Top Ten Tuesday #9: Top Ten Characters We'd Never Want To Trade Places With

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

I (Tierra) noticed that there hasn't been a Top Ten Tuesday for a while on this blog, so I thought it would be fun if this week Summer and I did it together!

1. Penryn (Angelfall) - One thing I know for sure, I'd NEVER want to live in Penryn's post-apocalyptic-dystopian world where angels are taking over. Add that to having a psychotic mother and a lost sister, and you've got a very screwed-up world.

2. Puck (Iron Fey series) - I adore Puck. He will always be one of my favorite characters. But, throughout the series he's forced to do Meghan's dirty work, and is easily discarded once she meets Ash. He's treated like nothing, and he definitely doesn't deserve this unfair treatment.

3. Anyone from Of Poseidon aside from the main characters - Mostly because I feel bad for anyone who has to endure through the "ohmysweetgoodness!" exclamations and witness the barf-inducing relationship of Anna and Galen.

4. Mal (Shadow & Bone) - Poor Mal. I'm not his biggest fan, but he's always being made fun of by readers, just because he's "wimpy" or "boring". His presence is ignored once The Darkling is around, and he's just never good enough, no matter how hard he tries.

5. Gemma (Stolen) - Being drugged, kidnapped, and forced to live in the Australian outback is not exactly an ideal life. I would never, ever want to be in her situation. 

6. Any student at Hogwarts in the same year as Harry Potter (The Harry Potter Series) - Imagine how much stuff they had to go through because "The Chosen One" was battling something different every single year. I very much doubt that they got a substantial education.

7. A Katherine (An Abundance of Katherines) - I don't have anything against Colin, but all the way through the book the extent of each Katherines personality (apart from maybe K19) is just a number. I don't want to be just known as Katherine number 5 who was part of a mathematical equation.

8. Jacob Black (The Twilight Saga) - Always having to come second? No thanks. I almost felt sorry for him until he fell in love with Bella's daughter... Seriously, who does that?

9. Hazel Grace (The Fault in our Stars) - I admire Hazel so much, but I would not be able, nor would I want to deal with so much heartbreak and loss at such a young age. Having the knowledge that death is inevitably close would not be a nice way to live.

10. Anna (My Sister's Keeper) - She lives her life to keep someone else alive. She was literally only conceived so that she would be a bone marrow match for her sister. That sucks! And then to make it even worse she has to make the decision to stop helping her sister so that she can finally live her own life.

WHICH CHARACTERS WOULD YOU NEVER WANT TO TRADE PLACES WITH?

Snarkfest: Types of Relationships in YA

One of my bookish goals for this year was to start a new feature. I decided to combine two of my favorite things: books and snark, and just ramble on and on about anything that has to do with books. It's not a regular feature, and is going to be posted randomly, maybe 3-4 times a month.

This first topic I chose to do is the types of relationships in the young-adult genre. To keep this short, I'll stick to overused romantic relationships, especially since this aspect is usually what makes or breaks a book for me (commonly, it breaks the book).

I Have A New Co-Blogger!

I'm so glad to announce that I have a new social media co-blogger, who is (obviously) going to be in charge of social media. Her name is Tierra, and she's extremely sweet and very helpful. She blogs at Tangled in Words, and you've probably seen her around the book community. I'm really ecstatic to have her as a co-blogger and she'll also be posting on this blog from time to time.   

Click here to learn more about her!

She'll be in charge of our blog's Twitter.

Review: Scarlet, by Marissa Meyer

Title: Scarlet (The Lunar Chronicles #2)
Author: Marissa Meyer
Genre: Fantasy/Sci-fi
Pub. Date: February 5, 2013

The fates of Cinder and Scarlet collide as a Lunar threat spreads across the Earth...

Cinder, the cyborg mechanic, returns in the second thrilling installment of the bestselling Lunar Chronicles. She's trying to break out of prison—even though if she succeeds, she'll be the Commonwealth's most wanted fugitive.

Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit's grandmother is missing. It turns out there are many things Scarlet doesn't know about her grandmother or the grave danger she has lived in her whole life. When Scarlet encounters Wolf, a street fighter who may have information as to her grandmother's whereabouts, she is loath to trust this stranger, but is inexplicably drawn to him, and he to her. As Scarlet and Wolf unravel one mystery, they encounter another when they meet Cinder. Now, all of them must stay one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen Levana, who will do anything for the handsome Prince Kai to become her husband, her king, her prisoner.

5 Stars!

I know I’ve read a spectacular book when I find myself pacing my room, unable to find anything to read and gravitating towards the book I have just completed. Scarlet by Marissa Meyer is one of those books. I ignored everything, because I was completely immersed in this novel.

Review: No and Me, by Delphine de Vigan

Title: No and Me
Author: Delphine de Vigan
Genre: Contemporary
Pub. Date: August 3, 2010

The international award-winning story of two girls from different backgrounds, united in friendship

Parisian teenager Lou has an IQ of 160, OCD tendencies, and a mother who has suffered from depression for years. But Lou is about to change her life—and that of her parents—all because of a school project about homeless teens. While doing research, Lou meets No, a teenage girl living on the streets. As their friendship grows, Lou bravely asks her parents if No can live with them, and is astonished when they agree. No’s presence forces Lou’s family to come to terms with a secret tragedy. But can this shaky, newfound family continue to live together when No’s own past comes back to haunt her?

Winner of the prestigious Booksellers’ Prize in France, No and Me is a timely and thought-provoking novel about homelessness that has far-reaching appeal. -Goodreads

4 Stars

"We can send supersonic planes and rockets into space, and identify a criminal from a hair or a tiny flake of skin, and grow a tomato we can keep in the fridge for three weeks without getting a wrinkle, and store millions of pieces of information on a tiny chip. Yet we're capable of letting people die on the streets."

Stacking the Shelves (10)

Bought: 

The Madman's Daughter, by Megan Shepherd

Library:

1- This Song Will Save Your Life, by Leila Sales

2- Scarlet, by Marissa Meyer

3- Lola and the Boy Next Door, by Stephanie Perkins

4- The Fiery Heart, by Richelle Mead

Won: 

Thank you Macmillan and First Reads! *dies 5 times*

For Review: 

We Were Liars, by E. Lockhart

Expectation vs. Reality: Review of Lady Thief, by A.C. Gaughen

Title: Lady Thief (Scarlet #2)

Author: A.C. Gaughen

Genre: Historical fiction / fairytale retelling

Pub. Date: February 11, 2014

Scarlet’s true identity has been revealed, but her future is uncertain. Her forced marriage to Lord Gisbourne threatens Robin and Scarlet’s love, and as the royal court descends upon Nottingham for the appointment of a new Sheriff, the people of Nottingham hope that Prince John will appoint their beloved Robin Hood. But Prince John has different plans for Nottingham that revolve around a fateful secret from Scarlet’s past even she isn’t yet aware of. Forced to participate at court alongside her ruthless husband, Scarlet must bide her time and act the part of a noblewoman—a worthy sacrifice if it means helping Robin’s cause and a chance at a future with the man she loves. With a fresh line of intrigue and as much passion as ever, the next chapter in Scarlet’s tale will have readers talking once again.

2 Stars

*I obtained this ARC through Netgalley*
It’s no secret that I loved the first book, Scarlet. I’d also like to point out that I was a naïve git with no literary taste whatsoever at the time, so please ignore my previous thoughts.

When I first requested this on NG, I was ecstatic. Like, pee-my-pants excitement. And what do I end up getting? Pages and pages of ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.

I even stopped midway while reading this and subsequently forgot about its existence. It took quite a bit of cajoling and self-bribing to force myself to finish this waste of paper book I had no interest in completing.

2014 Bookish Goals!

You know, I'm actually quite proud of myself. I've completed my 2013 goal of reading 100 books, and even went over that to read 130 books. Normally, I'm not a huge fan of making a list of my goals, mostly because I don't want to feel pressured to do them, but I think this will help my blog improve over the next year (hopefully). So, here are my bookish goals in bullet point form for the year of 2014!