Bloodrose

Lizzy,

I know you are going to hate me for this, but you are of course welcome to post your own rant about Bloodrose. I’m glad he died. It needed to happen. I disagreed with the emotions about his death, and the way the book evolved after that, but it wouldn’t have worked if he stayed alive.

            Through the trilogy Calla has slowly become her own person, instead of what was expected of her. When she forced Shay and Ren to bend to her will and bloodbond, I cheered. I was thrilled when she became the most powerful Alpha, rising above the males with their stupid fighting, leading her pack fearlessly forward. I feel like the whole book was building her up, and she was ready to shine. The only thing holding her down was Ren and Shay. The indecision weakened her.

            With Ren’s death, and Shay as the Scion leaving Calla worried he had changed too much, I desperately wanted her to let Shay go, to pull herself together and lead her pack. Shay needed to become a leader in his own right, to live on as a human with his parents and the Searchers. When she said goodbye and became a wolf, and then Shay sealed the rift, I wanted the epilogue to be Shay watching the pack, seeing Calla push on.

I know, Lizzy, that you were devastated by Ren’s death, because you clung to the hope that she would chose him. But every step of the way, through all three books, she was pushing him away, moving toward Shay. I hoped that she would be stronger. That she would push them both free and shine. I wanted the closing image to be her, high on the mountain, with the pack before her, standing proud. The final image of her next to Shay left me disappointed. Not in the author or the male leads but in her, Calla.

            I know you disagree, so I can’t wait to see your rant.

                        Clare

PS. I would like to make the argument that Ren should be removed from the list based on this book.

Mr. Rochester

I never know why, but something about days when its gray and rainy has me reaching not for something happy and bright, but for the dark pages of Jane Eyre! Although it took me awhile to get into Jane Eyre the first couple of times I started it, but after way to much time I finally got past page 8 and it quickly became a favorite of mine.

My thoughts on Mr. Rochester tend to fall into two very distinct categories. It's a love hate type thing. As I read I think he is perfect, he and Jane have such a odd, wonderful relationship. I think he is perfect for her! But then, once I finish, I start to think about his downfalls. He lied to her, tried to marry Jane even though he was already married, locked his wife in the attic, played mind games, and of course is a lot older then her. He's middle aged and she is under twenty! For this reason I can't decide if he is list worthy, or despicable!

<3

Happy Reading

Mr. Darcy

Its summer, which for me means sitting in the shade some where with a paperback in one hand and an ice cold drink in the other. Something about the heat always has me reaching for the light, fluffy reads, the romances on my shelf. And of course no collection of books would be complete without a well worn copy of Pride & Prejudice.

The other day I was writing a letter to a friend and my little brother was bothering me, so of course I thought of the scene from Pride & Prejudice where Mr. Darcy is writing to his sister and Miss Bingley is constantly interrupting him. With this came the realization that although Liz and I have spent hours chatting about the book, neither of us has blogged about it, so here it is: Mr. Darcy.

I will begin by saying that Darcy is so list worthy that he is basically where the requirements we have come from. He is one of the first male characters I come across who was perfect. I do not mean that his personality is without fault, but when you look at Miss Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy they truly are perfect for one another. When Elizabeth declines Darcy's marriage offer, she tells him that he is rude and arrogant, so when they next see one another he tries very hard to be polite and gracious. This shows that he really cares about her, and is willing to work for her. He's just... Darcy, so he has to be on the list. When Liz and I first started "The List" and it was a verbal way to rank male characters from books we read, I often found myself comparing them to Darcy, and latter Dimitri.

<3

Happy Reading

Where She Went

By Gayle Forman

In this sequel to If I Stay, Where She Went was absolutely wonderful. Adam and Mia have gone their separate ways, Mia in New York playing cello, Adam the lead guitar for a popular band on tour. When he finds himself alone in NY for the night something draws him to the theatre were Mia is playing. This leads to a tour of the city's best spots, while they rekindle their old romance. Adam has made many mistakes, so he is not very amirable as a character, but I think that he is still list worthy because they are so good for each other. In If I Stay Adam promises he will do anything, even leave her alone, if she doesn't die. She leaves him to go to Juliard, and it totally destroys him. He write beautiful, angry songs about his love for her and as they walk through her city, reliving their past, they are exactly what one another needs.
I believe that he is at least a notable male character, if not list worthy, because he is a gorgeous rock star in love with a classical cellist, willing to do anything and be anything for her. While he isn't perfect, he is almost more realistic for his faults and he had some truly amazing moments.
I would seggest this book to anyone looking for a sensitive, musician type guy. And I think he just might be list worthy.

~C

Owen Armstrong - Just Listen

Salve Fellow Readers!

Recently I have been what I call"readers block". Its the same sort of thing as writers block, but instead of not being able to write, I haven't been able to pick up a book and read it straight through. However, unlike writers block, readers block has the perfect cure: reread one of your favorite books, which in my case has a list worthy guy just waiting to resurface in my life.

From one of my favorite books, and my favorite book that Sarah Dessen has written, comes Owen Armstrong. He is strong, smart, kind, and has some recently resolved anger management issues. He like all list worthy guys is support of the heroine and ends up falling for her. Owen helps Annabel when she is in a low point in her life, when she has no friends. They quickly become close, and she listens to his radio show every sunday morning at seven o'clock. He knows just what Annabel needs, even when all she needs is for him to Just Listen.

I love this book mainly because of Owen Armstrong. He is as I mentioned before, kind, smart, incredibly hot/gorgeous (or at least thats how I imagined him), and he has this passionate love for music and telling the truth. Just thinking about him makes my head spin. However, that is not the only reason. I also love the way Annabel handles things: she avoids the descisions and hurting peoples feelings. I just think this story hit really close to home for me. I give this book four and a half stars.

Also, on a side note: A new book just came out by Sarah Dessen, called What Happened to Goodbye. I hope this new guy will be list worthy too. (Guys from Dessen's books usually are)

Yours Truly,

Miss Liz

Étienne St. Clair

From Anna and the French Kiss

by Stephanie Perkins

I would like to start by saying that this boy is perfect. He is literally every girls dream. He has a british accent, speaks french, and is american. He has, according to Anna, perfect hair. His only faults are that he is short, and scared of heights. Even the heights thing doesn't work against him though. So he is already perfect, but is he list worthy? I say yes. St. Clair isn't just some perfect guy, he is right for Anna. They are best friends at first, because even though they love each other St. Clair has a girlfriend. (This is actually his biggest problem) They talk, and when St Clair's mom is sick Anna is there for him. The two of them are so good for one another. St. Clair even climbs the Notre Dame Cathedral to find her, despite his fear of heights. He is most definitely going on The List.

Every teen who dreams of prince charming should read this. He is amazing. Liz will probably hate me for this, buy... I think Étienne St. Clair is even better than Demettri.

~C

Renier Laroche -- Nightshade and Wolfsbane

In the books, Nightshade and Wolfsbane (which hasn't come out yet, but I was fortunate enough to read a manuscript) Renier Laroche is the alpha guardian (which is basically a werewolf who can change whenever they want to... much more like the Twilight werewolves) and he is supposed to be the new packs leader along with his female alpha counterpart Calla. He is extremely fond of her if not in love with her. The problem is Shay. The other guy. However, in my opinion, Ren is still better and the more favorable of the two. He is nice, kind, and protective of Calla, and wants her to want to be with him like he wants to be with her. In Nightshade, Ren is fabulous and I fell for him after the first interaction between him and Calla.

However, in Wolfsbane, a lot of things happen, and Ren isn't the same. He still loves Calla and cares for her, but he has been tortured by the Keepers, and he won't believe Calla, or join her on the Searchers side. The book ends right before when the ultimate conversation between Ren and Calla takes place. The cliff hanger is so sharp that it leaves you craving for the next book and dying to know if Ren finally comes to his senses or if he doesn't. This one conversation is the conversation that either makes him list worthy and awesome or condemns him, making him unworthy of the list. Somethings we can forgive, like Darcy's cruelness towards Elizabeth at the beginning, but if he doesn't come to their senses, then he is deemed unworthy of the list. Will Renier Laroche make the cut?