Post 10: Reading Wishlist

From the library (in no particular order):
1. Cash by Johnny Cash
2. The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
3. The Spectacular Now by Tim Tharp
4. Panic by Lauren Oliver
5. Poison by Bridget Zinn
6. Just One Day by Gayle Forman
7. The Fault in our Stars by John Green
8. Still Star Crossed by Melinda Taub
9. The Museum of Intangible Things by Wendy Wunder
10. (Reread) The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
11. The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger



From Amazon/Barnes and Noble/Goodreads:
1. Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
2. Life of Pi by Yann Martel
3. The Heir by Kiera Cass

Post 9: Book 2 Trailer

Post 8: Book Talk Presentation

Post 7: Book 4 Review

Cassia Reyes (ordinary girl from The Society) vs. Kate Winters (Goddess; Queen of the Underworld)

Who are they?

-        Cassia Reyes, the main character in Matched, is just an ordinary girl from a borough in The Society.  Her life has been laid out for her the moment she was born.  She’ll go to First School, Second School, be Matched and then be assigned to her permanent sorting job.  Everything is on track, she’s just been Matched with her best friend, Xander Carrow; then she puts his microcard in the port to see if there’s anything she DIDN’T know about him when his face isn’t the one that shows up on the port.  It’s her friend from Second School, Ky Markham.  In this perfect world, everything is calculated and percentages are what they by; when Ky’s face shows up, Cassia has no choice but to question what she was always supposed to trust, her match.  She struggles internally after her grandfather dies on his 80^th birthday and he gives her a piece of paper with a poem on it – but this poem is illegal.  Her struggles continue when she has to decide if she should stay with kind, reliable Xander or be with mysterious, average Ky.  She chooses Ky and has to fight to go against The Society to be with him.

-        Kate Winters, the main character in The Goddess Test and Goddess Interrupted, was an ordinary girl who took her mom to her hometown to die.  Until she met Henry.  Henry claims to be Hades, God of the Underworld.  He proves his power by reviving Kate’s recently dead friend, Ava.  With eyes the color of moonlight, he intrigues her. She agrees to spend the fall and winter with him so long as she gets to be with her mother every night (in her dreams).  Kate becomes aware of Henry’s intentions to make her his new Queen of the Underworld by passing 7 tests set by the other members of the Council.  11 other girls have died trying to pass.  Kate passes due to the high security and help from her mother, Demeter; Henry; Ava, Aphrodite; and best friend, James, Hermes.  After Kate passes, Henry and she became married.  Now Kate has returned from her summer away and can’t wait to see Henry and officially become Queen of the Underworld.  Except during her coronation, Cronos, the King of Titans attacks.  The entirety of the book is in Kate’s point of view and she feels that Henry is distant. They fight often because she feels he doesn’t want her there. When Henry is captured by Cronos, Kate does everything in her power to find him. Kate’s struggles are both internal and external. Her internal struggles focus on how she thinks Henry feels about her; if she can trust her sister, Persephone; and how to get her husband back and stop the inevitable war between the Gods and Cronos.   Her external struggles are centered on controlling her newfound powers (that come along with being a goddess and Queen of the Underworld); stopping Calliope (Hera, who wants her dead because Kate gets to be with Henry) from helping Cronos escape and destroy the world. 

Comparison:

They may seem like very different people, but they’re quite similar in their struggles.  Both must fight and possibly give up everything they’ve known and love in order to find/keep their man (heroine).  While Kate has the advantage of powers that Cassia doesn’t have, Cassia is able to achieve her goal by gaining the help of the people who love her.  Xander opts to help Cassia, even though she’s going to find Ky to be with him instead of Xander.  Similarly, Kate is also blessed to have great friends who help her find Henry.  She enlists the help of Ava, James and oddly enough, Persephone to help rescue Henry.  The way each goes about saving their man is slightly different, they are able to attain their goal through determination and perseverance.  Kate must trek through the Underworld to find Tartarus, sucking up her animosity toward her sister who broke Henry’s heart to ask Persephone for help and saving Henry by helping Calliope free Cronos.  Cassia, on the other hand, must trek through The Outer Provinces in order to find and rescue her Abberation boyfriend before he’s killed by the rebels who want to destroy The Society.