Top Ten Tuesday | Fictional Places I Would NOT Want to Live In

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted at That Artsy Reader Girl. Each week you compile a list of ten books which coincide with that week's theme. You can find everything you need to know about joining in here!

This week's theme is 'Bookish Worlds I’d Never Want to Live In', which I found to be a really fun topic! So often when I love a story, particularly a fantastical one, I can find myself thinking 'I wish I'd gone to Hogwarts' or 'I wish I lived in The Shire', but I've never given too much thought to the places I really wouldn't want to live in.

For my list this week I've decided to stick with fictional places. I thought of mentioning The Book Thief because I would have hated to live in Nazi Germany, but in the end I felt like, for me, it was a little disrespectful to mention real places because some people really have had to live through that. Anyway, on with my list!

Panem from The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins: Let's just get this one out the way with because it's probably on most lists this week, right? Pretty much any dystopian novel has a setting I wouldn't want to live in, but Panem in particular I'd hate because if I'd been chosen to take part in the Games when I was younger I'd've been the first one to die.

Airstrip One from Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell: Carrying on with that dystopian theme, Nineteen Eighty-Four is one of the most depressing novels I've ever read and I would hate to live somewhere where the government was quite literally watching me all the time.

The town from The Lottery by Shirley Jackson: There's a reason why The Lottery is one of the most famous American short stories ever, and this story alone earns Jackson a place as one of the best horror writers in my opinion. I can't say much without giving anything away, although this story's so short I recommend you reading it asap, but trust me when I say I wouldn't want to live in that town and I guarantee you wouldn't want to live there either.

Neverland from Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie: Disney Neverland looks fun, but the Neverland in the book is just as creepy as everything else. I don't understand the whimsy around Peter Pan, it's so strange and unnerving, and even as a child I don't think Neverland would have appealed to me unless Robin Williams was there.

The Other World from Coraline by Neil Gaiman: Having everything I want in exchange for having buttons sewn into my eyes? Yeah, no, that's not happening.

Westeros from A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin: Admittedly I haven't read the books but I watch Game of Thrones and no amount of money could convince me to live there. It's so brutal and I wouldn't last five minutes.

Wonderland from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll: Unlike Peter Pan, I love Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and I've always been fascinated by it. Having said that, the world is just so bizarre that I think I'd go mad and, while I love stuff that's a bit weird, I think Wonderland would be just a bit too weird for me.

The Stillness from The Broken Earth by N.K. Jemisin: There's no way I'd want to live in a world where the earth decides it doesn't want you there every few years and has a little apocalypse to wipe a few million people off it.

Giant Country from The BFG by Roald Dahl: This is going to sound ridiculous, but I'm terrified of giants. I know they're not real but the idea of them scares the crap out of me so Giant Country is my idea of hell. I don't want to be anyone's dinner, thanks.

The Fifteen Realms from Touch of Power by Maria V. Snyder: There's a plague spreading across this world killing thousands at a time and even the healers can't do anything about it. No thanks.

Which places made your list this week?

Top Ten Tuesday | What's in a name?

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted at That Artsy Reader Girl. Each week you compile a list of ten books which coincide with that week's theme. You can find everything you need to know about joining in here!

This week's theme is 'Best Character Names' and as soon as I read that I forgot every clever/fun name I've ever heard. I thought of doing some kind of theme, but in the end I decided to go for ten character names I just happen to like for various reasons. These aren't necessarily my favourite character names but the first ones that came to mind - on with my list!

Orc Dave from Rat Queens by Kurtis J. Wiebe and various artists: I love Rat Queens, it's like World of Warcraft meets Dungeons and Dragons and a lot of drunk women, and one of the things I loved most about the first volume was the introduction of a group who call themselves the 'Four Daves' with each member being distinguished by their race. I love the idea of four men in a high fantasy world sharing the name Dave, and Orc Dave is adorable.

The Dragon from Uprooted by Naomi Novik: It's no secret that I didn't enjoy Uprooted as much as I hoped I would, but I did like The Dragon a lot purely because he was such a grumpy git and, therefore, very deserving of the name.

Kaz "Dirtyhands" Brekker from Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo: I fell in love with this book earlier this year and I think Dirtyhands is such a brilliant nickname for a gangster.

Atl from Certain Dark Things by Silvia Moreno-Garcia: There's such a unique take on vampires and various vampire species in this novel and I love Atl, but I also love her because I don't think I've read a novel before that's included a character with an Aztec name.

Sabriel from The Old Kingdom by Garth Nix: This one's just a pretty name! I've always liked it; the title of this book is what first drew me to it when I was around 13 or 14.

Stanley Yelnats from Holes by Louis Sachar: If my surname was Yelnats, I would not hesitate to call my son Stanley if I had one. It's just a wasted opportunity if not, right?

Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins: Katniss is another name for the sagittaria or arrowhead plants, which is a very fitting name for an archer, I think, without being an obvious link!

Sirius Black from Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling: Speaking of obvious links, as much as I love Remus Lupin I'm never going to get over the fact that Rowling essentially named her werewolf Wolf McWolf. I do love Sirius's name, though; I like the name Sirius anyway, but that Sirius is the dog star is a nice touch for a man who can transform into a dog, and a much less beat-you-over-the-head touch than Remus Lupin.

Dolphin from The Illustrated Mum by Jacqueline Wilson: I loved Wilson's work when I was younger and I never forgot Dolphin and the simplicity that her mum named her that because she likes dolphins. As a little girl I couldn't help thinking it'd be a very cool name to have.

Carswell Thorne from The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer: There are all kinds of fairy tale-inspired Easter eggs throughout this series, but I loved the tip of the hat to Rapunzel when the witch pushes the prince out of the tower window and he's blinded by thorns with this one.

Which names made your list this week?

Top Ten Tuesday | Give Me Some Space, Man

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature created at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week you compile a list of ten books which coincide with that week's theme. You can find everything you need to know about joining in here!

This week's theme is 'Top Ten Books I Want My Future Children to Read (Or nieces and nephews, Godchildren, etc.)' - I actually kind of did this topic back in May and I don't really want to repeat myself, but I also didn't want to miss another week of TTT!

I have a nephew and four nieces - yes, four! Christmas shopping is a nightmare! - and my oldest niece is a bookworm, too, which is lovely, but there are some things I still definitely need to teach her. I live in South Wales while my older sister lives in North England so I don't see my oldest niece or her brother and sister that often, and when I saw her a few months ago I just so happened to be wearing a Star Wars t-shirt. She told me I shouldn't be wearing it because, and I quote, 'Star Wars is for boys'.

I'm sure you can imagine my horror.

So today I'm going to talk about the sci-fi books I'd like my niece to read when she's a little older to help her learn that Star Wars, and science fiction, is for everyone. She doesn't have to like science fiction, but I don't want her thinking it's a genre she's not allowed to participate in.

(Just as a sidenote, I don't tend to read as much sci-fi as I'd like to so the sci-fi experts amongst you probably have even better recommendations than I do - please feel free to leave them down below!)

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley: When eighteen year old Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley penned this haunting tale she set up the foundations for the genre we now know as science fiction. What better way to realise it's a genre that was never meant for boys alone?

Feed by Mira Grant: One of my favourite books of all time, this book broke my heart into teeny tiny pieces and made me sob. I love this one because it's a zombie story that isn't really about zombies in the way traditional zombie stories are, and when my niece is older I hope she'll enjoy its commentary on politics and the media as much as I did.

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers: Another one of my favourite books of all time and one I can't praise highly enough. Its discussions of gender, sexuality, race relations, family units and what it means to be human will stay with me for the rest of my life and I think anyone who reads this novel can learn something from it while also enjoying a beautiful story.

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood: I still haven't read this one myself (I know, I know, the shame!) but I swear I'm going to get to it soon and I think a book like this one would be the ideal story to get my niece thinking about feminism when she's a bit older.

Binti by Nnedi Okorafor: Another sci-fi story that discusses race relations and the validity of cultures both familiar and alien (hurr hurr) to us. As my niece will sadly be growing up in post-Brexit Britain, I hope she reads lots and lots of stories about why it's important not to dismiss another culture simply because it's different to her own.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins: As much as I got sick of the genre, YA dystopian fiction is such a good starting point into science fiction, at least one strand of science fiction, especially for people like myself and my niece who aren't huge sci-fi people. Katniss Everdeen is one of the fiercest heroines around; my niece will be able to learn a lot from her, I think.

Delirium by Lauren Oliver: On the other end of the scale is a quieter dystopian tale, but an equally powerful one. One of the things I loved most about this book is that the heroine, Lena, is more traditionally feminine than a lot of the YA dystopian heroines out there, and unfortunately I think a lot of heroines were distanced from traditionally feminine things because how can a girl possibly be feminine and kick-ass? Thankfully there are different ways to be 'kick-ass' and Lena and Katniss are both prime examples of that.

Cinder by Marissa Meyer: I think this could be a particularly good starting point for my niece when she's old enough to start reading YA. I love this series, and the fact that all of the books in the series are retellings of fairy tales means that they're accessible for readers who might be familiar with the fairy tales but find sci-fi a little intimidating. It worked for me! (Also can I take the moment to have a mini rant and say that it really annoys me when I see this series being described as a dystopian series - not every YA sci-fi book is dystopian!)

Blood Red Road by Moira Young: More post-apocalyptic than dystopian, this book is just so much fun and yet another book with a very interesting heroine; Saba's even fiercer than Katniss, I think, and I hope it would show my niece just how fun and versatile this genre is.

Ms. Marvel by G. Willow Wilson and Various Artists: Because let's face it, if my niece thinks Star Wars is for boys she probably thinks that about Marvel, too. Who better than Ms. Marvel herself to show her otherwise?

Which books made your list this week?

Top Ten Tuesday | Adaptations

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature created at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week you compile a list of ten books which coincide with that week's theme. You can find everything you need to know about joining in here!

This week's theme is 'Top Ten Book To Movie Adaptations I'm Looking Forward To or Ten Book To Movie Adaptations I Still Need To Watch', so today I decided to do a bit of both - I've got six adaptations I'm looking forward to, and four existing adaptations I still need to watch!

Adaptations I'm Looking Forward To

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins: The final instalment in The Hunger Games franchise is coming out this month and I can't wait to see it, even though it's going to be heartbreaking; I think Francis Lawrence has done fantastic things with these adaptations.

The BFG by Roald Dahl: I grew up with the 1989 animated adaptation of this film, starring David Jason, and the evil giants scared the crap out of me. 2016 marks Roald Dahl's centenary, and Steven Spielberg is directing a live action adaptation of The BFG. I'm really looking forward to this one.

The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters: One of my favourite books of this year is being adapted into a film - woohoo! Apparently Lucinda Coxon, who wrote The Danish Girl, has adapted the book into a screenplay, and Lenny Abrahamson, who is the director of the adaptation of Emma Donoghue's Room, will be directing it. Apparently Domhnall Gleeson will being in the film, but I'm hoping he's not playing the main character because personally I think he's far too young for the part. We'll see!

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith: I haven't read the book, and I don't really have any intention of reading the book, but I can't deny that I think the trailer looks pretty awesome. I just love the idea of historical ladies kicking zombie butt, so I'll be going to see this one!

American Gods by Neil Gaiman: Bryan Fuller, the genius behind Hannibal, is adapting Neil Gaiman's masterpiece into a TV series. I am excite.

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli: So it was recently announced that this book is going to be getting a film adaptation, which I am very excited for. I'm hoping it'll have an Easy A film to it, because I love that movie and I'd hate to see this book get a bad adaptation.

Adaptations I Still Need to Watch

Tipping the Velvet (2002): The simple reason I haven't watched this yet is because I haven't read the book yet, but I'm planning to read it soon and then I'm really looking forward to watching this!

Carrie (1976): Last month I read Carrie for the first time, and then on Halloween my dad and I watched the 2013 adaptation. Given that the original adaptation is such a staple horror movie, though, I'd love to give it a watch some time. Plus, other than Alien, I don't think I've watched many movies from the '70s.

Macbeth (2015): I was so desperate to go and see this in October - Macbeth is my favourite Shakespeare play - but unfortunately it wasn't showing in my local cinema. Oh well, hopefully I'll get a chance to see it soon!

Jane Eyre (2006): I love the 2011 adaptation of Jane Eyre starring Mia Wasikowska and Michael Fassbender, but I've never seen the BBC miniseries which I know is a very popular adaptation. I like Ruth Wilson a lot, though, so I'd like to check it out!

Which adaptations made your list this week?

The Unpopular Opinions Tag!

Today I'm here with the Unpopular Opinions Tag. This was originally created over on YouTube by TheBookArcher, and you can find the original video here!

A Popular Book or Series You Didn't Like

I feel like there have been quite a few, but I'm going to go with Divergent by Veronica Roth, which I ended up DNFing. Me and that book just didn't click. I thought the protagonist had zero personality and the world was entirely unbelievable; I haven't gone near any dystopia for a while because with the whole hype around it I just got sick to the back teeth of looking at it, but for me a good dystopia has to be threatening. I have to believe that the events in the book are possible - that's why The Hunger Games works so well, because we are obsessed with violence and reality TV and celebrity culture. Sadly the society that Roth created just didn't do it for me, but props to her for finishing the trilogy the way she did - that takes guts!

See? Even Tris doesn't believe it.

A Popular Book or Series You Love but Everyone Else Hates

I'm not sure if there is one. I tend to be the grumpy person who doesn't like the popular book/series, so I have no idea.

A love triangle where the main character ended up with the person you did NOT want them to end up with

I'm still really mad that Katniss ended up with Peeta. I didn't want her to end up with Gale, either, I just wanted everyone to leave the poor girl alone. I wrote a post about My Problem with Peeta if you're interested in hearing my thoughts!

A Popular Genre that You Rarely Reach For

Contemporary I guess? I mean I think the genre I read the least of is horror, but I don't think horror is hugely popular amongst the other readers I know anyway. I don't mind contemporary, but it's not my first choice.

A Popular/Beloved Character You Do NOT Like

I was going to say Peeta again here, until I remember how much I hate Snape. I know Snape is a favourite amongst quite a few Harry Potter fans, but I hate the guy. I hate that he's a teacher who bullies his pupils (seriously what kind of adult bullies children?) I hate that Neville hates him so much that Snape is his boggart (really think about that for a moment; Neville's living during an incredibly dangerous time of wizarding history and he's seen what the cruciatus curse can do firsthand, but what terrifies him most in the world is one of his teachers) and I hate that everyone dismisses his horrific behaviour as okay because he was in love with someone who didn't love him back. Boo-fucking-hoo. I'm glad he died.

A Popular Author You Can't Seem to Get Into

I tried reading Throne of Glass and just couldn't get into it, and A Court of Thorns and Roses doesn't interest me in the slightest. I know she's hugely popular, but I'm sadly not a fan.

A Popular Book Trope You're Tired of Seeing

I loathe love triangles with a passion. I really, really, really hate them.

A Popular Series You have No Interest in Reading

The Shatter Me trilogy by Tahereh Mafi. There's another love triangle in this trilogy, and I know everyone loves Warner but I hate it when a character's shitty behaviour is excused by daddy issues.

What movie or TV adaptation do you prefer to the book?

For the most part I do think books are better than their movies, but I also like to look at the two mediums separately and I'll always find adaptations fascinating, but one film I liked more than the book would have to be Henry Selick's adaptation of Coraline by Neil Gaiman.

The book is wonderful, but the film just adds more and it's marvellous. Plus Henry Selick also directed The Nightmare Before Christmas so he's always going to be one of my favourite directors.

I tag:

Anyone who wants to do this tag!

My Problem with Peeta (AKA The "Nice Guy" Complex)

Time and time again on my blog I've mentioned my dislike for Peeta, and then immediately said something along the lines of 'but that's a discussion for another time' or 'but I won't get into that now', and I figured it's about time I got into it. 

Now if you're a big Peeta fan you're most welcome here - people can like whichever characters they like as far as I'm concerned - but if you're the kind of Peeta fan that can't bear to see any criticism of your perfect baby angel, then it's probably best that you stop reading now. Because I don't like Peeta Mellark.

(I'd also recommend you stop reading now if you haven't read The Hunger Games/haven't finished the trilogy yet - I don't want to spoil anything for you!)

First thing's first, I think it's important to stress that I don't hate Peeta, in fact there are quite a few things about him that I really like. For example, I love that Peeta plays around with gender stereotypes in much the same way that Katniss does; I think it's fantastic we have this couple in YA who are completely opposite to what we might expect from a stereotypical couple. It's Peeta who likes to bake and paint, Peeta who doesn't like violence, Peeta who wants to fall in love and start a family, while Katniss enjoys hunting - she's good at it - and she'd much rather be left alone than have anyone fawning all over her. The two of them completely subvert common gender stereotypes, and I love that, because as much as it's important for women to know they don't have to like typically feminine things, it's just as important for men to know they don't have to like typically masculine things.

I can also appreciate that the two of them do make a good team in the arena. While Katniss handles all the brutal stuff within the arena, Peeta handles all the political, backstabby (it's totally a word) stuff outside the arena. He knows how to win over a crowd, and he does it well.

And perhaps most importantly in terms of this post, I understand why Katniss and Peeta make sense as a couple. Ultimately no one's really going to understand what the two of them went through like the other can, and this series is all about surviving through the consequences of war and these two need each other to survive because without each other their mental state can fall into a dark, dark place.

BUT

I'm personally not a fan of the two of them as a couple. Don't worry, this isn't going to be a post for Team Gale or any of that crap - screw Team Peeta and Team Gale, I'm on Team Katniss.

First and foremost, I read Katniss as aromantic: someone who doesn't experience romantic attraction. Someone who is aromantic isn't necessarily also asexual, but unfortunately, like asexuality, it's something which is often overlooked. That's not to say she is aromantic - the only person who knows that for certain is Suzanne Collins - but she always felt that way to me; she kisses both Peeta and Gale when they're upset because she doesn't know how else to comfort them, and she's aware that people kiss the ones they love. There's no denying that she loves Peeta, in the same way that she loves Gale, but in my opinion it's not necessarily romantic love so much as it is companionship. For me, Katniss's most important relationship is always going to be her relationship with Prim.

Even when Katniss claims to be in love with Peeta, it still doesn't feel quite like romantic love to me so much as it feels like the plea of a young girl who needs the one person around her who can understand her.

As much I'm not a member of Team Gale, just as I'm not a member of Team Peeta, I do hate the way Gale is treated by a lot of fans. Gale and Peeta are pretty shitty towards Katniss, particularly in Catching Fire when both of them are pressuring her into being in love with them when frankly Katniss has bigger fish to fry. On top of struggling with PTSD, she's also a 16 year old girl who has accidentally started a rebellion and because of that the President himself is threatening her friends and family. But neither of them take that into account at first, despite the fact that Peeta wouldn't be alive if it weren't for Katniss. How can he expect feelings she had to develop to stay alive to be completely true? How can he expect her to even think about something like romance when it's a struggle for her just to get out of bed on a morning? Still Gale's the one who seems to get the most hate. Why? Because Peeta's nice.

Constantly Katniss is told that someone like her should feel lucky that someone like Peeta loves her, that she doesn't deserve someone so nice and good and sweet:

"You could live a thousand life times but you will never deserve that boy."

Now obviously other characters saying that isn't Peeta's fault, but it doesn't make me like the guy anymore. Katniss is such a compelling, fantastic heroine; she's flawed and selfish and selfless and brave, and yet all anyone cares about is how much of Peeta's love she's earned.

The thing that makes me dislike Peeta most, however, is the epilogue to Mockingjay. The epilogue made me so uncomfortable. Obviously this isn't a light, fluffy trilogy so perhaps it'd be weird if I didn't feel uncomfortable, but it didn't make me uncomfortable in the way I expected it would. Don't get me wrong, I love the way Collins writes characters who are never going to be okay again; Katniss and Peeta have been royally fucked over by war, and no amount of medication or therapy is going to make them better. I love that realism behind the series. Yes, Katniss began the revolution that will prevent the annual deaths of hundreds of children in years to come, but at what personal cost?

What I hated most was the way Katniss talked about her children. In the very first book Katniss tells us she doesn't want children. For the most part we can assume that's because there's the chance they'd be reaped and have to compete in the Games. I'm sure we can all understand that. However, there may be something deeper to it - perhaps I'm looking into it too much, but maybe Katniss never wants to have children period. It could be marriage and children is not something that interests her, which further supports my theory of her being aromantic.

To me it felt as though Katniss did NOT want those children, regardless of how much she loves them now they've been born. Let's look at the way she talks about them, shall we?

'It took five, ten, fifteen years for me to agree. But Peeta wanted them so badly. When I first felt her stirring inside of me, I was consumed with a terror that felt as old as life itself. Only the joy of holding her in my arms could tame it. Carrying him was a little easier, but not much.'

Not 'we'. Peeta. Katniss had children because Peeta wanted them, because over the course of 'five, ten, fifteen years' he finally managed to wear her down and he got what he wanted. I'm not trying to suggest that Peeta's an abusive husband - I don't think their marriage is an unhappy one, though I doubt either of them are ever really happy either - but it is possible for people who don't want children to basically be bullied into having them, and those lines just made me so uncomfortable.

I hate this idea that because Peeta's nice, he gets to have everything he wants. I'm not saying he doesn't suffer because the poor guy really does - he gets tortured by the Capitol, for heaven's sake - but there are a lot of fans out there who think he can do no wrong when actually, you know what, he can. He's not an angel, he's human. Yes we can argue that Katniss just happened to change her mind about having children, but the fact of the matter is she's so broken by the end of Mockingjay it probably wouldn't have been too hard to get her to do pretty much anything if you kept going on and on and on about it. All throughout her teens she was surrounded by people who were constantly telling her how much of a terrible person she was compared to Peeta, so it's no wonder she ends up giving the guy what he wants. 

I don't think people shouldn't like Peeta - I completely understand why he's a fan favourite - I just wish some fans would look at the trilogy a little more critically. I'm not suggesting we should purposefully read things to talk about what we don't like about them, that's not what it means to read critically, and I'm also not saying you have to read critically. Read however you want! But sometimes just look at something a little differently. Look at this trilogy, not as a series of books about a teenage girl who has to choose between two boys, but as a series of books about a teenager whose life is literally threatened by her government, who's been feeding her family since childhood after the death of her father sent her mother into a severe depression, who tried so hard to protect her little sister and still wasn't strong enough to protect her from a bomb because how could she be? Then reread that epilogue, and see how it makes you feel.

My perfect ending for Katniss was for her and Prim to go and live somewhere peaceful and quiet, selling cheese from Prim's goat and enjoying the tranquility of the countryside while Prim became a fantastic doctor and looked after Katniss when the nightmares came. If not that, I'd've loved to have seen Katniss and Johanna together romantically or not, I don't care travelling Panem and smashing the patriarchy. But that's just in my own little fantasy...

Katniss: my precious baby angel.

So there you have it. That's why I don't like Peeta. I'm sure you're all just willing me to shut up, but I figured it was about time I actually talked about this.

So, what are your thoughts?

Top Ten Tuesday | Characters Who Deserved Better

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature created at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week you compile a list of ten books which coincide with that week's theme. You can find everything you need to know about joining in here!

This week's theme is 'Top Ten Books With Characters Who ___'. I wasn't sure what I was going to do for this at first, but a previous TTT topic got me thinking about the characters out there who deserved so much better than what they got.

Some of these characters were the victims of their circumstances, and others were just treated terribly by their authors. Only one of the people on this list is a man.

Frankenstein's Monster from Frankenstein by Mary Shelley: A lot of the stuff this guy does is very bad indeed, but when you read this classic it's difficult not to empathise with him, even just a little.

Susan Pevensie from The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis: I will forever be unhappy with how Lewis treated Susan, with how he criticised her for wanting to grow away from Narnia. She is described as "no longer a friend of Narnia" who is "interested in nothing now-a-days except nylons and lipstick and invitations". Lewis himself said: "The books don't tell us what happened to Susan. She is left alive in this world at the end, having by then turned into a rather silly, conceited young woman. But there's plenty of time for her to mend and perhaps she will get to Aslan's country in the end." When we're younger it's easy for us to dislike Susan - why would anyone want the real world when you could live in the world with centaurs and queens and talking lions? - but when we grow older and we see the religious aspects to Narnia, this view on Susan becomes rather sinister. How dare she like lipstick when she could have Jesus!

Bertha Rochester from Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë: If someone told me to choose between Mr. Rochester and Heathcliff I'd choose Mr. Rochester in a heartbeat, because Heathcliff is a whole other kind of messed up. But Rochester's hardly a catch himself. Yes he's educated and wealthy and, let's face it, quite sassy, but when he asks Jane to marry him he fails to mention he's already married, and his mentally ill first wife is locked up in the attic. Real husband material. I suppose we can argue that it's something of a mercy that poor Bertha wasn't sent away to an asylum, but locking her up in the attic was hardly a good idea either.

Elinor Mompellion from Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks: Despite including her on this list, I can't say a lot about Elinor without giving too much away. All I will say is that something is revealed near the end of the book which infuriated me, but kudos to Brooks because I didn't see it coming!

Margaret Prior from Affinity by Sarah Waters: Yet another character who I can't talk about too much without spoiling the ending of Affinity. Let's just say that Affinity is probably Waters' gloomiest novel, and those of you who've read it will know why poor Margaret made this list.

Agnes Magnúsdóttir from Burial Rites by Hannah Kent: Here I'm talking about Agnes the character, because for all I know the real Agnes - the last woman to be executed in Iceland - really was a violent murderer. The Agnes that Kent writes, however, just breaks your heart.

Nancy from Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens: Nancy is one of the few decent people in Oliver Twist, and the person who gets dealt the worst hand. I had an illustrated version of this book when I was a little book and when I first read it, the scene where Nancy is murdered terrified me. Her death has haunted me ever since.

Sirius and Regulus Black from the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling: We could probably argue that pretty much every single one of the Marauders deserved better, but the Black brothers make my heart ache like no others. Poor Regulus's courage was practically forgotten, and Sirius, the most loyal friend anyone could ask for, had to spend thirteen years of his life imprisoned for something he didn't do, only to be confined in a house full of horrid childhood memories when he escaped until he was eventually killed. I just have a lot of feelings about these boys, and I'm never going to be over Sirius.

Tess Durbeyfield from Tess of the d'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy: Alec d'Urberville and Angel Clare are both awful human beings and I hate them both in equal measure. That is all.

Katniss and Primrose Everdeen from The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins: Don't mind me, I'll just be over in that corner. Weeping.

Who made your list?

ORIGINAL | The Brontë Tag!

Hi everyone! Today I'm here with something pretty exciting: my very own tag! I've always wanted to create a tag, but I'd never been able to think of one. Until now!

I feel like I've been posting a lot of tags lately, so I apologise to any of you who are sick of the sight of them - and to my blogging friends who I so regularly tag, hopefully you guys don't mind...

So without further ado, here's the Brontë tag!

Jane Eyre

A Book/Series with a Twist You Didn't See Coming

Which book took you completely by surprise and left you reeling?

Will I ever be over Feed? Who can say? Probably not. It's so hard to talk about how much I love this book because there's so much I can't say without spoiling the book for people who haven't read it yet and want to. You'll be sick of me saying this by now, but just read it.

Shirley

A Book/Series with More Than One Protagonist

This could be anything from a book with a dual narrative to a companion series!

I love The Lunar Chronicles for many reasons, and one of them is for the fantastic selection of heroines the series offers. There's a heroine for everyone, and none of them are pitted against one another. We need more books - especially in YA - with positive friendships between women.

Villette

A Book/Series Set at School

This can be boarding school, normal school or even college/university, and the main character doesn't have to be a student, either. Maybe there's a book about a teacher or professor you'd like to talk about.

I'm cheating a little here because I haven't actually read Gail Carriger's Finishing School series yet, but they're on my TBR. I just had to mention them because these covers are so gorgeous - not to mention they're set in the 19th century, so they felt rather fitting for the Brontë tag. I'm hoping to finally cross Etiquette & Espionage off my TBR soon!

The Professor

A Book/Series You Didn't Like by an Author You Love

We all have our favourite authors, but did any of yours ever release a book that ended up disappointing you?

I didn't dislike Stardust entirely, but I didn't like it anywhere near as much as I was hoping to. I think I'm in the minority, though, because I know a lot of people who love this one!

Agnes Grey

A Book/Series with a Positive Female Friendship

Spread the womance! What's your favourite all female friendship in a book/series?

I love this series so darn much. If you haven't read Rat Queens yet - regardless of your view on graphic novels - I can't recommend it enough, it's just brilliant. As I'm sure you know by now I love positive relationships between women in books, particularly friendships, because so often women are pitted against one another or the main character feels the need to distance herself from other women by claiming she's 'not like other girls'. Breaking News: all women are different, and this series illustrates that beautifully.

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall

A Book/Series with a Protagonist Who is a Parent

So often the books we read feature relatively young protagonists who still rely on their parents a lot, and it's a lot rarer for us to read books which feature a protagonist with a child of their own - particularly if you primarily read YA. You can use books such as Harry Potter and The Hunger Games if you really can't think of any other books, but I'd love to see some books with main characters who are parents at the beginning of their story!

For this I decided to go with Saga, because the whole storyline so far has primarily revolved around this couple who are trying to keep their child safe from both sides of an intergalactic war. Plus these two are perfect examples that a person's life doesn't end when they have children; these two are still Alana and Marko, not just Mum and Dad.

Wuthering Heights

A Book/Series with a Problematic Love Interest

I hate to say it, but YA in particular is a genre brimming with love interests that make my insides squirm, whether they're being possessive, abusive or hiding behind their daddy issues to excuse their rubbish behaviour. Which love interest - YA or not! - do you hate most?

I feel like I'm going to get a lot of hate for this, but I don't like Peeta Mellark. The epilogue of Mockingjay left me with a bad taste in my mouth, and to be honest it's not entirely Peeta's fault. I don't hate Peeta entirely, but he is bordering on a "nice guy". He makes Katniss feel guilty about her lack of feelings for him just as much as Gale does in Catching Fire, and poor Katniss, who is struggling with PTSD, the fact that she accidentally started a rebellion and the knowledge that Snow will kill her family if she doesn't do something to stop it, is constantly getting told how much she doesn't deserve someone as nice as Peeta. It drives me up the bloody wall.

Tales of Angria

A Book/Series that Reminds You of Your Childhood

This can be a book from your childhood, or a book you've read since becoming an adult that's made you feel nostalgic.

I didn't get around to reading The Secret Garden until I was in university, but the 1993 film adaptation was a favourite of mine during my childhood. When I did finally read the book it filled me with nostalgia, especially as I grew up in the Yorkshire countryside myself.

I hope you like this tag, and whether you're tagged or not feel free to do it and tag other people! Though if you do I'd really appreciate it if you linked back to this original post. Happy tagging!

(I'm gonna tag quite a few people in the hopes of spreading this tag around a little - I hope you like it!)

I tag:

Mallory @ The Local Muse

Shannon @ It Starts at Midnight
Deanna @ Deanna Writes
Chrissi @ Chrissi Reads
Micheline @ Lunar Rainbows
Missie @ A Flurry of Ponderings
Michelle @ In Libris Veritas
Leah @ Uncorked Thoughts
Cynthia @ Afterwritten
Allie @ Little Birdie Books