10 of the Best Trifling Main Characters in Literature

Despite the acclaim for this book, it features one of the best trifling main characters in literature. June Hayward is a struggling white writer who takes the manuscript her Chinese American friend left behind after a car accident. As her success grows, she appropriates Asian American culture for her own gain. Unfortunately, as the novel is told from the first-person perspective, readers have to endure her rationalizations for her theft and racism, as she keeps digging a deeper hole for herself instead of admitting she stole someone else’s work.

As an avid horror fan, I wanted to love this story and its protagonist, but, alas, it was not to be. Despite several great aspects of the story, main character, Jade, is not one of them. It’s somewhat forgivable, given the abuse and trauma she’d suffered, but it is not easy to be in her head. She uses her love of horror movies to cope, but they’re all she talks and thinks about, making her an unreliable narrator who is deeply out of touch with the world around her. While the story held me until its dissatisfying conclusion, its main character annoyed me every step of the way.

It wasn’t until after I read this one that I realized how truly trifling Dimple really was. I enjoyed her brash, determined personality and respected her refusal to give up on her dreams for a cute boy. However, after I read some thoughtful critiques, I saw that Dimple was a bit of a “Pick Me Girl.” She repeatedly judged other girls for how they dressed or behaved, often noting how she was “not like other girls.” I’m not sure why Rishi liked her, but a lot of readers didn’t share his high opinion.

Obviously, Jenny Han’s To All the Boys trilogy is a cultural juggernaut. They’ve been adapted into pretty good Netflix movies and amassed a huge fan base. I read them in 2020 when the world was falling apart, and I couldn’t seem to read at all. The sweet story was cozy and comforting in an uncertain world. Nonetheless, I understand the spirited contingent of people who love to hate protagonist Lara Jean. Her whole vibe is the hopeless romantic; she’s a bit of a doormat and reads as younger than she actually is. The most common complaint in Goodreads reviews is that she’s privileged, childish, and boring. Of course, that hasn’t stopped the book from topping bestseller lists and being named by Time as one of the best YA books of all time.

Named one of The New York Times Notable Books of 2018 and a Best Book of 2018 by NPR, it’s hard to deny this is a great read. In this twisty, suspenseful crime thriller, “happy-go-lucky charmer” Toby seeks refuge in his ancestral home after a violent attack that leaves him gravely wounded. Of course, once he’s home, he has to face dark truths and suspicious detectives. Toby is easily one of the best trifling main characters ever. He’s blond, handsome, and privileged. He’s also misogynistic, elitist, and used to getting away with being terrible.

This title is set up like rom-com gold. A handsome, rogue actor and the former ER therapist hired to handle him — one impulsive, one rigid, oh the trope gods have smiled upon us. Naturally, he’s vulnerable and wounded or whatever underneath his bad boy exterior, and the smart woman can’t help but fall for him. Unfortunately, he’s so trifling that we’d rather she didn’t. He spends much of the first quarter of the book criticizing her looks and negging her relentlessly. Dude is a walking red flag, and not in the fun fantasy way.