Dobrev Reign

***Full Name:*** Dobrev Jordan Reign

***Birthdate:*** November 9th, 1996

***Age:*** 12 (13 by end of novel)

***Grade:*** Sixth

***Gender:*** Male

***Height:*** 5’3

***Weight:*** 121 pounds

***Hair Color:*** Golden brown

***Eye Color:*** Dark brown

***Species:*** Human

***Alias:*** D (by family)

Dobrevy (by Achille Descoteaux)

Ghost Boy (by Achille)

Dear (by Mina)

Darling Dobrev (by Giséle Descoteaux)

***Family Members:*** Aiden Reign (father)

Unnamed mother

Ian Reign (paternal uncle/adopted father)

Elena Reign (paternal aunt/adopted mother)

Everly Reign (paternal cousin/adopted sister)

***Occupation**:* Student at Ghoulsby Middle School

***Residence:*** Ghoulsby, Massachusetts

***Abilities:*** Clairvoyant

Psychic

Mind Tapping

***Status:*** Alive

**Quote:**

“If…If I could just talk about ghosts with someone, anyone once in a while…” Dobrev swallowed tightly. “I just…think it might help me be a little more brave.” *–Dobrev to Mina, Chapter 2*

**Dobrev Reign** is the main protagonist and title character of the 2021 novel DOBREV by Gwendolyn Grimaldi. Dobrev lives with his paternal uncle Ian and his family in Ghoulsby, Massachusetts, after his troublesome father loses custody following several years of drug problems and mental abuse towards his son. He attends Ghoulsby Middle School as a sixth grader and practices his psychic abilities with the help of Achille Descoteaux and his ghostly confidant, Mina Anderson.

### **Early Life**

Dobrev Reign was born to Aiden Reign and an unknown mother who left him in Aiden’s care shortly after his birth. Aiden was not fit to care for Dobrev from the very beginning, often leaving him unattended when he went on drug and alcohol binges while going in and out of prison over the years. His vile, hostile personality deeply affected the way Dobrev was brought up, years of emotional abuse and neglect causing his personality to shrink of that one full of social anxiety and the need to be perfect in fear of punishment. Dobrev’s abilities regarding the paranormal did not help his situation, Aiden frequently blaming his son when strange things happened around the house; he was also known to berate and interrogate Dobrev over his clairvoyant abilities. Dobrev and his father grew up in poverty, and with Aiden in jail for months at a time, it is probable that Dobrev spent some time at a foster home or an orphanage.

When Dobrev was ten years old, his father was convicted of another serious drug charge. As this was not his first offense, Aiden was sentenced to five years in prison; this final straw pushed his twin brother Ian Reign to request full custody of Dobrev, and he began living with Ian’s family after Aiden agreed to give him up. Dobrev has been living with Ian, his wife Elena and their teenage daughter Everly since then.

### **Appearance**

Dobrev is a small pre-teen boy with a soft face, innocent brown eyes and golden brown colored hair styled semi-neatly with loose bangs hanging on his forehead, and a light freckle pattern on his cheekbones. He is described as short, standing at about 5’3, has a tiny, button nose and a likable face. Dobrev usually wears plain clothing such as solid color long sleeved shirts, jeans and his favorite pair of blue low top sneakers, though he is known to dress up occasionally. Because of Dobrev’s simplicity, it makes him likable and easy to approach. He also has a 'Paranormal Investigator' patch and charm bracelet that match Achille's, made by the latter's grandmother.

### **Personality**

Due to his stressful, often times dangerous upbringing while living with his irresponsible father Aiden Reign, Dobrev developed a timid, shy, extremely anxious personality at a very age young, causing him to overthink every situation and inadvertently act stand-offish towards many people. Despite his inability to connect with people, Dobrev is known to be a very kind, attentive, quiet boy at school and is liked by most of most classmates. He has difficulty being assertive and hates drawing attention to herself, especially when he has done something wrong, as Dobrev has a deathly fear of punishment and confrontation. Much of his anti-social behavior can be linked to the emotional abuse he suffered at the hands of his father, mostly in regards to his clairvoyant abilities, which Aiden mistook as delusions and repeatedly punished his son for unexplainable events happening inside their apartment. Dobrev usually sacrifices his own comfort for the good of others, often putting him in uncomfortable social positions because he fears saying no and thus, “letting people down,” a common symptom of several anxiety disorders.

When Dobrev is around people he feels comfortable with, he is more talkative and open, though he always remains a bit shy and introverted, often stuttering or repeating his words. Before meeting Achille Descoteaux, Dobrev does not have any confidence in himself and his psychic abilities, but he does improve over time with much practice. Since he began hanging out with Achille, his family has noticed a drastic change in his gloomy personality, saying he talks more to Achille than he has his entire life.

### Relationships

#### **Wilhelmina Anderson**

Mina was the first ghost in Ghoulsby Dobrev came in contact with after permanently moving in with his aunt and uncle. At first, Dobrev pretended he was unable to see her and wouldn't acknowledge her greetings, but after Mina comforted him during an emotional episode, Dobrev finally introduced himself and the pair became friends. Never having met his mother, Dobrev immediately became very attached to Mina, seeing her as both a friend and a motherly figure; Wilhelmina is his closest confidant whom Dobrev tells almost everything to, including his feelings for Achille and about his strained relationship with his father.

Since Mina had two younger brothers growing up, she feels a sense of obligation to protect and watch over Dobrev, especially since he is able to see and communicate with other spirits. She often shadows him and makes sure the malevolent ghosts stay far away from him, a task she later shares with Achille. Much like Ian Reign, Mina is extremely protective over Dobrev, and was also equally suspicious of his new friendship with Achille, although she later learns to trust Dobrev's judgement and, as a result, trusts Achille to not take advantage of him. Whenever Dobrev is feeling low spirited or insecure, Wilhelmina is quick to correct his thinking and encourage him to be himself, something Dobrev was not used to doing as a child.

**“You’ve finally come to accept your adopted family as people you can trust, and with the addition of Achille in your life…well—humans are always more useful than ghosts when it comes to living.”** *-Mina to Dobrev in Ch. 17*

When it is time for Mina to go to the light and stop existing in Ghoulsby as a spirit, she was sad to be leaving Dobrev and "couldn't believe she found a reason to keep living" after being a ghost for so long. Initially, Dobrev did not want Mina to leave, but soon came to accept that she had finally found peace and gave her a hug goodbye after thanking her for being by his side.

#### **Everly Reign**

Despite having polar-opposite personalities, Dobrev gets along with his older cousin very well. Everly brings out a more sarcastic and dry-humored side of Dobrev through her own simple-minded comments and sparkling personality. She often drags her cousin to shopping malls, cheer competitions and forces him to join her slumber parties with the other cheerleaders. Everly is also one of the only people who has knowledge of Dobrev’s sexuality—to his mortification, Everly isn’t above commenting on the touchy subject and making her cousin uncomfortable. She treats Dobrev much like a younger brother, teasing and bossing him around while he retorts with sassy comments. Dobrev appreciates Everly’s outgoing personality, but admits that she can get on his nerves with her boundless energy and inability to read the room.

#### **Ian Reign**

Dobrev and his paternal uncle/adopted father have a complicated but overall strong relationship. Ian and his family frequently let Dobrev stay at their house when Aiden Reign was having trouble with the law; they officially adopted Dobrev when Aiden was sentenced to five years in prison for drug charges. Much like with his daughter, Ian is very protective of Dobrev and knows about his anxiety problems, doing his best to keep their home environment happy. He is shown to be positive and encouraging to most of his nephew’s endeavors, eventually warming up to Dobrev’s friend Achille Descoteaux, whom he had previously banned from coming over.

In return, Dobrev thinks very highly of his uncle for taking him in, but admits that there is always a “distance” between them; he reminds himself to never call Ian dad because it would be a betrayal to his real father.

#### **Aiden Reign**

Dobrev and his father have a complicated, toxic relationship, mostly due in fact that Aiden Reign's personality and morals are less than stellar. During Dobrev's childhood, Aiden often displayed mentally abusive behaviors, such as yelling at his only child and severely berating him for seeing things that escaped his own eyes. Aiden was even convinced that his son was mentally ill or "cursed" because of Dobrev's claims of seeing ghosts. Between Aiden's erratic behavior, drug and alcohol abuse, Dobrev spent much of his time alone in their apartment, or at his uncle Ian's house whenever his father was in prison. Dobrev has a difficult time standing up to and speaking to his father in general, mostly because he knows his father doesn't approve of his identity.

Dobrev avoids revealing his romantic preferences to his father, knowing he is homophobic and would be enraged to hear that his son liked boys. Only at Ian's encouragement does Dobrev return the letter Aiden sends from prison in the middle of the novel. After becoming more confident in himself and his abilities, Dobrev finally tells his father about his preferences, and the fact that he can still see ghosts when he visits Aiden at the prison. Aiden hasn't spoken to or written his son since that day, despite Dobrev's low hopes that he could grow as a person and come to accept his son.

#### **Elena Reign**

Elena Reign is Dobrev’s caring aunt who is constantly asking her nephew about his day and how he’s feelings. She is always gentle and thoughtful towards Dobrev, knowing of his dysfunctional background and mental health issues; Elena often encourages him to go out and make new friends, though she doesn’t push him to do so. Since Dobrev never knew his mother, Elena Reign is the only female authority figure he knows aside from his ghost friend Mina Anderson—while he isn’t as close with Elena as he is with Mina, Dobrev thinks highly of his aunt and tries to avoid worrying or alarming her. He is very grateful towards Elena when she is the first to warm-up to Achille Descoteaux and even invite him over for dinner.

### Others

#### **Lila**

Lila is one of the many ghosts Dobrev is deathly afraid of, mostly on account of her suggestive comments towards Achille and overall uneasy personality. When they first meet in the graveyard on Halloween night, Lila is dismissive of Dobrev, as she was more interested in Achille; as the school year goes on, Dobrev becomes more and more afraid of Lila’s abilities, which seem far more powerful than any other spirit he’s come across. Her increasing malevolence towards his best friend cause Dobrev great stress, and it becomes one of his main goals to banish Lila from Ghoulsby and leave them in peace.

Dobrev nearly passes out when it is revealed that Lila is actually a succubus after Achille and not a regular ghost—Mina calls him back to reality just in time, and they are able to get rid of Lila once and for all.

#### **Hagar Bennett**

Hagar Bennett is a ghost who is attempting to attach himself to Dobrev as a means of controlling him and gaining energy. Hagar becomes interested in Dobrev when the preteen accidentally bumps into him during their Salem field trip. He then follows Dobrev back to Ghoulsby and begins popping-up in hopes of gaining the boy’s trust; even though Dobrev is terrified of Hagar, he nearly falls into the trap and offers to help the spirit find peace. Dobrev has a reoccurring nightmare with Bennett, which he uses to figure out Hagar’s name so he and Achille can banish him.

After learning about Hagar’s gruesome past, Dobrev is even more frightened of the ghost and tries to avoid him at all costs, fearing that Bennett will hurt him like he did to other boys in his human life.

#### Bunnie

Although Bunnie and Dobrev have similar personalities, they keep distant from each other for much of the novel, both too shy and afraid to start conversation. When Dobrev first meets Bunnie, she is seen with Lila at the graveyard, greeting Achille politely and blushing darkly at his Halloween costume. Dobrev notices her suspicious behavior as the spirit aids Lila in her pursuit of Achille; despite the reveal that Bunnie was the one who stole personal objects from the boys and even transformed into Achille's deceased mother, Dobrev doesn't hold it against her and even offers to be friends at the end of the novel, which she gratefully accepts with a rare smile.

### Trivia

-Dobrev has previously been diagnosed with an extreme anxiety disorder

-He has a fear of insects

-He is obsessed with anything from the Victorian age, including dresses, books, art and music, most likely because his first paranormal interaction included a Victorian woman

-He has had a crush on his best friend Achille Descoteaux since they first officially met

-Dobrev has said that his ghost friend Mina is like a mother to him

-The thing he is most afraid of (ahead of teenage boys) is evil witches

-Dobrev has never sworn in his entire life

-His middle name is revealed to be Jordan after Ian addresses him when Dobrev sneaks out and returns home late after defeating Lila

-His least favorite genre of movies is horror, coincidently the favorite genre of his best friend Achille

-Dobrev claims the most frightening experience of his life was watching a video of Achille Descoteaux (who would later become his best friend and crush) dressed up as the main character from *The Ring* doing the worm at a Halloween dance

-His favorite foods are watermelon and mac and cheese

-The name *Dobrev* is usually used as a Bulgarian surname, and means "son of Dobri."

-In the first draft of the novel, Dobrev was originally a female and wore square glasses; author Gwendolyn Grimaldi changed the main character's gender after writing the first two chapters, noting that the story's conclusion with Lila and Dobrev's anxiety would work better if he were a closeted boy

-Via Gwen's wiki page, she describes Dobrev as being most like her when she was twelve, and Achille was everything she wanted to be