If necessity is the mother of invention, books like these are its favorite teachers.

Stories of Inspiration

When life proves extra challenging, books featuring protagonists with remarkable creativity and persistence can remind us that it’s possible to solve even our most intimidating problems. Here are four inventive characters who will motivate you to get thinking, making and moving forward.

Violet Baudelaire in Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events

When Violet Baudelaire and her siblings lose their parents in a mysterious fire, they think they have experienced the worst that life can throw at them. Unfortunately for the Baudelaire orphans, they soon discover that they are quite wrong about that. Throughout the series, Violet frequently finds herself in situations where her creative mind and inventive spirit come in handy.

Penelope Akk in Please Don’t Tell My Parents I’m a Supervillain by Richard Robers

Penelope has a normal life. She hangs out with friends, deals with the weirdness of middle school, and has a nice family. There’s one catch: everyone she knows is a superhero! When a classic good versus evil battle breaks out at school, Penelope discovers that the gadgets she has always excelled at building may not have been meant for good after all.

Zofia Boguska in The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi

There are a few things every heist book needs: a treasure, a plan and someone to build the tools to making achieving said plan possible. Zofia is excellent at making all sorts of gadgets that make the impossible possible. From special clothing to otherworldly weapons, Zofia builds the tools that her friends need to be successful.

Jack Wolcott in Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire

Jacqueline was raised her entire life to be the pretty one, seen but not heard. She wasn’t supposed to be smart and the whole mad scientist thing wasn’t really on her radar, until, well, it was! When Jack finds herself transported to an otherworldly place full of science and dark magic, she discovers that her true power is not in her looks but in her mind.