Book Challenge -- Day 4

4. Favorite platonic friendships

Like most kids who grew up along with the Harry Potter Series, I am a fan of the Harry-Hermione platonic friendship (there was a time when I thought it might go romantic, but despite Rowling's comments about Hermione ending up with Ron, I think it turned out just fine). They are friends who support each other and are there for the good and bad times. There are moments during the series where Harry wants to be the hero and rescue Hermione, but she's not having it and shows him up with one of her clever plans. At the same time Hermione sticks around when the horcruxes begin to turn Harry dark and though most of us know she could have saved the world without his directionally challenged self, she kept Harry around. The two characters compliment each other without overwhelming or expecting more from the other.
     A lot of the friendships in literature don't tend to stay platonic. I enjoyed Annabel and Percy from Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson books, but after a while they shifted over into the romantic zone. Percy and Grover, however, have that snarky relationship that is all so common in today's reality, but is difficult to convey into a written world without becoming cruel. Like Harry and Hermione, Grover and Percy are there for each other while they attempt to accomplish the impossible. The relationship between Grover and Percy is more like that of Ron and Harry, though. They have Annabel as their brains, and they are the adventure and implusive behavior behind her plans.
     A completely different friendship I enjoyed was in the Thief of Eddis series: Gen and Sophos. The two begin their association while on a quest to retrieve legitimacy for Gen's cousin--a stone bestowed upon the ruler of Eddis by the Thief. Helen (Eddis as she is known) cares for her cousin and their friendship is strong enough to last through his trials and triumphs. Sophos is the heir to a neighboring kingdom and a scholar rather than any kind of warrior. The two boys become friends, but are separated by nations when Sophos is sent to learn his country and Gen goes to fetch the woman he loves and become king. When next they meet, Sophos is Sounis and Gen is Attolis--kings of their respective countries, but still young men looking for friendship. They each have their own responsibilities and desires, but they learn to respect each other and be young men together under and outside of the ceremony of their offices.

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.