Best Book Ever: Male Main Character
Welcome to Best Book Ever!
Each week a group of authors, bloggers, and book lovers come together to
give a shout out to their favorite books based on a specific theme.
This week our theme is:
Week 16: Male Main Character
Most of the books I read seem to be from a girl's point of view, but one
of my favorite books ever is a girl's story told from a boy's eyes. Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli - I still remember the first time I read it.
The local children's librarian handed it to me and told me I was
Stargirl. Watching Leo tell about Stargirl's arrival at Mica High, with
all her homeschool-free spirit-blatant flaunting of normal high school
convention? Yeah, it was a great read. I loved getting to see what Leo
thought, and the way he offers not only his interpretation of the
intriguing Stargirl, but also that of the entire school. It's a fun
story with a poignant twist - and I was totally able to relate.
Rebecca @ A Word's Worth
My pick for best book with a male main character is a recent
read that immediately became one of my favorite young adult books. Kendare
Blake’s Anna Dressed in Blood not
only has a male protagonist with a cool name, Cas Lowood, but it has one of the
most evocative covers ever. But of course, what make this book really special
are its well-developed characters, an engaging and surprising mystery, and
superb writing.
So basically, Cas is a ghost hunter, but instead of a
portable particle accelerator and ghost traps, he wields his father’s athame—a
ceremonial dagger that can kill spirits that are preying on the living. He
travels the country with his witchy mother, and is soon intrigued by the legend
of Anna Dressed in Blood, a particularly violent apparition who becomes just as
intrigued by him when she finds she can’t—or won’t—kill him. On the surface,
Cas is kind of like a male Buffy Summers, with a dash of the Winchesters from Supernatural, but what really stood out
to me is that this book is a perfect example of an elusive “boy book”… with
romance. And I don’t mean lusty sexual attraction, but real, honest-to-goodness
romance. Cas is sympathetic,
competent, and charming, but not without his flaws—far from the typically
brooding male main character. The requisite angst and father issues are really
kept to a minimum here. Not only that, but the supporting cast includes strong,
interesting, intelligent women, not least of which is the object of Cas’
interest: Anna herself. Cas also has a terrific relationship with his mother,
itself fairly unique to YA. I really can’t recommend this one enough; even
though it’s nominally a horror story, with a fair bit of creepiness, it’s
exactly the type of book I like to read and strive to write. Unfortunately, you
don’t find many like this one, so make sure you don’t miss it!
E.C. Myers, debut author of Fair Coin (2012 Prometheus Books)
My choice for the best book with a male lead character is
easy this week. It’s no surprise that I adore Laurie Halse Anderson. So
naturally, her book Twisted is my logical choice. I love this book so
much, that I have bought at least 5 copies over the years. I cannot let it
disappear from my classroom book shelf (even though it always does) without
being replaced. If I were to tell you about this book, I would give away all of
the wonderful details that make it such a gripping story. Instead, I’ll share the
impact this book has on its readers. I spent seven years working with kids in
urban schools that define themselves as “nonreaders.” (That’s the cleaned up
way of putting it.) I put this book in the hands of one of these boys a few
years ago. When I gave it to him to read, it was brand new. No creases or torn
pages. When he returned it at the end of the year (many months later), it
looked like someone washed it in the washing machine, ran over it with a truck,
and then tried to eat the corners. The book was a mess. I asked him what
happened and he told me that it looked that way because he had read it five
times since I gave it to him. He also passed it on to one of his friends and a
cousin. I was impressed. But when he told me that this was the first novel he
ever read in completion, I about died. In fact, he said, “This is my favorite
book.” When he asked if he could keep my tattered copy I refused. I bought him
a new copy before he left for high school because a book that special deserves
to be new. The story is amazing and every bit as gripping as Speak. I was
amazed at how well the author was able to portray the main character’s thoughts
and feelings. It was if I was inside the head of a teenage boy the entire time.
Every teenage boy should read this book. They will love it.Alanna @ The Flashlight Reader
My pick for this has to be TEMPEST by Julie Cross. I absolutely adored this book.
Before reading it, I came across reviews that said it wasn't all that good but actually, I couldn't disagree more!
It was good to read something from a male perspective for a change,
as many of the books I read are from a female character's POV. Jackson
is a fun MC too. It was entirely new to me to read something about
time-travel. Although I have seen Back To The Future and The Time Traveler's Wife, it's not something I see a lot of.
In all, it was well-paced, well-written and a whole lot of fun. I'm
not sure I would have enjoyed the book so much had Holly been the one
to time-travel instead of Jackson - don't ask me why, I just think it
needed to be him.
There was a bit of controversy over Tempest at the time of me
reading it, so I didn't actually write a review back then. Maybe now I
can go back & re-read it and get around to that missing review.
If you haven't read it yourself, I would highly recommend it!
Keren @ Gothic Angel Book Reviews
This
week I'm going to be a little bit evil (just a little!) and choose a
book that
you can't read yet. Through to You by Emily Hainsworth comes out on
October 2nd* Mark that day down so you can go get it right away. It is
by far my favorite book with a male main character. Camden is so real
and so well developed that if I didn't know Emily as well as I do, I'd
be tempted to accuse her of being Emilio. Okay, not really. But the book
is incredibly beautiful and gripping. Watching Camden deal with the
aftermath of a car accident that's left his world broken and his
girlfriend dead is heart-wrenching.... and then when he realizes he
might have a second chance--- if you're like me, you won't be able to
flip the pages fast enough to see what he decides.
*cough*Same day as SEND ME A SIGN*cough*
So what do you think? Are there other male books that we missed?
Make sure to come back next week- we are celebrating our 1 year blogoversary all week and we have TONS of giveaways going on next Thursday- you DON'T want to miss this!
