Kendra

Character Analysis

Cautious But Curious

Kendra is a bit of a rule-follower. When Seth wants to venture out into the forbidden forest, she tries to stop him, first by reminding him that it's tick season, and second by saying, "Grandpa has been nice to us. We should obey him" (2.95). And when she and Seth venture out to see the hidden pond, "She could not shake the sick, nervous feeling in her stomach" (4.54)—yup, this girl likes to play by the rules.

In fact, Kendra characterizes herself as someone who is naturally obedient: "She was in all the accelerated classes at school, got almost perfect grades, kept her room tidy, and always practiced for her piano lessons" (4.55). In other words, she's kind of a nerd.

She's curious in general, though. She speculates about the real reasons things happen, wondering on the car ride to her grandparents' place "if they were secretly divorced" (1.29) because she rarely sees her grandma and grandpa together. And then when she notices the butterflies and other insects at her grandparents' swimming pool swarming around a mirror, she becomes curious about the cause, and suggests "an experiment" (2.66) to see if the critters continue to flock to the mirror.

During the afternoon when Seth is exploring the forest, Kendra tries to find the keyholes that fit the three miniature keys Grandpa gave her upon arrival. While looking around the room, "The Victorian dollhouse caught her attention. What better place to find tiny keyholes than inside a little house?" (2.107)—and indeed, Kendra's successful in finding one of the keyholes. And there's chocolate inside. Curiosity for the win.

Not only that, but Kendra also notices when people are behaving a little oddly, and this inspires her curiosity too. She sees Dale carrying something outdoors, "glancing around as if to ensure nobody was spying" (2.115). Hmm… seems a little mysterious, right? So Kendra goes down to investigate, and this is how she finds out about the milk that's left around the grounds. Eventually she puts together the puzzle pieces and figures out that she should drink it, which leads to Grandpa telling her and Seth the truth about Fablehaven.

Brave Big Sister

Kendra's thirteen, almost fourteen, when the book starts. She's beginning to explore her independence, but is also pretty attached to her family, having to fight "back tears" (1.94) when her parents drive off, leaving her and Seth with Grandpa Sorenson.

Like all siblings, she and Seth bicker sometimes. As the oldest, Kendra has an advantage: "She was almost a full head taller than Seth and could usually handle him in a fight, although if they ended up wrestling he was pretty squirmy" (2.44). And like any big sibling, when she realizes that she needs a "guinea pig" (5.67) for something dangerous—like consuming raw and potentially contaminated milk—her first thought is to get her younger brother to do it. That's sweet, right?

When Muriel captures Grandma and Seth, with Grandpa and Lena already locked up, Kendra freaks out. But the desperation of the situation also lends her courage. Here's her thought process: "Her grandparents and brother were about to be killed. And Fablehaven was about to be destroyed" (17.13)—this is all the reason she needs to seek out the Fairy Queen's shrine, even though this is an act that could potentially cost her her life.

While begging the Fairy Queen for help, Kendra pretty much loses it:

The reality of what she was saying hit her like a great weight and spilled out as tears. For the first time, the fact that Seth was going to die fully entered her mind. She thought of moments with him, both endearing and annoying, and realized that there would be no more of either. (17.81)

Wow. Kendra really cares for her little bro, and the possibility of him dying is a big part of what drives her to seek out the potentially-deadly Fairy Queen. And it's a good thing she does, too, because her gamble pays off and the Fairy Queen grants Kendra the aid she needs to rescue her family and save Fablehaven.

While this is great news in its own right, this also helps Kendra have enough courage to face Mendigo, Muriel's limberjack, and trick him into going close enough to the water for the naiads to pull him in. And that's a scary thing for her to do. When she sees Mendigo, "Her throat constricted with fear" (17.99)—but Kendra overcomes her nerves and devises a plan to deal with Mendigo. So Kendra's bravery, inspired in large part by her love for her family, helps her face a bunch of fearful stuff and save the day.

Girl with a Good Heart

Kendra may tease her little brother a lot (after all, it's her duty as a big sister) but overall she's just, well, a good person. After all, she's not the one annoying fairies and spiting witches.

How do we know Kendra's a good person deep down? After Midsummer Eve, when she and Seth figure out that the mysterious loud noise is actually coming from the ginormous cow—Viola—in the barn, Kendra says, "We should probably try to milk her" (12.61). This is based on the observation that the cow's udder looks swollen and painful. Seth isn't thrilled about this idea, but Kendra insists, and she's even the one to come up with a plan for how to pull this feat off (it involves ladders and very quickly gets slippery, but it works).

Kendra feels compassion for Viola another time, when she has to gather milk and blood for the Fairy Queen's elixir. She yells, "Sorry, Viola!" (18.15) as she stabs the cow's teat with a weed digger in order to make the cow bleed. And then, as soon as the blood-milk-tears elixir turns the fairies into human-sized warrior maidens, Kendra asks them to restore Dale to life (and they do) before she heads off to save everyone else.

We don't know why, but the whole experience leaves Kendra changed: she no longer requires Viola's milk to see magic critters. Is this related to how Kendra might become a future caretaker of Fablehaven? Or her interaction with the Fairy Queen? Whatever the cause, this change seems to reflect a fundamental truth about Kendra: she has a good heart and clear vision on the inside, and now she has clear vision on the outside too, allowing her to see with eyes unclouded. How that's gonna work out in the future will be interesting to see.