Star Trek TOS Season 3: My Top 5 Fave Episodes

As my husband and I are going through our second full watch of Star Trek as a couple, I thought it would be fun to report on the highlights along the way. So I decided to copy the same format as Charlene at Bookish Whimsy, who is going through her first-ever run of Star Trek and sharing her favorite five episodes for each season. To compare, see her top 5 favorite episodes of season three of The Original Series. 

I thought season two was bad… but season 3 was full of some clunkers. HOWEVER, the episodes that were decent I think were more decent than those in season two, and when selecting my favorites I ended up with a list of 6, so it wasn’t all bad. Also, there were some episodes that I think actually had real potential, and if they had been done like in Deep Space Nine they could have been awesome, but they just fell flat or took a turn for the dumb. I’m particularly thinking of The Mark of Gideon and Requiem for Methuselah. Also, I had distinctly remembered Spock’s Brain (this season’s first episode) as being the worst ever of the series, and I was so wrong. Was it good? No, but there were much worse.

So first off I’ll go ahead and mention my sixth favorite and runner-up for this list was The Tholian Web. I thought I should mention it because it’s popular. There were a few more that I liked a little more, however. Also, I also struggled with this order a lot, so it may not reflect my feelings everyday, but nonetheless, I did the best I could.

5. For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky

I will voice my biggest gripe about this episode (my second biggest grip is the awful costumes, FYI) up front: McCoy gets MARRIED in this episode and then ABANDONS his wife! And she’s OK with it! And there’s also awful instalove here (doesn’t just happen in YA books), but even that’s better than abandoning your spouse! What did I like? The premise, mostly, about a traveling planet (really, a ship) where the people don’t know exactly what their purpose is as they follow arbitrary rules set for them. And unlike many of the episodes this season, it wasn’t poorly executed, other than this whole abandonment thing.

4. Day of the Dove

I think the Klingons are a lot more interesting in TOS than they are in the subsequent series (with the exception of, very specifically, the Augment episodes of Enterprise), and this is a good episode showcasing them, probably my favorite TOS episode featuring them. An alien force that feeds off of hatred causes the Klingons and the crew of the Enterprise to act violently towards one another, and once they realize what is happening, they must fight against it.

3. The Cloud Minders

I think this is another one I like more for the premise than anything, and thankfully the execution wasn’t terrible. On this planet there is a group of people who live on ground and work in the mines, and then there are the privileged who get to live in the city on the clouds. This is probably one of the best TOS episode for the portrayal of women, even if there are skimpy outfits, because Vanna is strong and ambitious and nobody’s love interest (even if she is stubborn for not listening to Kirk when she should have, I can’t blame her for being skeptical), and while Droxine is really into Spock (who has some uncharacteristic dialogue in this episode with no explanation as to why) and naive, she has a really nice arc in this episode and sees reason when her father does not. There are several Star Trek episodes throughout the various series that touch on the issue of the separation of classes and I think this is a pretty good one for the time period.

2.  The Enterprise Incident

At the beginning of the episode, it seems Kirk has lost his mind flying into Romulan space, then we come to find out he did so under Starfleet orders. Spock plays a huge role in distracting a woman Romulan officer while Kirk gets what he needs from the ship, which proves to be an easy task because she is fascinated by him, and dare I say, he might be by her as well. However, he stays clear-headed in his typical Spock way, but the psychology of their interaction, as well as the general sneakiness going on while Kirk is on his mission, definitely makes this episode a stand-out for season three.

1. All Our Yesterdays

I don’t even remember this episode from my first watch of the show, but I was pretty into it this time. First off, I found the concept really interesting of a planet that sends people back in time when their existence is about to end, and also that they are capable of time jumping but not space travel! Also, the fact that when Spock went back 5000 years in his past that he started to act like a Vulcan from 5000 years ago was really interesting! It was a sad ending but I still loved the last line from Spock when he says: “Yes, it did happen. But that was 5000 years ago.” I also think it’s funny that both this episode and the popular YA novel of the same novel borrowed the title from Shakespeare AND have time travel plots!

Season three was an interesting season for Spock and McCoy. Of course, there has been friction between the two all through the series, and the dynamic continues into the movies, but there were several episodes of season three where they were forced to work together, like “The Paradise Syndrome,” “The Tholian Web,” “The Empath,” and “All Our Yesterdays.” After “The Tholian Web,” in fact, I feel like their relationship changed and become less hostile toward one another and that they started to respect each other more. I also felt like we got to see more facets of Spock this season, where he seems more open to people groups that seem different from him on the surface (“The Way to Eden”) and shows more interest in women for a typical season (“The Enterprise Incident,” “The Cloud Minders,” and “All Our Yesterdays”).

So we’re moving on to The Next Generation next, though my husband did bring out The Animated Series DVDs out first. Most people don’t count it and I just wasn’t ready to go through it again yet. We’re also actually watching the shows in the order they were aired, meaning that after the first few seasons of TNG we’ll start mixing in some Deep Space Nine episodes as well. But until then, we’ve got to endure the not-so-great beginning of The Next Generation.

If you’ve seen season three of Star Trek’s original series, which episodes are your favorite?

It’s My Birthday!

Honestly, this a self-indulgent post, and it only serves as a way for you to wish me a happy birthday, ha ha. I was hoping to see the above guy and gal (Michael Dorn and Gates McFadden from Star Trek The Next Generation, for the uninitiated) today at the Nashville comic con, but sadly terrible scheduling + higher than expected price of admission (high considering I wouldn’t get to see everyone I thought I might that would thus make the price worth it) = not happening. So sad. Hopefully I’ll get to see them some other time. But I will be eating  cake and receiving books, so that is the plus side, huzzah! I’ll keep you posted on my book haul! 😉

The Top 10 Books On My Fall TBR List

I read 7 out of 10 books on my summer TBR list! Not too shabby! I also finally read some long-awaited reads like The Screwtape Letters and the first two Harry Potter books, so go me! So now on to the fall list, which its completion will depend partly on whether or not I receive all the books I requested for my birthday. 😉 In no particular order…

1 & 2. Behemoth and Goliath by Scott Westerfeld

I know I’m getting Behemoth for my birthday (since I picked it out and then gave it to my husband to give back to me, lol), and will hopefully be getting Goliath as well. I am looking forward to continuing the series after impulsively buying and thus reading Leviathan!

3. Echoes of Us by Kat Zhang

Interested in seeing how this trilogy ends and hoping I remember enough from the first two books!

4. The Infinite Sea by Rick Yancey

I really enjoyed The 5th Wave when I read it back in May, so I’m hoping for a great follow-up!

5. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling

I’ve heard this is the book where the series really picks up, so I’m excited.

6. In The Shadows by Kiersten White and Jim Di Bartolo

When I saw the raving review and beautiful illustrations for this book at Oh the Books, I was intrigued, so I put it on my birthday wish list.

7. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

This is one I’ve been meaning to read a while, and am hoping to finally do so sometime before the end of the year.

8. Faking Normal by Courtney C. Stevens

As many of you know, contemporary is not my go-to. But Courtney Stevens is a local author (in fact, I’ve seen her twice at writing conferences but never spoken to her) and Kayla mentioned a “contemporary Peeta” character, so I’ve been wanting to check this one out.

9. Free to Fall by Lauren Miller

I’ve been interested in reading Free to Fall since finishing Parallel, and since I might see Lauren Miller next month at a book festival, that makes me ready to read this sooner rather than later!

10. It’s Kind of A Funny Story by Ned Vizzini

I still haven’t completely decided if I want to read this, but it’s about people in a mental hospital, which I think could help me with writing about teens in rehab (where a majority of my WIP takes place). If you’ve read this one I would love to know your thoughts on it to help me decide for sure.

What’s on your fall TBR list?

About a Writing Conference and Some Soul Searching

First off, when I see the word “soul searching” from someone, I immediately expect to hear that they had some dramatic revelation that will result in a big change. This isn’t to that extreme. In fact, the soul searching hasn’t ended, of course I doubt it ever really will, and this post is mostly for me to process some of my thoughts.

I went to a writing conference this weekend, SCBWI Midsouth to be exact, the SCBWI standing for the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. Children’s is defined as everything from picture books to YA and as I believe most of you know, I want to write YA. (OK, so I DO write YA. Just because I’m not published (yet), it doesn’t change this fact.) This was my second time at the conference and it was good to return. Last year I felt extremely green (not to just the conference, but even to the process of publishing) and this year I felt I knew a little more, plus knew a few people, and felt more comfortable with getting to know new people, people who are writers.

In some ways, part of what I heard/experienced at the conference could be seen as depressing. One agent (Rosemary Stimola) shared that her agency gets 50,000 unsolicited queries a day. What the what?! I didn’t even know there were that many people trying that hard to get a book published. And that’s ONE agent. (Though she’s a pretty big deal since she’s Suzanne Collins’ agent!)

But I had two sessions at this conference about how to write a query letter, and you know what, now I feel 100% more comfortable and confident about querying (when the time is right, not before) than I did before the conference. I participated in a critique group where I shared five pages of my writing with four other aspiring authors and received both encouraging comments and constructive feedback. And it came at a good time.

Because lately I’ve wondered if I want this badly enough. Maybe I’ll just hire an editor and self-publish my stuff. It won’t get a ton of exposure but my story will have been written and be out there without going through the turmoil of the publishing process. These are the sort of thoughts I’ve had lately. (Note: there are many reasons to self-publish, and I haven’t even decided to not ever self-publish, but this is just not really the healthiest reason to not at least try to get traditionally published.)

And my priorities have shifted in a way I have not pleased with. In the early days of this blog, I would have said that my priorities as a blogger, a reader, and a writer were pretty balanced and even. But over time, the priorities shifted to blogger first, reader second, and writer third. I wasn’t too happy with that. I switched it around last November when for one month I became a writer first, blogger second, and neglected reading just for NaNoWriMo. And then lately I’ve noticed I’ve become a reader first, a blogger second, and a writer third. I’ve actually been excited to see my love for reading grow and I think it’s great that I care about it more than blogging. But writing still playing third fiddle to those two is not good.

So I asked myself: what increased my love for reading?

I think it was the fact that I was reading more, and mostly picking better books.

And I can’t help but think, if I spent the same amount of time on my writing as I do my reading, my love for it might increase and come back to me. I just have to sit down and do it and get over my hang-ups.

It’s a lot of work. YA author Ruta Sepetys was at the conference and one of the things she said during the Q&A panel she was on is that she does research for TWO YEARS for ONE novel. Of course, she writes historical fiction, but just the same, that is a lot of time and devotion to one book. And to think, I tell myself it will take too much time to research something in-depth and/or to plot out a half-baked idea, and I just want words to come out of me. Like anyone can just do that.

Middle grade author Gennifer Choldenko was the keynote speaker and she said something in her presentation about how she believes that any block that she gets when she’s trying to write is a result of not enough knowledge coming in. That was a light switch moment for me. The reason why I struggle and feel a lack of inspiration so many times is because I don’t have the knowledge I need to move forward. Well, that and fear, but that’s another post for another time. Any book of any genre is going to take some sort of research, and I try to do the minimal amount and get lazy with it.

That’s the other thing I have to realize, every time I sit down as a “writer,” I may not always get to write fresh, new, exciting words. I might be researching (real researching, not scouring “inspiration pictures” on Pinterest). I might be editing and revising. Those are worthwhile ways to spend my time because they are necessary.

I need to find focus. 

That was my other concern before this conference. Was my NaNo project actually worth pursuing? Or did I need to try something else out? Reading those first five pages of Earthbound to those four other girls was so helpful. They were enthusiastic about what would happen next and they loved my main character! It was awesome that they were already hooked. They told me ways I could improve things, like cutting out my first line, changing some dialogue, etc. It made me see potential in my story again, because they, with their fresh eyes, saw it.

It also reaffirmed things that I was told in my fiction writing class in college that I still have a hard time accepting… I write good characters. I am actually good at description (which is crazy because it is not natural for me; I have to fight myself to put it in even). I need to work at dialogue (even though I think I am awesome at it because it jumps into my mind more easily than anything else).

And while I’ve been worrying about what I can and can’t write in terms of genre, maybe I should just write a good character-driven story and then work out the other details as the needs for those arise. Whether it’s fantasy or sci-fi or contemporary or historical I can work on those things, again, by gaining knowledge.

All this to say, I’m ready to make writing a bigger priority again. I want it to be writer and reader first (I have finally become a believer that reading is extremely vital to a writer and worth doing a lot of; I was wrong all those years when I thought I could write and not read) and a blogger second.

I would not trade this blogging experience for anything. And I’m not giving this up. So no, I’m not going anywhere, but I might be a little more quiet. I know I said months ago that I didn’t want to have to apologize or explain if I posted less than normal and that I wouldn’t feel pressured to churn out a certain quantity but it’s still hard for me to do. Blogging is fast-paced and I am afraid of missing one day of the action.

So if I’m more silent, know that I’m not leaving you. Not by a long shot. I’m just writing. That’s what I need to be doing, because I believe it’s what I’m supposed to do.

And it’s going to take me time to write. I have met people who have worked on a story for years and still aren’t ready to send queries. Does that mean their writing stinks and their stories aren’t worthwhile? No. I don’t believe that at all. Different stories by different people take different amounts of time. I can’t compare myself to a 23 year old who has an entire trilogy out because that’s not me. AND THAT’S OK.  I already posted about that though. Maybe one day it will stick in my brain.

I haven’t figured out how I am going to schedule my writing time yet, but I know that it’s important and I need to do it. I’m very grateful that I got to spend a day with writers to remind me just how important this is to me.

If you’ve read this far, thanks. If you read this blog at all, thanks. You guys are so encouraging and I truly appreciate it.

The Top 3 Superhero Side Characters Who Deserve Their Own Spotlight

Sometimes there are side characters in the superhero story that really deserve their own chance to shine. These are the three that I would love to see get there own spotlight… in no particular order…

1. ROBIN John Blake

My husband and I recently rewatched the three movies of Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy. If you’ve read this blog for a while, you may know that I am a big fan of Christopher Nolan in general, and in the very infantile stages of my blog I fangirled about ROBIN John Blake from The Dark Knight Rises and why he needed his own movie. These feelings only intensified upon my rewatch. I want to see Christopher Nolan turn Joseph Gordon-Levitt into the new Batman and push Batfleck aside.

Why do I love John Blake so much? He’s intelligent, resourceful, and brave. He isn’t dramatic and he doesn’t get distracted. I’m not saying he’s perfect, but… he’s pretty awesome. And he deserves his own trilogy!

2. Peggy Carter

My love for Peggy Carter and my enthusiasm for the upcoming Agent Carter TV show is unending! I adore how she is feminine yet tough and able to handle herself. She grew to care for Steve for his courage and heart, and she possesses those qualities as well. And though it was hard, she was able to move past his death and accomplish great things. She’s amazing and totally deserves this show and I cannot WAIT!

3. Lady Sif

Lady Sif is awesome. More awesome than Jane, more awesome than Thor. She doesn’t need some silly hammer to knock down the enemy. She did appear in an episode of Agents of SHIELD, which was GREAT, but I could definitely use more Sif! A Sif movie? TV show? Even a one-shot! Just give me more SIF, please!

Which side character from a superhero story would you like to see in the spotlight? 

Book Review: Leviathan

When I saw Leviathan for a good deal, I bought it on a whim. I found the idea intriguing and my curiosity was stirred, but did it deliver?

Yes and no. It is certainly a strong backbone for a larger story, but it gave me more details about machines and beasties less about the actual human beings in the story than I wanted.

The Premise & Characters

This book was a unique read, at least for me. I’ve never read steampunk or alternate history (OK, technically I have read the latter, but not an alternate version of a major point in history) and these were two main elements of the story. It’s set during WWI, but the powers pitted against each other are classified as Clankers, those who rely on machines, and Darwinists, those who rely on genetically modified animals. I have to admit that the Darwinists’ “beasties” made me a little uncomfortable, so even though the Darwinists are the Allies and thus basically who the U.S. would side with, I found myself more inclined to root for the Clankers. This combined with the fact that I also felt sympathetic towards Alek, one of the two main characters, who is the son of Archduke Ferdinand whose assassination essentially started the war.

The second main character, Deryn, is a girl disguised as a boy who is able to earn her way into the British air service for the Darwinists. I did like her as well, but not as well as Alek for some reason. I think the main reason for this is that Alek undergoes a character arc in this book, whereas Deryn doesn’t really. I’ll have more to say on them later.

Technobabble & Action Sequences

Something I could have done without in this book was all the details about how the Clankers’ machines operated and how the Darwinists’ beasties functioned. I can understand why Westerfeld thought this material was imperative, but I felt a little bogged down by it at times. But even worse was how many action sequences there are. I like action when it moves the story forward, but I almost felt like the action made the story take long pauses instead. There would be shootouts and scenes of running away that lasted for more than a chapter and I really just wanted to move along and see how the characters were going to react to things happening outside of the action. I also apparently can’t follow action sequences very well, I’ve learned, and it doesn’t seem to matter who writes them. I always end up confused about who is where and what exactly they are doing and how they were able to do it.

Worldbuilding

The worldbuilding was pretty good. I understood everything pretty quickly, and the made-up swear words that Deryn used weren’t terrible and fit the story and time pretty well, I think. I also appreciated the afterword from Westerfeld in the end that explained what was fact and what was fiction in his version of WWI. Oh, and the map! Apparently it was illustrated by the same person who did the Grisha maps! It was a nice touch, though the many-shades-of-gray version in my book was a little hard to make out, but this color version Asti found is really great and easy to read:

There were illustrations throughout the book as well, which helped me visualize everything being described!

Give Me Human Interactions!

The one thing that I wanted so much more of was more interaction between Alek and Deryn, and I think the blurb is to blame for this. Usually I don’t always pay full attention to blurbs, but this time, this was what sold me on buying the book. Here’s most of it: “Alek and Daryn are thrown together aboard the mighty airship Leviathan. Though fighting side by side, their worlds are far apart… They are enemies with everything to lose, yet somehow destined to be together.”

So I started this books, and I was waiting, waiting, waiting for these two to be “thrown together” and to watch a romance bloom! Well first off, they don’t meet until about the halfway point, but at that point they weren’t exactly fighting side by side yet. That comes later. And this destined to be together part? Well, towards the end of the book Deryn starts to feel a little funny around Alek, which she realizes means she kinds of like him, but there’s a problem, in that he still thinks she’s a boy. And even closer to the end she’s about to tell him when annoying Dr. Barlow barges in (OK, she’s not real annoying, but I didn’t love her either) and ruins the moment, and then shortly after that the book is over and HE STILL DOESN’T KNOW SHE’S A GIRL! He just thinks Deryn is Dylan, a good soldier and friend and dude. YOU’RE KILLING ME, WESTERFELD! OK, it’s probably not his fault that blurb ended up on the back of the book and gave me expectations he probably didn’t intend for to have. So I was a little disappointed by that. But again, it’s the start of a trilogy, so there’s more to come I’m sure. I just hope Deryn gets to tell him soon!

Lastly about the human interactions, I wanted to mention that the couple of really vulnerable moments we did get with Alek and Deryn, with him sharing about his parents’ death and her almost telling him who she was, they were AWESOME and SPOT ON. If there had been so much more of that and so much less action and beastie talk and all that, this could have real potential to have another half or full star.

Final Thoughts

I enjoyed a lot about this book ultimately, and hope in the next two installments to see more relationship developing (not all necessarily romantic) and less confusing, slow action.

If you’ve read Leviathan, please share your thoughts! Or let me know: have you ever been deceived by a blurb?

Bookish Wedding Inspiration: The Hunger Games

*Warning: Hunger Games trilogy spoilers below! But seriously, who hasn’t read these books yet?

I thought it might be fun to try creating themed wedding ideas based off of books, and how the main character’s wedding might look with our modern sensibilities, and thus, Bookish Wedding Inspiration was born! First I did Tiger Lily, and then The Grisha Trilogy (and Leigh Bardugo herself liked it on Tumblr! WHAT WHAT!), but today’s post is actually what I was inspired to do first, which is a wedding for Katniss and Peeta! I’ve collected so many pictures for this and I’m happy to finally share them with you all!

Bridal Look

The Dress

Look guys, I can’t beat Cinna’s dress That’s probably what Katniss would really wear, or something simple. But if Katniss went dress shopping today, I think she might like this Watters gown. Flowers really play a big theme in the trilogy and they are something Katniss values, and while this is very nice dress, it’s also simplistic enough, not too frilly.

The Hair

Picture source and hair tutorial here

Obviously a braid must be involved, and I just love this style.

The Accessories

I came up with quite a few ideas for accessories, and I certainly don’t think Katniss would implement all these at once, but here are some various options!

The Locket

Like the locket Peeta gave Katniss in Catching Fire, Katniss might want to have a locket with pictures of her her dad and Prim on the inside, to have them close to her on her special day. She might want to wear a locket (like this one with a Mockingjay pendant) or have one wrapped around her bouquet.

The Arrow

Obviously the arrow is important to Katniss, and there are many jewelry options, from bracelets (pictured, not pictured) to necklaces that can reflect this! Understandably, she might not choose this for her wedding day because it might remind her of the violence she endured, but I still really wanted to share these fun arrow accessories. (Fun fact: Black Widow wears this arrow necklace in Captain America: Winter Soldier!)

The Pearl

And of course, who can forget the single black pearl that Peeta found in the second arena and gave to Katniss, and that she hung on to when she had lost him? This single black pearl on a strand would be a perfect symbol of their love.

The Bouquet

Image source

This bouquet goes along with the colors I had in mind for Katniss’ wedding: earthy colors with some orange (Peeta’s favorite) mixed in.

The Groom

I collected a few images that I thought could reflect a good groom’s look for Peeta, including cute bow and arrow cufflinks!

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The Portraits

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Image source 1 and 2

The Location

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I thought a wedding in the woods would be fitting, and isn’t this tree dynamic? It stands well on its own, or they could have a backdrop like so…

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The Food & Cake

Image source for table spread and table setting with quote

Obviously, there would be bread. And hot chocolate (though it’s not pictured). I don’t think there would actually be Peeta quotes lying around, but I still wanted to include the picture. And of course, CAKE.

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Hope you enjoyed The Hunger Games edition of Bookish Wedding Inspiration! What would you expect from Katniss and Peeta’s wedding?

Movie Review: Clueless

I would have never been interested in Clueless were it not for the fact that it is a light adaptation of Emma. I probably would not have cared for it much either were it not for that.

Clueless feels a bit like Mean Girls, only set in the 1990s instead of the 2000s, though it focuses on popular girl Cher (Emma), who decides to befriend new girl Tai (Harriet), who she sees as a project.

First I’ll get my complaints out of the way. I know that this movie is just depicting teenage life, not necessarily condoning all aspects of it, but I really had a problem with the drug usage in this movie. There’s not a ton of it, and I know for most people it will seem overly sensitive of me to feel this way, but this sort of thing is exactly why I don’t read many YA contemporaries. I didn’t hang out with those kinds of people, and I don’t have an interest in reading about them/watching them on screen. I expected there might be some sex talk and language, especially within a crowd of popular kids, but I was surprised by the drugs. It’s something I would expect more from, well, the kids like Travis (Robert Martin), but even that bothered me. Anyhow, at least he was turning around in the end.

Also, stereotypical popular girl characters just annoy me in general, which is a reason why I don’t really like Mean Girls that much. I can appreciate the satirical writing, but I don’t connect with the characters. The same applies here with Clueless.

One last thing, does it bother anyone else that Josh (Knightley) is Cher’s ex-stepbrother? I’ve never had a stepbrother before, but that seems really awkward to be kissing yours a few years after your parents divorce, even if you were only related legally for a little while…

Though admittedly, Paul Rudd’s portrayal did win me over.

What I did appreciate was the journey Cher went on. Though she does start off pretty much the way you would expect based on stereotypes and cliches, she does grow through the film. As she learns to appreciate people for who they are and learns to think beyond herself, she really becomes a better person and friend, and I appreciated that. Her character arc and Josh’s character were really the main highlights of the film. And drawing the Emma comparisons, with some of the differences between the original and the film turning up a little surprising…

Clueless is also quotable and has some fun moments in it, but I definitely don’t have the same endearment for it as Emma Approved or other Emma adaptations. It’s still worth at least a watch though if you’re a fan of the original story and interested in the idea.

If you’ve seen Clueless, what are your thoughts on it?

The Top Ten Book Characters That Would Be Sitting At My Lunch Table

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Today’s topic is Top Ten Book Characters That Would Be Sitting At My Lunch Table, in honor of school being back in session. Thank goodness I’m finished with school. Except I do miss summer break. But regardless, if I could hang out with some fictional folks at lunchtime, here’s who I think I would get along with best!

1-2. Lizzie & Charlotte from The Lizzie Bennet Diaries

I feel like these BFF’s pretty much come as a package deal, and what an entertaining package they would be!

3-4. Kiggs & Seraphina from Seraphina

Since I’ve read Seraphina I’ve talked a lot about how much I love these two, and I don’t even know how to describe why. They’re just likable people. I want to hang out with them!

5-7. Prince Kai, Cinder, and Cress from The Lunar Chronicles

I will never apologize for pretending this is Cress, because basically, it is.

I like Prince Kai and Cinder a lot, and Cress… Cress is just so sweet and funny and would be so fun to hang out with! Then one day she’d bring along her boyfriend Carswell Thorne and he would annoy me at first, but then I would get used to him and enjoy having him around too.

8. Justen from Across a Star-Swept Sea

Again, I just loved this book and I loved Justen. He’s intelligent and kind and I just like him.

9. Hermione from Harry Potter

As I mentioned in my recent review of Harry Potter, this girl is even more intense about her studies than I ever was (which to me, is kind of amazing)! Still, I can relate to her drive to study, study, study, and it would be nice to have her around as a study buddy!

10. Peeta from The Hunger Games

Because who doesn’t want/need a kind, loyal friend who can also bake to sit at their lunch table?

Who would you want sitting at your lunch table?