Is Our Main Character Likable?

Discuss the June 2017 Book of the Month, Superhighway by Alex Fayman. Superhighway is the first book in the Superhighway Trilogy, so feel free to use this forum to discuss not only the first book but also the other books in the series.

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Storm+
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Re: Is Our Main Character Likable?

Post by Storm+ »

I didn't find Alex very likable. Yes, he had good qualities, such as donating money to charity, but he also kept a lot of it for himself out of greed. In fact, he started his first charity out of guilt because his impulsive actions caused someone to be killed. He treats women as inferior beings, bodies to warm his bed. He cheats, he lies, and he cuts himself off from his "family" (Ms. Jenkins) without regret or remorse. He hates getting caught, but otherwise does not seem to care about the consequences of his actions until it affects his own life.
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Post by Eryn Bradshaw »

I found Alex an obnoxious, horny teenager. The book was more geared towards New Adult in my opinion, so why not make him a little less immature and less womanizing?
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Post by dbulkley »

Alex wasn’t really likable to me, but definitely acted his age. He thought all the girls in the novel were super attractive and obsessed with love at times. He was receptive with his actions, thinking he would never get in trouble. However he did give money to a lot of people that deserved it, which was his only non-selfish decision.
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Post by Mindy Conahye »

I think Alex is a little stiff, but I think he is likeable. His experiences make him a little more unsure of himself I think, but he adjusts quickly as he meets new women. After meeting the first woman, he seems to become pretty sure of himself.
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Post by aprenni »

I can't say that I'd ever want to be friends with Alex, but I do think he is a pretty well-written character. He treats women like objects to be had, but I think part of that can be attributed to him being an orphan. Yes, Mrs. Jenkins was wonderful and I'm sure she tried to raise him well, but the fact of the matter is that Alex grew up in an orphanage. He didn't have positive parental role models, aside from Mrs. Jenkins, and Mrs. Jenkins had a pack of kids to take care of. Perhaps no one sat down and really talked with him about how to treat women, about how to manage a crisis, or about any other moral issues found in this book. Alex does what any orphan would do given this sudden wealth and power: he flirts with pretty girls and he keeps a hefty portion of his profits to himself, because he's never had anything before. Because he's never had anything to call his own, he goes a bit overboard: instead of keeping enough money to get a cheap hotel, he gets hotels that are lavish and over the top. Instead of buying some new clothes from an average store, he gets designer and name-brand items because he's never had anything like that before. I think his monetary greed comes from his childhood, and I would like to see him grow and mature as a character to move away from that lifestyle.
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Post by Nusrat_Shabnam_ »

I actually couldn't relate to his character well. He is so complex as a person.
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Post by serendipity 27 »

I don't know if he is necessarily either, as he is a young boy with extraordinary powers, and he's struggling to cope with all that he learns about his past. He's not likable in the way that he treats women. However, it is commendable that he is trying to help the poor and downtrodden. The way he goes about it isn't the greatest though.
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Post by A G Darr »

I liked the main character, but when I was first reading the books I felt like this was wish fulfillment for the author. The main character, Alex, has the same first name as the author. The character Alex is really powerful, rich, and attractive. Luckily, the author is a good storyteller, so even though everything seems too-good-to-be-true about the main character, he at least faces some real hardship and growth.
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Post by SpencerVo »

A G Darr wrote: 19 Nov 2018, 14:22 I liked the main character, but when I was first reading the books I felt like this was wish fulfillment for the author. The main character, Alex, has the same first name as the author. The character Alex is really powerful, rich, and attractive. Luckily, the author is a good storyteller, so even though everything seems too-good-to-be-true about the main character, he at least faces some real hardship and growth.
I completely agree. I think Alex had some qualities of the "Tom Sue" trope. Sometimes I cringed hard at his utter lack of self-awareness and the modest bragging. But the two biggest reasons why I didn't like him were that he was driven solely by impulsiveness, and he had no ability to reflect and learn from his past mistakes.

Despite that, he was a well-written and engaging protagonist, and my teenage self would relate to his character. I would love to see him growing up and taking control of his ability, instead of letting it control and lead him astray.
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Post by DC Brown »

hsimone wrote: 02 Jun 2017, 03:15 What are your thoughts about Alex? Is he likable? Not likable? What do you think about the way he spends money? Treats women? Overall, personality?
Personally, I thought he was very shallow. Did he really think no one would find he took that money? Didn't he think people would notice he was spending money like water? He's not really likable. But neither was the book. The concept was great, very imaginative, but the characters were not.
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Post by Tzara Drusak »

I have mixed thoughts regarding Alec. On one hand he's this young, inexperienced fellow with the world ahead of him - gone through enough, but not too much to make him a relatable and understood character. On the other the idiocy of his choices leads readers to question his portrayal as the protagonist. That being said, I don't believe Alec treats women the way he does intentionally, it's more an absent-minded, off-hand attitude that comes with, as mentioned previously, his inexperience and the freedom of his circumstances.
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Post by Delaney35 »

I think he is a complicated person. He is also a young man. I think he acts in a way that makes sense for an 18 year-old who is still trying to figure out the world. He makes mistakes, but is trying to do the right thing.
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Post by Scrawling Pen »

I don't think Alex is a very likable character. At first, I found his character engaging, but soon his actions seemed immature and uninteresting.
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Post by Atara Miles »

Alex seemed very contradictory to me. He wants to right the wrong committed against his parents and uses justice and morality as reasons for his revenge yet treated his love interests rather dismissively and hurtfully, what one could argue as immoral. He seems a little naive and for most of the book I kept trying to relate to him but really couldn't.
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Post by Sarah Schmidt »

His money spending isn't even a bad point; it's everything else. He's whiny and treats women like shiny objects - crazy in love with them one moment then disposing them of the next. I think he's character requires a complete reconceptualization to be palatable to readers.
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