Category Archives: Blog

Feature & Follow #94: Character that Disappointed Me

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Feature & Follow is a weekly meme hosted by Parajunkee’s View and Alison Can Read. Time to discover some new blogs and (hopefully) gain some new followers! Yay!

I would love for you to follow via whatever method you’d like: email, RSS, Linky Followers or Networked Blogs. Be sure to leave me a comment letting me know you’re following so I can return the favor!

Also, my husband just designed me a snazzy new button (Isn’t it snazzy? I find it quite snazzy) which you can grab in the sidebar if you’d like. Let me know if you stuck my button on your blog, and I’ll grab yours to put on mine. That’s obviously not a requirement of the Feature&Follow; just a bonus if you are so inclined. Thanks!

This week’s question:

Q: Have you ever had a character that disappointed you? One that you fell in love with and then “broke-up” with later on in either the series or stand-alone book? Tell us about him or her.

Hmmmm, this is a hard one. Typically, a character either annoys me right off the bat, or I love them forever. It’s pretty rare that I would start out a book enjoying a character and end up hating him or her.

Okay. If we are sticking just to books, I’m going to kind of have to be a little loose in my answer to this question, because I honestly can’t think of a character that I fell in love with and then “broke up” with. So let’s just stick to disappointed.

I’m going to go with Elphaba from Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire. I went into reading the book knowing the basics of the plot. I knew she was going to become the Wicked Witch, and that eventually Dorothy was going to throw a bucket of water on her and she was going to melt and die and all of Oz would rejoice. And somewhere along the way, she was going to sing “Defying Gravity.”

Okay, maybe not that last part.

But I was expecting for her to still be a sympathetic character. I was looking forward to the book putting a new spin on her story and making me really understand her, maybe even feel sorry for her. I wasn’t really expecting it to be a tragedy (this is a story about Oz, after all), so I didn’t think I’d be too broken up when she died, but I was expecting her to have a slow fall from grace. [Spoiler warning ahead]

But no, she was pretty much unlikable throughout the entire book. I understand she had a rough childhood and adolescence, but even so, she pushed away, ran away from, or downright rejected anyone who attempted to be kind to her. I couldn’t figure out what Fiyero  ever saw in her to make him want to have a romantic relationship with her. And then once he’s out of the picture, she’s even more withdrawn.

The part where I knew I could never, ever feel sympathetic towards this character was when some horrible children play a prank on her young son — who she is never even slightly affectionate towards — and he spends two days clinging to a bucket at the bottom of a well, and nearly dies. And she doesn’t notice, and once they find him, she doesn’t care.

What. The. Heck.

So yeah. Sorry Elphaba. I’m kind of glad Dorothy threw that water on you. You were a pretty horrible person. I was looking forward to seeing another side of you, but every side of you kind of sucked.

And just because I can’t seem to let it go…..

As an honorable mention, and ranging outside of the world of books, I would like to give a shout-out to Chief Galen Tyrol from Battlestar Galactica. His character was awesome during the first couple seasons of the show, started a slow descent in Season 3, and was utterly decimated in Season 4. Congratulations, Ronald D. Moore, for completely ruining a sympathetic and interesting character.

Battlestar Galactica kind of had that effect on a few characters. Tyrol was just, in my opinion, the worst.

Happy Friday everyone!

Review: World of the Hunger Games by Kate Egan, Plus a GIVEAWAY!

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As I’m sure most of you are well aware, I’m a fan of The Hunger Games. I loved both the book and its film adaptation. Here are my reviews for both:

Book to Film: The Hunger Games

Review: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

So imagine my excitement when I opened my box from Scholastic yesterday and discovered this:

The World of the Hunger Games is a companion to both the book and film version

s of The Hunger Games. Here’s what you’ll find inside (please pardon the glare – a photographer, I am not):

 

The book is divided into sections focusing on different aspects of The Hunger Games. Many subjects are highlighted, including “Life in the Districts,” “Katniss Everdeen,” “Reaping Day,” and obviously, “The People of the Capitol.” Each section uses quotes from the book, the movie, and Suzanne Collins to bring attention to its subject matter.

The book organizes some of the more confusing aspects to the plot and politics of Panem into concise and easy-to-follow summaries.

There are also a ton of stills taken from the movie. Some are those we have seen before, and others, such as the ones above, are new images that focus on things we didn’t get a good look at in the film.

This book is not for people who want to avoid spoilers. Its intended audience has either seen the film, read the book, or both.

There’s also a handy glossary in the back, in case you needed to brush up on your Hunger Games terminology.

My Thoughts

The World of the Hunger Games is meant to be a companion to the book and movie (the movie in particular). It does not provide any great new insight into the story. You will not learn what happened between Peeta and the girl in the woods, you will not become an expert in the history of the war between the Capitol and the Districts, and you will not discover why people in the Capitol decided it’s cool to look so garish. This is not The Silmarillion, and it’s not supposed to be.

What it does do, and does well, is explain the elements of the story simply and understandably. I think it would be especially helpful for people who saw the film but have not read the books. It explains the origins of The Hunger Games, the basics of the political system, the roles of the Districts, and gives a brief profile of all the major players.

I read a lot of comments from people who saw the movie and still couldn’t figure out why the people in the Districts wanted to watch the Games, and why they didn’t fight back. This book helps people who didn’t fully understand all the elements of the story figure out what was going on.

Even if you are a veritable font of information on all things Hunger Games, this is still a fun book to have. I feel I have a pretty solid grasp on the inner workings of Panem, but I still liked reading the summaries. It’s nice to have everything in one place, since all the background information in The Hunger Games is delivered by Katniss in bits and pieces scattered throughout the story.

Plus, the pictures are awesome. My photography doesn’t do them justice. All the main characters are featured in at least a couple of photos: Katniss, Peeta, Gale, Haymitch, President Snow, Seneca Crane, Cinna, Cato, Rue. I love looking at movie stills, and these are not the same ones that have been plastered all over the Internet for months. They’re printed full-page and glossy and gorgeous.

So for what some wish it was — an in-depth guide to the Games and Panem loaded with new information — it falls short.

For what it is — a fun companion book breaking down the intricacies of Panem and The Hunger Games into an easy-to-follow, beautifully illustrated guide — it’s perfect.

And now…

It’s GIVEAWAY TIME!

As promised, to celebrate my first month in the blogosphere, I’ve decided to host my first-ever giveaway today! Hooray!

So, as much as I loved paging through The World of the Hunger Games, I know myself. I will look through it once, put it proudly on my shelf next to my boxed set of The Hunger Games, and probably never look at it again. And since I’ve already read it cover-to-cover, I’m going to give it to one lucky follower!

But wait! There’s more!

The winner will also receive this:

I’m throwing in the Paperback Movie Tie-in Edition of The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins! There is the same novel we all know and love, but with new cover art that matches the movie poster.

Since I’ve already reviewed The Hunger Games and you can see the cover art right there, I won’t write a separate review for this edition of the book. But I will point out that if you’re like me and have The Hunger Games in hardcover, this edition is smaller and lighter. Great for road trips or sticking in your purse for “emergencies.”

Add them to your Hunger Games collection, or give them to a friend who has yet to experience the Games! I think it would make an especially great prize/gift to someone who has seen the film and not read the books.

Here’s the details:

  • Books were provided by Scholastic for the purposes of review. I am giving them away after writing this post because, much as I love them, a girl only needs so many copies of the same book!
  • Giveaway will run from 12:01 a.m. on April 26 until 12:01 a.m. on May 4.
  • Winner will be notified by email within 48 hours of the end of the contest. Once notified, winner will have 48 hours to respond with their address before a new winner is chosen.
  • You must be a follower to enter, and can enter every day.
  • You must be at least 13 to enter.
  • U.S. entries only, please.
To enter, simply fill out the Rafflecopter form below:


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thanks for making my first month a great one, and may the odds be ever in your favor!

(Sorry, sorry, but it’s a Hunger Games giveaway. You know I had to say it.)

Milestones and Giveaways!

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Wow you guys, time really does fly when you’re having fun! Tomorrow completes my first month of writing this blog, and what an awesome and crazy month it’s been!

Here’s what’s happened in my first month as a new book blogger:

  • Posted 14 reviews
  • Gained 23 new followers
  • Created a Facebook page
  • Created a Twitter profile
  • Discovered some insanely awesome book blogs/bloggers
  • Received dozens of helpful, amusing and insightful comments
  • Started following so many blogs I lost count
  • Won one giveaway, only to lose my prize because the notification went to my spam folder and I missed the 48-hour response window [drat!]
  • Gave my blog a makeover (It looks nice, right? And yes, that actually is a photo of me up there! Just one of the perks of marrying a guy who knows his way around Photoshop. Thanks, honey!)
  • Passed 1,000 page views(!)
  • Received a totally unexpected box in the mail from Scholastic! Here’s what was inside:

I had contacted the lovely folks over there a couple weeks ago in my giddy new-blogger eagerness. I wasn’t really expecting any publishers to take me seriously yet, but I contacted a few of my favorites with a “nothing ventured, nothing gained” mentality.

Everyone I spoke to was incredibly friendly and helpful. I had a couple “sorry, we only send books to professionals” responses, a couple “patience, grasshopper” responses, and one “tell us what you are interested in, but no promises” response. So I told them what I was interested in, with no expectations whatsoever, and a week-ish later…BOX.

Holy smokes, I’m ridiculously excited that a publisher actually took my little blog seriously enough to send me books.

So everyone, get ready for some reviews of what are sure to be fantastic middle-grade titles in the coming weeks!

ALSO, since I know you’re only reading my excited ranting right now because I put the word “giveaway” in the title, YES, I will be holding my first-ever giveaway tomorrow to celebrate one month of survival in the blogosphere! I won’t tell you what it is yet, but you may want to come hungry and ready for some games, if you know what I mean.

Come back tomorrow for the details! And thanks so much for reading!

Hold on to your hats, folks.

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Well, in case anyone’s curious how long it takes for free WordPress hosting to become more trouble than it’s worth, the answer is almost exactly one month.

I had come to terms with my limited widget functionality in my sidebar. But my inability to use Rafflecopter was just too much.

So long, free WordPress! You and your lack of Javascript aren’t welcome here anymore!

Hopefully I’ll be up and running on my new higher-functioning site by tomorrow, but there’s a possibility I won’t be able to celebrate my 1-month-iversary exactly on time.

There’s also the possibility that this could screw with any of you who are following me via WP or RSS (hopefully if you are following via Linky Followers or Networked Blogs, those will be unaffected). So if you look for me tomorrow and it seems I’ve disappeared, I haven’t. Just moved.

I’ll also update my Facebook Page and Twitter Feed with updates. If you can’t find me, check for me there. Those aren’t going anywhere. And if you don’t follow me on Twitter or FB yet, what are you waiting for? Carpe Diem!

Right now I honestly have no idea what I’m doing. My husband and his friend are handling this. I’m mostly just here to watch them nervously and complain that it’s taking too long.

See you on the other side!

Top Ten Tuesday (April 24): Favorite Book Characters

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Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by the fine folk over at The Broke and the Bookish. They created it because they are particularly fond of lists, and I’m participating because I am particularly fond of lists. Fancy that!

So the topic for this week’s list is:

Top Ten All-Time Favorite Characters In Books

There will be some minor spoilers in here, because some of the reasons I love these characters are kind of spoiler-y.

10. Cinna (The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins) – Cinna is cool, composed, and suave. He’s a stylist, so you wouldn’t think of him as being a fighter. But he proves himself to be brave and devoted to a cause greater than himself. He fights intelligently, not with swords and fists, but with well-placed images that turn the tides of feeling in the Capitol and the Districts. He was the secret but powerful force behind the Girl on Fire.

 9. Molly Weasley (First introduced in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling) – I would be remiss if I didn’t mention such a wonderful example of a mother. Molly Weasley is often in the background of the story, knitting horrible sweaters and fussing over her brood of red-headed children. But her fierce love and devotion for her family is never in doubt, and ultimately, she demonstrates the kind of power that comes from a mother’s love for her children. It’s nothing to be trifled with.

8. Robert Muldoon (Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton) – This is going to be short and sweet. Muldoon is freakin’ awesome, and if they’d all have listened to him from the beginning, dinosaurs wouldn’t have wound up eating most of them. And, unlike in the movie version, Muldoon is smart enough to not get eaten himself .

7. Valentine Wiggin (Ender’s Game and its sequels by Orson Scott Card) – In a world where children are turned into weapons by the military, Ender’s sister Valentine was rejected from the program for being too sympathetic and compassionate. But her intelligence was never the issue. Valentine’s game against her brother Peter is on a much smaller scale than Ender’s against the Formics, but she plays it well, proving what a shrewd strategist she really is. She also is Ender’s emotional center, the one member of his family who is always supportive and loving of him, no matter what he has done. She later proves her devotion to Ender when she accompanies him on his travels after the completion of the Game.

6. Jamie Fraser (The Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon) – If you like your romantic leading men big, burly, and Scottish, look no further than James Fraser. From the moment Claire Randall finds herself inexplicably transported from 1945 to 18th-century Scotland, Jamie is her savior, her protector, and her friend. He is innocent, funny and friendly while also being a strong warrior and leader. He’s not without his flaws, chief among them his fiery temper and fierce stubbornness. But ultimately, it’s his enduring love for Claire — a love that literally spans centuries — that makes him utterly endearing.

5. Peeta Mellark (The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins) – I never really bought into the whole “Team Peeta”/”Team Gale” thing (in my opinion, Peeta’s biggest rival for Katniss’ affections was Katniss.) So my admiration for Peeta is not based on the fact that he’s just sooooooo dreamy. Peeta takes more mental and physical abuse than any other character in THG series (barring, of course, the ones who die). But his strength of character and his will to be true to himself ultimately prevail. He is gentle, kind, and full of hope in a world where all of those are in short supply; but he also demonstrates strength and power when the situation demands it. Katniss may be the focal point of THG, but in my mind, Peeta is the true victor.

4. Professor Remus Lupin (First introduced in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling) – As Harry’s only Defense Against the Dark Arts professor who is both qualified and competent, Professor Lupin’s teachings are instrumental in Harry’s fight against Voldemort. Additionally, in spite of Lupin’s internal struggles, he continues to be one of the main leaders of the Order of the Pheonix. He serves as mentor and protector of the Dynamic Trio, and ultimately helps Harry understand the power of sacrificial love.

3. Westley (The Princess Bride by William Goldman) – If you haven’t read The Princess Bride, go get yourself a copy and read it. Right now. The movie is great; the book is better. And however much movie Westley is the ultimate in swashbuckling romantic heroes, book Westley is even better. If you thought his survival in the Pit of Despair was impressive, wait until you see him in the Zoo of Death. “To the pain” indeed.

2. Nighteyes (Farseer Trilogy/Tawny Man Trilogy by Robin Hobb) – Nighteyes is protagonist FitzChivalry’s wolf companion for most of his journeys. Nighteyes is as you would expect a wolf to be: vicious, cunning, and fiercely loyal. But he is also surprisingly witty, refreshingly honest, and endearingly playful. Through all of Fitz’s misadventures, Nighteyes is there to ground him, support him, and be the voice of reason. In a series I loved full of characters I loved, Nighteyes was among the best. I’ve never felt so emotionally attached to an animal character, before or since.

1. The Fool (Farseer Trilogy/Liveship Traders Trilogy/Tawny Man Trilogy by Robin Hobb) – In Robin Hobb’s spectacular trilogy of trilogies, The Fool is the thread that ties them all together. He is an enigma wrapped in a puzzle wrapped in a cleverly worded and slightly biting riddle. And somehow, even though you never truly understand everything about him — even after 9 books — you come to know him. Introduced as a comical background character, The Fool ultimately evolves into one of the most complex and fascinating characters I’ve ever read. But despite the vast mystery that surrounds him, it’s hard to doubt or deny his friendship and devotion with Fitz, even in the face of unimaginable hardship.

Honorable Mentions (in no particular order):

Neville Longbottom, Hermione Granger, Professor McGonagall (Harry Potter)

Burrich (Farseer Trilogy/Tawny Man Trilogy)

 Anne Shirley and Gilbert Blythe (Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery)

Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy (Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen)

Kent McFuller (Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver)

Jo March (Little Women by Louisa May Alcott)

 I may add more to this later. It’s too painful not to mention some of these great characters.