Chatterbox: Blab About Books

So, Merenwe recently created a thread that asked what gets you hooked on books, and I said well-written female characters. This sparked an idea for a rant that I just need to write, because... I like ranting. This is more about The Lunar Chronicle's characters than the book itself. The people who haven't read the books will probably have no idea what I'm talking about, but, here goes.

Linh Cinder

If you haven't read The Lunar Chronicles, let me explain something. Cyborgs are treated badly, frowned upon, not really accepted in this society. And guess what? *SPOILERS AHEAD* Cinder, the cyborg, ends up saving the world, and Luna(the moon). Cinder's tough, and selfless, and all around awesome. I like you guys would like her.

She owns her own mechanic shop, and she's what, 18? She is known as the best mechanic in The Eastern Commonwealth, which is pretty freaking big. The emperer comes to her for help. And she's a girl. She's a cyborg. I think that's really cool.

Also, she's technically a princess. That makes it even better.

Scarlet Benoit

Scarlet is your typical tough girl, so you think. She can fight, knows how to shoot a gun, is kind of a rebel, sort of like Katniss, Tris, and all the other YA heroines...

Don't get me wrong, Katniss and Tris and all of them are awesome. It's just kind of getting old.

What I like about Scarlet is that she really, truly cherishes the people she loves. She never left Wolf, no matter what the Lunar people did to him. (Wolf is her love interest) She helped Winter escape the palace, even though Winter sort of treated her like a pet or possesion. You can be tough and caring at the same time.

She grew up on a farm, with a retired pilot grandma (Michelle Benoit) who hid Cinder in a basement-thingy for Cinder's whole childhood. (Cinder was unconcious the whole time, for people who haven't read these books.) I should talk about Michelle, too, because she was an absolutely awesome character. My point is, go country folks! You can save the world too!

Crescent Darnel (Cress)

I think Cress will always be my favorite, because I can relate to her more than the others. She's shy, afraid, and timid, but at the same time she can hack into the freaking Lunar palace or hide a whole system of satellites from Earth. It's good to have a shy, smart girl in books that actually does some things to help the team. 

Cress is blonde. She's short, too, no taller than 5 feet. She's imaginative and introverted, and yet they couldn't have saved the world without her. Good job, Cress.

Winter Hayle-Blackburn

Winter is a good role model because she always manages to stay upbeat, no matter what the situation. She risked her life and sanity just to earn the trust of other people, to make sure she never hurt anyone with her gift (to the people who haven't read the books: the lunar gift is too hard to explain. If you want, look it up) She lives in a world full of heartless people, and manages to stay kind through it all. I really look up to her.

It's also said countless times that Winter's scars seem to make her even more beautiful than she already is. I think that is a really good message to put out, because it's true. Winter is one of the most interesting characters I've ever read about. 

Thank you, Cinder, for teaching me to love all of my flaws and weak spots. You've taught me that I can accomplish anything if I set my mind to it.

Thank you, Scarlet, for teaching me to embrace my wild side, but to always remember the people I love and care for. You've taught me that being sad or expressing your emotions doesn't make you weak.

Thank you, Cress, for teaching me that I, as a shy person, can still do great things. You've taught me that having an imagination isn't bad.

Thank you, Winter, for teaching me to be selfless and kind, to everyone, in every situation. You've taught me that being a hero doesn't always mean what you think it does.

And, to Marissa Meyer, thank you for writing these amazing books.