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Top Ten Controversial Characters

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Top Ten Tuesday is a Weekly Meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week’s theme is controversial characters. These are characters I loved, but everyone hated, or I hated, when everyone else loved. So I’ve split my list into my top five from each category.

Controversial Characters Part One: Top Five Characters I Couldn’t Get Into, but People Rave About

Wuthering HeightsHeathcliff/Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte – I remember reading this book in high school and wishing I could drop into the story and be like, Catherine, honey. Lose this guy, please! I just did not get the fascination with him. He seemed dangerous and violent, and I definitely thought she could do better. But a lot of people seem to think of him as one of the top romantic heroes ever. So maybe it’s just me?

Mal/The Grisha Series by Leigh Bardugo – I didn’t start the Grisha series until after falling head-over-heels in love with Six of Crows, also set in the Grisha world. I tried Shadow and Bone soon after, and to be honest, I just couldn’t get into it. I could not understand why Alina pined for Mal. Sure, he’s a childhood friend, but he just seemed, I don’t know. Too immature for her. I was pretty excited when the Darkling was introduced, but er… yeah. That’s not going where I’d hoped, either. Can’t win ’em all I guess!

Aspen/The Selection Series by Kiera Cass – Okay. This one is a tough one for me, too. I’m Team Maxon all the way. I don’t know what the holdup is. Aspen seems like a selfish jerk to me. (Caveat: I’ve only read the first two books so far.) He doesn’t seem to care that America could be severely punished if she’s caught with him. He really only thinks about his own feelings for her. I’m not a fan.

Mare/The Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard – I REALLY wanted to like this book so much. It was okay. There were things about it I did enjoy. But I found it really difficult to connect with Mare. She complains a LOT about the way the upper class Silvers treat her lower class Reds, but at the beginning, who is she stealing from? That’s right! Her own people! Uhhhh…..???? I had a hard time respecting her convictions. Plus, dude. The way she treated her childhood bestie? (Sorry, I forget his name.) I was like come on, please let him be his own man already. Grrr.

Bella/Twilight by Stephanie Meyer – This one might not be quite fair. I liked Bella okay for the first few Twilight books. It really wasn’t until the last one in which she sort of stops having any weakness ever that I kind of wished I was reading a story about Jacob and this tribe instead. (And I was largely Team Edward prior to that.)

Controversial Characters Part Two: Top Five Disliked Characters I Loved

Noah Falls/Away We Go by Emil Ostrovski – As I’ve worked up my own review to this book, which I really enjoyed, I’ve read some other reviews that were far less favorable, many because they expected the book to be a dystopian adventure about finding a cure to the fatal Peter Pan Virus, when in fact, it’s more a personal story about the way a terminal diagnosis affects a group of teens largely cut off from the rest of the world. Whatever the case, I loved Noah and spent so many pages rooting for him to find his way.

Ed Kennedy/I am the Messenger by Markus Zusak – It seems like many people take issue with the ending of this book, which isn’t quite the same as the character, but I really love Ed. I love that he’s kind of this unlikely hero who’s sort of clumsy in love and life and really at a loss as to how to find his place until the mysterious cards show up in his life.

Shinobu/Seeker Series by Arwen Elys Dayton – This is another book that had some really strange twists and turns in it. Shinobu’s story isn’t without its own darkness, but it has probably the most hilarious suicide attempt I’ve ever read. That sounds weird. Yeah, it’s as weird as it sounds. But I laughed out loud. Not in a cruel way. Just… oh, nevermind. It was supposed to be funny, and that humor juxtaposed against the seriousness of his death wish was, for me, somehow endearing.

Clarice/Mistwood and Nightspell by Leah Cypess – You know those really snarky characters who turn out to move the story along in unexpected ways? Clarice is like that for me. I loved her in Mistwood and was delighted that she also appeared in Nightspell. She’s sneaky and conniving, but fiercely loyal, which definitely endeared me to her.

Nell Golden/We Are the Goldens by Dana Reinhardt – Again, looking at reviews, it seems like the end is the point people gripe about with this book. I actually loved that it ended the way it did. That moment was Nell’s triumph, her facing down the huge unspeakable thing she spends the entire story working up to. I think really understanding her character helps the ending make sense. Also, as a sister myself, I can identify with the worry for a sister and the grief over the changing level of closeness. Sister relationships aren’t like any other. I’d have just as a hard a time as Nell, I think, were my sister to go through something like hers did.

Who are your best loved or most hated characters from literature? Do other readers seem to agree or disagree with you?

Upcoming Reviews: March 2016

Lists, Middle Grade 8-12, News and Fun, Young Adult/Teen 12-18,

Coming Soon: March 2016 Reviews

So far this year seems to be speeding by. I still haven’t managed to finish the remaining books languishing on my To-Be-Read list from last year, but I’m trying to get to a couple each month. So, you know, by summer or something I’ll actually be finished?

Here are the books I’ve scheduled for review this month. There are some new ones and some recent releases as well. Hope you’re as excited about reading them as I am!Seven Ways We Lie by Riley Redgate – A story of teens who have secrets to keep. When they discover a secret too big to keep, they have to figure out what to do about it. I like books about dilemmas such as this one.

The Girl in the Well is Me by Karen Rivers – When Kammie falls in a well, she’s forced to rely on the girls who put her there to get help before her oxygen runs out. I love that this whole story takes place in this tiny space.

Finding Hope by Colleen Nelson – Hope is a girl caught between her new life at a prestigious boarding school, with a cool roommate and online boyfriend and the life she meant to escape. When her drug addicted brother shows up at school, she’s frantic to keep the two worlds from imploding. Sounds like all kinds of teen angsty stuff. Yay!

The Unlikely Hero of Room 13B by Teresa Toten – A love story in the midst of coping with OCD. Love the sound of this tale.

Just My Luck by Cammie McGovern – A fourth grader having a rough time wonders if his father’s accident is his fault. He tries to take one day at a time and focus on helping others. Sounds like a hopeful tale about rallying in spite of hardship.

Off the Page by Jodi Picoult and Samantha van Leer – Goodreads describes this book as “perfect for fans looking for a fairytale ending.” It’s written by Jodi Picoult and her daughter. I’m really excited about this one.

Cleo Edison Oliver, playground millionaire by Sundee T. Frazier – A fifth grader with an entrepreneurial spirit launches a business in her town. When the business faces challenge after challenge, Cleo isn’t sure she can manage it all alone. This sounds like a really fun read.

Belzhar by Meg Woolitzer – A girl works through the loss of her boyfriend through visits to a realm where she can be with him. I have a huge soft spot for books about grief, and in fact it’s a huge issue in my own novel-in-progress, so I’m eager to read this novel.

All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven – A boy and a girl find who feel they have nothing to live for find solace and hope in each other’s company. I feel like I read a spoiler about this book that has made me hesitate to pick it up. I’m going to do it though. Really. This time.

What’s on your To-Read list for March?

Top Ten Tuesday: When You’re In the Mood for Folk and Fairytales

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Top Ten Tuesday is a Weekly Meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week’s theme is about finding books to fit our moods. Recently I read a post about some fairytales with a new twist, and it made me think of a few that I’m excited about. I’ve posted a list of books based on Sleeping Beauty, Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, and stories about Merlin before, because I LOVE folk tales and fairytales retold. But this will be a fresh new list. Most of these books I’ve already read and reviewed, but there are a few I haven’t gotten to yet but am super excited to read.

Top Ten Folk or Fairytales Re-imagined

A Thousand Nights by E. K. Johnston – In this stunning retelling of the story of Scheherazade, a girl uses her ability to tell stories to battle a dark force controlling the king, her husband. Read my review.

Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale – I stayed up all night reading this book during the final days of my grandmother’s life. Hale crafts an incredible story world in this heartwarming tale of friendship and love based on the Grimm Brother’s tale Maid Maleen. My review here.

Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy by Karen Foxlee – This tale inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s The Snow Queen was one of those books that completely took me by surprise. I loved that Foxlee set the story in a museum. My review.

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer – Okay, you knew there was going to be at least some mention of the Lunar Chronicles on this list. I was really hesitant to pick up an entire novel with themes from the story of Red Riding Hood. And then Scarlet and Wolf pretty much became my favorite TLC characters. Read my review.

Across a Star-Swept Sea by Diana Peterfreund – This was a recent read for me, though I’d been meaning to get to it for the longest time. I’m a huge fan of The Scarlet Pimpernel, so I was nervous to read a new interpretation or story inspired by this great tale, but I’m so glad I did. I loved the sci-fi elements and how Peterfreund grafted them into the story. Here’s my review.

The Door by the Staircase by Katherine Marsh – Themes from Russian folklore, anyone? I’m so in. I haven’t read this one yet, but you’ll soon be seeing more about it here on The Story Sanctuary as I’ll be participating in a blog tour here in a few weeks.

Nightingale’s Nest by Nikki Loftin – I enjoyed this sweet middle grade story inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Nightingale.” My review.

Traitor’s Masque by Kenley Davidson – I haven’t read this one yet, either, but it looks really good, and I’ll be reviewing it soon. It’s a tale inspired by Cinderella. I’m really excited to read it.

The Outlaws of Sherwood by Robin McKinley – This is kind of an oldie but definitely a goodie. It’s a retelling of Robin Hood with a wee bit of a feminist slant. (Seriously… do the men actually do anything in this story? I guess they do, but the women are usually behind them making it actually work…) Still, it was a nice read.

The Forbidden Wish by Jessica Khoury – This is a re-imagining of Aladdin in which the genie is a girl and falls in love with Aladdin. So a bit of a twist there. I’ve read the first several chapters in a sample from NetGalley, and I’m desperate to read the rest.

What’s on your list of mood-related reads?

Top Ten Diverse Reads

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Top Ten Tuesday is a Weekly Meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week’s theme is top ten books which are outside the normal scope of what we read. I am pretty territorial about my reading time, so I pretty much stick to young adult and middle grade fiction with a few nonfiction books thrown in for sanity sake. This made the topic was a little tough for me. One of the things I’ve realized over the last year or so is that sometimes I need to be purposeful about choosing books with narrators who are different than me. Whether that means different in terms of race, gender, identity, or experience. Here are ten books that I really enjoyed in which the narrator and I, though we share many other qualities, have some obvious differences.

Top Ten Diverse Reads

  1. Locomotion by Jacqueline Woodson – This novel in poetry captured me immediately. I loved the lyrical feel of the lines and Lonnie gripped my heart right away. My full review here.
  2. Dream Things True by Marie Marquardt – I loved the way Marquardt made me see the life of an immigrant family from the inside. The story challenged some ideas I’d had and made me reevaluate them. Definitely the mark of a good book, in my opinion. My full review here.
  3. Because You’ll Never Meet Me by Leah Thomas – Moritz, a blind boy with supernatural ability to hear his surroundings, pretty much had me at hello. I couldn’t help being drawn into his tragic story and hoping for him to find his way through it. My full review here.
  4. This Is Where It Ends by Marieke Nijkamp – This one was a tough read for me. It’s about a school shooting and revolves through the point-of-view of several characters connected to the shooter. Nijkamp fills the pages with a large, diverse cast of characters and manages to make each seem real and authentic. This is a must-read for anyone looking for stories with that kind of diversity. Read my full review.
  5. On a Clear Day by Walter Dean Myers – This is another story with a diverse cast of characters. Myers is an author I’ve been really wanting to read more. I read several reviews claiming this isn’t his best work, but I enjoyed the story. My review.
  6. Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman – If you follow Children’s Literature at all, you don’t need me to tell you how amazing this book is. I was blown away by how cleverly the story is put together and how heartbreaking it is to watch it unfold. If you haven’t read it, seriously, grab a copy now. It’s incredible. Read my review.
  7. Sold by Patricia McCormick – This was another tough read. It’s about a young girl raised in an impoverished town in Nepal whose family sells her into prostitution. Though the horrors of her life are not much described in the story, it’s easy to imagine what it’s like for girls who truly do live this life.  My review here.
  8. Wonder by R. J. Palacio – If you’ve been around The Story Sanctuary long, you’ve probably heard me talk about how much I love this book. It was so good that when I finished, I immediately bought copies for other people. Every character leaped right into my heart, Auggie not least of all. So good. My review.
  9. Blue Gold by Elizabeth Stewart – This is a recent read. I loved the way Stewart humanized the plight of so many nameless refugees and factory workers overseas. I never felt preached at. Instead, it was like opening a window and looking into lives so different than my own. Read my review here.
  10. Li Jun and the Iron Road by Anne Tait – I suppose in more ways than one, this book was outside my usual go-to read. It’s a historical tale, which I’m not in any way opposed to, I’m just more often drawn to contemporary or fantasy stories. I liked that it gave me a window into history that I really didn’t know much about before picking up the book. It’s about the construction of the railroad in Canada. My husband and I visited Vancouver as part of our honeymoon trip, and I would love to go back to that area and learn more about it. This book only helped fuel that fire. My review.

Top Ten Books Featuring Music

Contemporary, Lists, Young Adult/Teen 12-18,

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly Meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week’s theme is music in books. I think the actual prompt is geared more toward either listing songs that would make great books or identifying a theme song for a particular book. I’m horrible at that sort of thing, and also deep in the revision process of my own project, so all I could think of were songs for my own scenes.

Instead, I’ve put together a list of books in which characters are either in a band or in which the stories feature music as an important theme. For me, music has always been a huge part of my life, so I was surprised that, as I made this list, there weren’t more books that came to mind which feature music as part of the story.

Here are my picks:

Scar Boys by Len Vlahos – Harry finds music and his role in the band to be an outlet and identity, even if it only makes the inequality in his relationship with Johnny more obvious. Read my review.

Scar Girl by Len Vlahos – After the tragic accident that tore them apart, the band struggles to reunite. Told as a series of interviews with band members, each recalls the highs and lows that ultimately led to another loss for the group. Read my review.

If I Stay by Gayle Foreman – Mia’s life hangs in the balance after a car accident that leaves her in a coma. She has to decide whether she will return to her life, even if it means facing life alone.

Where She Went by Gayle Foreman – Adam, Mia’s boyfriend in If I Stay, finds his new stardom to be a pretty empty life and reflects back on the great love he shared with Mia.

Apparently I didn’t review either of these books, though I did read them. I’m pretty sure there’s some sexual content– Mia’s parents are pretty permissive as far as her relationship with Adam goes. I can’t remember whether or not there’s profanity. I’ll have to go back and review these.

I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone by Stephanie Kuehnert – I don’t think I can say it better than the description on Goodreads: “Punk rock is in Emily Black’s blood. Her mother, Louisa, hit the road to follow the incendiary music scene when Emily was four months old and never came back. Now Emily’s all grown up with a punk band of her own, determined to find the tune that will bring her mother home.” (I think I read this back before I started doing reviews here. I wish it were a cleaner read.)

Ballads of Suburbia by Stephanie Kuehnert – I think I liked this one better than I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone, but it’s been so long I’m not sure. Both are really gritty tales with great characters. One has quite a bit of drug content (mostly drinking maybe? I can’t remember.)

Just Listen by Sarah Dessen – I loved that the music in this book became this bond between Annabel and Owen, and really, a path toward healing. I remember that I adored Owen Armstrong. Must keep him handy for the next “book boyfriends” list. He’d be on there for me. (I seriously thought I had reviewed this book. I can’t believe I didn’t! Must add to my review list.)

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell – (Forgive me…. I listed this book on my last TTT. Can’t help it!! It fits both categories.) While the music doesn’t play a ginormous role in this story, either, it’s definitely part of the connection between Eleanor and Park. The story does great justice to the way that music so often becomes a voice or an anthem, putting things into words that we have a hard time speaking on our own. Read my review.

Sold Out by Melody Carlson – A girl unused to fame suddenly finds herself right in the middle of it. As Chloe and her band mates have to navigate the struggles of stardom, they learn that only by putting it all in God’s hands can they succeed.

You Were Here by Cori McCarthy – Five teens connected by a fatal accident sort out their unresolved grief by revisiting places frequented by the boy they knew in hopes of finding messages he left behind. I haven’t reviewed this book yet, because I only finished reading it recently, but I really liked it a lot. Unfortunately, it does have some explicit language, alcohol content and sexual situations. Look for the review soon for more information.

Top Ten Books that Leave Your Heart Aching (In a Good Way)

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Top Ten Tuesday is a Meme hosted by The Broke & the Bookish. Here’s my post for this Top Ten Tuesday:

Five Stories With Swoon-Worthy Romance (Gimme Heartache!)

It’s almost Valentine’s Day, and next to a romantic date, my favorite way to celebrate is with a book featuring a romance that leaves me breathless on those last pages. Here are my top five O2 snatching reads:

  • Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell- That last pages leaves us with just three words. If you’ve read the book, you know exactly what I mean. *sigh* My review.
  • Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo- I’m pretty sure I tweeted about this. Gah. Kaz and Inej FOREVER!!! They must get together. I never pre-order a book seven months before it releases– unless it’s by Harper Lee OR the sequel to Six of Crows. My review.
  • Not if I See You First by Eric Lindstrom- This was one of those books that I could have immediately read over again when I reached the last page. The romance had so many hurdles to overcome. So much angst and drama. So great. My review.
  • Hawk’s Flight by Carol Chase – Yep. You were wondering when I’d bring that one up again, weren’t you? It has been a long time favorite, despite the fact that it’s out of print. This was a book that I’d read almost every year. Faith, love, politics, star-crossed lovers, a good guy who has to do the hard things, a philosophy debate. Man, I love this book.
  • Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor – I can’t help it. I feel like I was rooting for Karou and Akiva from the quote before the first chapter begins. So good. To me this story makes a great parallel to life in that there are these two groups at war over their differences — literally, the difference between them as creatures. Yet two people found the courage to see past those differences and cultivate love and respect anyway. Okay, I’m kind of talking you out of reading the story, but you should definitely check it out.

Five Stories that Love Being Single (Non-Love Heartache)

It’s easy to get overloaded on the super sweet lovey-dovey stuff. If that’s you, here are five stories where romance is not the be all, end all:

  • Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein- A WWII story about a female pilot and a woman working behind enemy lines in France. Both strong, admirable women and one wild ride of a story. My review.
  • Sensible Shoes: A Story About the Spiritual Journey by Sharon Garlough Brown- this tale follows four women as they journey through grief, loss, and heartache. I want to attend their study sessions. Wowza. Really deep, really brave stuff.
  • The Gone-Away World by Nick Harkaway – a really fun sci-fi featuring mimes, scary goo, special forces, ninjas, and best friends. Wow, that doesn’t even begin to do it justice. It’s a super-fun read.
  • Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman – If you’re a big fan of YA, you’ve probably already at least heard about this book, if you haven’t read it four times. Shusterman won the National Book Award for his brilliant story about a boy facing mental illness. I loved this book, and wholeheartedly agree with its status as an award-winner. My review.
  • Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon – A boy looking for a favorite author stumbles onto a dark mystery. I’m grossly under-educated about Spanish history, but I loved this book set in 1945 Barcelona. Made me want to get out there and learn more history and also read more Zafon!