Insurgent

I haven't been able to look it up, but I'm pretty sure my review of Divergent was pretty scathing. The first book in the trilogy was, in my mind, stunted by a leading character who was not reliable and made decisions that just seemed to move the story forward rather than what she would do to fit her. I'll admit, I did not have any desire to finish the series, but I saw a preview for the movie and was surprised how enticing it looked. The movie looked better than I had remembered the book ever being. So I decided to give it another try and read the second book.

Insurgent was a step up. Roth's writing is getting better and better. I really loved the moments between Tris and Tobias. They seemed to be when Roth's writing really sung and flowed smoothly.

This book was entertaining. The storyline is pretty believable. I don't think Jeanine is a really threatening antagonist despite Roth's attempts to paint her as a monster. She's just not seen enough for me to really get a grasp of why she does what she does.

One of the more thrilling scenes that I remember is when one of the characters, under the influence of a simulation serum, jumps to her death off a building. This is a showing point to me and, even though it was an awful scene because of what happened, it showed Tris as a heroine. I was finally able to trust her as the protagonist. Too bad Tobias and others still can't trust her after that.

That being said, the cycle gets tired. Tobias and Tris seem to constantly battle each other. She seems to be constantly trying to prove herself to this guy that supposedly loves her. There are times I just want to smack both of them upside the heads for being so stubborn. I understand stubbornness is a quality that is desired in protagonists these days, especially in YA literature, but so is humility. There needs to be a point when one of them gives in and realizes that they were wrong. I'm still waiting for that moment to come for one of these characters.

So many times in YA literature there is a love triangle. That story gets old. And for some reason it's usually two gorgeous guys with some sort of magical ability who are inexplicably drawn to a very normal, average teenage girl. I have called this the Twilight Syndrome in posts before. If nothing else, the Divergent series steers clear of the Twilight Syndrome. It is a breath of fresh air that the main character only has one love interest. Honestly that's more true to life. I don't know about you, but I've never been in a love triangle. Maybe I just lead a sheltered life.

I highly recommend this series to young adults. However, be warned, it is pretty dark. Characters die off quickly. If that's not your cup of tea and you get attached to side characters quickly, you may want to stay away from this dystopian thriller, but I think you'll be missing out on an entertaining and imaginative read.

Matched

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Compacts

In the Society, Officials decide. Who you love. Where you work. When you die.
Cassia has always trusted their choices. It’s hardly any price to pay for a long life, the perfect job, the ideal mate. So when her best friend appears on the Matching screen, Cassia knows with complete certainty that he is the one… until she sees another face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black. Now Cassia is faced with impossible choices: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she’s known and a path no one else has ever dared follow — between perfection and passion. (From Matched-Book.com, official website for Ally Condie)

How much is there, really, that you can do with a dystopian society plot? I've read a lot of YA fiction with the whole dystopian theme which seems to be the latest trend thanks to the success of The Hunger Games. It was a breath of fresh air after the vampire/werewolf craze that Twilight created. Now, it seems, futuristic, totalitarian societies are the thing. I don't mind this new thing; I just wonder how many more ideas there can be with this whole thing because there's not a whole lot of things you can do with it. I am glad, however, that this trend allows YA authors to teach young adults about society and the problems we have in our own society that could be blown out of proportion to create a miserable future for our predecessors.

Ally Condie's first book in her Matched trilogy is quite catchy. The writing is sparse and beautiful, to the point. Condie's words are often poetic which is really what kept me hooked. I was intrigued with the plot enough that I wanted to keep reading which is always a good sign. I never felt like I had to force myself to get to the end. In fact I wanted there to be more. Good thing the second book is out. I went and got it today.

Love triangles. Gotta love 'em. They make for good drama. I just wish there was more to them sometimes. Condie's triangle is decently done. She focuses a lot on Ky so when Cassia says she loves Xander also, I feel forced to believe her because I don't see any proof. Condie could have easily tagged in some memories of Xander or had more scenes with Xander so we at least get to know him the same way we know Ky. Xander remains a mystery all the way through the book so when Cassia acts like she knows him it just feels forced or something. That being said, I wonder if Condie is going to show more of Xander's character in the next book. Here's hoping. Kinda hard to have a love triangle when we don't know a whole lot about one of the love interests.

Speaking of Xander, there's a scene at the end where he tells Cassia a memory he has and she describes him as cruel. Yet she still loves him. Somehow I don't see the attraction to Xander. There definitely needs more development with that relationship if Condie wants me to believe that there really is a love triangle. This normally wouldn't be a big deal except that it's a pivotal part of the plot.

I will admit I was worried it was just going to be a bunch of whining about a girl that has to choose between two boys. Sound familiar? Condie gave me a pleasant surprise by giving the story more depth. A fundamental thing that we all take for granted is that we have the ability to choose for ourselves: our jobs, our mates, our health, everything. In Condie's dystopian society that ability to choose has, essentially, been taken away. It's interesting to see what kind of world it would be without that.  

So she has some development things to work on, but Condie has really built an interesting setting and some good plotting. It isn't my favorite book ever, but it also isn't the worst one I've read so I gave it 3.5 out of 5 Compacts. Stay tuned for my review of Crossed.






 

Twilight: Setting the Record Straight

It was brought to my attention that there were some discrepancies with my ratings of Twilight on Goodreads (it does not exist any more so don't worry about it...I fixed it.) I was called a hypocrite by someone in Spain or somewhere who read my review on Maximum Ride by James Patterson (terrible stuff, btw) and so I thought I would set the record straight.

I got into Twilight long before the hype it is now. I loved it then. The first book is really good actually. Bella is a likable character, Edward is great, yada yada yada. I have no real qualms with the first book. The following books get worse and worse until Meyer drops the ball on the last book.

The thing is: My feelings about this series changed over time as I got to thinking about the themes behind it. Yes, I used to defend Twilight. I still do to some degree. Stephenie Meyer took vampires and made them even more enticing than Anne Rice did. I actually love the story line. The writing is terrible. Usually it gets better as you go along in a series but this one it gets worse.

I don't know. I have a serious love-hate relationship with this series. Bella is one of the weakest heroines in contemporary literature when she is sold as being some strong-willed and defiant hot young thing. I just don't see what Edward sees in her. Well, ok, in the first book, yes, she has an appeal. As she gets more and more clingy and whiny, I don't see what an immortal vampire would want with her.

Meyer has built this amazing relationship between Edward and Bella. Ever since New Moon, she has created a love triangle between Bella and Jacob and Edward. By the time you read Eclipse it is a very tense relationship between the three. At the end of Eclipse, Bella realizes she does love Jacob and the reader is left with the question "WHO WILL SHE CHOOSE?"

That is never even brought up in Breaking Dawn. I felt like I was totally let down with this one. Suddenly Bella and Edward are getting married and Jacob is out of the picture basically. Meyer dropped the ball on one of the most intense parts of her story: the love triangle. Instead we get a weird honeymoon, a crazy vampire pregnancy, a random section of the book from Jacob's perspective (which doesn't make sense because the whole series has been from Bella's perspective, the switch just doesn't feel cohesive), and then a battle at the end that just falls flat.

And to top it off, Jacob falls for Bella's baby. Sick. And Bella has no motherly instincts whatsoever that kick in.

I honestly think the movies ruined the books for me. Mostly Kristen Stewart's poor portrayal of Bella. Really? I don't remember reading Bella sputtering and twitching as much as Kristen Stewart must have read into the character. Blech.

Anyway...I may get lots of hate mail for this review. And I plan on re-reading the series in the future so I can see if my opinion changes. For now...Book 1 is the best then it is all downhill from there. And that is my opinion.

There ya go, Shagiya or whatever the hell your name is. Satisfied?

Mockingjay

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 furry underwears

Ok. I have to say that this book was my least favorite of the whole trilogy. Some people may tire of the constant comparison to Twilight and I honestly don't see any similarities between that series and Hunger Games. One aspect in which they do share a similarity is that both authors dropped the ball on the last book. Again, this is my opinion, if you loved Mockingjay and didn't necessarily like the other two then good for you.

Mockingjay finds our heroine, Katniss Everdeen, in District 13. I was disappointed with 13. They ended up being just as bad as the Capitol. It was sort of a nice twist but it was hard for me to get invested in a cause that I no longer wanted to win. Yes, I wanted them to defeat Capitol and President Snow, but I didn't know if I wanted the District 13 to have their way either because I wasn't sure if it was much better. President Coin was never a very sympathetic character, and I think Collins would have done right by her by making her a little more understandable. Throughout the book we just get a Katniss-twisted view of her that never fully explains why she does what she does. There is a sweet victory at the end (I won't spoil it) but I actually saw it coming after the buildup to a certain execution.

Speaking of Kat. She is such a strong character and I love that about her. Throughout the books she is competent and light on her feet, problem solving in some interesting ways, which is all part of her magic. Part of the reason she is the Mockingjay and groomed to be the face of the revolution is because she has the ability to lead and to stand up for herself. This book we get a weaker, watered-down version of her, and it was hard to swallow. She played the victim way too much for my liking. I kept wanting her to freak out and stop just rolling over and taking it. Most of the book she was either drugged, tired, or just laying around in a bunker. And when she did go out to fight she was forced to do it. I was disappointed.

I was always on Team Peeta. He is a genuinely nice guy. The Gale/Kat relationship just seemed too convenient. Where Meyer dropped the ball on her love triangle, Collins keeps the momentum going and shows the tension between Kat, Peeta, and Gale very nicely. It sort of takes a back burner to all the other things going on, but it works and I was satisfied with that aspect of the book (I won't tell you who she picks). Peeta, however, becomes a bad-ass in this book and it just makes me sad. Yeah, he was brainwashed, but it was still sad. Out of all the characters in this installment, Peeta is the most interesting because I think he has the biggest struggle of all of them.
Gale. From hunting partner and friend to supposed lover and weapon inventor overnight. He was suddenly really good at killing people and almost heartless because he didn't seem to care how many lives were lost to get to the ultimate goal. I guess that is why I didn't side with him and want Kat to get with him because she was already heartless enough. She needs someone to liven her up.

I will say, however, if you were to pit Kat against Bella: Kat, even in her weakest moments here in Mockingjay would totally kick Bella's ass even when Bella becomes a vampire. I had to say it. The beauty of Hunger Games is that Collins does not make any of her characters wimpy. Yes, she made Kat just sit around for about 75% of the last book, which got annoying, but Kat never relied to heavily on anyone else. It truly is a breath of fresh air to have a heroine with some guts. I just wish she would have wowed me more in the last book and totally ripped the Capitol apart instead of playing the victim all the time.

I guess my biggest qualm with this book is that it seems rushed and the writing isn't as good. The intensity that was present in the other books is only seen in bits and pieces in this one. My second biggest qualm is that the characters totally flip and aren't really the same characters they were in the other books. Although, despite my qualms, I don't see how else Collins could have ended the trilogy. She had a big task ahead of her to answer questions and to keep her fans happy. I wonder, though, how much of the story she sacrificed to keep people happy.

On that note, I still love this trilogy and I would re-read them. I am excited for the movies to come out. They are in the works right now, trying to find a director for the first one.

In my search for the book cover picture I found some fan art and thought I would share the cool ones.

I give this book 3.5 out of 5 furry underwears. Read the book and you'll know what I mean.

This one shows a very touching and poignant part of the first book.



Ellen Page as Katniss. I think she'd do good. I really like the intensity in this one and the design is pretty much awesome if you ask me.

Kind of silly but I like it for some reason.

For more pictures like this and all things Hunger Games go here.

To "Michael"

Hello there, "off-putted" and "ticked off" reader o' my blog,*

I am glad you stumbled upon my blog, and I would hope that my review of Bree Despain's novel The Dark Divine did not upset you enough that you did not read more of my reviews or other posts that I have done. I hope you come back often (even though I doubt you will judging by your comments) and see what other things there are to see. I have taken your comments to heart. So much so that I am going to go through and respond to the whole thing. Here we go:

"Michael" said:

I came across your blog while I was looking for reviews of this book because I was interested in learning more (have not read it yet). Frankly, I found your post quite off-putting and the more I thought about it, the more it really started to tick me off.

I said:

First off, you have not read the book, therefore you really cannot defend it too much. I hate to say that. Even if I did not compare this book to Twilight then it would still be poorly done and it would get the same rating from me. The only reason I read it was because it was there and I was going through a phase where I wanted to read young adult literature. Honestly, I think my review has done you a favor of not wasting your time with the book. Unless you like books that are severely predictable and dull, not to mention poorly written.

Michael said:

I think it is actually you that are suffering from Twilight Syndrome. This "formula" you complain about is what we call Paranormal Romance. It's a genre. One that has been around for hundreds of years. If you are tired of it. . . read a different genre! Twilight just swung the genre back into the foucs of the general public.

I said:

You misspelled focus. Maybe you're too worked up over this to type correctly. I really am sorry for the heartburn my opinion, I mean, review caused you.

Exactly how am I suffering from Twilight Syndrome? I have never made it a big secret that I have qualms about Meyer's saga (by the way, they call it a saga but, really, it shouldn't be called a saga. Sagas take place over several years...moving on). But really I don't understand how I suffer from a syndrome that I made the definition for and came up with the term for (I'm sure someone else has used it in some other way. I don't claim full credit for it). Basically the Twilight Syndrome is this ghastly formula so prevalent in young adult literature today. Go to Barnes and Noble, "Michael", and just browse that section for a bit. Guarantee at least 80% of the books you pick up will have some sort of paranormal element (meaning a hunky werewolf or vampire or angel) that has this girl's heart in knots and her life in his ever-loving hands. Then try to tell me there is not some sort of significance to that. Just try and convince me that Stephenie Meyer's success has not, in some way, influenced the type of story we see on the bookshelves.

I wouldn't exactly put this or even Twilight in the paranormal romance genre. If you do then it would have to be on the same shelf as the trashy romance novels you see in Barnes and Noble that have the half-naked man with an eight-pack and a sword on the cover. This is young adult paranormal romance. I'll compromise.

I actually really like books that have a magical element in them. I have nothing against the genre. What I want to see in this genre is not what is actually there. I would like to see books that don't involve a girl falling for the mysterious guy that ends up being some sort of monster. That storyline has been hashed and rehashed to death. If I'm going to read that kind of story I would like there to be some sort of spin on it. And I would honestly like to see a reason for the two to fall in love besides an "undeniable attraction" (a.k.a. lust and hormones) or "bad-ass-ness" (a.k.a. the girl has daddy issues and so she turns to a man who will also treat her just as badly as her dad did/does). In neither Twilight, Hush, Hush, nor The Dark Divine is there really any reason for their attraction. As much as girls love Edward, how many can really say they would love the ice-cold, sparkly marble skin?

In other words, some depth would be nice. Maybe you're right. Maybe I'm asking too much of young adult authors. And maybe it's not completely their fault. I'm glad they're getting young people to read. But it would be nice if someone would have a little faith in teens' intelligences and actually write a book that makes them think. What a concept! Truth is, however, most teens would probably not read a book with depth. So it's just a vicious cycle. If I were a teen today, perusing the books in Barnes and Noble, in a section that is dedicated to me I would be slightly offended that my intelligence does not require more than just the same story over and over again told in different ways with different characters.

So you're right. I will steer clear from young adult paranormal romance if this is all that it holds.

"Michael" said:

Seriously, I am so tired of people claiming that authors are sitting there thinking "I should just copy Meyer because she was so successful." Have you been an aspiring author for long? Because I don't think you have the first clue as to what it takes to get published. If you did, you'd realize what a load of crap that is. And to make such an assumption is extremely presumptuous and arogant. Though I'm sure your stories are completely original and devoid of any formula or cliche.

I said:

Blah blah blah. How many people have tried to copy J.K. Rowling? You cannot tell me that this sudden influx of vampire books you see in the young adult literature section was not, in some part, influenced by the popularity of Twilight.

To answer your question I have been an aspiring author for, oh, slap a number on it, ummm...fifteen years. I would say that's awhile. Sure, some of what I've written on here may come to bite me in the butt when (notice the when) I become a published author, but for now I'm going to let my opinion be known. And I have a really good idea of what it takes to get published. I've been researching and reading up on it for years. Oh and there's this thing called a bachelor's degree that I got in English that pretty much says I have been to school to find out what it takes to be an author, so let's not even go there.

Originality is hard to come by these days. I do not claim to be all-original in my stories. The best you can do as an author is to write something that people will read even if it's formulaic. I did finish Despain's book, didn't I? Like I said, maybe I'm asking too much of this genre by asking for some originality and less of a formula. I usually don't finish books that drive me nuts, but I finished this one. Where's my award? Again, I did you a favor. I suffered for you. Maybe it was luck that brought you to my blog so you could read my review and save your money and spend it on a book that is better.

Formulas and cliches are ingrained in our heads since we are little. It's hard to escape them. The good writers use them to their advantage. You cannot tell me that you have not seen the same formulas going on in the young adult paranormal romance (man, that's a mouthful) genre. I would actually read more of Becca Fitzpatrick's stuff. Her book may not be original or anything but her characters had enough life to them that I would read more. I may not enjoy every second of it but I would still read it. Comparing Fitzpatrick's book to Despain's I would say Fitzpatrick is the better writer, but not by much.

You misspelled arrogant. If you're going to write a complaint to someone (especially someone as nit-picky as me) you had better use spell-check.

"Michael" said:

I'm sorry for being so negative, but you really ought to think this stuff through before you go spouting off. Especially if you are trying to break into the biz yourself.

Apology accepted. I really do appreciate you taking the time to let me know how you feel. This blog is meant to be an outlet for me to share my opinion on books I have read as well as thoughts on my life, updates on my writing, and so forth. Go ahead and read Despain's book. Let me know what you think. If you love it that is great. You are entitled to your opinion and I respect you for that. I, however, am also entitled to my opinion and should not be belittled for giving a book one lousy moonstone out of five moonstones.

Oh and, in case you were wondering, I looked it up for you:

The definition of opinion is:

1. a belief or judgment that rests on grounds insufficient to produce complete certainty. (Meaning my opinion only goes so far. It's not set in stone. You can form your own and we'll all be happy.)
2. (My favorite) a personal view, attitude, or appraisal. (Italics were added for clarity. I don't think I really need to spell this one out.)

The other 3 definitions have to do with law and judges and stuff. You can look them up here.

Finally, I really don't see why having an opinion is going to haunt me later. I love how you left with a little threat as if I'm not going to break in to "the biz" if I'm spouting off reviews of books. I know good literature. I went to school to study literature. My credentials are there. Just because I'm a nobody doesn't mean I am not entitled to an opinion. And it is my opinion that Bree Despain's novel was not good literature.

Like I said, read it for yourself. Form your own opinion, "Michael," and then we'll talk more.

Sincerely,

Jake Taylor
Aspiring Author
Opinionated Book Reviewer
Apparently Doomed for Having an Opinion
Blogger

P.S. "Michael" If you do, in fact, read this response to your comments, please know I mean no personal disrespect and I sincerely do hope you will respond to this as well as other posts that you have an opinion on. Thank you and have a fantastic day!


*To all those outside of this conversation: If you want to know who "Michael" is and know what this post is all about read my post from August 29, 2010 and then the comments below.

The Dark Divine

Rating: 1 out of 5 Moonstones

I finally finished one of the six books I am working through! It is a miracle. Another miracle within this miracle is that it was this book I managed to finish.

If you have not read my review of Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick you will understand my qualms with young adult literature. They all follow this same formulaic pattern and fall under what I like to call the Twilight Syndrome*. I think Despain tries to bring some freshness to the werewolf myth but it just doesn't do it quite right in my opinion.

The main character's family name is Divine. Wow. Can you get more cliche? I think I wouldn't have minded it if she and Daniel, the love interest, didn't make such a big deal about it. Oh and to add to that the main character's name is Grace. Yeah. Grace Divine. Gag me.

What's with the headings? I know they were meant to give you grounding on where you are as far as time goes but I think there are better ways to do it. Honestly, a good writer does not need to make headings to catapult the story along. That may be just a personal opinion of mine. Also, it feels choppy when I'm constantly bombarded with 15 Minutes Later or Later that Evening or The Next Day.

The love between Daniel and Grace is only lukewarm and merely superficial. I really don't understand the connection. Yeah they grew up together. Yeah she had a crush on him when they were young. Yeah he's oddly gorgeous, tall, lean, and whatever. Give me a break. I'm so sick of writers writing love stories that have the characters fall in love because there needs to be a romantic element. Honestly, I would have loved this story a whole lot more if maybe Daniel never returned Grace's love for him which would make her sacrifice at the end all the more meaningful and touching.

Speaking of her sacrifice (I won't spoil it), Despain never really delves too deeply into the werewolf myth. And when Grace discovers that Daniel is a werewolf she seems to take it way too well. I don't get that. If I found out a childhood friend of mine was, in fact, a werewolf, I would freak out a little more.

There are some contradictions with Despain's myth too. The moonstones protect the werewolf and help the human side of them be stronger than the wolf side. Ok. That doesn't make sense because it's the full moon that, later in the story, causes so much havoc and makes the wolf side stronger. In my mind I would think a moonstone would make the wolf side stronger. It would be like having a full moon constantly around your neck so to speak. Call me crazy.

Despain's writing is ok. It's somewhat mundane at times. By the end I was skimming because she has a lot of added stuff that doesn't need to be there. Her dialogue is believable and her imagery is nice. Some of it just seemed too nice and subdued. I wanted there to be some more vivid imagery and detail that she just would not give.

On that note, I think Despain needed to delve more into the characters. Parts of the story and the timeline were a little confusing. She tried to explain it but the more it got explained the more confusing it was. She would go back and forth in time at random moments but I didn't feel like I learned anything more just by going back. The story felt too neatly packaged and showy as far as it just seemed to do things because that was the cool thing. Stephenie Meyer did it with vampires, why can't I do it with werewolves? Ummm...sorry but no. In other words it just felt too confined and slushy that it was hard to get really involved.

Oh AND the whole April and Jude thing. Despain spends a little bit of time explaining how April, unlike every other girl in the school, is not friends with Grace just to get to her handsome brother, Jude. Then a few pages later Jude and April are making out all the time and dating and whatever and, suddenly, Grace doesn't have her best friend around. If it were me I would be ticked and feel a little betrayed but Grace, again, just takes it in stride.

Grace. Gracie Pooh. Gracie Divine-ness. You are too weak to be a main character. Granted, she's not as bad as Bella. Not nearly as wishy-washy, but she's forgettable and doesn't really have anything to set her apart from the rest of the crowd. At least Bella had the white skin and the brown hair that turned red in sunlight. Those are memorable qualities even of a character I cannot stand in literature. We don't even get a brief description of what Grace looks like.

I must say the ending is interesting but I was done thinking "So what?" I just wasted all that time.

I was going to give this two moonstones but I think I'm dropping it to one. I am trying to think of good things to say about the book but I can't. Sorry, Ms. Despain. Better luck next time. Here is your one out of five moonstones rating.



*I'm sorry for the constant comparison to Twilight. As much as I have issues with Meyer's books, even I cannot deny that she has had a HUGE impact on young adult literature. Something I have run into with my own writing is that if you're going to write a vampire story, be prepared to be compared to Stephenie Meyer. While she may not be the best writer in the world, she has created a new breed of vampire that has altered the myth for decades to come. I am not saying the Twilight Syndrome is bad. I just think that we can stifle our creativity if we are constantly trying to reinvent the wheel.

Theory of Brooding

(Jay's Note: This is a response to my friend Kelli's blog which can be found on the right under Awesome Blogs: Escapades of a Spinster.)

I'm probably going to get some pretty hefty hate mail from this post.

My friend Kelli is actually one of the most well-read people I know. If not then she is definitely one of the most well-read people near my age. That is why I have sent her my horrible drafts of my novel for some enriching feedback that has, at times, been painfully honest but I enjoy her feedback because I know she knows what she's talking about. It also helps that she is pretty representative of my target audience.

One of Kelli's posts made me think of a theory that I have and I thought my blog would be a good place for me to share it. I have dubbed said theory The Theory of Brooding.

Brooding, according to Webster's Dictionary is being "preoccupied with depressing, morbid, or painful memories or thoughts."

My theory is that, as far as literature is concerned, a hero that is brooding and troubled is one that will attract many a female reader. This, in turn, makes it hard for "normal guys" with relatively no baggage somewhat boring which results in the normal guy having to compete with these fictional heroes. Just like female swimsuit models, comic book super-heroines, and most shows/movies you see in Hollywood give men a messed up ideal of women, books also do the same thing to women about men.

Exhibit A: Mr. Darcy


I have never read Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. I have seen two of the several movie adaptations. I'm not knocking the classic. I really am not. Fitzwilliam Darcy is the silent type, mysterious and actually treats Elizabeth Bennett pretty poorly at first. So. What's the attraction? Why do so many women go ga-ga over him?

Exhibit B: Edward Cullen



I am in no way comparing Stephenie Meyer to Jane Austen. Edward Cullen is a really flat character while Austen's characters at least have depth to them. Edward the Vampire is far too perfect to be interesting. Yet, as perfect as he is, he still manages to be tortured and brooding. What is with this? I tend to think that Edward is merely a poor imitation of classic heroes such as Mr. Darcy. We all know about the craze for the Twilight Saga and it's not like the teen girls the books are written for really should know any different, but I definitely think it gives an unrealistic view of what relationships should be like. Not to mention the unrealistic perspective of how normal guys act.

Exhibit C: Mr. Rochester



Mr. Rochester is the brooding hero in Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre. Maybe it's just this time period. Women liked a dashing, dark, mysterious hero with a lifetime of secrets to unravel. Honestly, if a girl these days really ran into Mr. Rochester these days they would most likely run screaming.

During some brief research for this post I found what is called a Byronic hero. Named for poet Lord Byron (who is amazing, btw), a Byronic hero typically exhibits several of the following characteristics:
* a strong sense of arrogance
* high level of intelligence and perception
* cunning and able to adapt
* suffering from an unnamed crime
* a troubled past
* sophisticated and educated
* self-critical and introspective
* mysterious, magnetic and charismatic
* struggling with integrity
* power of seduction and sexual attraction
* social and sexual dominance
* emotional conflicts, bipolar tendencies, or moodiness
* a distaste for social institutions and norms
* being an exile, an outcast, or an outlaw
* "dark" attributes not normally associated with a hero, the "anti-hero" effect
* disrespect of rank and privilege
* has seen the world
* jaded, world-weary
* cynicism
* self-destructive behaviour
* a good heart in the end

Huh. Any of those sound familiar to the Exhibits I mentioned? Look at those characteristics carefully. Now, what girl in their right mind would list any of those things in their list of things they want in a future husband? And yet...such is the "ideal" portrayed in romantic literature. I just do not understand.