Top Ten YA Characters I'd Name My Children After

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created and hosted at The Broke and the Bookish.  It's a simple and absurdly fun meme featuring one of my favorite things ever: lists.  About books. ..  OK, two of my favorite things.  So check it out if you haven't already.  

This week the topic is Top Ten Characters I'd Name My Children After.  I'm somewhat infamous for wanting to name pets after characters from Greek and Egyptian mythology or nerdy movies (ie the cat becomes Bast, and the horse Epona or Shadowfax), but as for favorite YA book characters as namesakes... 

1.  Katniss from the Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

I know a lot of people actually dislike this name and thought it was kind of random, but I positively adore it and most of the other unusual, futuristic Hunger Games names.  To me, Katniss is such a brave and admirable heroine and really the kind of person girls could strive to be like.  Maybe it's the similarity to my own name, on second thought... Kat... Katniss.  OK, I see it now.  ;) 

2.  Felicity from the Gemma Doyle Trilogy by Libba Bray

Felicity is a name from Victorian times, proudly borne by Gemma's headstrong, outspoken best friend in the fabulous Gemma Doyle trilogy by Libba Bray.  Felicity is by far my favorite character in the series, and her name is just beautiful.

3.  Ethan from Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

The only somewhat common name on this list.  Ethan is one of my favorite male narrators in YA.

4.  Lyra from the His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman

 Lyra is such a brave and clever little heroine.  I always loved these books when I was younger.  Lyra is also the name of a harp constellation... go figure.  Her daemon's name is Pantalaimon... now there's a male name with possibilities... (Kidding! ;)

5.  Luna from the Harry Potter series

I wish my name was Luna.  It's so beautiful, what with the moon and moon goddess connotations... and the Luna Lovegood ones, of course.  Luna is just awesome-- her wackiness and quotes are all priceless.

6.  Zane from the Uglies Trilogy by Scott Westerfeld

 Uglies has some pretty bizarre character names running through it, but every once in a while Scott Westerfeld hits on a futuristic name that actually sounds pretty cool.  Zane was one of my favorite characters.  *sobs* Scott did wrong by him.  Honorable mention from Uglies: Shay (girls name).

7.  Rue from the Hunger Games Trilogy 

Another Hunger Games name.  Rue is named for a herb, not 'you'll rue the day you met me'.  I like the simplicity and uniqueness of it.

8.  Isabelle, Jace, or Alec from the Mortal Instruments series

I cheated.  I love all the names from the Mortal Instruments series.  Honorable mentions are Maryse (pronounced May-ris, I believe), and Clary.  Alec is a particular favorite.

9.  Hermione from the Harry Potter series 

This isn't the kind of pop culture-inspired name where you could get away with people not realizing your kid is named after a character.  Everybody knows Hermione, but I love the name and her character so much that I honestly don't care.  Realistically, I'd probably name a cat this rather than a kid, but still... worst thing would be the inevitable nickname 'Hermie'.  *Shudders*

10.  Morgaine from The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley (or Arthurian legend, really)

The Mists of Avalon is technically not YA, but it's one of my favorite books of all time, so I had to include it.  Morgan (aka Morgana le Fey) was the half-sister of King Arthur in some legends, and a misnomer for a Celtic goddess in others.  I really love the strength and androgynous sound of the name, but this spelling would be for a girl, obviously.


So, any thoughts/comments? What favorite character from a book would you name a kid after?

     

Cover VS Cover: Modern Tales of Faerie

Cover VS Cover is a weekly meme at A Myriad of Books that I started because I've recently become fascinated with the differences between international covers-- US vs UK, German vs French vs Australian vs new vs old... you name it.  This week we have another favorite series of mine: The Modern Faerie Tale series by YA fantasy author Holly Black.  (The series includes Tithe, Valiant, and Ironside and all three books have been graced with have some truly beautiful, haunting, and occasionally bizarre covers.)  Let me know what you think, guys-- commentary and suggestions are so welcome.

Original US

I've always liked this set of covers-- nice and symbolic.  The light cast on the sword, butterfly wings, and thorn crown is really cool. 

Original UK/ Australia

Valiant is my favorite of these paperback editions.  The Ironside one not so much, but I love the trellises twining around the first two. 

New US

 These are the editions I have.  They're undeniably creepy and the only covers for the Modern Faerie Tales where human models were used.  (...Or not so human, as the case may be ;)  I like the latter two best-- the troll ears on the Valiant cover look a little like something you might see at a sci-fi convention.

New UK Paperbacks

 The two covers are too similar, I think.  But at least these are simple enough that they have a wide appeal.  I don't think Valiant was released with as one of these new paperback editions, seeing as it's technically separate from the other two books. 

Original Tithe Hardcover-- US

The original cover for Tithe is by far my favorite out of all these.  It's so gruesome, perfect for the story, and the art is simply beautiful.  Too bad the other books in the series were never released with covers with art by this artist. 

What do you guys think-- which of these covers is perfect, and which is not so much?  If you know of any covers I've missed, or have suggestions for next week's theme, be sure to let me know!

In My Mailbox (8)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren and inspired by Alea of Pop Culture Junkie.  The idea behind IMM is not only to put new books on our radars but also to encourage blogger interaction. IMM explores the weekly contents of our mailboxes: books bought, received, won, and borrowed, along with other goodies and swag. 

This week the contents of my mailbox were of a wide variety-- all of the books have me excited beyond reason. :) 

What I Got:

For Review: 

From The Library: 

Won:

-- Wither by Lauren DeStefano 

-- Lost Voices by Sarah Porter 

-- A Blue So Dark by Holly Schindler 

-- Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld

-- Lily of the Nile: A Novel of Cleopatra's Daughter (signed!) by Stephanie Dray with cool ankh pendant

Thanks to: 

-- The Gaston-Lincoln Country Library System 

-- NetGalley.com 

-- Good Golly Miss Holly ARC Tours 

-- A big thank you to Mrs. Stephanie Dray-- you and your book and your awesomeness are appreciated beyond words

So, what's in your mailbox this week?

Interview with Julie Kagawa, Author of the Iron Fey Trilogy

 Today I'm so excited to have Julie Kagawa, author of the amazing, bestselling, altogether awesome fantasy series, the Iron Fey trilogy, for an interview at a Myriad of Books.  I recently hosted a giveaway for the Iron Fey books (which is closed as of a few days ago) and had a ton of fun featuring them.  

 About Julie: 

  Julie Kagawa was born in Sacramento, California. But nothing exciting really happened to her there. So, at the age of nine she and her family moved to Hawaii, which she soon discovered was inhabited by large carnivorous insects, colonies of house geckos, and frequent hurricanes. She spent much of her time in the ocean, when she wasn’t getting chased out of it by reef sharks, jellyfish, and the odd eel.     When not swimming for her life, Julie immersed herself in books, often to the chagrin of her schoolteachers, who would find she hid novels behind her Math textbooks during class. Her love of reading led her to pen some very dark and gruesome stories, complete with colored illustrations, to shock her hapless teachers. The gory tales faded with time, but the passion for writing remained, long after she graduated and was supposed to get a real job.
    To pay the rent, Julie worked in different bookstores over the years, but discovered the managers frowned upon her reading the books she was supposed to be shelving. So she turned to her other passion: training animals. She worked as a professional dogtrainer for several years, dodging Chihuahua bites and overly enthusiastic Labradors, until her first book sold and she stopped training to write full-time.
Julie now lives in Louisville, Kentucky, where the frequency of shark attacks are at an all time low. She lives with her husband, two obnoxious cats, one Australian Shepherd who is too smart for his own good, and the latest addition, a hyper-active Papillon puppy.

The Interview:

Bold= Kat 

Normal= Julie  

-- What I love most about the Iron Fey series  is how you combine the Winter and Summer Court faeries of lore with Meghan, a modern-day gal and the modern, high-tech world.  What inspired the iron fey and your modern takes on mythical characters?

        Faeries, the old, ancient fey, not the glittery winged sprites, have always fascinated me.  But I wanted to write a book that was different than other faery books.  So I began thinking: what are the fey afraid of?  The answer, in most ancient mythos, is iron.  Faeries can’t stand the touch of iron and steel.  So, what if there was a new type of fey that had evolved with progress over the years?  What if they weren’t only immune to iron, their existence was slowly poisoning and corrupting the lands of the traditional fey?  And I realized we already have “monsters” in machines: gremlins, bugs, viruses, etc.  And from that thought, the Iron fey were born.

-- My favorite characters in the series are definitely Puck and Grimalkin.  Which of your characters is the most fun to write, and which is the most challenging?  Do you have a personal favorite?

        Grimalkin was the most fun to write, and surprisingly, Meghan was the most difficult, because I had to balance bravery and determination with the fears and insecurities of a teenage girl.  Meghan is only sixteen, and at first she did what most would do when faced with terrifying creatures that wanted to eat her: she screamed and ran. 

        I have to say Ash is my favorite, though.  I just have a thing for a dark brooding HBWS (Hot Boy with Sword).  Its a weakness.       

-- When you first began writing The Iron King, did you have any idea that the Team Puck vs Team Ash love triangle phenomena would commence?  Or was it all part of your diabolical plan from the get-go? :)

        No, not a clue, lol!  I must say, the first time I heard the term "Team Ash/Puck" it was a shock.  I am thrilled, however, that both boys have their loyal fans.  I don't even mind when people say things like: "I can't stand Puck/Ash because of such-and-such," or "Puck is so much better then Ash because of this," because it means the characters have become real.

Grim

    
-- Which faerie creatures of the Never-Never are your favorite to write?  (I love the phookas, and of course, the resident cat sith.)

        I like Grimalkin, of course, but I will admit I have a soft spot for the packrats and the gremlins.  Particularly for a certain gremlin who makes his appearance in The Iron Queen.

-- Do you read a lot?  Who are some of your favorite authors who've inspired you? 

        I don't read as often as I want anymore, but some favorite authors are Jim Butcher, Neil Gaiman, and Maria V. Snyder (Valek!).  

-- You're obviously a pretty dedicated gamer.  Have you ever imagined your books adapted into a video game?  (Or a movie, graphic novel... the possibilities are endless!)  Any word on whether an adaptation like that could possibly be in the works?

        Um, only all of them, lol.  The ending of Final Fantasy 10, Final Fantasy 8, and Fushigi Yugi, were all big inspirations for the ending of The Iron Queen.  Sadly, there are no adaptations in the works as of now.  Fingers crossed, though.  ;) 

book 3

-- What can you tell us about The Iron Knight, the fourth book in the Iron Fey series starring Prince Ash?

    Only this: If you think you know Ash, you haven't seen anything yet. 

Thanks so much for letting me interview you, Julie!

    Thanks so much for the interview! 

Extras:

Visit Julie's website and be sure to check out the contests going on around the bookish blogosphere for a chance to win awesome Iron Fey-related prizes (here)! 

-- Read my review of the Iron Queen

Follow Friday & The Book Blogger Hop (16)

TGIF!!!  This week has honestly been one of the longest, most frustrating weeks I can remember, but there's nothing like a few hours of blog hopping (best accompanied by pizza, a stack of books, and some really loud music) to kick off the weekend!  A big hello to anybody stopping by my blog for the first time today via Follow Friday (hosted by the awesome Parajunkee) or the Book Blogger Hop (hosted weekly by Jennifer over at Crazy-For-Books).  Leave your link when you comment, and I'll be sure to hop on over to your blog later, once I escape from school.
Also, be sure to check out my giveaway for awesome YA historical fiction novel Daughter of Xanadu and my interview with author Dori Jones Yang (here).  There's only one week left to enter, and entries are bizarrely low, so you've got a great shot at winning the book!

This weeks featured blogger over at FF is Katy of Vision Quest Fail.  The question is:

What is the book you are currently 'pushing'?

My answer: What book aren't I pushing is a better question!  I love to let people I know browse my bookshelves (which are more crammed than the small town library's) and let them pick out whatever sounds great to them and offer recommendations.  But I'm always loaning out the Hunger Games trilogy, as well as the Gone series by Micheal Grant.  (If you haven't already... read these books!! I'm being pushy about it. :)

The Blog Hop question is: "What are you reading now and why are you reading it?"

My answer: Currently I'm absorbed in Wither by Lauren DeStefano (great book!), as well as Lost Voices by Sarah Porter.  After that I'm looking forward to diving into Behemoth.  I haven't been able to do as much reading or blogging and reviewing lately because of my super-hard honors classes and hardcore studying for the SATs, but as of now I'm going to start fitting reading in one way or another!

I wish you all happy hopping and an awesome weekend!

A Blue So Dark by Holly Schindler

Genre: YA contemporary
Pages: 266 (paperback)
Published: 2010 by Flux

Synopsis:
Fifteen-year-old Aura Ambrose has been hiding a secret. Her mother, a talented artist and art teacher, is slowly being consumed by schizophrenia, and Aura has been her sole caretaker ever since Aura's dad left them. Convinced that "creative" equals crazy, Aura shuns her own artistic talent. But as her mother sinks deeper into the darkness of mental illness, the hunger for a creative outlet draws Aura toward the depths of her imagination. Just as desperation threatens to swallow her whole, Aura discovers that art, love, and family are profoundly linked—and together may offer an escape from her fears. 


My Take: 


A Blue So Dark is a contemporary tale which is both edgy and profound.  Holly Schindler's writing is beautiful and atmospheric, perfectly giving voice to our fifteen year old narrator, Aura Ambrose. (What an awesome name :)  The book was much shorter than my typical read (I'm a sucker for a nice tome) and therefore I was left with the feeling that the story was not fleshed out quite as much as it could have been.  But this glimpse into Aura's life and that of her mother, a brilliant yet very sick schizophrenic woman, is more than worth the read.  

Aura Ambrose is terrified that her entire life has revolved around creativity, around making happiness from nothing and learning to create art like her mother Grace, an art instructor and talented painter.  Terrified because she believes that her creativity will one day lead her to the mental illness that is hereditary among artists in her family.  Her mother has struggled with schizophrenia for years, even before Aura's father abruptly abandoned his happy hippie lifestyle with his first family and left them for a cashmere-wearing, upper class new wife.  As her mother's condition worsens, Aura is forced to neglect school in order to care for her, all the while trying hard to suppress her own boundless creativity.  She tries desperately to reforge her relationships with her best friend Janny, a teen mom who has her own hardships, along with her father and estranged grandmother.  

Every single character in this novel, from the drunks next door to gutsy, reckless Aura and her mother, are so brilliant and manage to enthrall you with a story which admittedly doesn't progress along at a break-neck pace.  The only character who didn't ring true for me was actually Aura's seldom-present love interest, a skater dude named Jeremy.  There's a subplot in the novel where he basically walks up to her and says 'Hey, girl, you draw right?  Paint something cool on my skateboard.'  Aura mentally swooned, whilst I mentally snorted.  Her grandmother Nell, by the way, is a photographer who is working on a photo autobiography and just one of the coolest literary grandmothers ever.  At times the book can seem dark and a little disturbing-- you wonder how any of it can possibly end well.  The good news is that the ending is actually pretty much perfect for the story-- no 'and they all lived happily ever after', but it ends on a good note.  (Hope that doesn't qualify as a spoiler. Sorry, if it does.)

I don't read too many contemporaries (and indeed picked this book up at the library because the cover caught my eye and I thought it must be a mermaid novel-- yeah, ha), but A Blue So Dark is a book which beautifully portrays the happiest moments of life and the bonds of family which can never truly be severed, as successfully and matter-of-factly as it does the dark depths of depression and isolation, desperation and fear.  Excellent read.  

Cover: 5/5 

Premise: 4/5 

Characters: 5/5 

Plot: 4/5 

Overall Rating: 4/5

Waiting on Wednesday (16)

"Waiting on" Wednesday is a weekly blogging event hosted at Breaking-The-Spine.com that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.  This week I'm waiting on... 

City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare (Book #4 in the Mortal Instruments series) 

To Be Released: April 5th, 2011 

(from Goodreads): 
“City of Fallen Angels takes place two months after the events of City of Glass. In it, a mysterious someone’s killing the Shadowhunters who used to be in Valentine’s Circle and displaying their bodies around New York City in a manner designed to provoke hostility between Downworlders and Shadowhunters, leaving tensions running high in the city and disrupting Clary’s plan to lead as normal a life as she can — training to be a Shadowhunter, and pursuing her relationship with Jace. As Jace and Clary delve into the issue of the murdered Shadowhunters, they discover a mystery that has deeply personal consequences for them — consequences that may strengthen their relationship, or rip it apart forever. Meanwhile, internecine warfare among vampires is tearing the Downworld community apart, and only Simon — the Daylighter who everyone wants on their side — can decide the outcome; too bad he wants nothing to do with Downworld politics. Love, blood, betrayal and revenge: the stakes are higher than ever in City of Fallen Angels.”


Not the most original pick this week, but I'm one of the many who absolutely cannot wait for this long-awaited fourth book in the Mortal Instruments series.  For a long time after reading City of Glass, I never imagined there might ever be a fourth book in this fantastic so-called 'trilogy'. (And a fifth and a sixth, now.)  I love the cover, because it's true to the style of the first three books, but still manages to be uniquely beautiful.


So, what are you waiting on this Wednesday?

Winner of the Iron Fey Series Giveaway!

Throughout the month of January, I hosted a giveaway in honor of A Myriad of Books having reached over 200 followers.  The prize: the complete Iron Fey trilogy by Julie Kagawa!  And now at last, we have a winner, selected with the help of random.org. (Sorry it took me so long to post this, guys, but I've been slammed with schoolwork.)  A big congratulations to the lucky winner...

Mrs. DeRaps of DeRaps Reads! 

 Thanks so much to everybody who entered the giveaway and speculated about the advantages of being a Winter faerie versus a Sookie Stackhouse vampire versus a Twilight werewolf versus a dragon and so on, and of course everyone who helped spread the word on Twitter and their blogs.  :)