Winter, Marissa Meyer

I did it! I finished "Winter" today. This one is counting for my 2016 reading challenge as the "book over 600 pages" since it has over 800. Thank goodness it was a page turner! SO good. Happy endings all around, so totally unrealistic, but happy. There are so many elements of other books......biological warfare like in Matched, turning friends against each other, like in Hunger Games and "hi-jacking", mutant warriors, kinda like in Extras, etc. BUT that didn't stop me from enjoying these books. Oh, and NO LOVE TRIANGLES! Yes! Everyone has their own love interest so no one has to choose between someone else.

One big take away: sometimes tyrants cannot be reasoned with or given a chance to change. Because they won't. Showing them mercy only turns you into a victim. Sometimes you CAN'T negotiate, no matter how much you wish you could, and if you end up getting stabbed in the back while attempting to do so, you'll be lucky to survive giving such an offer. So there ARE times when it is justifiable just to quickly eliminate the enemy for the safety of EVERYONE.

I feel like there can be more to this story, epilogue type stuff, but I don't feel a NEED to have more. I can be happy just imagining my own future for everyone. The only BIG thing left up in the air is whether or not the device that Cinder had installed that interrupted her ability to access her Lunar gift was successfully replicated and whether or not it was able to help Winter. But based on everything else, I'm willing to say that it all works out perfectly.

There was a LOT of action. And it was fast paced. It didn't have to be as long as it was, though. It had elements of 'they're caught again, they get away again, they get caught again, they get away again' and the one plot hole where Jacin actually gets away without providing proof to Levana that he followed through. Unless of course, she was truly as distracted and psycho as Meyer had painted her to be, then I could see how she might start being less careful, thorough and attentive. And she was completely psychotic.

But another thing I started thinking about....physical appearances. Lunar's prized physical appearance SO much, they would rather see a lie than have to accept the truth. Meyer was REALLY great to point out that Levana was NOT ugly because of her physical appearance, it was ALL on the inside. Which I really appreciated a LOT. However, there are SO many controversial things going on based on physical appearance. To wear make up or not. Is make up a lie? Does it make you fake? It's ok, because it gives women confidence. It helps women with skin conditions feel normal and human. It makes a girl feel like she looks like a person. BUT WHY do they NOT FEEL HUMAN in the first place? WHY does their physical appearance cause them SHAME to begin with? WHY isn't a human in a natural, not made up condition considered to look like a "person" or a "a person who just doesn't care." Why can't we just be taught and truly BELIEVE that beauty is so much more than what a person looks like? Why can't the human body and face be accepted in it's natural state? I honestly don't think there are any easy answers. But if you have a daughter who reads this too, just like if they read Uglies, is a good conversation to have. See what she thinks about this issue. Personally, I don't like spending money on things that are not necessity or memory making experiences. So to make my make up last longer, I don't typically wear any on a regular basis right now. I did when I worked because I taught middle school and I'm short and I figured I needed a way to stand out among them, and doing my make up like the late 20 something I was at the time was the way I achieved that. I also wear a little to church or for formal pictures and special occasions. I feel like I look good without make up and amazing with it. Sometimes I feel pressured to wear it more often. I do still work, it's just out of my home teaching private lessons. But the other part of me thinks that I'm not being true to who I am when I put it on. I feel like if I am going to be a confident, vibrant woman, I need to be that first WITHOUT any exterior prompting. But that said, I don't think that I am being a fake when I do wear it. I feel like where I live, wearing a little make up is a culturally acceptable way to indicate that I feel something is important enough to put effort into having a more polished look. I'm hoping that I cant each my daughter when she's ready for wearing make-up, that while it is fun to create a 'new look' and how because you have it on, you may feel more bold or confident, those feelings don't come from the make up. They come from your choices and your actions; they come from within.