Fun Contest...

Carl from Stainless Steel Droppings emailed the Once Upon A Time participants a cool email today letting them know about a new-and-for-a-limited-time contest hosted by Deslily at Here, There, & Everywhere. The contest is simple: write a post about a favorite character you've encountered in a book. The only catch? The deadline is Friday, August 3rd. Granted she originally posted this on July 18th giving readers ample time, but I discovered it late! (But better at the last minute than too late to join in altogether.)

So who did I choose....think, think, think.

I could choose Alice in Wonderland because Alice just seems so like me. Especially her habit of getting so confused and befuddled. (Not that I'm always like that mind you.)

I could choose Peter Pan because if ever there was a person who didn't want to grow up....that would be me. Never Never land is my dream come true. And I so believe in fairies.

I could choose Pooh bear because who hasn't thought that there must be a better way of getting downstairs than thump, thump, thumping...if only you could think of it. And the hums of Pooh...I know them by heart.

I could choose Anne Shirley. I mean I was so head-over-heels with Gilbert. And those books are just oh-so-magical.

But when it all comes down to it...I think I will go with Ender Wiggin. (Or should I give him the dignity of being Andrew Wiggin?) I recently reviewed Ender's Game and I was pretty enthusiastic about my affection for Card. I love, love, love this book. And what does Card do best? You guessed it...characters. What is it about Ender that has me hooked? Well, he's complex. He's real. He's both broken and mature. He's smart but naive. He's needy but he's wise. It's hard to explain if you hadn't read the book. But he's a small child--he ages from six to maybe twelve to fourteen--who is asked to do the impossible. He's asked to give up his childhood in service to the entire world. The weight of the world is thrust upon him. He's really never allowed one moment of happiness, one moment of joy, one moment of peace. Yet, in spite of this pressure--this enormous weight--he has a heart--a real heart. You feel for him. Or I should amend that to I feel for him. He's struggling to make peace with himself. To know himself. He's always asking these who am I? what am I? what is my purpose? type questions. Anyway, Ender is a good friend of mine. I've known him seven years now. I've read the book at least six times if not seven. I read it each and every year. And I fall in love with all over again each time. I just love, love, love him. And it's not just Ender. It's this triangle between siblings--Peter, Valentine, Ender. A delicate relationship exists between the three. Each has to struggle to define himself/herself. And everything is just so complicated but so real. Anyway, he's my pick.