Top Ten Tuesday (3): My Top Ten Angsty Boys

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish in which bloggers post their "Top Ten" of whatever that week's theme is! This week's theme: 

TOP TEN CHARACTERS WHO (FILL IN THE BLANK)

As soon as I saw what this week's theme was, I immediately knew what I wanted to write about. You see, I have a type of character I like in my books. I even made a Goodreads shelf about it. I just happen to have a very big soft spot for angsty prep school boys. So, my list this week is my:

TOP TEN (okay, twelve) ANGSTY BOYS 
*links to Goodreads

12. W.W. Hale the Fifth

(Heist Society, Uncommon Criminals, Perfect Scoundrels)
- Anybody who has read Perfect Scoundrels knows EXACTLY why Hale is on this list. He's got a lot to be angsty about, and it definitely makes me love him even more.
My Review: Heist Society, Uncommon Criminals

 

11. Miles "Pudge" Halter

(Looking for Alaska)
- Miles is on a search for The Great Perhaps somewhere in rural Alabama. On his journey, he finds a mother-effing fox, a Colonel, and a girl no one understands. Also, angst. Lots of angst. 

 

10. Adam Wilde 

(If I Stay, Where She Went) 
- I feel like Where She Went could actually be titled A Book Documenting Adam's Angst and it would be just as appropriate. After the heartbreak that was If I Stay, we dive straight into Adam and his messed-up, confused, and lost self. I loved every page of it.
  
 

9. Jonah Griggs

(Jellicoe Road)
 - Oh, Jonah Griggs. My lovely, angsty, Jonah Griggs. If you guys have yet to meet Jonah Griggs, you need to remedy that ASAP. Because he is wonderful in all those heart-breaking ways. 

8. Cassel Sharpe

(White Cat, Red Glove, Black Heart)
- I haven't been able to gush about my Cassel Sharpe love in ages! The Curseworkers trilogy is one of my absolute favourites, and Cassel is such a stunning protagonist. He's the only non-curseworker in a family of curseworking con men and mobsters. I mean, 'angst' is practically his middle name!

 

7. Cas Lowood

(Anna Dressed in Blood, Girl of Nightmares)
- Cas! My favourite angst-filled ghost hunter. I fell in love with this guy from the very first page, and his interactions with Anna just broke my heart. There's angst in ever aspect of Cas' life, but he pushes forward and doesn't give up. Ugh, I just love that guy.
My Review: Anna Dressed in Blood, Girl of Nightmares

6. Cole St. Clair

(Linger, Forever, and the upcoming Sinner)
- Okay guys, you don't get much angsty-er than the former rockstar turned werewolf, Cole St. Clair. Rockstar = angst. Werewolf almost always = angst. Combine those two together, (plus a boatload of other issues) and you have one heck of a character. I cannot wait for July when I get to dive back into his jumbled head again.

 

5. James Keane

(Mind Games, Perfect Lies)
- When I was texting the bestie about this list I used the words WHY KIERSTEN WHY right next to James Keane's name. Because ugh, Kiersten, MY HEART, YO. James Keane is one of those characters I have such a soft spot for. You can tell there's something irreparably  broken behind his mask of arrogance. I just wanted to give him (and Fia, obvi) one big giant hug.
My Review: Mind Games

 

4. Ronan Lynch

(The Raven Boys, The Dream Thieves)
 - Ronan! Oh, Ronan. My dear, twisted, Ronan. Ronan is the kind of guy with the tough-as-nails exterior to cover up his destroyed heart. He's got angst oozing out of his pores, and I love every single word he speaks.
My Review: The Raven Boys 


3. Thomas Mackee

(Saving Francesca, The Piper's Son)
- The angst Thomas Mackee has going on in The Piper's Son is almost unmatched. Reading his perspective was like having my heart ripped out and stomped on again and again. It was honest-to-goodness painful to read, but it made for sure a beautiful book. And one hell of a character.

 

2. Richard Campbell Gansey III

(The Raven Boys, The Dream Thieves)
- Those who know me know that Gansey is my favourite character ever. Seriously. I have never read about a character that affected me as much as he did, and continues to do. Gansey's search for Glendower, his search for something more is fascinating, and filled with lots of angst filled moments. This series is pretty angsty as a whole. And I can't even begin to express how much I love it.  
(Also, seriously, Maggie Stiefvater. That's THREE of your boys on this angsty list. So, thank you. For writing these beautifully messed-up boys that make me love every single twisted part of them) 

 

1. Holden Caulfield

(The Catcher in the Rye) 
 - I couldn't have a list of angsty boys without THE angsty boy on it. Holden Caulfield's story has defined generations, and continues to impact people daily. I read it at a time when I was full of angst. At a time I needed someone to relate to, to make me feel like I wasn't alone. Holden Caulfield was that person. And, I know I'm not the only one he's done that for. His broken narration, his angry, angsty voice, and his hopeful defiance has stayed with me for years and will, no doubt, stay with me forever. Holden is, simply, the epitome of an angsty prep school boy.

So, there is my list! (And, trust me, I could've added plenty more to it!) Do you guys like angsty boys? 

What are you counting down this week?

- Ciara (Lost at Midnight)