Top 10 Literary Lads I Love

I recently read this on another blog and thought it was such a good idea. These aren't my most favorite book guys of all time. It's probably just the ones I can think of right now. My version of the rules: They're all from books! They can be in movies as well, but only if my loving them is because of the book, not just the movie portrayal. Some are ones that I love, like want to marry love. Some are just ones that I want to hug. You have no idea how hard it was to limit this to 10. I am filled with love apparently. Without further ado, and in no particular order, my list of totally lovable man/boy characters in literature!

1. Dickon from The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. He's the first literary crush that I remember having. He can talk to animals!!! He can make things grow! He likes Mary even though she is contrary! He practically lives on the moor! I always suspected that Mary and Dickon would end up getting married, because only a fool would let Dickon get away. And whatever you say about Mary, you cannot truthfully say that she's a fool.

2. Howl from Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones. Not exactly sure why I love him so much. He's definitely stuck up. A narcissist. Throws spectacular temper tantrums. Delights in being troublesome. But he's just so darn charming, and you know that underneath it all he has a heart of gold! And a magical fire. Although Calcifer isn't underneath it all. You know what I mean.

3. The Weasley Twins from Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling. This is a bit of a cheat, since there are two of them. But I honestly love them so much as a pair, and darn it all, it's my list. It's like what Harry said in Order of the Phoenix, when he finds out a bit more about his dad and Sirius, and how they were actually not very nice boys once upon a time. He had always just assumed they were like the Weasley twins: hilarious, mischievous, brave, ingenious, but never mean spirited. That's a rare thing in a funny character who is always pulling pranks. But it's true of our dear Fred and George. They are not mean. And they have a lot of flair. Remember when they left Hogwarts? One broom trailing a chain? LOVE THEM.

4. Eugenides from The Queen's Thief series by Megan Whalen Turner. What to say about Gen? He's a whiner. He's a drama queen. He's a thief. He's stubborn to a fault. He does his best to drive everyone around him ccrazy, and he almost always succeeds because he's just that talented. But I love him! Could there be a more fascinating person to read about? As one of the other characters points out, he always wins. He suffers setbacks so intense they would probably kill someone else, but in the end, Gen always comes out on top. It's seeing how he gets there (and what he considers the top) that is just so darn wonderful. Hidden depths, that's Eugenides.

5. Percy Jackson from Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan. He gives up the chance of immortality because of a girl! Ack! So wonderful. Plus, he's hilarious and a really good swimmer. And he's always risking his life for his friends (and the rest of humanity).

6. Ponyboy Curtis from The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. I really, really wanted to marry Ponyboy when I was first read this book. Of course, since he wasn't real, I decided I would marry the guy who played Ponyboy in the movie. But then I found out that the movie came out the year I was born, so the guy who played Ponyboy was old. Sigh. After that, I thought I would name my first child Ponyboy! Let's just say, it's a good thing that I didn't marry super young and have a kid right away. Because any child that wasn't also a juvenile deliquent would be destroyed for being named Ponyboy.

7. Marcelo Sandoval from Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork. I've mentioned it here before, but it bears repeating: Marcelo is perhaps my favorite literary guy ever! I love him! I want to protect him from all the evil in the world. But the best thing about Marcelo is that he always does the right thing. He doesn't need to be protected. He sees terrible stuff all around, and he becomes stronger and more awesome than ever.

8. Peeta from The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins. I know, I know. Everyone loves Peeta. Personally, I love him because he bakes. Also, he's charming, and super brave, and way gentle and never wanted to hurt anyone!!! He did it all for Katniss!!! He's just so freakin' good.

9. Finn from The Books of Bayern by Shannon Hale. In the first book, I really, really wanted Isi and Finn to get together. I knew they wouldn't. That would have been crazy. Crazy like a fox. And then when it became apparent that Finn was really into Enna, I spent a lot of energy trying to convince the fake person in my book that he deserved better. Sigh. But he never listened. Chivalry is not dead, y'all. It lives in Finn.

10. Luka from Dragon Slippers and sequels by Jessica Day George. He's a super dreamy prince who's totally down to earth, brave, funny, etc. Plus, he pretty much immediately crushes on our girl Creel, which shows that he has good taste.

Honorable Mentions: (I couldn't really just pick 10, but I tried really hard. And considering the problems I was having with numbering, it's entirely possible that the above list doesn't have 10 people on it anyway. Technical difficulties!)

Matt Cruse from Airborn and sequels by Kenneth Oppel. Is there a sweeter (fictional) teenage boy in the world than Matt? Not that I've met! He's so loyal! He supports women's rights!  And even though his love interest is totally annoying much of the time, he loves her anyway.  But he's also really manly! He's out there exploring, fighting pirates, jumping out of airships, and doing all manner of heroics. Honestly, I suspect that he's as appealing to boys as he is to girls. Maybe more! But really, he always says and does the sweetest things, and I just can't take it! Must. Hug. Him.

Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. This is kind of a given. But what honestly ups the swoon for Mr. Darcy is that it's a collective swoon! Once I was in a class (of all girls, not uncommon in my field), and someone mentioned Mr. Darcy. Literally every person in the room sighed. Collective swoon. It's a powerful thing.