Book Challenge -- Day 2

2: Most satisfying Character Death

My response of Augustus Waters in The Fault in Our Stars was understandable, at the time I'd just finished the book and was annoyed with John Green (he's a wonderful author I just wanted to throw something at him for making me feel that way). I don't want to give too many spoilers, but TFIOS is about kids with cancer falling in love and dealing with this messy world. Augustus succumbs to his cancer, but in a long, drawn-out manner. I accepted his death long before he actually died and it was finally a relief to see him gone.
     The Challenge asks for two deaths. I still accept Augustus's death as pretty satisfying, the other is more difficult. There are so many characters that die--usually villains and their deaths are expected and therefore don't usually elicit a response.  I recently read A Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson and, *Spoiler Alert* the king Elisa marries dies. His death isn't expected--the romantic arc has just begun and the king is about to fall head-over-heels for Elisa--but it serves the overall tale. If the king were to live and show his sudden fascination with his secret wife Elisa's transformation from wallflower to confident woman would have been for naught. She still would have become one of many princesses that falls for the king and allows the king to fall for her position and her looks rather than the character she's built. The king's death probably wasn't satisfying in the same way Voldemort's is, but I was satisfied, and approved, of how it directed the story.