The Smashing And Dashing Character Awards 2022~ In Which I Resonate With A Deranged Lizard For No Apparent Reason And I Actually Like Some Romance

Greetings, folks!

Welcome, one and all, to 2023. We made it, somehow, to another year.

And as a new year dawns, before we put the old year on the shelf to gather dust and nostalgia, we come here to remember the absolutely smashing and dashing characters we met in 2022. Because we must take every opportunity to babble about fictional characters, yes?

I met a lot of characters last year, and I fell in love with a good many of them. For this post, I will be limiting myself to characters from books that I read for the first time in 2022.

(Also this scrumptious tag was originally created by Cait @ Paper Fury. I don’t remember where I stole it from, though.)

(Wait, yes I do! I stole it from Sarah Seele back in 2020. This is my third year doing it…but anyway, let’s just get on with it.)

Most Relatable Character

You know, there were aspects of many characters that I related to this past year (such as Kamet’s snobbery and cluelessness, Po’s glorious grump, and Charley’s wholehearted adoration of Dickens, to name a few), but clearly the character I related to the most was none other than Van from the Dam Keeper trilogy.

I am not a lizard (…salamander? Gecko??), nor are my eyes detachable, but somehow Van is my spirit animal. He just is.

He’s pretty much insane and flails about calling everyone “nephew”. What’s not relatable about that?

Most Pure Animal Companion

This one is harder than usual. I read about some lovely animal companions in 2022, apparently.

I have to go with Pigeondove from The Silver Eye, though. I just have to. (Probably I should have gone with Melly, but I just like Pigeondove better…)

(…Did I say I was just using characters from books? Webcomics are gonna have to count, because I’m not not going to say Pigeondove now that I’ve thought of her.)

Fiercest Fighter

Oh, but there are too many. Lots of fighting happened last year, I guess?

Hm…It’s kind of a toss-up between Wolfheart from My grandmother asked me to tell you she’s sorry, and Chuuya Nakahara from Bungo Stray Dogs: Stormbringer (both truly lovable characters from books that I don’t actually like that much, as it happens).

They are extremely fierce fighters. To the point of being scary, actually. Like…it’s kind of a problem.

But I love them anyway.

Am I Surprised That I Loved You??

Hayt from Dune Messiah. I was very angry about his existence. I was absolutely certain that I would despise him.

But…nope. Nope. That did not happen.

Actually, I’m still not sure what to do with that.

Best Sassmaster

Fife from The Water and the Wild and The Doorway and the Deep. This kid is full of sass. It is an excellent cover for the trauma, don’t you know.

Best Antihero

Davy from Peace Like a River. (I still don’t know if an antihero needs to be the protagonist?? Davy is not. But he’s a major character and he’s not the villain, so…)

This kid. He’s so frustrating. SO FRUSTRATING.

The Best Friends of All

Well, let’s go with Ken and Flicka from My Friend Flicka…because, you know, it has friend in the title.

In all seriousness, though, the bond between these two is worthy of the best friends award. And I’m not even…like…a horse person.

Though I almost gave it to Arthur, Quincey and John from Dracula. Or Sophie and Cody from The Wanderer. There were some stellar friend groups to choose from, is all I’m saying.

Best Villain TO HATE

How do I choose?? Dracula is pretty high up on the list of just plain awful villains. So is Miss Hardcastle (That Hideous Strength). Disturbing in the extreme, guys.

But I think Baron Vladimir Harkonnen and Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam from Dune/Dune Messiah really take the cake on this one. They are…the worst. I hate them so much.

Award for Best vs. Worst YA Parents

The parents to choose from are slim here. I do not read enough YA, let alone YA peopled by parents, to properly answer this question.

However, I did read The Silver Eye and The Comic Space Opera this year, so there is hope.

For Best, I gotta go with Joe Alvarado from The Silver Eye. He’s everybody’s dad. Or, I mean, he should be everybody’s dad? Anyway, he’s a great dad. (Though Brett and Veronica Summers from The Comic Space Opera are also kind of the best?)

As for Worst, I wanted to say Velvare (TSE), but there is in fact a worse parent out there. Her name is Lydia. She’s from The Comic Space Opera. And yes, she is…just really, really bad.

Ship of all Ships in 2022

Ove and Sonja from A Man Called Ove. But also Jude and Christina from The Comic Space Opera. And Noah and [] from The Silver Eye. …It’s just a three-way tie.

Guys, last year I had two answers for this category… This year I have THREE. What is happening to me??

Most Precious Must Be Protected

This question is always difficult for me, because there are always way too many to choose from. I like to read about traumatized humans (…clearly), and then it is naturally my instinct to want to protect them…a thing that I would honestly be useless at doing.

But this time I think the obvious choice is Pheris from Return of the Thief. This child. We must protect him. Protect him at all costs. There is already too much trauma.

(I decided this makes a bit more sense than Charley Sutherland, seeing as he’s a 28-year-old college professor who is capable of taking care of himself, or Chuuya Nakahara, considering he would probably kill me the second I tried to help him. Though, they are both most precious and must be protected. Just don’t tell them I said that.)

Honestly Surprised You’re Still Alive

Father Michael from The Ball and the Cross.

…I don’t know, I just remember being really surprised when he showed up again.

Award for Making the Worst Decisions

Um…practically everyone in Dracula. Okay, but seriously, Jonathan and his fellow vampire hunters could sometimes be a little bit aggravating. They did a lot of stupid things.

But also Sybel from The Forgotten Beasts of Eld. And, actually, Mark from That Hideous Strength. Not to mention Dar Beauregard…

Apparently it was a good year for bad decision-making.

Most in Need of a Nap

It’s a tie between Will from Liesl and Po and Charley from The Unlikely Escape of Uriah Heep. Just let these kids sleep, for crying out loud. They are on the verge of collapsing here…oh…I mean, perhaps beyond the verge at this point. Please find him a bed. Maybe some medical attention…?

Want to Read More About You

I don’t know…all of them?

But no, I’m going with Kim from Kim. Because I love him, and also because this book felt like it needed a sequel to me, and I want to know where Kim’s character arc goes from here. Just…more, please.

Epilogue

I met a good many characters in 2022 that I am very happy to know. I wouldn’t mind knowing a lot of them better.

I am looking forward to meeting equally lovable characters in 2023. And revisiting old friends. There are just so many characters out there. Such smashing and dashing ones, you know.

(EDIT: Did I mean to post this a day early? …No? But here it is. Surprise!)

Who are your new favorite characters from 2022? Least favorite? Do you have an ever growing stash of precious children you want to protect? Did you meet any stellar YA parents? I would love to talk about all the characters with you in the comments!