love.
What are your impressions of this character?

For me this wasn't as much a flaw with Debbie, as it was with the author's writing. I feel like I see this a lot in the horror/crime/thriller/etc. genre, especially those independently published (but its a problem overall)- characters' hardships seem to never seem to get them down. They heal immediately from everything with no scars ever. (Of course, in a book like this, sometimes that's even better because you can mess them up and "finally" scar them. But I see it just as often that characters like this end the book with "Yes, I lost my sense of safety and a limb, but I go back to my pampered lifestyle now knowing that these heroes always have my back! *happy untroubled smiles*") It seems to me to be even more common with female characters. But I can't bring myself to take it out on the character; why don't the writers feel comfortable writing REAL PEOPLE?! Even in these genres that aren't necessarily known for their realism, it would improve many books I think.

[Susmita Biswas]

I love the character of Debbie.

[NuelUkah]

I'm curious to know if anyone else had as strong an immediate and visceral reaction to Debbie as I did.
On the very first page, when she muses "She was blessed, and she recognized it. At 26 years of age she couldn't have asked for a better life other than losing her mother at the age of 13" my gut was reaction was that I would not be able to relate to this girl at all. The way the author writes this makes it seem as though Debbie is nonchalantly dismissing the death of her mother as a casualty of her own good fortune. Like "Well, my mom died but it's all good cause I live a pampered lifestyle! Fair trade right?"
Regardless of what the author might have done differently, I started thinking that this powerful reaction to their character was a good thing, and that it might actually compel me to continue reading because I dislike the character so much that I want to know if anything bad happens to her (Yes, I'm that person lol).
Debbie in The Face of Fear by RJ Torbert may well become a character I love to hate, which can be as enjoyable as those I just plain love.
What are your impressions of this character?

Well, I'd say that Debbie just moved on with her life rather than dwell on the past of what may or may not have been.

[mamilla93]

The author wasn't careful about that part of portrayal of Debbie, but it doesn't reflect on Debbie in any way.

[Morgan Jones]

Debbie didn't convince me as a character and I found her retail of the past a bit awkward and stiff.

[Moneybag]

I think it's just fine that Debbie doesn't dwell on her loss. She had a long time to mourn and she should be able to see her life as blessed even though she had a tragedy at 13 years old. It may seem like she brushes it off, but I feel like it's less a brush off and more of an acceptance about what happened. But, as we are not in her shoes, we can't fully understand her thought processes and development.

Thanks for this comment

[Agbata precious]

I think it's just fine that Debbie doesn't dwell on her loss. She had a long time to mourn and she should be able to see her life as blessed even though she had a tragedy at 13 years old. It may seem like she brushes it off, but I feel like it's less a brush off and more of an acceptance about what happened. But, as we are not in her shoes, we can't fully understand her thought processes and development.

I think so too.