One thing I really like about Sookie is that she tries to be decent and humane, even in the face of the people around her acting in rather un-nice ways. She has a strong moral code she follows, and when she deviates from it, even for good reasons, she reacts very strongly to having breached her own ethical system. She is not a worldly or cynical person, but she isn't a naif either -- it's not like she could be with her "talent," which she refers to unsentimentally as her "disability"; she essentially considers her telepathic ability to almost literally be a curse.

So basically, what Smilla said. I alsothink Sookie is a more humane and sympathetic type of person than Rachel, despite Rachel having a vulnerable side... but then Rachel isn't human. And she also has a lot more resources at her disposal than Sookie does.

Wow, I hadn't thought of contrasting Rachel and Sookie... that's a pretty interesting comparison actually. I was going to go on at some length, but since Chomiji is just starting to read Sookie, I'll hold off on that for a bit.