Characters of the Year Book Tag | 2017

It’s been a while since I’ve done a book tag on here, not since Christmas, to be exact, which is a crime. So here I am with the Characters of the Year Book Tag, or award, if you want to think of it that way, which I found on the Orangutan Librarian. I consider myself tagged by her because I can.

After a little searching, I found that the tag was created by Amanda, A Brighter Shade of Hope.

Favorite male character of the year

Durzo Blint

Flippin Durzo Blint, the badass assassin from Brent Week’s The Way of Shadows. Blint’s personality is a major reason why I enjoyed this book and consider it a favorite. It was such an entertaining read.

Favorite female character of the year

Marjorie Agyekum

Marjorie is the penultimate character perspective we read from in Yaa Gyasi’s debut novel Homegoing, which was one of my favorite books of 2017. Marjorie is my favorite because of all the female characters I read about in 2017, I related to her the most. Like me, she left the country of her birth, Ghana, at a young age to move to the U.S. I believe she’s in high school when we read her chapter and, like me, she feels disconnected from both places, Ghana and the U.S., though she is connected to and deeply influenced by both.

“She wanted to tell Mrs. Pinkston that at home, they had a different word for African Americans. Akata.That akata people were different from Ghanaians, too long gone from the mother continent to continue calling it the mother continent. She wanted to tell Mrs. Pinkston that she could feel herself being pulled away too, almost akata, too long gone from Ghana to be Ghanaian.”

Most relatable character of the year

Willie Black

The answer to this is Marjorie, but since she’s the answer I gave for the previous question, I thought I’d highlight another character who stood out to me, and again that character is from Homegoing. Willie Black reminded me of my mom and aunts and all the women in my life who have worked hard and sacrifice much so that their children can have a better future. Though Willie’s entire life doesn’t mirror that of the women in my family, I know my relatives can relate to living in hard conditions for a time while cleaning other folks’ houses (usually White and affluent peeps or hotels) to make a living to survive. In Willie, I saw some of what I know West Indian immigrants have endured.

Couple of the year

Amy & Nick

Lol!

I don’t have an answer for this.

Villain of the year

Black Tom

I’m still sorting out my thoughts on The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle, so I don’t know if I totally think Black Tom is a villain. I mean, to the White dudes he is, but I also see him as a victim who’s tired of the shit he has to deal with as a Black man living in the U.S. Still, I think it’s pretty cool that he’s this Black dude that a bunch of White dudes are afraid of, like a boogeyman or something.

Most disliked character of the year

Tess

I did not like the titular character of Tess of the Road by Rachel Hartman, which will be published in February. I started the novel liking her because I could relate to her and how she feels, but as the story progressed, Tess did some things that didn’t sit right with me and by the end I no longer liked her or the story and wanted to just go back to reading about Seraphina and the dragons. My feelings on this are still raw, so I want to cool out a bit before tackling my review (which I’ve already written but is all ranting, so I don’t want to post it).

Royal of the year

Me.

Sidekick/non-main character of the year

Nighteyes

I had to copy Orangutan Librarian and choose Nighteyes from a Robin Hobb novel Fool’s Errand. In this one, Nighteyes is quite old but still sweet and wise with his dry humor.

Sibling of the year

Alyosha

Alyosha is one of Vasya’s brothers. Vasya is the protagonist of the Katherine Arden’s YA fantasy novel The Bear and the Nightingale. When everyone in the village turn against Vasya, Alyosha is the only one willing to believe her and fight with her.

Free choice: Teacher of the year

I stole this category from Amanda’s post because I couldn’t think of anything.

Granny Weatherwax

Granny Weatherwax is a character from Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series. In Equal Rites, Granny Weatherwax tries to help Discworld’s first female wizard gain admittance at the Unseen University, a university for wizards. I like that Granny Weatherwax learns as much as she teaches in this book.

Yay! I’m done.

Not tagging anyone, but do it if you wish.

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