Fablehaven

Seth is the other protagonist in Mull’s novel. He is Kendra’s younger brother, 11 years old and “heading into sixth grade” (1). At the beginning of the novel, he is energetic and brave, though his bravery comes primarily from his recklessness rather than from true courage. While thinking about their differences, Kendra reflects that Seth “settled for lousy grades, routinely skipped his homework, and earned frequent detentions” (53). When he arrives at Fablehaven, Seth refuses to follow Grandpa Sorenson’s rules simply because he doesn’t want to.

Over the course of the novel, Seth learns the reasons behind the rules, often in the most difficult way. He goes into the woods after being told not to and meets Muriel, one of the more dangerous entities on the preserve. He catches a fairy after being warned not to antagonize any of the creatures on the preserve and is turned into an unnatural creature himself. Most notably, he looks out the window on Midsummer’s Eve and accidentally lets several evil creatures into the house where they are free to abduct Lena and Grandpa. This event seems to be when Seth fully realizes the consequences of his actions; he feels extreme remorse after it happens.

After Midsummer’s Eve, Seth is still more reckless than Kendra, but his recklessness often serves a larger purpose. He convinces Kendra to try the stew from the ogress’s chimney because they are both starving. He breaks into the barn to find out what is making the loud noises inside, and in doing so, both helps the animal trapped inside and gives Kendra one of the pieces she needs for the Fairy Queen’s potion. He climbs the poles leading to Nero’s cave both because he is the most capable and because he doesn’t want Kendra or Grandma Sorenson to risk it. By the end of his stay at Fablehaven, Seth considers his actions more and his bravery looks more like courage than recklessness.

Grandma Sorenson is one of the supporting characters in the novel. She is Seth and Kendra’s maternal grandmother. Her first name is Ruth.

She spends the first half of the novel in the form of a chicken named Goldilocks; the magic that transformed her into a chicken is never made explicitly clear. She is shown to be a strong, resourceful woman, as seen in her explanations of the effort it took to communicate with her grandchildren while she was a chicken. Her transformation from chicken back into human is the only character development that she exhibits, and she assists in both Kendra and Seth’s development. This is most notable in her willingness to tell them the truth about the dangers lurking on the preserve, such as when she explains to Seth exactly why a flower that he is admiring is dangerous. As a result of this honesty, both Kendra and Seth quickly take to Grandma Sorenson, trusting her easily and taking her advice seriously.

Grandpa Sorenson is another supporting character. His first name is Stan, and he is the caretaker of Fablehaven. Like his wife, Ruth, Grandpa Sorenson undergoes very little character development of his own. Instead, he helps Kendra and Seth on their own journeys. Though sterner and more secretive than Grandma Sorenson, GrandpaSorenson provides Kendra and Seth with the clues that they need to figure out the truth of Fablehaven. Though he is stern, he is fair, allowing Kendra and Seth to renegotiate the rules and consequences of their stay after the first time they are caught in the woods. In this way, his own respect for fair agreements mirrors the attitudes of many of his magical tenants.

Lena is another supporting character, a former naiad who helps around the preserve. She has “dark hair streaked with a few black strands,” and Kendranotices that “her face had an ageless quality. Her almond eyes were black as coffee, and her features suggested a hint of Asian ancestry. Short and slightly stooped, she retained an exotic beauty” (8). She has several odd habits, such as gardening in the rain, that tie back to her past life as a naiad.

Much like Grandpa and Grandma Sorenson, Lena undergoes little character development of her own and serves to help Kendra and Seth with their own development. She and Kendra have several conversations throughout the novel, as Lena helps Kendra puzzle through ordinary things like aging and as she tells Kendra more about the preserve. Much like Grandma Sorenson, Lena is very honest in her conversations with Kendra, making Kendra feel like an equal. This likely rings true for the younger readers of the novel; adults treating them like equals is often not common.

After the final battle, Lena is returned to the naiad lake by the fairy army. Despite all her life experiences and development in her mortal form, she is ultimately returned to where she began.