Fictional Crush of the Week-Tobias ‘Four’ Eaton from the Divergent Series

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Character Name:

Tobias “Four” Eaton

Though I call him Four. I can’t call him Tobias because it reminds me of Tobias Funke from Arrested Development and as much as I love David Cross…no…just, healing no.

DIVERGENT

Book or Series They Appear In:

The Divergent Trilogy

Divergent, buy information pills Insurgent, store Allegiant

Author/Creator:

Veronica Roth

Played By: 

Theo James

Who They Are:

Tobias “Four” Eaton is the main character counterpart to the main character, Tris Prior, and also her love interest turned boyfriend. When Tris makes the switch from Abnegation to Dauntless, Four is the head of Dauntless training. He’s a mystery to her, but he’s a great teacher and she finds herself intrigued by him. As time goes on, we learn that Four is in fact a boy named Tobias Eaton, a transfer from Abnegation, the son of a well known leader named Marcus. He transfers to Dauntless to escape the emotional, mental and physical abuse that he endures every day. Eventually, he opens himself up to Tris, and shows her the reason behind his name (Four), showing her the four fears in his life. They eventually fall in love and become a couple, though their relationship is constantly going through turmoil as they break apart the world that surrounds them.

Why I Am Crushing On Them: 

There is something about Four that stands out right away. Its obvious that he is brave, strong and resilient and possibly dangerous too but there’s also a softness and a gentleness…a calmness to him. From the very beginning, you’re addicted to him, you’re drinking him in, trying to figure out what it is about him that makes you so drawn to him, just as Tris is drawn to him. He is so mysterious and I love that about him. Part of you keeps reading the book because you want to know more about him.

And when you begin to unfold the mysterious of Four? (Sorry I can’t call him Tobias. I just can’t. He’s Four). He’s just even more perfect. The thing is, the whole tortured, abused man with walls up? Not exactly new to literature. I mean, its the basis of so many romance novels, it starts to get boring. But Veronica Roth does it so flawlessly. She makes it subtle, and Tris breaking down the walls is so subtle that you don’t notice any of it unless you’re really paying attention to it. Four is abused by his father, and it changed him and he ran away to Dauntless, where he came into his own and learned about himself, and learned that he didn’t want to just be brave or selfless, but all of the others as well. And he works hard at it.

And okay, let’s be honest. Even from the book (not just Theo James), you know this guy is hot. He’s built, and fit, and he’s a great fighter, and he’s amazing with a gun, and he’s worked hard to become great in Dauntless. And he’s called Four, meaning that he only has four fears. That’s incredible. He’s a fighter but he’s emotional, and real and raw, and I don’t know any girl that read Divergent and was like “FOUR!” (Which weirdly has a golf connection thing going now…damn it…)

I think I like that there’s layers there with Four that makes him seem “Divergent” even if you later realize that he isn’t. But I think that’s the point in the end. Even though they have these labels for them, you can’t just go around labeling them. Even though Four is NOT divergent, he is. He’s selfless, and brave, and incredibly intelligent and he can be honest and truthful and he can have the peacefulness and friendliness of the amity as well. He’s divergent without being obviously so, without striving to be, and that’s what makes him the incredible character that he is. He’s funny and serious, and loving and sarcastic and an amazing character.

I can’t wait to see what Theo James does with him in Divergent. I can’t wait!

Notable Quotes:

“Becoming fearless isn’t the point. That’s impossible. It’s learning how to control your fear, and how to be free from it.”

(Okay, I know that I have a Divergent tattoo already, but I kind of like this quote. Okay, I really love this quote)

“I might be in love with you.” He smiles a little. “I’m waiting until I’m sure to tell you, though.”

“‘Well,’ he says, ‘I would only go if there was cake.” (Talking about Tris’ pseudo funeral)

“Fear doesn’t shut you down; it wakes you up. I’ve seen it. It’s fascinating.”

“I’ll fight the bad dreams off if they come to get you.”

Look at that sexy walk. Pure sex. . Geez. Cold Shower. Now.

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Cress Book Review

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Cress by Marissa Meyer

 

 

 

You Can Find the Book At:

GoodReads

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Author Website

GoodReads Summary:

Rapunzel’s tower is a satellite. She can’t let down her hair—or her guard. 

In this third book in the bestselling Lunar Chronicles series, Cinder and Captain Thorne are fugitives on the run, with Scarlet and Wolf in tow. Together, they’re plotting to overthrow Queen Levana and her army. 

Their best hope lies with Cress, who has been trapped on a satellite since childhood with only her netscreens as company. All that screen time has made Cress an excellent hacker—unfortunately, she’s just received orders from Levana to track down Cinder and her handsome accomplice. 

When a daring rescue goes awry, the group is separated. Cress finally has her freedom, but it comes at a high price. Meanwhile, Queen Levana will let nothing stop her marriage to Emperor Kai. Cress, Scarlet, and Cinder may not have signed up to save the world, but they may be the only ones who can.

My Review:

Please take note that while there will be no spoilers for this novel, there will be spoilers for the previous books. You can read my review for Cinder here and my review for Scarlet here. 

It took me a thousand years it seems to finish reading this book but I finally did. This is not to say anything about the book though. That was all my doing. I bought this book the day after the release and I’m in SUCH a slump right now, reading wise, that I just couldn’t make myself read ANYTHING. But I pushed my way through because I was loving the book and I love these books, and the last 100 pages flew by because it just was so great.

I honestly think that Marissa Meyer is a genius, and she is able to weave fairy tales and science fiction and even a little dystopia so perfectly that everything about it is so genuine and so real to me. Its so easy to accept so much of what is going on in her novels and it just flows so beautifully. Her writing is beautiful, and her story telling is incredibly compelling. She is such a talent and I honestly can’t wait to meet her in April so I can tell her how unbelievably amazing and inspirational she is as a writer.

Moving on though, I loved how long the novel was and yet took place over such a small span of time. I thought that was beautiful. Marissa was able to introduce the character of Cress into the story, and creating her own path and her own journey and growth while sticking super close to the other characters and the story she had already created. I think that’s brilliant. She did that in introducing Scarlet in book two, and she does it so effortlessly in introducing Cress in this novel. She also (this gets a little spoiler-y, sorry), sort of matches characters up in the novel. Now, normally that sort of thing would bother me, like…really, there’s a person for everyone? Come on, now. But in the book…everything is so gradual and so realistic and she’s very good at building relationships between characters. I never really thought about the matchy-matchy of the people after the first initial thought of it.

Plus she just ROCKS at writing really great science fiction. Not even just young adult, but just good science fiction, and she blends the fairy tale stories in so well. One minute, I’m caught up in the story of Cinderella or Little Red Riding Hood, or, as in this novel, Rapunzel, and the next, I’m holding my breath, wondering what the alien queen Levana is going to do to the earth or laughing at the ridiculous and lovable android, Iko. She takes this incredible world of aliens, and space travel, and Lunars, and androids and cyborgs and weaves it with these familiar fairy tales, and it all feels so real and so smooth. I also love that she takes the stories that we know from the popular Disney version and mixes them with the classic stories, that can be a little more gruesome than what Disney shows us. She puts a lot of time and effort, obviously, into building incredible stories.

I can’t WAIT to read Winter next year and I’m not too fond of having to wait until it comes out haha. She’s left us in an incredible position with the Earth pitted against the Lunars, and its absolute chaos and I reached the end in shock, awe and excitement. I also love the beautiful way that she introduces Winter (I know, that’s a bit spoiler-y, sorry again!) and I already know that she’s going to be an incredible character because she’s already blown my mind. Can it be time for Winter already?

Rating:

5 out of 5 Stars

Blog Tour: Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith Review and Giveaway

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Welcome to the special edition of the Book of the Week today, order as part of the Grasshopper Jungle Blog Tour! Below you’ll get a synopsis, cost a trailer, a review, and a giveaway! So keep on reading and enjoy!

Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith 

This title will be released on February 11th 2013. This review is based on an advanced reader’s copy provided to me for an honest review. This in no way, shape or form had any influence on my review or opinion. 

GoodReads / Barnes and Noble / Amazon / Book Depository

Genre:

Young Adult, Contemporary, Science Fiction

Part of a Series?:

No

You May Like if You Liked:

I can’t even do this. This book stands on its own. Do you like to read? Then read this book.

Age Recommendation:

16+

Plot Summary:

From GoodReads:

Sixteen-year-old Austin Szerba interweaves the story of his Polish legacy with the storyof how he and his best friend , Robby, brought about the end of humanity and the rise of an army of unstoppable, six-foot tall praying mantises in small-town Iowa.

To make matters worse, Austin’s hormones are totally oblivious; they don’t care that the world is in utter chaos: Austin is in love with his girlfriend, Shann, but remains confused about his sexual orientation. He’s stewing in a self-professed constant state of maximum horniness, directed at both Robby and Shann. Ultimately, it’s up to Austin to save the world and propagate the species in this sci-fright journey of survival, sex, and the complex realities of the human condition.

You can also view the trailer here:

My Review: 

I can’t even begin to describe what this book is. Its hard to even know where to begin because this book is unlike anything that I have ever read before. This book is absolutely incredible and if you don’t pick it up on February 11th, you’re going to miss out on it.

I was gifted an advanced reader’s copy of this book, thanks to Amy Del Rosso, who is the host of this blog tour, and I am so incredibly appreciative for that. I’ve been trying to get my hands on that book ever since I first heard of, after I become so obsessed with Andrew Smith. I was determined to get one and I did. When I read the publisher’s letter in the beginning, my excitement increased. She said her immediately response was “holy shit.” She also says if her language bothers you, you definitely should not continue with reading the book. And she was right.

This book is NOT for the faint of heart. There is foul language, and a lot of mention of sex and masturbation and all of that sort of thing. But every bit of this novel, this random smorgasbord of contemporary and science fiction and coming-of-age story, is so real and genuine. There is so much going on in this book, that sometimes it seems hard to keep track.

You are following the narrative of the main character, Austin. Now Austin seems to be a normal teenage boy, dealing with the issues of girls, sex, school, friends and all of that. He has sex on the brain all the time but that sounds about right for a teenage boy. But in between his struggles with sex, and his feelings for his girlfriend and his best friend, he also tells you the history of his Polish roots, and the history of his family. It seems to be sort of nonsensical, kind of random, but the slow build up of his family history plays such a large part later.

There is also the creeping story of science fiction laid down in it as well. Its so subtle, so slow, but perfect. I spent so much of the novel feeling so confused but in such a great way. I couldn’t fathom how all of the different elements would fit together but it did. Every scene of the novel felt like a red herring. Everything felt like a distraction from something else to keep you confused and guessing until the very end. When all the different stories like Austin’s sexual confusion and his family history and the large bugs all start coming together…I just couldn’t put it down. The story was breathtaking and exciting and so mind blowing.

This book is not for the faint of heart. There is foul language, no holding back on talk of sex and masturbation, and the boys are constantly getting in trouble. This is definitely for those mature enough to handle this. If you aren’t looking for that type of book, I am sorry, but please pass on it. If you’re looking for something so utterly unique and brilliantly written, then please pick up a copy of this book and dive in. You won’t regret it. Where else can you read a book that has a family history, a twisted and turbulent romance, a coming-of-age story, and a bunch of abnormally large, murderous praying mantis on the loose? You won’t find it anywhere else. It sounds absolutely nuts, I know, but trust me! This book is brilliant. Its one of a kind. I have a hard time describing it to others because its just so utterly unique. Sometimes all I can manage to get out of my mouth is “But…but…but its just so amazing!”

There’s nothing like this book. Read it.

Rating:

5 out of 5 Stars

Recommended or Not?:

READ THIS. That’s all I’m going to say!

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Now for the fun stuff!

Don’t forget to check out the rest of the reviews and fun all over the blog tour, at all of these seriously amazing blogs!

February 3rd – The Midnight Garden | The Story Siren
February 4th – Good Choice Reading | Bookish
February 7th – Scott Reads It | Live to Read
February 10th – Alice Marvels | The Society
February 11th – Lexi Swoons | A Reader of Fictions
February 12th – Roof Beam Reader | Forever Young Adult
February 13th – The Compulsive Reader | Books and Bling
February 14th – Book Chic Club | The QQQE
February 17th – JeanBookNerd | Ticket to Anywhere
February 19th – Anna Reads | Word Spelunking
February 20th – Books With Bite | What A Nerd Girl Says
February 21st – Wastepaper Prose | LRB – Guest
February 24th – We Are Word Nerds | Cabin Goddess
February 25th – Ex Libris | Cari’s Book Blog | A Good Addiction
February 26th – YA Reads | The Young Folks
February 27th – Novel Thoughts | Fangirlish

And a giveaway too. Don’t miss out on this. If you can get your hands on a copy of this book, you are a lucky gal or guy. It is absolutely fantastic and you’d be a fool not to read it!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Much thanks to the host of this blog tour!

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WWW Wednesday

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I feel like its been ages since I’ve done this. Probably because it has.

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme, this web hosted by Should Be Reading.

The three W’s are:

What are you currently reading?

What did you recently finish reading?

What do you think you’ll be reading next?

What are you currently reading? 

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This name keeps popping up on my radar so I bought this book. I’m about 100 pages in and I’m certainly intrigued. I can’t wait to see where it heads.

17973716

Jon got this for me as a gift so I’m excited to read it. It has incredible authors like Eoin Colfer and Patrick Ness and Neil Gaiman and RICHELLE MEAD. And its Doctor Who. Can you blame me for being STOKED on this one? I’ve barely started it but I’m definitely intrigued. It also reminds me that I need to start watching Classic Who.

What did you recently finish reading? 

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No. Just no. I mean, page I’m glad I was able to add an easy book to my list because I’m, like, 7 books behind or something but god was this just so superficial. The idea is great, which is why the show works, but as books, I’m just not a fan.

What do you think you’ll be reading next? 

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While its an assignment for school, I’m really excited to read this. Neil Gaiman is a winner, and I’ve liked nearly everything I’ve read by him.

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I keep hearing things about this book but I was having such issues tracking down the paperback and I finally found it at Vroman’s last week so I hope to finally read it!

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What are you reading this week? Share in the comments! 

Tuesday Top Ten-Favorite Studio Ghibli Movies

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So, stuff can I first off say…god, I’m sorry about being the most awful blogger in the entire world lately. I mean, I’ve just been rubbish (I’ve also been saying rubbish a lot lately, I blame the Doctor Who convention for that). I haven’t posted a Tuesday Top Ten in weeks and there have been NO book reviews, because frankly I haven’t read any books.

But I am trying SO hard to get back to it all. I promise I will work as hard as possible.

Moving on, this week’s topic is brought up because in the past week, Jon and I have been sort of working our way through the Studio Ghibli movies…at least the ones that myself and my sister own! So that is the inspiration of this week’s countdown!

Can I also add that, in making this list, I realized there are a TON of Studio Ghibli films that I have not yet seen? I need to get on that. I feel like such a fake Ghibli fan…I mean, I couldn’t even get TEN movies. I only ranked the 8 I’ve seen. I think I’ve seen more but I haven’t seen ones like The Cat Returns or Pom Poko in years so its hard to rank them. Sigh.

Anyhow, here is my list:

8. Princess Mononoke 

princess mononoke

People are always, like, aghast at the fact that this is my least favorite of the Ghibli movies that I’ve seen. This is not to say that I don’t like it because I do. And I know so many people who are absolutely obsessed by it, my sister included. I think its beautifully animated and an incredible story but its also a bit…weird, even for me. Sometimes I have a hard time paying attention to it, because of its weirdness. The story also sort of bounces around a bit and the main character, Ashitaka, is kind of wishy washy and the ending is so abrupt and not really what I look for in an ending. But again, it is beautifully done and I do enjoy watching it.

7. Ponyo 

Ponyo

Now this one is based off of Hans Christian Anderson’s story, The Little Mermaid. And it honestly baffles me because they don’t seem similar in the slightest. Well, the Disney version wasn’t either so there we go. That being said, its a CUTE, weird little movie and I love it. The animation of this movie is so stunning and its just kind of a light, fun story with adventure and mischief and agh, I just love it. Its one of the more younger stories of the Ghibli collection but I think that’s why I love it so much. Its fun watching a children’s movie, especially when you watch it with children. There is so much to giggle about it. And the story of friendship and love and family is all so wonderful too.

6. Spirited Away 

Spirited Away

Okay, I’ve decided that Studio Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki are fully capable of weirdness. I definitely think this one is weird as well but the story is just so incredible that you forgot the weirdness and just get absolutely lost in the story. While it is not my favorite of the films (see? number six?), I definitely think its one of the BEST of his. Everyone always talks about this one when talking of Miyazaki and there’s a reason for it. Its a great story, its visually appealing and there are so many iconic moments in the film. I see pictures and I can spot it from a mile away. Its just such an incredible movie.

5. Kiki’s Delivery Service 

Kikis

I love this one because its fun! Its probably one of the most fun of the movies. The music is beautiful and fun, and its an adventurous story. Kiki and her little cat, whose name completely escapes me at the moment, go on their little adventure, and I think its a fun sort of coming-of-age story. Kiki starts her delivery service, learns and grows with her powers and really finds out who she is and who she can be. Its such a fun growing up story, and I love to show it to little kids because they can laugh and have a fun time (especially with that silly cat) but then they can also learn from it too. Okay, its been awhile since I watched this and talking about it makes me want to watch it. Big time. Let’s make this happen soon..

4. The Secret World of Arrietty 

Arrietty

I have ALWAYS loved the book, The Borrowers, and to see it translated onto the big screen, from the amazing minds behind Studio Ghibli was so exciting. I mean, no offense to the movie with Tom Felton in it haha, but this one was just so absolutely beautiful. The animation of these movies just getting better and better and the characters and stories are always so compelling and addicting and familiar. This is so true of this one as well. I think I love this one as much as I do because of the book. I think they do a pretty good job of adapting it while also giving it that Studio Ghibli feel. Its adventurous and beautiful and I laugh and I get choked up at bits, and I will never stop getting over the fact that Will Arnett is the father in the movie haha.

3. Castle in the Sky 

Castle in the Sky

When I first saw this movie, I thought it was the sequel to Howl’s Moving Castle. Howl’s is a book and the sequel to Howl’s is called Castle in the Air. Yeah, definitely not the sequel but definitely an amazing amazing amazing movie. The story is amazing. I absolutely love it. Its so fantasy. I think it would make an excellent book but alas, it was written as a movie and I still love it anyway. I love that there is a sort of lost legend/myth quality about it, and that there is family and love and friendship. Ghibli and Miyazaki are so good at that. They are so good at human emotions and I think this movie is really one of the best at it. There are so many characters and there’s laughter, and there are times when I’m clutching my seat, wondering what is going to happen next. Plus its little baby Anna Paquin and James van der Beek and can you can wrong with that? I don’t think so.

2. My Neighbor Totoro 

Totoro

I LOVE THIS MOVIE. I seriously go around all the time and sing “Totoro, To-toro, Totoro, To-toro!” Its silly and fun, and short but that’s why I like it. There’s a very light, adventurous, fun feeling to it. You can watch that, and giggle and sing along and have fun without really having to think. You know that, in the end, everything is going to work out and everyone is going to be fine and I just love it. Plus I want a Totoro friend, who will take me adventures, and a cat bus to ride in. Who wouldn’t want that? Crazy people, I tell you. Every time I see something that is Totoro, I just want to grab all my money and buy it all. Its so cute.

1. Howl’s Moving Castle 

Howls

This is my favorite by far, and there are several reasons for that. One, it was really the first time I had watched a Ghibli movie and fallen in love with it. It is what sparked me to go home and watch the rest. So it holds a special place in my heart because of that. But I also just love the story. I’m cheesy and its a love story. The love story between the two totally messed up characters, Howl and Sophie, and how they save each other, and make each other better…come on, its beautiful. But its more than that, too, its a story of family. Sophie finds a family that accepts her for herself and gives her so much strength in Howl, Calcifer, and Markl. Howl is able to recognize the family that he has, and what it means to feel and love. Its a story of coming-of-age for both Howl and Sophie. And it also has magic and humor and so much more. I will never get enough of this story. It also led me to the books by Diana Wynne Jones, so there’s that too!

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So what did you think of the list, everyone? I hope you liked it and I hope I’ll be able to be back on top of this again. I sincerely do.

Are you a Miyazaki fan? What are some of your favorites? Share them in the comments!