Today is Awkward Moments Day. That’s right, an entire day to celebrate our awkwardness, clumsiness, klutziness, and everything else. Everyone has their moments. Some of us (myself included) have more than others. In The Hunger Games, even Katniss, who is so brave and strong, feels uncomfortable when she is in the cave with Peeta and has to kiss him on national television to get sponsors. And knowing that Gale is watching doesn’t make it any easier.

There are so many to choose from, but here are some especially awkward characters who made our list:

There are plenty of awkward moments in throughout Harry Potter – when she’s 11, Ginny gets so flustered when Harry comes in to the room, she knocks things off the table and puts elbow in butter dish; Hermione sees Ron snogging Lavender Brown; and Cho Chang turns down Harry’s invitation to the Yule Ball. But Neville Longbottom may be the epitome awkward: he gets picked on by Malfoy, has trouble with spells, constantly loses his toad, and forgets things (unfortunately, his remembrall doesn’t help).

Bella Swan, in Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight series, falls a lot – often in front of the boy (vampire) she has a crush on.

Mallory Pike from Ann M. Martin’s Baby-Sitters Club may not act awkward, but she certainly feels it. Mallory has curly red hair (that she wants straightened, but her parents won’t let her), blue eyes, braces, glasses (she wants contacts, but her parents won’t let her), and wants cooler clothes.

Greg Heffley, from Diary of a Wimpy Kid, is your typical middle school kid trying to deal with the ups and downs of growing up. I’m sure we can all remember our awkward middle school years!

In The Dork Diaries, by Rachel Renee Russell, Nikki Maxwell is a new student at Westchester County Day. She doesn’t fit in with her classmates, and is the least popular girl in school.

In the Marvin Redpost series, by Louis Sachar, poor Marvin endures everything from being accused of being a nose-picker by the class bully to accidentally turning in to a girl!

Winston Egbert from the Sweet Valley books has a bit of trouble as well. He starts going by the name of “Winnie” is accidentally placed in an all-female dorm!

Luckily, the characters seem to outgrow their awkward stage.  Everything works out for Ron, Hermione, Harry, and Ginny. Neville matures, learning to lead his classmates and stand up to everyone – from Malfoy to Voldemort! Mallory’s parents eventually let her get her ears pierced. Once she’s a vampire, Bella is graceful and more in control. Hopefully, once Greg and Nikki finish middle school, they are more comfortable with themselves and less awkward. As for Marvin and Winston, I don’t really know what happened to them, but let’s hope that they both manage to avoid accidentally going to the women’s bathroom or dorm!

Who would you add to the list of awkward characters?

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