Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Class of 2012 Blogfest: Popularity Contest

And we're back for day two of the Class of 2012 Blogfest!



Thanks to Katy Upperman, Alison Miller, Jessica Love, and Tracey Neithercott for hosting!  Check out their blogs for more info or to join up!

Class Clown: 
 
Iko from Cinder by Marissa Meyer.  This goofy little android totally stole the show at every turn.  Some would say she has a busted personality chip; I say I want one just like her.








Most Likely to Become a Rock Star:


I've put together something of a supergroup from the historical novels I read this year.  After all, being a rockstar is all about attitude, and these four have it in spades.  Ismae from Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers is rocking out on bass while also keeping an eye on things because she doubles as the security detail.  "Verity" (that's her stage name) from Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein is the fearless, glamorous lead guitarist. Catherine Howard from Gilt by Katherine Longshore is the shining lead singer every guy has his eye one.  And Cecily from The Wicked and the Just by J. Anderson Coats is the snarling drummer.


Mostly Likely to Start a Riot :
   

America Singer from The Selection by Kiera Cass.  She's already found herself at the center of some political unrest, and also, please: it's like, the Royal Wedding plus a reality show that people actually care about plus weird caste issues?  I don't think she's seen the last of people absolutely freaking out.








Biggest Flirt  :
 

Catherine Howard from Gilt by Katherine Longshore.  Sadly, and this is not so much a spoiler as a matter of historical record, this did not work out super-well for her.  Poor Catherine.








Fashion King and/or Queen:

 Friday Woodcutter from Enchanted by Alethea Kontis.  This was one of my favorite reads this year: it focuses on the seventh daughter of a seventh daughter who falls in love with a frog who (spoiler alert) is actually a prince.  But her six sisters each have something remarkable about them, and Friday is gifted with a needle, making brilliant patchwork skirts out of the scraps left over from her charitable sewing projects.  And you should see the gowns she whips up for the ball!





Girl You’d Most Want For Your BFF:

"Verity" from Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein.  Talk about a loyal, brave, all-around perfect bestie.  You can't do better than her.  But I'm afraid I've already said too much.  Just read it, please?  All I want for Christmas is for everyone to read this book.








Boy You Wish You’d Dated in High School:   

 Giddon from Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore.  Ok, so he's an adult now, and I guess I didn't like him as much before this book, but if you could take the Giddon from Bitterblue and just age him down into a teenager, he'd have totally been my type.  (Although of course, he would have a hopeless crush on one of my best friends.  Because that was invariably my type in high school.  Sigh.) 






Most Likely to Become President:    

Gansey from The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater.  I mean...do I need to explain?  (I will, however, take this space to ask if anyone else can ONLY picture a young Matt Czuchry when they think of Gansey.  Fellow Gilmore Girls fans?  Anyone?)








Quirkiest Character:   

 Sunday from Enchanted by Alethea Kontis.  The afore-mentioned seventh daughter of a seventh daughter, Sunday is quite the odd duck.  She's not so keen on her circumstances and seeks solitude for writing whenever she can.  Then of course there's the whole business of falling in love with that frog...anyway, Sunday's story is as far from ordinary as it gets.








Villain You Love to Hate:   

Mrs. Cavendish from The Cavendish Home For Boys and Girls by Claire Legrand.  Technically MG, but creepy enough for YA readers, I think.  The truly horrible Mrs. Cavendish is a villain for the ages. She makes this one of the most squirm-inducing books I can think of.   Ewwwwww.  (Read it!)








Favorite Parental Figure

Colby's Dad from Starting From Here by Lisa Jenn Bigelow.  This was a quiet little book, and I liked it all, but Colby's relationship with her long-haul trucking dad after her mom's death leaves the two of them alone together really stood out to me.  Her struggles with when and how to come out to him and her wish to have him around more often felt very real, and so did his love for her.






Coolest Nerd:    

 Death from Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore.  This ill-tempered librarian just wants to be alone with his books!  Definitely a standout supporting character. 

37 comments:

  1. It's seeming nearly unanimous that we all think Gansey is most likely to become President. :)

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  2. Stupid history, spoiling books for us :P

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    1. I know, right? I try to combat that by forgetting most of what I learned in history classes.

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  3. Somewhere along the line, I completely forgot about ENCHANTED by Alethea Kontis. That one has been on my TBR list for some time now, but it got lost in the shuffle. I definitely need to get my hands on it. :) I should have known you were a Gilmore Girls kindred spirit. :) I have all of the seasons on DVD and am long overdue for another marathon. As for Matt Czuchry, I liked him in Gilmore Girls, but I love him in The Good Wife. As for Giddon, he was totally my favourite in BITTERBLUE. I kept hoping he and Bitterblue would hook up. Sigh. Oh well.

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    1. I'm pretty sure I could literally do nothing but watch Gilmore Girls on loop for the rest of my life and be happy about it. I am totally still rooting for Giddon and Bitterblue. I think it could happen someday. (Oh, and pick up Enchanted sometime when you have like a day. It's such a fun read!)

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  4. Yes, yes, YES to Giddon! He might be my biggest literary crush EVER. I want to date him now, as a grown (and, um, married) woman! ;-) And great choice in Death as well... I forgot all about him when I was considering my Biggest Nerd.

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    1. Oh yeah, totally. I would absolutely date Giddon right now (sorry, Mr. S!) That book is so long and I still want more. Sigh.

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  5. Young Matt Czuchry as Gansey? TOTALLY. I'm totally Team Logan and I'm totally Team Gansey and Yes, Yes, Yes.

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    1. LOGAN. I love him so much. Way more than I think I am supposed to. And way more than Dean or Jess. (Although if it was me, I would probably have gone for Marty.)

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  6. I can TOTALLY see a young Matt Czuchry as Gansey!

    I also cannot believe I forgot about Death! He was by far one of my favorite characters in Bitterblue!

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    1. I think I just saw some blog post about Death not too long ago, so he was on my mind. But how great is he?

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  7. If those characters you mentioned actually did form a rock band... That would be the best thing ever.

    And I forgot about Death too! He was amazing. Awesome list!

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    1. Can historical-fictional-girl-rock be the new wizard rock? I would be so in. Dibs on Emma and the Goldmans!

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  8. You have so many characters on here for books I need to read. I'm with you on Gansey. :)

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    1. That's how I felt a lot of today, too! How can I have read this many books and still be so behind???

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  9. Looks like I'll have to get copies of The Cavendish Home For Boys and Girls and Bitterblue ASAP! And what Sarah said about the rock band!!! So cool.

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    1. Cavendish is the creepiest, grossest book...totally delightful. If you like Roald Dahl and Edward Gorey, you'll love it.

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  10. I love how you put together a historical rock band! Too cool.

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    1. I couldn't resist. They're all so awesome--you know if they lived now, that's what they'd be doing!

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  11. I have STARTING FROM HERE on my shelf--looking forward to reading that one! I can totally see Gansey as President; good call.

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    1. STARTING FROM HERE is a sweet story. It's the kind of thing that read quickly but I keep thinking back to it--like, it's better in retrospect than I thought it was?

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  12. I love how varied the choices for best parental figure is! Great parents who are present in YA lit--awesome!

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    1. Yeah, I thought STARTING FROM HERE deserved a nod. I also love the ladies from THE RAVEN BOYS and Hazel's parents from TFIOS, who seem to be getting a lot of the love, but this is one that I think wasn't as widely read.

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  13. I love your interpretation of the Rock Star category, and I too would love to have Verity as a BFF. How could I not mention her in that category when the book has as one of its major themes friendship between 2 quite different girls? And YES, ABSOLUTELY EVERYONE should read Code Name Verity!

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    1. I think this blogfest is convincing a lot of people to read CNV! Hooray!

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  14. omg - MOST AWESOME choice for Coolest Nerd! You are so right! Love the other choices too! And I MUST READ Code Name Verity!

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    1. I was so surprised that he wasn't on, like, every list! Glad to represent!

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  15. I am going to have to read Bitterblue and The Selection because I keep seeing them on everyone's blog! I had considered The Selection before, but I was a little hesitant because of reviews.

    Great post!

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    1. I think with The Selection, you just have to go in thinking "fun read" rather than "next big dystopian"--it got a lot of early hype that was hard to live up to. But I really got into it!

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  16. Gideon! *swoons* He & Bitterblue totally get together after the book ends, right? And I love snarly Death!

    We had lots of the same choices! Hooray for Mrs. Cavendish & poor Catherine Howard & Verity!

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    1. Yeah, they totally do. I kind of want a fourth book just to see that, but then I guess if there was a fourth book it might not happen so...on the balance I'm ok not knowing :)

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  17. I will read CODE NAME VERITY next. There, I said it. :D
    And you're right about Catherine, she was definitely a flirt. Loved that book!

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    1. Please report back, Elodie. I also need to read that one but am usually a very YA contemp romance heavy reader. :-)

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    2. Awesome! Hope you like it and can convince Kari :)

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  18. Agh, I need to read Cinder and Bitterblue! We may be hosting Marissa Meyer at my school this spring, as she lives int eh area and attended schools in my district. So, I really want to read Cinder AND the next book!

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    1. Oh, man, that's awesome! Definitely read CINDER soon then! I can't wait for the next one to come out!

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Thanks for coming by! Please chime in!