Characters of the Year Book Tag | 2018

Yep, I’m doing this again (did it last year) to reflect on the characters I read about in 2018. Characters deserve some love too. After all, they are part of the reasons why we love or hate a story. This tag was created by Amanda, A Brighter Shade of Hope.

Favorite male character of the year

Ahh…no male character stands out as a favorite from the books I read; but from the movies I watched last year, this dude was a fav:

Peter Parker a.k.a Spider-Man from Spider-Man: Homecoming

(Totally forgot that I watched this last year.) I like this new Spider-Man. I liked his role both in his own movie and in Avengers: Infinity War. Man, that scene toward the end of Infinity War with him and Iron Man almost made me cry. (I shed one tear, but that doesn’t count.)

Favorite female character of the year

Shuri from Black Panther and Jane McKeene from Dread Nation by Justina Ireland

These badass BLACK female characters are my favorites of the media I consumed last year. Shuri is one of my favorite characters from the Black Panther movie. I love that she’s a smart, kickass woman who doesn’t apologize for her intelligence. Jane McKeene is the protagonist of Dread Nation, a YA historical fiction novel set shortly after the U.S. Civil War about a young Black woman who’s trained to battle zombies. Jane is intelligent, kickass, and fiesty. I like her for the same reason as Shuri — she doesn’t apologize for being who and how she is.

Most relatable character of the year

Alise Kincaroon from the Rain Wild Chronicles by Robin Hobb

A bit of a stretch, but I could relate to Alise yearning to pursue her scholarly passions but unable to find the means to do so and her family and friends underestimating her.

The Rain Wild Chronicles is a series within Hobb’s larger Realm of the Elderlings series, which begins with Assassin’s Apprentice. The Rain Wild Chronicles focuses on a set of characters in the Rain Wilds, a large rainforest that has a city in its trees and through which an acidic river flows, who are commissioned to relocate newly bred dragons. Dragon Keeper is the first book in the series.

Couple of the year

Egg and his wife from Providence by Caroline Kepnes

I didn’t read many novels last year with great couples, but Egg and his wife come closest to what I could call “best.” They are an old couple and I liked parts of their relationship, just in how well they know each other and can tell each others’ needs without asking, sometimes. They aren’t perfect, but their relationship is one of the realest I’ve read in a while.

Providence is a mystery novel with a hint of supernatural. It’s about a boy who got kidnapped and returns a couple years later supposedly with an ability that hurts those who are close to him.

Villain of the year

Thanos from Avengers: Infinity War

Hands down it’s this dude! He’s one of many reasons why I enjoyed Avengers: Infinity War so much. I like the complexity in his character and how invincible he seems. He was my favorite character in that movie.

Most disliked character of the year

the God King from Shadow’s Edge by Brent Weeks

The God King is an antagonist in Brent Weeks’s Night Angel trilogy. He’s the leader of a northern country called Khalidor, which invaded the protagonist’s country. The God King is an awful character who thrives on pain and torture. Ugh! He’s horrible. Hate him.

Shadow’s Edge is the second novel in the Night Angel trilogy, which is about a boy who becomes an apprentice to the most notorious assassin, DURZO BLINT!

Royal of the year

Tavish McKenzie from A Duke by Default by Alyssa Cole

Sexy Scots! 😉 He’s a swordmaker with a sexy accent. (**fans self**)

Tavish is a main characters from Alyssa Cole’s A Duke by Default, a romance novel about a young Black woman who visits Scotland for an apprenticeship with a master swordmaker and, of course, falls in love with him.

Sidekick/non-main character of the year

the apple tree from Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen

I love how troublesome the apple tree could be.

Garden Spells is a romance novel with a hint of magical realism (I guess). It’s about the Waverley sisters reuniting after several years’ estrangement. The Waverleys are known about their small town for their peculiar garden that’s said to contain plants with interesting abilities, including an apple tree that bears fruit that foretells the future when eaten.

Sibling of the year

the Boleyn siblings from The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory

I didn’t have an answer for this, so I chose from a book I reread last year. The Boleyns deserve this award for how strongly they back each other even when at odds with each other.

The Other Boleyn Girl is a historical fiction novel that focuses on the first wife of England’s King Henry VIII and her sister, Mary.

Fin.

Advertisement