What makes Rachel's Character so likable?

[Toby]

Among readers, Rachel seems to be a popular favorite character. Most people like to like her. But at the same time, most people aren't like her. Hmm, not sure if I said that right... I guess what I'm trying to say is that I've never met anyone with her personality. She is loyal, brave, headstrong, and sometimes seemingly fearless. But at times she is also harsh, reckless, and dark. Her character is very bold, hardly ever backing down or faltering from a desicion she decides to make... But I'm sure you guys already know this. 

MY OPPINION
I don't know, out of all the people I know, no one fits her personality perferctly. And yet she is my favorite Animorph character. I like her because she is brave and steady, and also defensive of people close to her(When Taylor hurts Tobias and when David threatens her family). I think her overall personality may have came from taking care of her sisters, hypothetically of course. Before her parents split up, they might have fought each other alot before coming to the conclusion that they wanted a divorce. Rachel may have seen alot of fighting and arguing as a kid, and since she was the oldest, she might of felt she needed to protect her sisters from that unpleasantness, just as she protects the Animorphs from some unpleasant jobs. (Just a theory  ) She tries to protect and watch over Tobias as well. She likes to protect the weak or injured, ect. And overtime, after having to fight and defend so many times, I think she grew to enjoy it.

And I don't have specific quotes, but whenever Marco wants to save his mom, or Jake his Dad, or any other Animorphs' family members, she is always the first one to say 'let's do it' whereas some of the other Animorphs are more concerned about jepordizing their secrecy.

What I want to hear from you guys is what do you think makes her character so darn admirable?

[Qwerty the Charliecorn]

She proves that girls can be tough and kick butt.

[Phoenix004]

She proves that girls can be tough and kick butt.

Heh, like we didn't already know that. I have sisters too... 

[Toby]

She proves that girls can be tough and kick butt.

Heh, like we didn't already know that. I have sisters too... 

LOL!

[Terenia]

I love Rachel, because she is the kick-butt girl. I think that a lot of people admire her boldness and steadfastness, and even her slight craziness. Just look at the "If the invasion were real..." thread. How many people said that they would go in guns a-blazin' Rachel style? Her bravery is admirable, and her dark side is intriguing.

[Chad32]

She is the foil to Cassie, I guess. That's as simple as I can put it. Two girls with very different personalities.

[Kelly]

You know Toby, you're right..I've never met anyone like her either.
I can't actually imagine anyone being like her. But I suppose there's no one who has been put in her position..

[Bassline]

The way Rachel refused to back down from a fight no matter how bad the odds were.  She was extremely loyal to her friends, and always stood up for Cassie whenever Marco flamed her for her beliefs, even when Cassie's opinions were totally different from hers. She helped the other group members be brave whenever they were up against a mission that seemed impossible.

[morfowt]

Honestly I don't know why...

[Hylian Dan]

I really liked her strength and her compassion. She would always stand up for her beliefs and be unafraid to take action. She managed to present a very tough image of her to the world but at the same time she was a very caring and compassionate person. Right from the beginning she respected Tobias for his desire to fight in honor of Elfangor, even though to the rest of the group he still seemed like the poor bully magnet, and Rachel would always be offering Tobias her support to help him overcome his troubles. Rachel completely won me over in book 3. We see this same caring side of her in book 2 with Melissa, and when she tries to be there in a way for Marco after his dealings with Visser One. She also had plenty of her own insecurities that she struggled with, but in spite of them she always managed to be strong. I admire her, and I do know a few people who are pretty similar to her.

[filmstu2005]

Rachel is indeed a unique character. I can agree that I've never met anyone like her. She is loyal, as you all say. Brave. And then there's that reckless dark nature of hers.  And to top it all off, she's absolutely gorgeous. What kind of girl is that? A girl that's a total babe and isn't shallow? AND a blond, and still smart. (I still say Rachel was a dumb blond, the way she jumped to action on impulse. But it only seemed that way during the ghostrwritten books, when her voice was "lost". They turned her into this one dimensional killing machine.

The best parts I enjoyed when reading about Rachel was she seeing her vulnerability. The girl behind the front whose sole reason for being so "lets do it" was to motivate her teammates. To protect them. That was the most intriguing part of her and I wish I could have seen more.

The Weakness was a terrible book in Rachel's story. Because it not only made her a bit one-dimensional, but it made her look really really DUMB. As I read the through the lines in her thought process I could see why she was frustrated half the time. That's because half her own thoughts didn't make any sense!

The Rachel i liked to read about was violent in battle, raging, an adrenaline junkie. But she did it coolly. Not some wild flowery war child who acted 5 yrs old.  She wasnt a Howler who got off of rush of just killing people, as so horribly implied near the end of MM4 Back to Before.

She was one of my favorite Animorphs. Her, Marco, Cassie, and Ax. Well, jake and Tobias too. I enjoyed them all i guess. Long Live Rachel

[esplin]

Rachel was my first crush when I was a kid.  Straight up, when I was that young I wasnt all that intrested in girls, but Rachel was definatly hot.  But after I grew up I realized that the animorphs couldnt have done what they did without her, she had the guts that only a few can have and she did what had to be done.  If they didnt have someone like that who knows what would have happended?

[Estelore]

I bawled like a baby for three days following the final book, so you know how I feel about her as a person.

Rachel was a symbol of all the extremes within the human conscience, as well as the human capacity for courage and self-sacrifice. She was everything dark inside the human soul, and everything that could be redeemed from the darkness.
She was everything good and worthy in a warrior, as well as everything that could be viewed as wrong and immoral, given certain circumstances.
It is difficult NOT to see a certain part of one's own character inside her persona, and it makes her a very seductive personality to adopt when reading the books. It is easy to feel what she is feeling, when she is the narrator.
It's more difficult, for instance, to empathise with Ax, an alien mind, or Marco and Cassie, who are morally and logically opposite.
Tobias is distant; even as a narrator he pulls away from the reader. Jake behaves similarly, trying too hard to justify his actions to himself, his inner turmoil pushes the reader away from his consciousness.
Only Rachel has the absolute capacity to draw empathy from virtually any reader, based on what I've observed.

[filmstu2005]

^^^^^^Wow. I love that analysis. Nicely put

[Starsword]

Rachel and Marco were always my favorite characters, even when the books first came out. (Though my idolization of Marco increased later on). I think it is because they were the most developed of the characters. Cassie was very one sided, always compassionate and caring, Jake, although he had the occasional faltering, always lead. Tobias was there mostly to offer intelligent advice, he was generally silent, with a sad side. Ax was awesome and funny, but I think Rachel and Marco were the most developed emotionally and the most easily connected with.