This was insanely hard to do. I've compromised on a few things here to get it down to ten! Firstly, I stuck rigidly to YA/MG/children's books for once, disposing of Jay Gatsby, the ultimate tragic hero of the Great Gatsby, alcoholic sportswriter WG Karunasena whose jaded, cynical voice made Chinaman my favourite adult novel of the last 10 years, and Raistlin Majere, the gold-skinned mage with the hourglass eyes who is still my favourite ever fantasy character. Oh, and Discworld's Nobby Nobbs, "disqualified from the human race for shoving."
Then I ditched couples, because I only wanted one character from each series or book and couldn't separate Amy and Roger from Amy and Roger's Epic Detour, or Ryan and Jenna from Skin Deep.
Eventually, I THINK I have 10 I'm happy with!
1. Kat Stephenson from the Unladylike Adventures of Kat Stephenson by Stephanie Burgis - If you haven't read A Most Improper Magick and A Tangle of Magicks yet, you're missing a treat. Kat is loyal, feisty, clever and altogether wonderful, and stands out as the best character in the series despite an excellent supporting cast. We need more stories about Georgian witches!
2. Wesley Jefferson “Link” Lincoln from the Caster Chronicles by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl - EVERYONE needs a friend like Link - but when you're in the kind of situations Ethan and Lena get into, you need him more than most. Just a fabulous, amazing character.
3. Luna Lovegood from the Harry Potter series by JK Rowling - Forget Harry, Hermione and Ron, the secondary trio of Luna, Neville and Ginny were always my favourites. Luna just beats out the other two (I limited myself to one character per series) because of the 'friends' scene in Deathly Hallows which nearly broke my heart. I also love the ending to Deathly Hallows part 2 slightly more than the ending to the book because of Luna.
4. Old Wilkie from the Jennings series by Anthony Buckeridge - "I... I... I... CORWUMPH!" The teacher who's continually frustrated by 'silly little boys' but has a heart of gold buried deep, deep down, is the most memorable character from a series I absolutely adored as a child.
5. Maddie from Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein - Words cannot express how brilliant she is. I also flail about like a lunatic worried I'll spoil something every time I mention this amazing book, so I won't even try.
7. Brianna from the Gone series by Michael Grant - I love the way Brianna is clearly having a blast in the FAYZ despite the most terrifying circumstances imaginable. And hey, gotta love anyone who gives themselves a superhero name to go with her powers! Go Breeze!
8. Pellinore Warthrop from the Monstrumologist series by Rick Yancey - The title character of the monstrumologist is absolutely fascinating. A giant personality who starts the series as rather remote and unlikeable, the relationship between Warthrop and young assistant Will Henry has developed to the point where they're an outstanding duo.
9. Drina Adams from the Drina series by Jean Estoril - I've raved about my love for Drina many times before, so she was obviously going to be in here. The way we get to see her grow up from a young child in primary school to a successful dancer is fantastic.
10. Clover from Life, Death and Gold Leather Trousers by Fiona Foden - The heroine of this MG book is one of the most charming I've ever encountered. I love the realism of her relationships with her parents (who've just split up), their new love interests, her kid sister and her first crush.
You make a very strong case for Luna! And I agree, I loved the secondary trio as well - my vote just went to Neville, mostly because of the scene with the Sorting Hat and the Sword of Griffindor and the snake. One of the best scenes in the whole series. But you're totally right - the "friends" scene broke my heart too.
Luna is pretty awesome! :) Maddie...amazing. Really liked Code Named Verity! Amazing story! Good characters!
It's fab, isn't it? Not sure if you've seen, but I interviewed Elizabeth Wein a couple of days ago.