Book Challenge -- Day 3

3: Saddest character death

I still remember the first time I read Aslan's death in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. I was at first stunned at how easily he went to slaughter, and how Susan and Lucy allowed him to die for them, then angry with Aslan for giving up his role in the revolution to fight. He was probably the first character I remember being actually upset about. I now understand why Aslan had to die, but am still relieved every time he comes back to life.
     The character I remember actually crying and having to set down the book and come back to was Hedwig. She was with Harry from the beginning and cared for him unconditionally--the movies don't show it as well as the books, but Hedwig was the only friend Harry had at Privet Drive. The frustration that anyone could harm, let alone kill, a creature that had little to no efficacy in the story was overwhelming; Hedwig was for moral support, and yes, she made letter-writing a little easier, but she didn't have an irreplaceable role in the fight against Voldemort and his Death Eaters.  Most lingeringly I remember the deaths of the hound dogs in Where the Red Fern Grows as being sad, it was sixth grade, so I'm not sure how I'd feel about it now. The puppy with his innards coming out is heartbreaking. Really any book where the pet dies a horrible death is sad and miserable, and people should stop doing that!
     From my favorite novel, A Ring of Endless Light by Madeleine L'Engle, Binnie is a little girl with epilepsy whose father doesn't believe in medication. The entire novel centers around death and loss and what it means to actually live in the face of eventual extinction, so I understand why L'Engle has this child and her illness appear. While the main character is dealing with her grandfather's slow death she is plunged into depression when a beautiful little girl she meets in the hospital dies in her arms after an epileptic fit. Binnie's death is so unexpected in the context of the story that all the tension surrounding loss is suddenly focused in the one event.
     Really any story where a character is either slowly or pointlessly (in the story's universe) killed off is sad. Aslan was a character I became attached to quickly and easily; Hedwig and the dogs from Red Fern were loyal and had no reason to be killed other than they were in the wrong place at the wrong time; and Binnie was a bright child and had so much she could have lived for, but was killed through no fault or choice of her own. I understand the phenomenon as a plot device, but it still upsets me every time.

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.

Book Challenge -- Day 1

1: Genre you read most

I posted my first tweet a whole two days after I challenged myself to begin the challenge... yes, I already was behind. But not this time!

I read a lot of Young Adult fiction and Romance. While I enjoy science fiction and mystery, and pretty much every other genre out there, stories centering around and for teens are fascinating.
     YA stories have the automatic suspension of disbelief that makes for a good story--so what if something doesn't fit into the plot or something is missing, that one detail is not going to destroy the overall story. Teen and young adult books take into account that the reader hasn't been taught to scorn a creating where something might be a little bit off from reality. For example, fantasy abounds in YA Fiction, and it's always fantasy that has all the elements we expect from reality--a set of laws governing the physical world, rules and regulations garnering social interaction, etc. People might live on the moon or be part machine, but there are still rules that tie fiction to our world.
     My fascination with Romance is rooted in the easy-to-read storylines and no-thought-necessary plots. I can open a Betty Neels book and know within the first chapter who is going to marry whom. I enjoy the historical romance sub-genre because the romantic storyline is submersed in actual plot--it becomes more than just boy meets girl, they fool around, they fall in love, they get married. Historical Romance gives context for that romance, and the romance adds motivation for the rest of the plot.