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Middlemarch Madness

Middlemarch Madness Voting Day 9, Next Round!

We got so many votes this weekend! Everyone came out to pick their favorites, which is fantastic, even though most of you had the same favorites.   As expected, there were few surprises among the ones v. sixteens, but you can see the results after the break anyway.

The Winners

In YA Sci-fi/Fantasy/Dystopia Hermione easily defeats Tally Youngblood, who I am just now getting to know. (Thanks Persephoneers!)

In YA Fiction, in a bit of a closer races than the others, Anne beats Turtle, but Turtle will be okay.  She won the Westing Game.

In Adult Sci-fi/Fantasy/Dystopia, Pratchett/Gaiman gal Anathema beats girl of mysterious origins, Elspeth.

In Adult Fiction, Jo runs away with it in the biggest point spread of the entire madness.  Jo fans, it can be predicted, are loyal and many.

 

The Bracket

Thank you, Google Docs, for you have saved my ass once again.

 

 

The New Poll

By [E] Selena MacIntosh*

Selena MacIntosh is the owner and editor of Persephone Magazine. She also fixes it when it breaks. She is fueled by Diet Coke, coffee with a lot of cream in it, and cat hair.

18 replies on “Middlemarch Madness Voting Day 9, Next Round!”

Hermione over Luna was really easy for me — I get that Luna has something of a cult following, but I think that’s largely due to the wonderful actress playing her in the movies, because when I try to think about what made her special in the books, I just…draw a blank. I remember her seeing creatures that no one else could see? Or maybe it’s been too long since I read Deathly Hallows (except, sorry J.K. Rowling, YOUR BOOKS ARE TOO LONG AND IN NEED OF A GREAT DEAL OF EDITING — much like my Persephone comments).

As for the others, Laura over Anne, and Francie over Jo, though I get the impression that popular opinion will go the other direction on both. I have no real argument for Laura aside from the fact that These Happy Golden Years was the very first chapter book that I ever read all on my own. My dad had been reading it to me chapter by chapter every night before bed, but one day, while he was at work, I decided I didn’t want to wait any longer to find out what would happen with Laura and Alfonso, so I finished it without him.

No doubt there’s something very profound about growing up that could be teased from that moment, but continuing on to Francie Nolan:

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn was another first for me: the very first book I checked out from the adult section of my public library. I remember thinking this was a big deal because ohmigod, what if I didn’t give it back in time? I WOULD BE FINED.

I had to borrow it because the paperback my mom owned was missing some pages near the beginning, and the copy I read was one that had rebound with a non-descript hardback cover.

I don’t remember much of the story. I remember that this was the very first book I ever read in which there was any reference made to sexual assault. And I remember that even at 9 (10?), I connected to the pain Francie felt when, in the latter part of the novel, she’s drawn in by the soldier who pretends to love her even though he’s already engaged to be married.

More than anything, I remember that Francie was a real character. That is, I love Jo March as much as the next person, but in my mind, she’s a very archetypical “fiery, independent young woman,” and Little Women is, ultimately, easy reading.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is difficult. It’s modern and sad yet hopeful, and Francie is, in my opinion, a much more realistic and complicated feminist heroine than Jo march has ever been.

Turtle was my childhood role model. I got in trouble for kicking, but talked my way out of it by blaming it on Turtle’s influence.

Also she may or may not be the reason I want to grow my hair back out so I can braid it like I used to. Ahem.

Agreed. Instead of competing against each other, I want them to get an apartment together upstairs from their brilliantly adorable bookshop, where they sell rare and mysterious books of magic and teach kids how to make things float and how to unlock doors with their magic wands.

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