Book Challenge Day 2: Your favorite secondary character

It's very difficult to choose just one secondary character for this post.  It would be my first instinct to choose from classic literature, but I've decided that I want to stick to reading I've done recently to complete this challenge.  I narrowed it down to two finalists: Haymitch, from The Hunger Games, and Thomas, from Being Henry David.  And the winner is... (drum roll please)...

I read Being Henry David, by Cal Armistead, over the summer.  (You can read my review of it here.)  It was a decent read, but one of the things that really added to my experience was how gifted the author is at characterization.  The characters are some of the most memorable from any novel I have ever read.  Even characters we only meet for a page or two are incredibly well-crafted and interesting.  And Thomas bookwormed his way into my head and into my heart as one of my favorite characters ever.

Not to give too much away, but the premise of the novel is that the protagonist wakes up in a Boston train station with no memory of who he is, where he came from, or how he ended up in the city.  After he meets some new companions of dubious lineage, he finds himself drafted into a drug trafficking ring and knows he has to escape.  The only clue he has to his identity is a copy of Walden by Henry David Thoreau, so he buys a train ticket with some stolen money and heads to Walden Pond to try and unravel the mystery of who he is.  After spending a freezing night alone on the ground at the spot of what used to be Thoreau's cabin, he meets Thomas.  Thomas is a park ranger/ Thoreau historian/ research librarian/ rebel with a cause, and he helps our protagonist (who adopts the name Hank) by offering help with research, friendship, and eventually a place to stay.  

Thomas is memorable in all ways.  He is a huge Thoreau buff, a musician, a book-lover, a motorcyclist, and an all-around stand-up guy.  But it was this description that hooked me:

"He (Thomas) pulls up the sleeve of his green T-shirt to show me the tattoo of a cobra, coiled and ready to strike.  Except that it's wearing black-rimmed glasses just like Thomas's, and above the snake is one word in fancy Gothic lettering: 'Bookworm' (Armistead 122).

Thomas goes on to reveal himself as one of the best friends and helpers Hank could have found. Also, in the author's notes at the end of the novel, she reveals that Thomas is based on a real person, one Richard Smith, who is a Thoreau interpreter who works at Walden Pond (You can check out Richard in action in this clip:)    

So even though he doesn't look exactly like I imagined, I'm still hoping to get to Walden Pond someday and meet Richard myself!  If you've never read it, Being Henry David is a great, fast read.  Enjoy, and leave a note in the comments about your favorite secondary character!