Faves of 2011 Day 2: The Characters

It's time for Day 2 of the faves of 2011 survey hosted by inkcrush! Today I'll be talking about the most memorable characters I met in 2011.

1.  Favorite Female Main Character

I am going to pick Bridget from Possess by Gretchen McNeil.  I loved her sense of humor and determination.  She's very well rounded and makes mistakes but then LEARNS from them, which is something female MCs sometimes don't seem to do.  

2.  Favorite Male Main Character

I would choose Sean from The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater. I absolutely love Sean's story and can really related to his conflicting feelings of duty and desire for independence.  I also just adored his relationship with Corr, it brought me to tears.

3.  Best Couple <3

Dash and Lily are a definite second place, but no one can beat Rose and Dmitri from the Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead.  They are both sexy, smart, funny, and totally head over heels for each other.  I really enjoyed watching their relationship develop and I also loved they more playful moments.  Excellent characters!

4.  Who I So Want to be Best Friends With

This is the same from June.  I would SO want to be friend with Tiny Cooper from Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan.  He is just so fabulous, we could fan girl over musicals all day!

5.  Who I Fell Completely in Love With (New Literary Crush)

This is still totally Varen from Kelly Creagh's Nevermore.  I have a secret love of goths, and Varen sounds SO hot, I love it!  (Man I need to re-read this book, it's been too long!)

6.  Best Character Twist (Who You Loved and then Hated or Vice Versa)

Ok I loved this character throughout, but I'm going to pick Karou from Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor.  Not because my feelings about her changed, but because of all of the crazy plot twists that were revealed about her.  It had my mind reeling!

7.  Best Kick-Arse Female

I read so many books about girls that kick ass, instead of picking just one, here's a summary.  

Katniss from The Hunger Games

Tris From Divergent

Taylor from Beauty Queens

Saba from Blood Red Road

Rose from Vampire Academy

Gretchen from Sweet Venom

Scarlet and Rose from Sisters Red

Karou from Daughter of Smoke and Bone

8.  Best Kick-Arse Male

Still Dimitri from Vampire Academy.  So hot.  So awesome. So Russian.  He beats so much ass, it's ridiculous.

9.  Broke Your Heart the Most

I read a couple of extremely sad stories this year, but the one that stands out in my mind is Shine by Lauren Myracle. My heart just aches for Cat and Patrick in this book, it's completely unfair what happened to them and it's completely unfair how no one in their community could care to help.

Some Honorable mentions are Liesel from The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, Alice from Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott, and Charlie from The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky.  

10.  Favorite Pet/Animal Character

Grim from The Iron Fey series by Julie Kagawa.  He is so freaking awesome, he reminds me of this cat. 

Here's a quote from Grim, just to showcase his awesomeness.  “I was minding my own business long before you and the princess started humping like rabbits.” 

11.  Best YA Parents Award

Tris's mom from Divergent.  I don't want to spoil anything, but she does some pretty cool things.  I love the stuff that is revealed about her.

12.  Favorite Sibling Relationship

That would be Shaun and George Mason from Feed by Mira Grant.  I loved their relationship and how they adapted to a world with zombies.  They totally trust each other and had a crazy emotional moment at the end of the book that really took me on an emotional roller coaster.

13.  Favorite Best Friends/Friendship Award

I'm giving this to Karou and Zusana from Daughter of Smoke and Bone.  I loved these girls because of their super funny banter and the fact that Karou doesn't just drop her friends the moment a hot guy comes along.  I really hope Zusana will continue to be a big character in the next book because she is seriously freaking awesome.

14.  Best/Worst Character Names

Best Girl:  Alaska Young from Looking for Alaska by John Green

Best Boy:  Varen Nethers from Nevermore by Kelly Creagh

Worst Girl:  Aine DeRis (because I have NO CLUE how to pronounce that) from Carrier of the Mark by Leigh Fallon

Worst Boy:  Patch Cipriano from Hush, Hush  by Becca Fitzpatrick 

Faves of 2011 Day 1: The Books

You all may remember me participating in faves of 2011 (so far) that was hosted by inkcrush back in June.  Well, we've reached the end of the year and she's hosting another faves week, this time for every book read in 2011.  This is a five day process that will go over books, characters, scenes, covers, and some other random things.  So without further ado, let's get into day 1, the books!

1.  Favorite Book Read in 2011


At the midway point it was a tie between The Book Thief by Markus Zusak and Feed by Mira Grant.  I definitely still stand by those choices as two of my favorite books of the year, if not all time.  I have read many books that I would add to this list as close runner ups, including Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor, Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake, Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins, Possess by Gretchen McNeil, Blood Red Road by Moira Young, and many more.

However, there is one book that I read this year that really stands out in my mind as just spectacular. That books is The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater.

I adored this book.  The world set up is just perfect.  I loved the seamless combination of a modern setting and ancient myth.  The water horses and the culture that revolved around them never seemed forced.  I loved the character development, in particular Sean and Corr's relationship.  This book is adventurous, touching, and fantastic story telling.

2.  Most Powerful Book

I had originally chosen The Red Tent by Anita Diamant.  While I love that book, I think The Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls by Emilie Autumn was the most powerful book I read.

I don't think I've ever read anything like The Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls. It is amazing, horrifying, and both a work of magical fiction and brutal honesty. I felt like for the first time I had found someone who could understand how I feel. I identified on so many levels with this book, both physically, mentally, and emotionally. 

3.  Brilliantly Funny

Back in June I picked Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan, and you know what?  It's still my pick.

I love the sense of humor that John Green and David Levithan have, and their writing styles work so wonderfully together.  The banter between the characters is what really makes this book so funny.  I also  absolutely love Tiny Cooper and everything about him.  

4.  Best Ache-y, Heart-Breaking, Tear-Jerker Read

In June I picked The Book Thief by Markus Zusak and I still think this was the biggest tear jerker read of 2011.

I just cried and cried at the end of this book.  It is so sad, not just because it's about the Holocaust, but also because it showed how there were victims on both sides.  Plus father daughter stories always get me all weepy.

5.  Most Beautiful Story

In June I picked Paper Towns by John Green.  And while I still think Paper Towns is a lovely story, I think Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor is just a beautiful.

I went into this book thinking it was going to be just another paranormal romance (a Twilight knock off) but oh, was I wrong.  This story is wonderfully explained with rich mythology that is slowly revealed with perfect pacing.  Just when I thought I had figured out the book it would change and go in a direction I didn't expect, and how I loved it.

6.  Delicious Rainy Day Comfort Read

I picked Dash and Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan back in June, and while I agree that book is so super stinking cute, I think Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins wins the sugar coated delicious comfort read award for 2011.

While I enjoyed Anna and the French Kiss, Lola was leaps and bounds better for me.  I think this is largely due to the fact that Cricket is pretty much my idea guy.  Tall with dark hair?  Check.  Super freaking smart engineer?  Check.  Adorably shy personality?  Check.  What's not to love, seriously?

7.  Adrenaline Fuelled, Unputdownable Award.

I picked Blood Red Road by Moira Young, but now I think I'm going to go out on a limb and choose something you might not have expected.  I pick The Iron Daughter by Julie Kagawa.

Confused?  Well, this book is action packed, and Kagawa does not hold back in giving all of the gory details.  Meghan is constantly fighting something, and someone of her party is always bleeding in some form.  Also at the end there's not one, but TWO major battles, full of bloody descriptions.  And when the character's aren't fighting they're busy making out, which can be just as adrenaline fuelled as a full on war.

8.  The Beautiful Prose Award

I had originally picked Blood Red Road by Moira Young again, and I still agree this book is fantastically written.  However, I have to also add The Scorpio Races to this award as well.  The reason I loved these books so much is largely due to their unique writing styles.

9.  The Most Atmospheric and Vivid Setting

In June I picked The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.  And I agree, the setting is fantastic and I really can't count it out.  I want to add The Scorpio Races to this category as well, because the setting is fantastically described (can you tell I loved this book?).  I also really loved the setting in Daughter of Smoke and Bone.  Not only was Prague fascinating, but I loved Brimstone's workshop and the Marrakesh markets as well.  I really read so many books this year that just had amazing setting, I couldn't pick just one.

10. I so Want to go There Award


I had originally picked the Mediterranean Sea as depicted in Girl at Sea by Maureen Johnson. I read another book by Johnson, The Name of the Star, which was set in London, England.  I've already been to both places and I would just love to go back, so this award goes to all of the awesome locations Johnson write about in her books.

 

11.  Most Original and Imaginative

Beauty Queens by Libba Bray.  Done.

12.  Best Under Appreciated, Hidden Gem Book

I had picked Blood Red Road by Moira Young, but I have another that I really want more people to read and recognize as the awesome book it is.  Possess by Gretchen McNeil is freaking awesome.  Seriously.

Possess has a lot of suspenseful moments but McNeil has a great sense of humor that really lightens a would be otherwise dark and scary tale.  Also, there's great kissing scenes.  And creepy ass dolls.

13.  I Had No Idea I Would Love This So Award

So I judge books by their covers.  Sue me.  And I totally judged Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead.  I hate this cover so much, I just couldn't get past that.  I thought no way is this book going to be any good.  You know what?  I love this series (minus book 4, that was bad).

14.  Most Haunting Story

I had originally had a tie between Shine by Lauren Myracle and The Book Thief.  Now looking back I realize The Book Thief has stuck with me this entire year, even though I read it back in March.  This book is truly special, and I have yet to meet it's equal.

15.  Outside My Comfort Zone but Gosh How I Loved It

I choose The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver in June, but then I read Want to go Private by Sarah Darer Littman.  I can't really say that I "loved" this book, but it stuck with me.  It was shocking and horrific and definitely not something I was comfortable with.  This may not be a favorite, but I feel like it is an important book about a topic that is very relevant to teens today.

16.  Series That I'm Loving.

I had chosen the Iron Fey series by Julie Kagawa and The Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead, and I'm not changing my answers.  I've finished all of the VA books and I'm on book three out of four for The Iron Fey, and I love them both, oh so much.

17.  Always Recommending This Book

I am constantly recommending people read Feed by Mira Grant.  This is such a great book, it has a little something for everyone.  It has great zombie action as well as touching emotional scenes and government conspiracies.  I read this back in March and it's definitely one of my most favorite books of 2011.

18.  Completely Awesome Premise Award

In June I gave this to Battle Royale by Koushun Takami, and I totally think the premise of school kids forced to kill each other in a survival game is awesome (Hunger Games anyone?).  But I also wanted to mention a book that I had such high hopes for, but fell flat for me.  The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin had such a cool premise and marketing strategy that I thought for sure I would just love the book.  While the book lost me halfway through, the premise is still awesome.

19.  Would Make the Best Movie

I read a lot of books this year that I could see being turned into movies.  I love the idea of Blood Red Road and Divergent being made into films, but I also want to add Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake and Dash and Lily's Book of Dares to the list.  They are two completely different books, but I think I would love movie versions of both of them.

20.  Want to re-read Already

Yes, I still want to re-read Nevermore by Kelly Creagh and I probably will as the release date to Enshadowed (the second in the series) comes closer, but I also want to add The Hunger Games because I want to read the book again before the movie comes out.  I may also re-read Daughter of Smoke and Bone before the release of the second book in that series as well.

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

Published in 1999 by Harper Perennial Modern Classics
5 Stars


Goodreads Review
Oprah Book Club® Selection, June 2000: As any reader of The Mosquito Coast knows, men who drag their families to far-off climes in pursuit of an Idea seldom come to any good, while those familiar with At Play in the Fields of the Lord or Kalimantaan understand that the minute a missionary sets foot on the fictional stage, all hell is about to break loose. So when Barbara Kingsolver sends missionary Nathan Price along with his wife and four daughters off to Africa in The Poisonwood Bible, you can be sure that salvation is the one thing they're not likely to find. The year is 1959 and the place is the Belgian Congo. Nathan, a Baptist preacher, has come to spread the Word in a remote village reachable only by airplane. To say that he and his family are woefully unprepared would be an understatement: "We came from Bethlehem, Georgia, bearing Betty Crocker cake mixes into the jungle," says Leah, one of Nathan's daughters. But of course it isn't long before they discover that the tremendous humidity has rendered the mixes unusable, their clothes are unsuitable, and they've arrived in the middle of political upheaval as the Congolese seek to wrest independence from Belgium. In addition to poisonous snakes, dangerous animals, and the hostility of the villagers to Nathan's fiery take-no-prisoners brand of Christianity, there are also rebels in the jungle and the threat of war in the air. Could things get any worse?

In fact they can and they do. The first part of The Poisonwood Biblerevolves around Nathan's intransigent, bullying personality and his effect on both his family and the village they have come to. As political instability grows in the Congo, so does the local witch doctor's animus toward the Prices, and both seem to converge with tragic consequences about halfway through the novel. From that point on, the family is dispersed and the novel follows each member's fortune across a span of more than 30 years.

The Poisonwood Bible is arguably Barbara Kingsolver's most ambitious work, and it reveals both her great strengths and her weaknesses. As Nathan Price's wife and daughters tell their stories in alternating chapters, Kingsolver does a good job of differentiating the voices. But at times they can grate--teenage Rachel's tendency towards precious malapropisms is particularly annoying (students practice their "French congregations"; Nathan's refusal to take his family home is a "tapestry of justice"). More problematic is Kingsolver's tendency to wear her politics on her sleeve; this is particularly evident in the second half of the novel, in which she uses her characters as mouthpieces to explicate the complicated and tragic history of the Belgian Congo.

Despite these weaknesses, Kingsolver's fully realized, three-dimensional characters make The Poisonwood Bible compelling, especially in the first half, when Nathan Price is still at the center of the action. And in her treatment of Africa and the Africans she is at her best, exhibiting the acute perception, moral engagement, and lyrical prose that have made her previous novels so successful. --Alix Wilber

Review: 

There are two big questions that The Poisonwood Bible raises.  First, why does helping people in poverty have to be tied in with religious ambition, and second, why does religious fervor cause people to forget their common sense?  I don’t understand why religion, especially (though not only) evangelical Christianity, causes people to act like Nathan Price.  On one hand I’m ok with religion when it acts as a moral compass to guide life decisions that affect only you, and I’m even more ok with it when it guides people to help others out of a desire to be more God/Christ-like.  However, what I do have a problem with is when people try and force that religion on others and try and change a person’s culture to make it fit into a prescribed box of what people are “supposed” to be.  And when the desire to control other’s and make them just like you takes precedence over the safety and welfare of your family, well then you’ve just gone too far.  People need to realize that while you may have chosen a particular path, other people may not choose it.  And those other people may indeed be your wife and kids.

Ok, religion rant over, back to the book.  I absolutely loved the first two thirds of the book.  I loved the culture clash of a middle class white family being thrust into a tribal African culture.  I also adored the five different viewpoints of the story.  Each character had a distinct voice that added to the overall texture of the story.  The African culture in this book is richly presented, with wonderful descriptions that show just how much the Price family was like a fish out of water.  It also showed that people have to adapt in order to survive, and some members of the Price family welcomed the change while others fought it tooth and nail.

The last third of the book was when the story started to go downhill for me.  Not that the political climate of Africa isn’t fascinating, but I felt myself emotionally disconnecting the more macro the story got.  I was more interested in the effects that Nathan’s blind religious zeal had on his family and the African community than sweeping political commentary. 

Overall The Poisonwood Bible is about how intolerance and ignorance does nothing but destroy the very thing you’re trying to build.  Rigidly following religious doctrine only causes the people you’re trying to help resist you more.  In order to bring about change you have to be bending and considerate. 

Freedom by Jonathan Franzen

Published in 2010 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux
3 Stars


Goodreads Review

Patty and Walter Berglund were the new pioneers of old St. Paul--the gentrifiers, the hands-on parents, the avant-garde of the Whole Foods generation. Patty was the ideal sort of neighbor, who could tell you where to recycle your batteries and how to get the local cops to actually do their job. She was an enviably perfect mother and the wife of Walter's dreams. Together with Walter--environmental lawyer, commuter cyclist, total family man--she was doing her small part to build a better world.

But now, in the new millennium, the Berglunds have become a mystery. Why has their teenage son moved in with the aggressively Republican family next door? Why has Walter taken a job working with Big Coal? What exactly is Richard Katz--outré rocker and Walter's college best friend and rival--still doing in the picture? Most of all, what has happened to Patty? Why has the bright star of Barrier Street become "a very different kind of neighbor," an implacable Fury coming unhinged before the street's attentive eyes?

In his first novel since The Corrections, Jonathan Franzen has given us an epic of contemporary love and marriage. Freedom comically and tragically captures the temptations and burdens of liberty: the thrills of teenage lust, the shaken compromises of middle age, the wages of suburban sprawl, the heavy weight of empire. In charting the mistakes and joys of Freedom's characters as they struggle to learn how to live in an ever more confusing world, Franzen has produced an indelible and deeply moving portrait of our time.


Review:  

I really enjoyed Franzen’s writing style.  He is clear, descriptive, and intelligent.  I had a clear picture of the main character’s objectives and their inner struggles.  Their backgrounds were laid out in a way that allowed me to see their growth without feeling like there was a massive info dump to get there.  However there were times when I thought Franzen was trying too hard to be “cool”, in the way a 6 year old boy thinks poop and dead bugs are cool.  There are some really weird analogies used that do not help me connect to the story (using the phrase “a firm little clitoris of discernment and sensitivity” to describe a woman’s intelligence for example….???? I’m sorry but I don’t know anyone who would describe a person as being a clitoris of anything.  Just saying).

In particular I enjoyed Joey’s transformation.  I loved how he went from a spoiled and entitled little shit to a man who had to make some huge choices.  He started off with that “nothing bad can ever happen to me” mentality that so many teenagers seem to have, and then when something REALLY bad happened he learned to take responsibility for not only his actions, but the ethical and moral implications of those actions.  In the end he turned out to be one of the most stable characters, which was something I could not predict based on his character at the start of the book. 

The character I could relate to the most was probably Patty.  I can completely understand how she can have everything she’s “supposed” to want and still be horribly unhappy.  I can also understand how a husband can do everything right and still be wrong, and that the man who does everything so horribly wrong can be the only man you can love.  It’s not healthy, but I get it. 

The only character I didn’t like was Richard.  I couldn’t understand his point of view or his motivations.  I didn’t like how he said he cared about Walter so much but couldn’t have enough self-control to stay loyal to the one person who always stood by him.  I also didn’t think this character was all that realistic.  Sure he was a “rock star” but I didn’t think he was neither famous nor rich enough to have women just throwing themselves at him.  He didn’t come across charming or sexy, just dirty and rude.

I think the overall theme of the book was a person’s sense of duty and if they were too cowardly to live up to their duty or if they had the courage to seek the freedom from duties that made them miserable.  Every single character had to make a decision about their duties in life, whether it be to their children, spouse, friend, company, country, or themselves, and if they were going to meet expectations or not.  More often than not they have to choose between two conflicting duties, which is not an easy thing.  This was probably my favorite aspect of the book, and the development and choices of the characters were both expected and surprising. 

Overall Freedom is like one of the videos on the weird side of youtube.  Whether it’s a dog scratching its balls or a kitten randomly puking, there’s something freakishly fascinating about it.  That’s what Freedom is; equal parts captivating and disgusting.  I can really only recommend this book to you if you’re willing to take a look at the nastier side of people and can handle seeing some of that reflected in yourself.