The TCABSC Goes To: Zuzana from the Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy

The Tiny Cooper Award for Best Supporting Character (TCABSC, pronounced Tuh-Cab-Skuh) was created to honor those special guys and gals who, while not the main focus of the book, are still extraordinary. The Tiny Coopers (Will Grayson, Will Grayson), Anitas (West Side Story), and Robins (Batman) of the fictional world may not always get the girl (or guy), but sometimes they fulfill their role of supporting or obstructing the lead character in such a phenomenal way that it deserves special notice. This attention now comes in the form of an imaginary award made up by me. Hey, they’re not the main characters, so they have to take what they can get.

This Tiny Cooper Award for Best Supporting Character goes to: Zuzana from Daughter of Smoke & Bone, Days of Blood & Starlight, and Dreams of Gods and Monsters by Laini Taylor.

In lieu of five other nominees, here are five reasons why Zuzana is awesome:

(spoilers for the three-book series

1) She is uber talented. Zuzana comes from a family of puppet makers, but she takes the art to a new level. Her final project for art school is a street performance where she dances, acting as a marionette, attached by strings to a giant puppet. So the puppeteer is actually the puppet! Brilliant!

The TCABSC goes to: Ell and Saturday from The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland...

The Tiny Cooper Award for Best Supporting Character (TCABSC, pronounced Tuh-Cab-Skuh) was created to honor those special guys and gals who, while not the main focus of the book, are still extraordinary. The

Tiny Coopers (Will Grayson, Will Grayson), Anitas (West Side Story), and Robins (Batman) of the fictional world may not always get the girl (or guy), but sometimes they fulfill their role of supporting or obstructing the lead character in such a phenomenal way that it deserves special notice. This attention now comes in the form of an imaginary award made up by me. Hey, they’re not the main characters, so they have to take what they can get.

This Tiny Cooper Award for Best Supporting Character goes to: Ladies and gentleman, this is unprecedented! For the first time in YA Department history, IT’S A TIE! Two of the supporting characters from The Girl WhoCircumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente are so awesome that they are sharing the award! A-through-L (nickname Ell) and Saturday, come on down and claim your prize!

The TCABSC goes to: Cybil from Girl by Blake Nelson

The Tiny Cooper Award for Best Supporting Character (TCABSC, pronounced Tuh-Cab-Skuh) was created to honor those special guys and gals who, while not the main focus of the book, are still extraordinary. The Tiny Coopers (Will Grayson, Will Grayson), Anitas (West Side Story), and Robins (Batman) of the fictional world may not always get the girl (or guy), but sometimes they fulfill their role of supporting or obstructing the lead character in such a phenomenal way that it deserves special notice. This attention now comes in the form of an imaginary award made up by me. Hey, they’re not the main characters, so they have to take what they can get.

This Tiny Cooper Award for Best Supporting Character goes to: Cybil from Girl by Blake Nelson.

The Tiny Cooper Award for Best Supporting Character

As a young girl watching West Side Story, I always identified with Anita over Maria. Anita was tough, Maria was a soft dreamer. Anita tried to protect Maria from the harsh realities of the world, but when she saw that her friend was truly in love, she was willing to set aside her doubts. Of course, that situation didn't turn out so well, but at least Anita tried, right? Despite their efforts, the Anitas of the fictional world get no love. At least, they didn't before Tiny Cooper came along.