My Date From Hell: Guest Post

Today, I'd like to welcome over Tellulah Darling, author of My Date From Hell over for a guest post, and look for my review of (almost) all the books in the series tomorrow.

Five Fictional Females Tellulah Darling Has Loved

I’m all about fabulous females–in life and most definitely in stories. While I do adore me some swoony book boys, I was sitting here thinking, “Tellulah, why should the guys get all the love?” Thus did I decide to share five of my fav gals.

In no particular order.

1) Elizabeth Bennet (created by Jane Austin): I don’t even want to hear any accusations of cliché because I’m including Pride and Prejudice here. Smart, witty, astute, and still so flawed, not only did I aspire to be Lizzie, I would have loved to be friends with her as well. I will always love a woman who can put a man in his place with a well-placed word based on a keen insight of character. Besides, she’s not the cliché – she’s the original.

2) Elise Dembowski (created by Leila Sales): Elise, of This Song Will Save Your Life fame, is a new adoration. As a teen outcast, her voice could have been so needy, whiny or melodramatic, as so many are. Instead, she is a smart cookie with real pain, who relates her story in a way which perfectly straddles the line between heartbreak and hope. She’s funny, determined, and everything about her makes me cheer for the fabulous life I know she can have.

3) MacKayla Lane (created by Karen Marie Moning): Oh Rainbow Girl, how much do you rock? Much as I love my smart girls, and I do, I wanted to include my favourite kick-ass chick. MacKayla’s world in the Fever series is upended by one trauma after another. Does she lay down and die? Nope. She keeps on fighting, literally, figuratively, psychologically, emotionally, and in every way that matters. Mac is the awesome beacon of light that keeps the darkness of this world at bay. More than a match for devious fey, conniving humans, and alpha males who are not what they seem, she keeps to her path and manages to stay true to herself.

4) Rose Hathaway (created by Richelle Mead): You may be surprised why I included Rose from The Vampire Academy series. Sure, she’s smart and she is a crazy awesome fighter. But that’s not why I love her. Rose understands the importance of a female BFF. And while I’m all for modeling empowering chicks, I also am a firm believer in showing the importance and value of female friendships. I find that a lot of stories, especially in YA, depict a female lead with no friends. Sure that happens, but for me, my teen years were defined by how important my friendships were. (Often to my detriment, but hey, that’s drama.) So I love love love not only how loyal Rose is, but that a large part of her journey is learning how to show more of her vulnerable side to Lissa in return.

5) Elphaba (created by Gregory Maguire): In Wicked, Maguire takes the freaking Wicked Witch of the West, the ultimate green meany, and makes me believe in her heroism. She’s a misfit in every sense of the word and in every way in this world. And while she may be green, her intelligence and strong moral code as she tries to live her beliefs in this land of superficiality, corruption, and lies makes me care what happens to her. Ultimately, aren’t we all trying to be good people? Don’t each and every one of us have something that brands us as “other”, whether it’s as visible as Elphaba’s skin or not? With every subsequent chapter and every subsequent hurdle, Elphaba becomes more human, more real and her green skin the symbol of  everything right in Oz, not everything wrong.

I’m also going to just sneak Hermione Granger in here. If you have to ask why, then you and I have nothing further to discuss.