Yet Another Ode to Tamora Pierce: Keladry of Mindelan

Art by: minuiko

Warning: Spoilers for The Song of the Lioness, The Immortals, Protector of the Small, and Daughter of the Lioness.

There's something I really love about Keladry of Mindelan.  I feel like whereas Aly might be the most actively disliked heroine, Keladry is the most overlooked.  (What is with me and loving the least loved?)  People just don't seem to connect to Kel in the same way they do with Alanna and Daine.  Kel's certainly less flashy than the other Tortall heroines.  The other heroines all seem to be born to what they do.  Daine is a wild mage because she's basically a demigod, Aly is also a product of her heritage (although I think she is the most tenuous in my argument that the non-Kel heroines are born to what they do), and I'd argue that Alanna's involvement with the Goddess is so deeply ingrained that her path has almost entirely been shaped by the Goddess.  (Not that I'm saying that they don't work their butts off to get where they are. It's more of a destiny sort of thing that guides them so that there really isn't anything else they could have been.) Kel on the other hand, is very, very normal.  And that's kind of the point.  She's the only non-magical heroine we have (disclaimer: I haven't actually read the Bekka Cooper books yet, so all of these claims are excluding her since I can't say anything on that matter), so she doesn't have the raw power or specialties that the other three do.  Yes, she does eventually become a God's project, sort of, but it happens only in the last book.  Whereas it feels like Alanna was always chosen by her goddess, and Daine and Aly were born into their involvement with gods, it feels more like Kel's god chose her because of who she has come to be, not because she particularly was who he was waiting for. She was simply the best tool for the job at the time.

Art by: Renigada 

I know some people might have felt less involved with Kel's story because there's no big one true love situation.  There's definitely some romance, but there's no one in particular that she ends up with definitely. I actually think this might be one of the reasons I love this quartet so much.  It felt a lot more like what I was like growing up: I was definitely interested in a more than a few boys, but I was never interested in taking it very far.  Basically, like Alanna there are a lot of love interests - but unlike Alanna, there's not lots of sexy time.  And I think it's important that both of these things are put into stories. Both that it is ok to have sexy times if you want them, as long as it is your decision, and that if you aren't ready, then you don't need to do that either.  Both of these situations are good, no one option is better than the other.  And I think it's great that you see heroines who really only have significant interest in one guy (Daine, Ali) or that there's serious interest in lots of guys, but the heroine gets her one guy (Alanna), or that there's interest in lots of guys, but the heroine isn't ready to settle down to have her one guy yet, so she doesn't end up with anyone (Kel). And she's happy like that.

Art by: tameraali

Kel also doesn't have Alanna's temper, Daine's emotionally charged background, or Ali's quick wit, so I suppose even her personality and background doesn't stand out quite the same way theirs does.  And again, I don't think this is a bad thing.  A lot of things about Daine's character are really, really good - she's patient and mild-tempered (at least outwardly - she definitely fights to portray the calm people think she has) - but they are seen as sort of boring traits.  The same with her background - she's from a diplomats family, and her family seems to deeply love her. She didn't hide who she was half her life (Alanna), have her family murdered (Daine), and Ali kind of makes up from having such a privileged background by being so snarky and witty (my opinion haha).  Kel's personality just seems so much quieter than the others, and is more of a team player (even as she ends up being a leader) and I think who she is as a core is just so unappreciated a lot of the time.  In fact, while browsing for awesome Kel fanart, I came across minuiko who is a hard core Kel fangirl, and man you should read what she wrote on why she loves Kel so much.  I mean she just really nails down everything I'm trying to say here.  And on that note, I'm going to leave you with one of my favourite paintings of hers (I think it's because Kel is such a giant and Daine's hair is like....flawless).

Dealing with Harassment, or Why Fire is My Favourite Graceling book (Part 2)

So originally this was only going to be one post, but clearly my love for Fire couldn't be contained to one mere post.  In my last post I talked a lot about why I love Fire, but I never got to why I love Fire the most.  And part of that is because in this case it is supremely subjective (ooh alliteration!), and so personal I wasn't sure I was going to write a post about it.  But I decided it was something I should write about, so it's going to get super personal for a while, just as a warning.

I've mentioned on the blog before that I had a phone harasser.  Long story short, I got terrifying text messages for about four months and finally had to involve the cops.  What I haven't mentioned is that last summer got completely out of control as far as harassment went.  A couple weeks after I had finally ended the problems with my harasser, I got another one.  This time in real life.

I was walking through a park to find a spot to read my book, when a man approached me.  This man was very attractive - fit, tan, well dressed, looked to be in his late twenties or early thirties.  This was enough to keep me from gauging him as an immediate threat.  He told me that I was beautiful, and wanted to know if I was interested in getting his number to meet up sometime.  I was very flattered, after all doesn't everyone want a gorgeous man complimenting them?  I thanked him, but let him know I had a boyfriend.

At this point it all went downhill.  He wanted to know how serious we were, then he wanted to know if I wanted his number just in case, wouldn't stop being extremely pushy, and at this point was standing way too close for my comfort.  I finally escaped and moved to a bench at the other end of the park to finish up my book.  About ten minutes later, the guy rides by on his bike to leave the park.  I thought it was a little weird that he managed to leave by the same entrance I was at - there are a good twenty or thirty other ways to leave, but I just shrugged it off.  Until he rode back by me another ten minutes later, slowing down as he went by my bench.  And then again.  And then again.  Until he rides by, leans the bike against my bench and sits down next to me.  I was absolutely frozen.  I didn't have a clue what to do.  And I was terrified.  I was about a fifteen minute walk from my apartment, my roommate wasn't home, and I was wearing heels which are not especially conducive to escape plans.  After sitting and staring and getting no response from me, he left. I was so terrified that I honestly didn't think I was capable of walking.  And how could I be certain he was gone for good? How would I know if he followed me home?  I ended up staying in that park for hours because it felt safer to stay there than to walk home by myself to an empty apartment.

A week after that took place, a man started taking photos of me without my consent while I waited for the train.  I was in so much shock I wasn't able to process what had just happened before the train came and he got in a different car. (And don't worry, after last summer I have taken definite steps to be able to defend myself, and have probably spent an inordinate amount of time coming up with plans for what-if scenarious)  Needless to say last summer took a huge toll on my psyche, and I'm dealing with the aftermath even today.  I'm fine most days, but sometimes seeing a man on the street is enough to send me home instead of going wherever I had meant to be, and I'm not always as in control of my emotional and physical reactions to strange men as I used to be.  It's a work in progress :)

Well that's great and all you might be saying, but how does that relate to Fire?

Artwork courtesy of the Inclusive Graceling tumblr

Sometimes there is a perfect meeting of what you need as a person, and what you find in a book.  Fire is that character for me.  As you read the book, you see Fire evolve from fear to strength.  You see her deal with significantly worse situations than I have ever been in, and instead of crumpling under the horror of it all, she gets stronger, and stronger, and stronger.

Character development is one of the most important things to me in a book, and Kristin Cashore manages to completely change Fire from the beginning of the book to the end in a way that both almost makes her unrecognizable.  Her strength and assertiveness, as well as her sense of self are so much stronger it's amazing to think back to the beginning of the book and how she acted then.  And yet at the same time she is the same person, just stripped down to the really core of who she is. Not only is that just simply impressive and enough for me to declare my undying love for an author, it just happened to be a character evolution that I need to have in my life when I encountered it.  In some ways I relate to Fire in a way I haven't needed to relate to other characters, and in some ways she's sort of a beacon of hope that I can evolve into a stronger person once I have mentally and emotionally dealt with everything I need to deal with.  Beyond that connection, I just love Fire as a character.  She's complicated and tough and loyal and unafraid of her sexuality.  She also makes a choice in the book that is probably one of the most heartbreaking decisions a person ever has to make, and I think what she did was awful, but ultimately the right decision for her and for the future.  She's also a passionate musician, which is always an added plus in my book, and the time Cashore takes to describe Fire's instruments so lovingly really endeared her to me.  Fire demands respect in her relationships, and is unwilling to compromise who she is as a person (at least as she evolves through the book) in any of those relationships, friendship, family, or otherwise.  That juxtaposed with her vulnerability, tenderness, fear, but mental and physical prowess solidify Fire as one of the best examples I know of a "strong female character" (read: a complex being)

Monday Musings: LGBT in Books

Note: Some of what I'm going to talk about relates to this series, since it's what provoked the response in the first place. But a lot is relevant to views on LGBT in general, and I've marked spoilers for the series where relevant.  But I will warn you, that while I do my best to mark things, if you are determined to read Wolfcry, you might want to read it before this, just in case.  Onwards!


During my month long hiatus, I spent a lot of time rereading books because that's what I do when I get stressed out.  In fact if you look at the list of books I've read in 2014, May's length is pretty much triple all the others, and almost all those books are rereads haha! During this reread I decided to tackle Amelia Atwater-Rhodes Kiesha'ra books, since I remembered really enjoying them in high school and had recommended them to someone fairly recently. If you don't know about them, they're a collection of really unique shapeshifter books - these aren't your typical werewolf ones (although the later ones do feature wolves). There's snake shifters and hawk shifters and tiger shifters and dragon shifters (ok aWyvern, but they're basically mini dragons).  The world building is amazing, especially considering how short all the books are.  I mean she not only has a full culture built in with social norms, religion, mythology, and history...she has that for multiple cultures. At least 3 fully fleshed out in the series, but another two that she's clearly mapped out as well.  But as I said, the books are short.  They could all stand to have at least another 100 pages to flesh things out a bit more.  In fact that's really my only complaint, otherwise they're a really fun, quick read.


Once I'd reread the books, I decided to go onto Goodreads and update my ratings if needed, and just generally browse reviews.  When I got to Wolfcry...I was shocked.  And with each review I could slowly feel my anger build, and build, and build...until I was about ready to explode.

 Clearly I need to go on a Goodreads review ban again.

I ended up writing a review more as a rebuttal to what other people had written, rather than a review of the book itself.  It's not the most well thought out thing I've ever written since it was very much done in anger. This review is much better written and is well worth reading and really nails down everything great (and not great) about this book.  (But there's spoilers, be warned).  In any case, it's the other reviews I want to talk about - the ones that made me absolutely seethe inside.

Next comes a small spoilery bit, just so you know.

There was a reviewer who actually thought she was going to end up with the wolf who TRIED TO RAPE HER before Betia could be considered as a love interest, and thought that would have been a better choice.  There are people who would rather have a woman raped than have them end up with another woman. Yeah. Let that sink in for a minute.  I don't know why I was surprised by that sentiment...but I was.  Everyone seemed shocked by the ending choice. I wasn't. Admittedly, I'd read the book before, but it has been OVER A DECADE, so I couldn't remember the ending. You could argue that might put me subcionsciously more likely to understand the ending and pick up clues, but that's beside the point.  There are all sorts of hints that happen with Oliza's travels with Betia.  Things that if it had been a male and female character would undoubtedly have caused people to ship them, but because they were same sex characters, the thought didn't occur to them.  That in and of itself is not a problem - that simply says to me that there need to be more books out there like this.  We need more exposure.  It's the reaction after the surprise that makes me angry.   

END SPOILERS

What concerns me the most is not the people who were outspoken about their belief that lesbian relationships are unholy.  They will always be there. For all of time. There is nothing we can do to change that.  There are still people who believe interracial couples should be condemned to death and that women shouldn't be leaders.  I like to think they are in the minority and that mostly they're just kind of crazy. But the people who pretend they are ok with LGBT relationships? They're what's scary. They know it's not socially acceptable, so they think they are ok with it.  And I honestly think that most of them really believe it of themselves, because most of us think of ourselves as good.  But when these people are actually confronted with said relationship, they rebel against it and are disgusted. They don't want to hear about relationships that are different from theirs. They don't want to read about anything "other".  In some ways - very minor and very different ways - I understand the kind of invasive questions and disgust that gays get.  I don't want to make it seem like what I have experienced is anywhere near what the LGBT community goes through.  But I often encounter the same sort of people (the ones who don't think they're being offensive).

It's like the people who have seen me with my boyfriend. He's Korean.  I know I'm not getting as much flack as I would if he were black, but I've still had encounters - from people who probably don't even believe they are racist.  I've had people ask me if I have something against white men.  I've have people tell me to look them up when I'm interested in a real man. I've had people make assumptions about my boyfriend's genitalia that I really don't find entertaining.  And honestly? What right do you, as a stranger (or even as my friends and family), to talk to something like that with me, simply because of my boyfriend's race?  It's also just feels invasive.

If I was dating a white man not a single one of those conversations would have happened.  Not. One. Ever.  I feel like I'm in a relationship that is probably one of the most accepted as far as dating outside race goes, and certainly more accepted than LGBT relationships are.  (Although I've noticed it seems to make a big difference - towards the negative - that I am a white woman and he is an Asian man, and not the reverse. I have my own theories regarding that, but this post isn't supposed to be about this, so I won't get into that now).

A lot of the same situations happen with LGBT relationships (and I'm not speculating on this - I have friends who experience this all the time).  They want to know who the "girl/guy" in the relationship is.  Or they feel uncomfortable if you show any physical affection in front of them - but they're totally ok with your relationship, really.  And some of them actually do mean well and are just curious.  We need books out there that make these relationships seem normal so that people don't end up being treated like they're at the zoo.  Books like these are the books we need for world views to change.  I've mentioned before, particularly about Tamora Pierce, that although I don't think I ever would have had a problem with the LGBT community (because my family is awesome and raised me well), I also think being raised on books like these have ingrained in me that people are just people no matter what they look like or who they love.  Books can have that power, especially when kids get to read them. 

We're getting spoilery again:

I think it's also important to have books specifically like this one, where you aren't set up from the beginning to know that the main characters are going to be gay.  I feel like I've seen fewer poor reviews of books that were either set up from the beginning to have an LGBT relationship or if it is a side character, because people going in already know that's what they're getting.  I feel like people think it's "ok" to have books about gay characters...but they don't want to read about them.  Not if it's a main character and not if the character can be seen as straight at any point in time.  Not if there's a potential love interest of the opposite gender.  Then it's suddenly not ok.  And that's what scares me.  Because put in those terms, it's letting people who think they are allies show that they still believe LGBT relationships are inferior to straight ones.  That it is preferable to have a man stalk you and attempt to rape you than choose to love another woman.  And that's unacceptable.

via GIPHY

Why Anya Balanchine Is So Great: or All These Things I've Done - Gabrielle Zevin

 Summary

Goodreads:  In 2083, chocolate and coffee are illegal, paper is hard to find, water is carefully rationed, and New York City is rife with crime and poverty. And yet, for Anya Balanchine, the sixteen-year-old daughter of the city's most notorious (and dead) crime boss, life is fairly routine. It consists of going to school, taking care of her siblings and her dying grandmother, trying to avoid falling in love with the new assistant D.A.'s son, and avoiding her loser ex-boyfriend. That is until her ex is accidently poisoned by the chocolate her family manufactures and the police think she's to blame. Suddenly, Anya finds herself thrust unwillingly into the spotlight--at school, in the news, and most importantly, within her mafia family.


Engrossing and suspenseful, All These Things I've Done is an utterly unique, unputdownable read that blends both the familiar and the fantastic.


Quotes

Aside:   Still, you may find yourself asking, What of Leo's job? What of the contaminated chocolate supply? What of Nana's health and Natty's nightmares?  Just because Annie has a delicious new boyfriend she can't possibly think that's a good excuse to go around ignoring everything and everyone else in the world.

Scarlet:  "But it's not the easiest thing in the world being your best friend either.  And I think I've been there for you through a lot of bad times haven't I?  So when something good happens to you, I'd like to know about it.  I'd like to be there for some of the happy times too."

Thoughts

When I first started reading this in December, I hit a big reviewing slump.  It's not that I didn't want to talk about them - I just only wanted to talk about certain parts of them.  This is especially true about books that are rereads (which this book is), which is why I have so few reviews for rereads on the site (a grand total of 2!) in comparison to what I reread (which I rarely keep track of, but it's easily a quarter of what I read).

Then I realized...what exactly is stopping me from just talking about the characters if that's what I want to do?  And the answer is nothing.  I'm not sure if I'm going to give this idea a title or not, but as of this moment I'm going to talk about all the reasons why Anya Balanchine is one of the most fantastic female heroines in YA literature.  Be aware that while my focus is on this book, spoilers for the other books (and this one) may appear.  You have been warned!



Anya Balanchine is one of the best example of what a real "strong female character" is.  No, she isn't an expert swordsman or know crazy karate moves (although she does chop off a guy's hand with a machete at one point during the series which is pretty awesome).  Anya has become orphaned at a young age, her older brother was in a car accident which caused him to become intellectually disabled, and her grandmother (who is the caretaker) is dying.  Anya has to run the whole household, while being very careful to make sure that no one finds out, or they will take her siblings away from her.  What makes her strong is not only her ability to do all this while refusing any extra help, but also how unsteady she feels all the time.  This is a time when reading a story in first person really helps.  She never acts vulnerable around other people if she can help it, but as you read, you discover just how terrified she is that everything is going to fall apart.  THAT is what makes an awesome strong female character - having a truly well-thought out character, with real flaws as well as strength, whether it's physical, mental, or emotional.

This is where Win comes in.  Win's father is the A.D.A's son.  Anya's father was the head of the mafia, so she already has a reputation.  She can't allow anyone close to her, especially not the A.D.A's son in case they take her family away from her.  Despite this, they fall in love and everything is hunky dory until things happen.  Win's father, Charles Delacroix, cuts her a deal - she must break up with Win, or she goes to jail and her family is put into foster care.  Anya deals with this the way I'd expect people in the real world to deal with it.  She honestly weighs what is important in life, and it doesn't take her long to take this deal.  While she loves Win and is going to feel miserable without him, he is not more important than her family or her own freedom.  Win is not more important than other people's lives.  She doesn't whinge on for chapters about life is unfair and how she can never be happy because of things like this.  Life has always been unfair for Anya - that's just how it is, there's no point in continuing to dwell on it.  Instead of worrying herself into a worthless dither, she takes charge of her destiny.  She knows her entire happiness does not hinge on a life with Win.  It hinges on being in control of her life, and being able to provide for the people who are most important to her.  Having Win in her life would be wonderful, but simply not practical if she has to pit herself against his very powerful father.  This is a huge reason as to why I LOVE Anya!  Romantic love does not always conquer all, and there are things much more important than said concept.  I love reading YA, it's obviously what I primarily read, but I don't relate to a lot of the main characters because there is often a huge emphasis on the importance of romantic love - to the detriment of everything else.  Including your own life.  (I'm looking at YOU Everneath!) 

Anya's values line up exactly with my own.  She prizes loyalty and family above all else, and those are what I would rank most important to me as well.  In the beginning when her best friend Scarlet is crushing on Win, Anya makes it clear she doesn't want him, and will never go for him.  And it's not like it is in every other book I've read with this situation (Yes, YOU, The Forsaken)  - she really is not interested in making a move, is not secretly longing for him.  He might seem like a boy she could like, but Scarlet likes him, and she doesn't know the boy, so that's that.  Scarlet is her best friend in the world (and one of my absolute favourite characters), and nothing is more important than that.  It is ONLY because Scarlet has made it clear that she acknowledges that Win will never be into her and that she thinks Anya could use a guy like Win, that Anya even tempts the idea of liking Win.

I could do a whole post just on all the reasons I love Scarlet, but I figured as the main character (and also because I spent the whole book cheering on how AWESOME Anya is), Anya gets priority.  But if there is one thing that I could name as my favourite part of this book, it would definitely be Scarlet and Anya's friendship.  It is so refreshing when I find friendships that are:

A.  Actually friends, not secretly backstabbing each other
B.  The friend is a person, not a cardboard cut out to sound off of each other
C.  And most rare, the friend is an integral part to the main character's life

Scarlet and Anya are complete opposites - Scarlet is beyond optimistic, always believes in Win and Anya as a relationship, and is out for some fun trouble-making.  And it's not just Scarlet being a doormat for Anya.  The quote Scarlet gives in my quotes section is one of my favourite quotes of the book.  Scarlet doesn't back down when she believes in something, and this shows up throughout the story - even if it pits her against her best friend.  But when it comes down to it, she and Anya are there for each other no matter what happens.  When it comes to Scarlet, Anya will be confidante, wingman, or defender of character and reputation.   They are really good for each other - Anya keeps Scarlet grounded, and Scarlet makes sure Anya doesn't condemn herself to a grim life. 


And these are all the reasons why Anya is one of my all-time favourite heroines (followed closely by Scarlet).  Have any of you read this series?  Who did you love?  I already know Mitchii's answer, but I'm curious to know what the rest of you thought!