The Smashing and Dashing 2022 Character Awards

January 16, 2023

Hello!

I'm back and with a tag. Technically you're supposed to do this tag near the end of the year, but I was sick at the tail end of 2022, so I decided to do it now. This fun little tag was created by C.G Drews, and I cannot remember where I found it, but I thought it would be fun to do.

This year's winners are.....

#1. Most Relatable Character

Vi Garrett from The Last Summer of the Garrett Girls by Jessica Spotswood. She's a bookish, mildly awkward fangirl who writes fanfiction and is perpetually confused by people saying that she's brave for being herself because that's all she really knows how to do. All of the Garrett sisters were relatable for me, to an extent, but Vi was definitely the most relatable.

#2. Most Pure Animal Companion

Doomslug from Starsight and Cytonic by Brandon Sanderson. She's not really an animal-----she's more of a strange creature, but she plays the role of a pet in these books.

#3. Fiercest Fighter

Daniela from The Witches of Echo Park by Amber Benson. All of the women in that series are strong, but Daniela is particularly tough.

4. Am Surprised That I Loved You?

Jordan Baker from The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. She's a horrible person, but she's an entertaining horrible person. I wouldn't say I loved her, but I like her as a character.

5. Best Sassmaster

Lestat from the Interview With the Vampire series by Anne Rice. Yet another horrible person, but very sassy.

6. Best Antihero

Victor Frankenstein from Frankenstein. He makes a lot of questionable decisions, but he is at least interesting.

7. The Best Friends of All

The friend group from Kate in Waiting by Becky Albertalli. There's some drama, but all of the different friendships are pretty sweet.

8. Best Villain to Hate

Neither of them are supposed to be villains, but I find every love interest in every Colleen Hoover book I've ever read to be loathsome, so I'm putting them all here.

9. Award for Best vs Worst YA Parents

Best are Dante's parents from Aristotle and Dante Discover The Secrets of the Universe. They're not perfect, but they try.

Worst is Iris' dad from The Agathas. He's yet another loathsome character.

10. Ship of All Ships in 2022

Charlie and Jo from Great or Nothing [which has various authors, but Tess Sharpe writes all of Jo's chapters]. They're both writers, which I think makes the romance better, and they have enough differences and yet similar personalities and values to work as a couple. They are very cute together.

11. Most Precious Must Be Protected

Danny Torrance from The Shining by Stephen King since, you know, he's like five.

12. Honestly Surprised You're Still Alive

Ruby from The Dazzle of the Light by Georgina Clark. She's mixed up in a lot of crime, so it is quite shocking that she's not dead.

13. Award for Making the Worst Decisions

Jay Gatsby from The Great Gatsby. He makes truly horrible decisions.

14. Most In Need of a Nap

Carrie from Carrie by Stephen King, if only because a ton of horrible things happen to her and she needs something good to happen to her.

15. Want To Read More About You

Jack from Every Heart A Doorway by Seanan McGuire. She's a mad scientist with an extremely dry wit. She's my favorite character from that book and I want to read more about her.