Tag Archives: Harry Potter

A.D.M. Was Here: London

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I did more studying abroad in law school than was wise, and I don’t quite regret it. After having spent humid summers in Asia, and two weeks of winter in Italy, I took the opportunity to spend a proper semester in London for the Fall.

No entry to Hogwarts due to anti-Muggle prejudice

Platform 9 and Three QuartersSo, I made it to platform nine and three quarters in King’s Cross, but those wizards and witches refused to bring me through. Jerks. It’s probably ’cause I failed to buy any Harry Potter souvenirs from the nearby store for my siblings.

Stuck in Bloomsbury

For most of my time in London, I stayed in a flat close to King’s Cross in Bloomsbury (Virginia Woolf’s house was nearby). I used a sort of student housing which gave me by own bedroom in a flat I shared with two undergraduate brothers from Venezuela and, later, an undergraduate girl from Sweden. Fun times. That was, until the persistent rain caused streaks of water to run down my bedroom walls and I noticed mold behind the wall hangings. Gross.

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YA Characters Free-for-all Battle

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YA Character BattleAlright, here’s the scenario: Twelve characters from several popular Young Adult novels (mostly the same ones I mentioned in my other post breaking down bestselling YA) are pitted against each other in a Hunger Games-like competition. Each series will be represented by two characters. Instead of the actual rules from The Hunger Games, let’s say the characters are just tossed into the arena with their usual gear and are told they have to fight each other; only one may survive.

Rather than write a fancy narrative, I’ll give a sports-analyst-like prediction.

*SPOILER WARNING* Minor spoilers may appear (so, I hope you’ve already read Mockingjay).

The Contestants

1. The Hunger Games: Katniss; Gale
2. Divergent: Tris; Four
3. Harry Potter: Professor Lupin; Cedric Diggory
4. Twilight: Bella; Edward
5. Legend: June; Day
6. The Outsiders: Ponyboy; Steve

Play-by-Play Predictions: Continue reading →

The DNA of Bestselling YA

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What makes a Young Adult novel (commercially) successful? That’s a very important question for all YA authors, agents and publishers. Here’s my breakdown of five big-hitters of YA, considering author inspiration, premise, theme, and cultural context (note: I’m just another person writing stuff, and not proclaiming myself as some all-knowing god of fiction).

Warning, there may be some spoilers, but there aren’t many big ones, so read on!

Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen

Everyone’s favorite oblivious-to-love heroine.

The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins

Inspiration

Suzanne Collins has stated that The Hunger Games is “very much based on the Greek myth of Theseus and the Minotaur” wherein the Athenians were required to send seven youths into a labyrinth where they are faced with the deadly Minotaur (no mention of Battle Royale, though I would assume that Collins at least saw the name while researching). The catalyst for the story came when Collins was flipping channels and seeing young people compete in reality shows, and other young people dying in real-life wars.

Work and Context

Commercial and mainstream fiction generally relies heavily on the premise. The Hunger Games‘ handles that quite well: the young, poor, and attractive are forced to fight to the death while Continue reading →

The Good Guys: Square Bear Heroes

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The Good Guys: Captain America, Ned Stark, Cory Matthews, Harry Potter, Obi-wan Kenobi, Doug Funnie, Ross Geller, Rick Hunter, Superman

Some people have problems with a male character if he’s too much of a square bear. I personally think it’s rather important that we have these characters in our social consciousness. They are, more or less, the kinds of guys that boys and men should strive to be.

Here’s a list of some fictional good guys who go the extra mile (in no particular order; I’ll try not to drop too many spoilers to anything, if any):

Captain AmericaCaptain America

Steve Rogers starts out as a scrawny little guy who is rejected from service in the U.S. Army because he is too frail. He volunteers to undergo an experimental procedure which turns him into the super-soldier, Captain America.

What I think a lot of people miss about Cap is that, though he loves his country, he doesn’t blindly follow orders from the government; he fights for a truer sense of freedom and liberty, and for people who cannot fight for themselves. People who dismiss Captain America simply because of his name and the fact that he wears a flag are missing out on an awesome hero.

I also like how he’s so polite to everyone (when he’s not knocking their teeth out with his shield).

Eddard StarkEddard Stark

Ned Stark, the unfortunate protagonist of A Game of Thrones. The first word that comes to mind when I think of Ned Stark is “honor.”

While discussing Ned, someone once told me that Ned’s honor—and all honor—is simply for the sake of appearances. I was annoyed, but didn’t respond right away. Thinking about it later, I concluded that this person was simply wrong. Honor isn’t just about appearances; honor can drive you to do the right thing, whether or not anyone else is aware of it.

Though a lot of Ned’s honorable acts are public and preserves his family name, I believe Ned would do the honorable thing even where no one’s looking. That’s why he’s awesome and that’s why he’s on this list. There’s also some internet speculation as to Ned’s past that, if proven to be true in George R.R. Martin’s later books, would make Ned all the more awesome as it implies he sacrifices some of his own honor for others.
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J.K. Rowling’s New “Harry Potter” Short, Thoughts

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Image of J.K. Rowling

Photograph by Daniel Ogden, distributed under CC BY 2.0.

If you’re a Potter fan and haven’t already done so (unlikely), you might want to log into Pottermore and check out the Daily Prophet for J.K. Rowling’s short (told through Rita Skeeter’s gossip column, 08 June 2014).  You can likely find the short posted elsewhere if you don’t have a Pottermore account, but why do that if you can sign up for free and join me in Gryffindor (assuming you have what it takes)?

Rowling’s short provides a bit of insight into the lives of Harry Potter and company following the battle at Hogwart’s.  It works as a very good teaser if Rowling intends to go back to writing about Hogwarts.  At the end of the short, Rita Skeeter mentions her book on Dumbledore’s Army will be available to the wizarding world on July 31st.  Maybe Rowling will announce something then?  Seems unlikely, but we can hope.