Top 10 Characters in 2011

1) Juliette ("Shatter Me" by Tahereh Mafi): As has become evident over the last couple of days I adore Tahereh Mafi's "Shatter Me". It is very rare that I actually like a female YA character- I feel that in the large majority of cases there is little focus on them, that they are not well developed whatsoever and that they take the back seat to their male counterpart. That wasn't the case whatsoever for me with Juliette. As I said in my review of the book: "From the  first page of this book I was captivated- Juliette is unlike any character I have ever had the pleasure of reading about before, aside from being badass, resilient, and unyielding, she was, best of all, real."

2) Adam ("Shatter Me" by Tahereh Mafi): I think that I sum up my feelings for Adam best when I state: "As for Adam? All I can say is Edward Cullen Dimitri Belikov Jace Wayland who?" Aside from being utterly swoon-worthy he was just so gosh darn real and selfless. He is very much one of those male characters who will give you unrealistic expectations of how IRL males should act. 

3) Warner ("Shatter Me" by Tahereh Mafi): I don't like bad guys- Errrrr... Or at least I don't typically like them, but there is just something about Warner that is so gosh darn appealing (perhaps it is because he is just so hopeful? Legitimately thinking that Juliette is his soulmate and will complete his life? Or that he doesn't do things half-assed? He puts his everything into what his does- I mean, how many years did he spend researching Juliette?). I am expecting great (albeit terrible) things from him and I am quite excited to read all of the skeletons in his closet.

4) Jonathan ("City of Fallen Angels" by Cassandra Clare): Now that I think about it (forgive me, it's been a while since I last read this book)- did Jonathan legitimately talk in this book? I don't think that he did- I think that Jace and him just communicated via their minds. Regardless, I choose him because he has completely and utterly changed the direction of my favourite book series, TMI, forever. Plus, I am really intrigued by this spoiler/ teaser from CoLS (WTF is Jonathan/ Sebastian doing hanging out with Jace and Clary?):

“Do you want to go home? Or dance some more?” 
“Dance some more,” she said, breathlessly. “Is that all right?”
“Go ahead.” Sebastian leaned back, his hands braced behind him on the fountain’s edge, his smile like the edge of a straight razor. “I don’t mind watching.” 

5) Daemon ("Obsidian" by Jennifer L. Armentrout): I think that I perfectly summed up Daemon in yesterday's post- that he is a douchebag, albeit a smouldering douchebag who on occasion can exhibit actual emotions. He is very much one of those larger than life characters who will develop a cult following (a cult of YAs who will faint whenever "Daemon" and "kissing" or "objects shorting out around him" are mentioned in a single sentence).

6) Merit ("Chicagoland Vampires" series by Chloe McNeil): As I mentioned in yesterday's post I love the name Cricket, I also LOVE the name Merit (seriously, I think that if you were to name a little girl this she would be GUARANTEED to be badass when she grew up). Merit has basically everything going for her- intelligence, confidence, connections, strength (emotional and physical)- I cannot get enough of these books, nor of her (and yes, this is an adult series but I don't think that any older YAs will have any trouble reading it).

7) Dru ("Strange Angels" series by Lili St. Crow): Dru and I have been BFFs for ages so I obviously had to include her in this list (I tried so gosh darn hard to get her in the top 32 of the YA Sisterhood Heroine Tournament. Alas...). I can't recall seeing a YA character grow so much in a series as she did. She is by far the most kickass YA female in my opinion.

8) Cole ("Forever" by Maggie Stiefvater): Not going to lie, I didn't like Cole in "Linger". Whatsoever. But then I read this book (which is more so Cole and Isabel's story than Grace and Sam's) and I feel completely head-over-heels for him. I think that he brought a lot of much needed humor to this book. I demand a Cole spin-off right now!

9) Adrian ("Bloodlines" by Richelle Mead): Like Cole, Adrian didn't do much for me in Richelle's "Vampire Academy" series)- in fact, I couldn't stand him (I hated the fact that he stood between Dimitri and Rose AKA ONE OF THE MOST PERFECT YA COUPLES OF ALL TIME). Therefore, imagine my surprise when I read this book and fall for him! It was so refreshing (and unexpected) to see a different side of him- I cannot wait to see what he has in store for us in the next 5 books in this series.

10) Will/ Jem ("Clockwork Prince" by Cassandra Clare): Okay, so this is kinda cheating by having two boys occupy the same spot (but I am okay with it)- seriously, how can you choose between these two boys? I sure as heck can't! As if one DSBS wasn't enough, we get two of them (the Dirty Sexy Balcony Scene and the Dirty Sexy Bedroom Scene). This book (and these boys) made me so happy.