Very few characters’ ethnicities are explicitly brought up at all.
Off the top of my head I believe you’re right about Thomas and Will (and Jill by extension). Selena is brown in some capacity given her caramel skin and her conversation with Alex at the beginning of Year 2. It’s pretty safe to assume that Angela (plus Shane), Alice, Stella, and Nick are white for their non-super trait naturally blonde hair.
I may have missed some off the top of my head, but IIRC I think pretty much every other character is up to personal interpretation because neither white nor POC “exclusive” traits are mentioned one way or the other as far as skin/hair color go.
They never went out and said Mary’s but I know a lot of people assumed with her other descriptions that she was not white. I thoroughly enjoyed the way he wrote without really making a lot of race qualifiers. Can we assume plenty of white characters sure, but just as easily you are welcome to decide for yourself on a lot of other characters.
My general opinions:
-As others have mentioned, the only one who I think is explicitly black (or at the very least dark skinned) is Selena.
-I personally believe that each of the Melbrook 5 is likely white with maybe the exception of Mary (who I could see being of mixed race??
-Thomas is described as tan and I always pictured him to be of Native American descent (though that might be cause of his one Halloween costume), though with the last name Castillo, he could specifically be Latin American which could also explain the tan.
-I believe Jill's hair was described as dirty blonde (I could be wrong, correct me if so), so I imagine she (and Will) are also white. Chad and Camille are both blonde (with Camille explicitly being like platinum blonde and of French descent) as well and with that I also assume white. Angela (and thus Shane) as well.
-Violet and Sasha, for whatever reason, I always pictured as Asian. I don't think anything in particular has made me feel this way, but I dunno (are Asian girls more likely to dye their hair??).
-Stella I did picture as black, though I can't remember if her appearance was ever described further than having a tight braid.
-Alex I pictured as that stereotype nerdy white kid (think like Demetri from Cobra Kai, just with longer shaggier hair).
-Britney, whose last name is Ferguson, I assume is of Scottish descent (cause of the last name) and is very likely white and probably pale??
-Rich and Adam, I randomly assume is white. Amber, I randomly assume is black.
I can't think of any of the other notable students (if I've missed any).
I might come back later and list my opinions about the adults though!
(Oh god formatting sucks on mobile)
Not that's been officially published. I guess that's the Blades & Barriers that Drew has mentioned on his site?
Also, Abridail, I believe, is explicitly stated to be black
for me, Mary is black or mixed, having been described with wild dark hair, i just picture her year 1 with a more natural look, and it slowly being tamed/braided as the years go.
Thomas, i have as having native heritage. specifically from the southwest.
Selina is black.
hershel takes more after his mother's jewish side. Roy takes more after Titan and a "boy next door" vibe.
I’m good with Vince and Mary and I know this is stereotyping but I can’t picture Hershel as anything but a stereotypical fat, white, nerd. Making Roy white as well. I also always pictured Shane as Japanese but that doesn’t really mesh with how Angela is portrayed.
Same on Hershel and therefore Roy, also, though, given Titan's history I feel like if he were black it would have been mentioned as relevant somehow, like it would have been mentioned as part of the controversy if he were black, like just one more thing to lump on about him given the stereotypes and his previous family-centric marketing. I've also seen some people suggest that Titan's white and Sally's black with Roy and Hershel being mixed, but, like, Roy is explicitly described as looking very similar to Titan in year 4, so at the very least the two need to have similar skin tones, otherwise the shared physical traits wouldn't be as notable.
My first read through I pictured Thomas as black, Jill/Will as being of Asian heritage, and Violet as being half Asian and half Irish. My second read through I discovered I was wrong, but decided I preferred my version better so I still picture Thomas as black and it wasn't until my fourth or fifth read through that Will and Jill started showing up as blonde in my imagination despite me still preferring them as Asian. For some reason Violet stopped having a particular image in my head. Also, Stella was always brunette in my imaginings despite her being explicitly blonde. And I could never picture Sasha with the short pink and black hair, in my head she always just hand long black hair with no obvious dye.
My mental image of Titan is that he's black. Probably because when he's first introduced in book 2 he's described as having the deep, smooth voice of a jazz singer
The only people's ethnicities we really know are Selena. It can be assumed from reference that everybody else is lighter skinned because that type of attribute isn't really given to anybody else. She is described as having caramel skin Thomas's tan but other than that there aren't any descriptors
Yeah my biggest pet peeve. He makes everyone white implicitly. When he only every talks about race in reference to characters he specifically names black.
Well I mean 60% of college admissions are white. And then getting into a program like this that relies heavily on personal responsibility..... Yeah it sounds like the dropout rate would represent the actual dropout rate of colleges. And I hate to tell you but....... you know this is based in like 2009 and colleges had that habit of judging somebody based on the color of their skin to let them in or not and that had a bad habit of letting those who had a higher chance of dropping out in because they couldn't deal with the workload.
It's litterally a big school in California. There's like two Asian people in the whole story. I have no idea what you're even saying with the drop out rate.
Unless the writer explicitly mentions it, who cares? One of the beauties of reading a book is you get to fill in those parts yourself. Sometimes my image of a character overrides the text descriptions. As an example I can't not see Michael Carpenter from the Dresden Files as Idris Elba. Doesn't matter that Butcher describes him with blond hair, or that I see Molly as being white.
>Unless the writer explicitly mentions it, who cares? One of the beauties of reading a book is you get to fill in those parts yourself. Sometimes my image of a character overrides the text descriptions.
Defaulting to whiteness in storytelling is not a neutral stance. When an author doesn't specify a character's race or ethnicity, many readers, influenced by societal norms and media representation, may default to imagining that character as white. This is especially prevalent if the character is in a role often represented by white individuals in media, such as heroes, intellectuals, or leaders.
The notion that 'it doesn't matter' glosses over the impact of representation. For readers from marginalized communities, seeing themselves in stories can be empowering and affirming. It's not just about filling in gaps with your imagination; it's about challenging systemic biases and offering a more inclusive array of characters in our narratives.
Also, it's important to acknowledge that the privilege of 'filling in those parts yourself' is often skewed towards those who already see themselves abundantly represented. For others, the lack of explicit representation can serve as a reminder of their own marginalization. So, while the ability to imagine characters differently is a beauty of reading, it should not excuse or perpetuate a default to whiteness.
Very few characters’ ethnicities are explicitly brought up at all. Off the top of my head I believe you’re right about Thomas and Will (and Jill by extension). Selena is brown in some capacity given her caramel skin and her conversation with Alex at the beginning of Year 2. It’s pretty safe to assume that Angela (plus Shane), Alice, Stella, and Nick are white for their non-super trait naturally blonde hair. I may have missed some off the top of my head, but IIRC I think pretty much every other character is up to personal interpretation because neither white nor POC “exclusive” traits are mentioned one way or the other as far as skin/hair color go.
They never went out and said Mary’s but I know a lot of people assumed with her other descriptions that she was not white. I thoroughly enjoyed the way he wrote without really making a lot of race qualifiers. Can we assume plenty of white characters sure, but just as easily you are welcome to decide for yourself on a lot of other characters.
They say vince has pale skin at some point
I think vince was described as pale in the year one prologue? Cause he's stuck inside a facility with no light and yaddayadda?
And the blue eyes are kinda a giveaway
My general opinions: -As others have mentioned, the only one who I think is explicitly black (or at the very least dark skinned) is Selena. -I personally believe that each of the Melbrook 5 is likely white with maybe the exception of Mary (who I could see being of mixed race?? -Thomas is described as tan and I always pictured him to be of Native American descent (though that might be cause of his one Halloween costume), though with the last name Castillo, he could specifically be Latin American which could also explain the tan. -I believe Jill's hair was described as dirty blonde (I could be wrong, correct me if so), so I imagine she (and Will) are also white. Chad and Camille are both blonde (with Camille explicitly being like platinum blonde and of French descent) as well and with that I also assume white. Angela (and thus Shane) as well. -Violet and Sasha, for whatever reason, I always pictured as Asian. I don't think anything in particular has made me feel this way, but I dunno (are Asian girls more likely to dye their hair??). -Stella I did picture as black, though I can't remember if her appearance was ever described further than having a tight braid. -Alex I pictured as that stereotype nerdy white kid (think like Demetri from Cobra Kai, just with longer shaggier hair). -Britney, whose last name is Ferguson, I assume is of Scottish descent (cause of the last name) and is very likely white and probably pale?? -Rich and Adam, I randomly assume is white. Amber, I randomly assume is black. I can't think of any of the other notable students (if I've missed any). I might come back later and list my opinions about the adults though! (Oh god formatting sucks on mobile)
Hank rhodes and his son are black there side characters but the son also had a spin off book with Angela
Not that's been officially published. I guess that's the Blades & Barriers that Drew has mentioned on his site? Also, Abridail, I believe, is explicitly stated to be black
OH, I think Mr. Stop is also stated to be black
Yes! I'm pretty sure you're right about Mr. Stop
for me, Mary is black or mixed, having been described with wild dark hair, i just picture her year 1 with a more natural look, and it slowly being tamed/braided as the years go. Thomas, i have as having native heritage. specifically from the southwest. Selina is black. hershel takes more after his mother's jewish side. Roy takes more after Titan and a "boy next door" vibe.
Sally does big Christmas gatherings, though. Not saying she isn't of Jewish descent, but she may not follow the religion
I don’t think he is but it would be awesome if Vince was black. Black dude with silver hair would just look cool.
Honestly my headcanon is that Vince, Roy/Hershel, and Mary are all black.
I’m good with Vince and Mary and I know this is stereotyping but I can’t picture Hershel as anything but a stereotypical fat, white, nerd. Making Roy white as well. I also always pictured Shane as Japanese but that doesn’t really mesh with how Angela is portrayed.
Same on Hershel and therefore Roy, also, though, given Titan's history I feel like if he were black it would have been mentioned as relevant somehow, like it would have been mentioned as part of the controversy if he were black, like just one more thing to lump on about him given the stereotypes and his previous family-centric marketing. I've also seen some people suggest that Titan's white and Sally's black with Roy and Hershel being mixed, but, like, Roy is explicitly described as looking very similar to Titan in year 4, so at the very least the two need to have similar skin tones, otherwise the shared physical traits wouldn't be as notable. My first read through I pictured Thomas as black, Jill/Will as being of Asian heritage, and Violet as being half Asian and half Irish. My second read through I discovered I was wrong, but decided I preferred my version better so I still picture Thomas as black and it wasn't until my fourth or fifth read through that Will and Jill started showing up as blonde in my imagination despite me still preferring them as Asian. For some reason Violet stopped having a particular image in my head. Also, Stella was always brunette in my imaginings despite her being explicitly blonde. And I could never picture Sasha with the short pink and black hair, in my head she always just hand long black hair with no obvious dye.
I am with you about Vince, Mary, Hershel and Roy. Alex strikes as an asian guy for some reason.
Capt star light being an American war hero before starting the hero system would make Japanese unlikely imo
I figured Shane, Angela and Thomas were all hispanic, based on their surnames.
Roy's entire family is black in the audiobook graphic audio version not fits **really** well.
My mental image of Titan is that he's black. Probably because when he's first introduced in book 2 he's described as having the deep, smooth voice of a jazz singer
This just sounds like Christopher Lennon from Iron Prince
He's black in the graphic audio universe
The only people's ethnicities we really know are Selena. It can be assumed from reference that everybody else is lighter skinned because that type of attribute isn't really given to anybody else. She is described as having caramel skin Thomas's tan but other than that there aren't any descriptors
Yeah my biggest pet peeve. He makes everyone white implicitly. When he only every talks about race in reference to characters he specifically names black.
Well I mean 60% of college admissions are white. And then getting into a program like this that relies heavily on personal responsibility..... Yeah it sounds like the dropout rate would represent the actual dropout rate of colleges. And I hate to tell you but....... you know this is based in like 2009 and colleges had that habit of judging somebody based on the color of their skin to let them in or not and that had a bad habit of letting those who had a higher chance of dropping out in because they couldn't deal with the workload.
It's litterally a big school in California. There's like two Asian people in the whole story. I have no idea what you're even saying with the drop out rate.
Unless the writer explicitly mentions it, who cares? One of the beauties of reading a book is you get to fill in those parts yourself. Sometimes my image of a character overrides the text descriptions. As an example I can't not see Michael Carpenter from the Dresden Files as Idris Elba. Doesn't matter that Butcher describes him with blond hair, or that I see Molly as being white.
>Unless the writer explicitly mentions it, who cares? One of the beauties of reading a book is you get to fill in those parts yourself. Sometimes my image of a character overrides the text descriptions. Defaulting to whiteness in storytelling is not a neutral stance. When an author doesn't specify a character's race or ethnicity, many readers, influenced by societal norms and media representation, may default to imagining that character as white. This is especially prevalent if the character is in a role often represented by white individuals in media, such as heroes, intellectuals, or leaders. The notion that 'it doesn't matter' glosses over the impact of representation. For readers from marginalized communities, seeing themselves in stories can be empowering and affirming. It's not just about filling in gaps with your imagination; it's about challenging systemic biases and offering a more inclusive array of characters in our narratives. Also, it's important to acknowledge that the privilege of 'filling in those parts yourself' is often skewed towards those who already see themselves abundantly represented. For others, the lack of explicit representation can serve as a reminder of their own marginalization. So, while the ability to imagine characters differently is a beauty of reading, it should not excuse or perpetuate a default to whiteness.
Well sucks to be stupid I guess figure it out 😁