Showing posts with label mark. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mark. Show all posts

Monday, September 25, 2017

30 Day Got7 Challenge

Over the past few months, I've fallen deeper and deeper into my obsession with KPop. If you follow me on Twitter, you've seen the spiral happening. A few months back, I posted a 30 Day INFINITE Challenge,  and at the time they were the only KPop group I was fully obsessed with. Fast forward a month to July, when I discovered Got7 and got completely obsessed with them. Since then, they've reached the same status of obsession and love as Infinite, so I figured it was about time to do the 30 Day Got7 Challenge as a chance to obsess over my babies and talk about why I love them so much. Without any further ado, let's jump in!


1) Your ultimate Got7 bias and why.

Starting out with the difficult ones right off the bat? Not cool. Per usual, I have difficulty choosing a single favorite. Of the 7 members, I tend to refer to myself as hyung-line biased (aka the 4 oldest members). But, for once, I do actually have one favorite among those 4: Jinyoung. 

Like with my precious Woohyun before him, there was a very brief period when I first got into Got7 that I considered Jinyoung my least favorite member. The first things of theirs that I really watched were a lot of their dance practices, and he's often a bit understated in those. But, as I started to watch more of the compilations of moments for each member, I fell more and more in love with his personality. Like Mark, he tends to be one of the quieter members, which is something I really gravitated toward. But honestly my favorite thing about him is the fact that he's simultaneously a precious adorable sweetheart and a savage, manipulative, snark-master. I also love that he's one of the more "intellectual" members. And I don't mean this in a pretentious or snobby way or anything-- I just really love books and reading and learning and those are also things that Jinyoung also loves. 

Just really quickly, the others are Mark, Jackson, and JB (probably in that order). Mark- because I always relate to and gravitate toward the shy, quiet members. With Jackson, it's a bit more complicated. When I first got into Got7, it was kinda a love-hate type thing. Jackson is a lot. 24/7. And for someone like me who likes the quieter people, I found him a bit obnoxious. As I got more familiar with the group, I began to really appreciate him more, though. His energy is consistently so positive and happy and he constantly brings a smile to my face. He may be super extra but he's also an absolute sweetheart. Finally, with JB- he's just a living meme. He's the leader and he does definitely take that seriously, but he's also rather silly. Also his hatred of aegyo is possibly more adorable than aegyo itself.

2) Reason why you continued to follow Got7

This question seems a little oddly worded to me, but what I think they're getting at is: What was it about them that intrigued you or made you want to learn more about them/become a fan? (The alternative is that they're curious why I still follow them and the obvious answer is because I love them. So this is the more interesting route.)

Anyway, I think the thing that initially made me curious to learn more about them was their If You Do MV. Hard Carry was the first song I listened to by them that made me want to hear more, but If You Do was the one that really hooked me. It's still my favorite song by them, and I really fell in love with absolutely everything about it. Everything about it is just so satisfying-- the way the lyrics and the music combine in the verses and chorus is fantastic, the percussive footwork fits in perfectly as well, and I'm even obsessed with the MV's coloration. Just everything about that concept got me completely obsessed and that's what really hooked me with Got7.

3) Which Real Got7 episode is your favorite? Why?

Ugh, there are so many to choose from! I'm personally slightly more partial to the Hard Carry series and Got7ing, but I think this tag was made before those were released. So very quickly-- 'sing'ing, 'holiday'ing, and 'game'ing are my favorites. And for Hard Carry, the hide and seek episode is my favorite by far. But, like I said, I'd probably rather watch any Hard Carry/ Got7ing episode over pretty much any RealGot7 episode. Except the ones listed below!

Anyway, my favorite Real Got7 episodes are usually the ones with some sort of game involved-- namely the Mafia episode (the S4 one, not the S2 one) and the Escape Room episode. Also, since when was Real Got7 on Netflix?! I was trying to find a master list of all of the episodes and ended up coming across S1-3 on Netflix. Wut?!

4) Who was the first member to catch your eye? Why?

I think that for most people, it was Jackson. And he was definitely the first one that became easily recognizable to me. But in terms of the one who was my initial favorite, definitely Mark. Pretty unsurprising, as Mark and Jackson are definitely the two most recognizable to non-fans, and Mark is especially popular because he's American. And, like I said earlier, the sweet quiet ones tend to be my favorites. So he was definitely the first one I gravitated toward.

5) What member would you want to be best friends with? Why?
Ugh, this is such a tough question, especially given that it's kinda paired with the next one about which one I would want to be related to. Funny enough, my best friend is the exact same personality type as Jackson, but they're also really different (she's borderline introvert/extrovert and he's about as extroverted as you can get). Anyway, I actually think I might have to go with JB on this one.


That might seem a little out of left field given that I didn't name him as one of my favorite members, but here's my explanation. And it's based a bit on MBTI (Myers Briggs personality types). The reason I'm using that so heavily is that it's about as close to actual accuracy that you can get, given that people often subconsciously act differently when on camera & in front of people than they do when just by themselves.

So: If you're unfamiliar, here's the TL;DR MBTI explanation. 16 personality types. Each one consists of 4 letters. For each letter, there are 2 different options (like being introverted vs extroverted). Got7 took the MBTI test and JB was an INFJ. He leaned really strongly toward IN, and the FJ was kinda borderline. What this means is that he's very introverted and leans strongly toward theorizing/ideas/abstract stuff vs the concrete stuff. I'm personally an INTP, so given that he's borderline on the last couple facets, we have very similar personalities. On top of that, I tend to lean toward friends with "N" traits because I'm very strongly "N" and find it much less interesting to talk about the boring facts of life than some interesting idea I have floating around in my head. So having a bestie with the "N" trait is important to me. IRL, that's the ONLY one my bestie and I have in common, but it works perfectly.

Sorry that got so technical, but I'm an INTP-- can't expect much more out of a robot. *shrug*

6) What member would you want to be related to? Why?

I was throwing around several names in my mind, but for some reason, Yugyeom popped his lil head in, and the more I think about it, the more I think I would like to have Yuggie as a little brother. First off, he's absolutely precious. He certainly has his own annoying/obnoxious streak, but they all have that, and any time he does it, he does it in a silly way. His personality is basically the epitome of what you'd expect of a younger brother-- you kinda want to smack him for being annoying, but then he gives you a cute lil smile and you can't stay mad at him.

The other two I had floating around in my head were Jackson and Mark (a common theme here). With Jackson, I love him but I think I would get sick of him very quickly. I'd want a more chill brother... like Mark (or JB, honestly)! But I also want to save Mark for some of the relationship questions. So... we're at an impasse here. I've always wanted an older brother, but even Mark is barely older than me so none of the guys would really be like older brothers to me. I guess... gun to my head... I might go with Mark? IDK. This is difficult. I love them all.

7) Your favorite OTP. 
(one true pairing, for those of you who've never been online before.)


OK, not gonna lie here, I ship pretty much every single popular Got7 ship. Even conflicting ones. They aren't all equal, but I do love all of them, for their own unique reasons. That being said, I have one that I tend to gravitate toward, which I'll talk about more detailed & then I'll briefly mention the others super quickly.

My favorite OTP? MARKJIN! I love Mark and Jinyoung's dynamic. Obviously, there's a lot of fan service, but they're precious together. Also, these two are surprisingly willing to kiss each other-- even more than most of the other members. There are so many compilations of Markjin kisses. Plus, even ignoring the overt flirting, it's just super obvious that they are basically each other's weakness. For example, brief explanation of one of my favorite Markjin moments: Jackson leaves his seat next to Jinyoung & Mark immediately slides into Jackson's chair without Jinyoung noticing. He then starts to poke Jinyoung with his hat brim. Jinyoung hasn't seen any of this, so he turns to get annoyed at Jackson, but when he sees that it's actually Mark, his entire face melts into a grin, he begins to cuddle with Mark, and feeds Mark part of his snack. It's not some overly touchy-feely physical moment or anything, but it just seems like such a pure representation of how much he loves Mark. I also absolutely love all of the compilations of "Jealous Mark" moments, because he clearly doesn't want anyone else flirting with Jinyoung haha. 

So very quickly, some other ships I love:
JJParents- I'll get into this one on question 9, so I won't go into any more detail right now.
Yugbam- Not as a couple, but these two are legit best friends and their friendship is adorable.
Jinson- Sometimes I wonder if this is the real ship here vs Markjin, but honestly Jackson can usually be shipped with any member. But seriously Wang Gae Park Gae is super cute and I love them.


8) Your favorite live performance.

I've got a few answers for this, and none of them are really normal/expected ones. So, ya know, bear with me. One of my all-time favorites is their Live Free Dance version of Confession Song. Sure, they're not really trying to "perform" and are just generally being silly but it's hilarious. I especially love Daydreamer's "TYDN" version of it because it makes it even funnier. 

Another one that I love is their Cooking Live version of Never Ever. Once again, I'll link Daydreamer's "TYDN" version, which is honestly the optimal way to view it because it's the most accurate depiction of Got7 ever. 

And finally, here's a single ACTUAL normal live performance: their performance of Q. They have lots of other great live performances, but my favorite Got7 is Got7 being silly, and that's what they do during Q. They literally make Mario sound effects during the live performance of Q. It's hilarious. Honestly, I'd really like to know how that came about. Because I could really see Mark and Youngjae going to JB and being like "Hey... so this song you wrote. It's really good, but do you know what would make it better? Mario." Lol that just really seems like such a hilarious conversation and I'm dying to know how/why they decided to do that.


9) If Jinyoung is the mom, who's the dad? Explain.

I already mentioned this, but I feel like it's kinda obvious. It's clearly JB. Like... as much as I ship Markjin, the JJParents are literally the JJParents! So let's take a moment to talk about how much I love the JJParents! 

First off, the dynamic between Jinyoung and JB is often that of actual parents. There are so many moments where everyone (except maybe Mark) is freaking out and being way too excited... meanwhile, the JJParents are off to the side, giving each other the "what have we created?" face. Or Jinyoung is trying to control their chaos while JB just laughs at his idiot kids. Plus, he's the leader and Jackson even jokingly calls him dad, so it seems pretty obvious. On top of that, Jinyoung and JB were the original duo, so it just seems obvious that they would be the parents. Honestly, it seems more obvious that JB is the dad than that Jinyoung is the mom, except for Jinyoung declaring himself "mom."

Now just to talk about JJP as a ship-- I love them. Jinyoung has openly said that JB is the member he's closest with, and it only makes sense. They've literally been a duo for EIGHT YEARS. They've known the other members for quite a while as well, but certainly not as long as they've known each other. They've even said that they're kinda Yin/Yang. I don't see it quite as much (they're not really that opposite to me... idk, they have pretty similar personalities/personality types). However, if they think that they fit together almost perfectly like Yin/Yang, I'm not gonna argue. They clearly love each other, and even though I don't ship them as an actual couple, they clearly have a very close and special relationship.

10) Your first thoughts on Got7.

It's weird-- every time I get into a new KPop group, I have trouble remembering my real first impression of them. I remember whether I generally liked or disliked them, but I have trouble remembering much else. I honestly don't even know for sure which song of theirs I listened to first. However, when I actively searched out Got7, the first MV that I clicked on was Never Ever. Before getting into Got7, the only KPop group that I fully stanned was INFINITE. About halfway through the MV, I think I actually turned it off and switched to Just Right, because I determined that "these guys aren't as good as INFINITE" lol. I liked Just Right more than Never Ever, but it was another 2-3 weeks before I looked them up again. I'd gotten into line distribution videos and someone said that Got7's Hard Carry has really good line distribution. Not sure I agree, but that's the comment that got me curious. When I listened to Hard Carry, I immediately liked it.

In terms of the members, I think my first impression of Jackson was that he was obnoxious (I mean, he is, but he's the lovable kind). For Mark, I think I just thought he was sweet and quiet (accurate). For Youngjae, I'm pretty sure my first thought was just "Yikes... his English tho..." (lol also accurate but lovable). For Jinyoung, like with everyone, I thought he was the normal/boring one (couldn't be further from the truth). JB: I couldn't get over the bucket hat lol. Yuggie: Honestly probably the member I constantly forgot about. BamBam: I liked his name and thought his dabbing was funny.

11) Your favorite Got7 picture.

I couldn't pick just one, but I was able to get it down to just two. Which is pretty good for me. So I'll put them both below and explain why I love them.

I love this picture of all of them from the Just Right comeback. It's just the seven of them being their adorable, silly selves. Plus, it's got all of the fun colors. And it's for one of my favorite songs/comebacks. So I love it.


I might possibly love this one even more than the last one. I do have to say, I dislike when some members are less visible, but I love everything about the Mad/If You Do comeback, including the really beautiful coloration. It's so great.

12) Your favorite Got7 photoshoot.

I hate to be redundant so quickly, but the Mad photoshoot is probably my favorite. The entire concept of the comeback is so awesome, and the photoshoot/ its coloration is really beautiful. I know it's weird to harp on the coloration, but the colors are legit beautiful. Here are another couple pictures from the photoshoot.



13) A Got7 dance you'd like to learn.

I love the If You Do choreo, but for the sake of variety, I'll shout out the Just Right choreo, because it's by far the easiest. Or, at least, my favorite part of the choreo is...

14) A Got7 song you never get tired of.

I'm sorry to be such a broken record, but they put so many questions in a row where my immediate answer is "If You Do" (or the Mad comeback). I've already talked at length about how much I love that comeback and the song, so I won't bore you by re-hashing the details. It's just a fantastic song. 

Since I've mentioned If You Do so many times, I'll shout out another few that never get old: Just Right, Hard Carry (obvs, they're the 2 most played for a reason), Girl Magnetic, Who's That, Home Run, Q, and Out.
15) Your most played Got7 song.

According to my iTunes (which is about 2 months out of date, so take it with a grain of salt), my 2 most-played Got7 songs are Hard Carry (126) and Just Right (116). They're out ahead by a long-shot, but this info is from when I first started getting into Got7 so I'm sure that there are some other songs up there with them. And I really don't want to update it and potentially mess up my music on my phone (trust me, my iTunes is a mess), so we're just gonna go with Hard Carry for this one.

16) Your favorite Got7 lyric and its meaning.

OK, I'm going to break the rules just slightly, but I loooooove the lyrics of Tomorrow, Today by JJ Project. If you're unaware, Jinyoung and JB debuted in 2012 as JJP before Got7 debuted in 2014, and they just recently had a comeback throughout August 2017. And their single, Tomorrow, Today, was co-written by them and the lyrics really get to me. It's all about being a 20-something and not knowing what you want to do with your life, but being at the point where you're being forced to make long-term decisions that you're not necessarily ready to make. It just hits home so hard with me (JB and Jinyoung are the same age as me, so it makes sense that they get where I'm at rn). I didn't pay attention to the lyrics the first time I listened to it, but when I re-listened with a translation, I legitimately teared up because of how hard the lyrics hit me. It's just a fantastic song and I can't say enough good things about it.

17) Your favorite Got7 gif

It's not a gif of the whole group, but I can't go this entire post without sharing a few of my favorite gifs of Jinyoung being an absolute savage. So, here ya go: (there are about 10 more where these came from, because this boy is ruthless)




18) Your favorite Got7 cover of a song.


I think I really have to go with the Mr. Chu cover here. It's too adorable and seeing JB forced to do a girl group dance and do aegyo just makes me laugh incessantly. Also, shout-out to BamBam "singing" Loser, which makes me cry-laugh every time.

19) Your favorite Got7 interview.

Ooh, this one is kinda difficult. I think I might have to go with the DramaFever interview. The interviewers were kinda awkward, but I love their reactions to the questions. Plus, there are some really adorable Jinyoung moments, like him geeking out over superpowers and telling BamBam to stop talking.

20) A Got7 song that reminds you of someone/something.

OK, this question popped up on the INFINITE 30 Day Challenge as well and I didn't have an answer for it... and I don't think I have an answer for this one either. I'll change this if I think of anything, but I think I just have a problem trying to make associations like this haha.

21) Your favorite tweet by a Got7 member.

So, I'm actually going to go with my favorite Instagram by a Got7 member, because at this point I think Mark and BamBam are the only members who still have Twitter and neither of them update it regularly. However, all the members (except JB. Y U ruin me, boy?) have Instagram and update at least semi-regularly (except Jinyoung whyyyyyy). Anyway, I think my favorite Insta post by a member is this picture that Mark posted of them on a plane with the guys from Day6.

If you're not familiar with Day6, they're JYP's first band, and they've been close with Got7 since their trainee days. In fact, Jinyoung & Day6's synth/keyboardist, Wonpil, are still besties. They're almost as close as JB and Jinyoung, TBH. But yeah, you can tell from the picture that they're all just cute lil dorks and clearly enjoy each other's friendship.

22) A member you'd like to become for a day and why.

I think I'd actually go for Yugyeom! This might sound counter-intuitive, but think about it-- I'd get to hang out with my favorite members. Also, Yuggie and Jinyoung have this really cute antagonistic friendship and I love that kind of silly banter with my friends, so I could be snarky back and forth with Jinyoung, which is just general life goals haha. Plus, Yuggie's really tall and it would be cool to be as tall as him. 

23) A member you think your parents would like and why.

This is going to sound like I'm just trying to be biased (ayyyy, bad pun), but I genuinely think my parents would most like Jinyoung or Mark. Maybe JB next, but I think Jinyoung would definitely be at the top of the list. I won't reveal who they'd dislike (that's the next question, but you could probably guess, tbh), but they would definitely lean toward the more well-mannered yet funny members. Hence Jinyoung and Mark as my top choices. Jinyoung, because he's the clean-cut member, and comes off as rather intelligent. And Mark because, honestly, he's American and speaks English. Not that my parents have anything against foreigners, they're just more likely to prefer someone they can relate to more than the others. And that would be Mark.

24) A member you think your parents would hate and why.

Just like their favorite (er... only) child, my parents are pretty easily agitated. And the members that would agitate them? Jackson and BamBam. Possibly Youngjae as well. With my parents, it's really hit or miss with the "loudmouth" of any group. And it's usually miss (although my dad is less likely to hate it than my mom). And, to be fair, Jackson is the one who's most likely to be loud, dominant, and over-the-top. They would get annoyed quickly before recognizing his sweet side. And with BamBam, the constant meme-ing would annoy them. Not as much as Jackson, but they'd definitely be likely to get annoyed. With Youngjae, it's honestly more of him being overly-talkative and loud. He's an absolute fluffball... but he's a loooooud fluffball. My family is really low-key, so loud, overly-talkative people do not go over well with them. 

25) A member you'd kiss. 

How is it possible to simultaneously love and hate these questions? This popped up on the Infinite one as well and I felt equally uncomfortable trying to answer that one too. That being said, I'm going to choose different answers for this one & the "member you'd date" question, so for this one, I guess I'm going with Mark. Sorry to be predictable, but he's cute and sweet and idk I feel like a 15 year old right now so I'm going to shut up.

26) A member you'd go to a club with.

Like I said when this one came up on the Infinite challenge, clubs aren't my thing. If you couldn't tell from my love of Jinyoung & Mark, I like being chill and low-key. So a huge, loud crowd of drunken people reeeeally just isn't my scene. That being said, if I had to choose someone I think I'd have to go with Jackson. Jackson is the type of person who will be the life of the party, but will also care enough about the people that he's with that he'll make sure the other people are having fun too. And that would be necessary for me, as someone who would probably be miserable. That being said, in situations I'm uncomfortable in, I tend to latch on to my person and go around with them, so maybe someone like JB would be a better choice? Eh, IDK I'm sticking with Jacky.

27) A member you'd date.

I think we've established already that I'm obviously choosing Jinyoung. I love so many things about him, most of which I've already mentioned in some form or fashion. Overall, I just love that he's so savage, but also such a sweetheart. He's such a well-rounded, talented human, and also one of the most intellectual members (he's in college!). I don't want to re-iterate these same points over and over again, but he just ticks all the boxes of things that I love, and he's just such a cute sweetheart and I'd absolutely date him. 

28) Your favorite body part of your bias.

This might be a little bit of a not-ok answer, but I have to say hair! This is honestly true with pretty much any bias in any group, because I tend to notice people's hair before noticing anything else about them. And the picture above is my favorite of his hair styles. I find it interesting that I love Jinyoung so much given that he's such a clean-cut member (no piercings, almost never dyes his hair), given that I tend to prefer the edgy/punk look... but here we are. 

29) A gift you'd give Got7 and why.

Uuuugh, I dunno. I don't really think about stuff like this. I don't even know what I'd say to them if I got to meet them (we'll get there on the next question), let alone give to them. I think that if I were to give them something, I'd rather give each of them a note/letter explaining what they mean to me. It would be so much more meaningful than some little trinket that they'd probably only keep for the fansigning and then have to get rid of (could you imagine how many Pokemon would be in their dorm if they kept them all??). So, yeah. A letter or something. 

30) Anything you want to say to Got7?

Like I said, I'm really not sure what I want to say to them. I guess I would just say that listening to their music and watching videos of them just brings so much happiness to my life. I dunno, it's cliche and cheesy, but I like to think that I can be really great with language when I try, so I hope I'd be able to say something in a meaningful way that would mean something to them in some form or fashion, no matter how small.



So, that's it for the 30 Day Got7 Challenge. Like I said at the beginning and throughout the challenge, these guys have completely stolen my heart and are now right up there as one of my ultimate bias groups alongside Infinite. There are a few other groups that I've started to get into as well, so sometime soon you may see more of these 30 day challenges about other groups! Let me know down in the comments who your Got7 bias is and which of their songs is your favorite!

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Tuesday, August 5, 2014

The Pendragon Adventure Rankings! [Summer Reading Challenge]

Hey, y'all! I'm here with my LAST summer reading challenge post! I did individual posts on each book, as well as a series discussion post, so here are the links to all eleven posts:


Now, in this post, I'm going to be ranking my favorite covers, travelers, and territories!

Series Summary



The Pendragon Series is a young adult fantasy series. The beginning books could be classified as middle grade, but I think young adult is a better label. The series begins with the main character, Bobby Pendragon, at age 14. One day, his uncle suddenly shows up at Bobby's house and tells him that he needs some help. What Bobby doesn't realize is that he's about to be taken on the biggest adventure of his life. Bobby learns that there are 10 territories (alternate dimensions) and that he is a Traveler, a person tasked with the protection of the territories. Bobby quickly learns that a guy named Saint Dane is attempting to throw the territories into chaos, and it's Bobby's job (along with the travelers from the other territories) to stop him and save all of humanity.

Our main perspective is of Bobby, told in first-person through journals which he sends to his best friend to keep a record of what is happening. The secondary perspective is of Bobby's best friend, Mark, and pseudo-girlfriend, Courtney, who receive the journals and go through their own problems on Earth. The majority of the books focus on a single territory each, as Bobby travels there to thwart the evil Saint Dane.


Ranking The Covers

#10: The Pilgrims of Rayne

This cover. UGH. I immediately hated it when I first got the book, because Bobby looks totally different on this cover! If you look at the first 7 covers, it definitely looks like the same guy is on all of them, just aged up a bit each time. This one looks like a totally different person! Also, I recently discovered that this is also DJ MacHale's least favorite cover and that he not-so-lovingly refers to it as "Bobby the blue-eyed reindeer." I hadn't even noticed the reindeer thing. But all the other covers depict Bobby with dark eyes. You'd think they'd at least try to make it cohesive.


#9: The Lost City of Faar

It's not that I hate this cover. I just don't particularly like it. Maybe there's just too much orange. Because the water looks orange, his suit is orange, the bubble is orange, the ship is orange, the lettering is orange. Too much orange.


#8: The Reality Bug


Bobby looks a little weird on this cover. Not like bad or different, I just think that the way it's laid out, it almost makes him look even younger than on the Merchant of Death cover.


#7: The Rivers of Zadaa

Like the covers before it, I don't care a ton about this but it has Loor on the cover, and that bumps it up a lot. Loor makes everything better. 


#6: Black Water


I feel like this cover fits the book really well. You definitely get the jungle thing. Bobby definitely looks like he's aged, which is also indicative of the maturing of the series. And those eyes! Pretty cool cover.


#5: The Never War

I feel like this cover is one of the most well-connected to its story. Just at a glimpse, we can clearly see that it takes place in the past in New York!


#4: The Merchant of Death

When I think of the Pendragon series, I think of this cover. I feel like the first cover in a series is always the most iconic or memorable, and I think that's definitely what it is. 


#3: The Soldiers of Halla

I love the contrast between Bobby and Saint Dane on this one. It's really cool. You can see the beautiful Solara behind Bobby and it's just a really cool cover.


#2: Raven Rise

This book, like The Pilgrims of Rayne, still does make me slightly mad just because Bobby doesn't totally look like the previous books. But I really like the colors of this and the nazi-esque cover.


#1: The Quillan Games


Oh boy, I love love LOVE this cover! Red is my favorite color, so I love that everything is red accented. I love the castle and the depiction of Quillan with the huge screens. It perfectly matches the book and looks amazing while doing so!


Ranking The Territories

Although this list is mostly ranked due to interest factor, there are sometimes where a place won out because I'd prefer living there over another place.

#10: Eelong

I don't think that Eelong is the least interesting territory. Nope, I think that falls to the #9 spot. But this is the territory that I'd least like to live on. I'd rather not be treated like an animal, thanks!


#9: Zadaa

For me, Zadaa is the least interesting of all the territories. Many of the other territories have something really cool going on, but Zadaa is almost as close to Earth as you could get. No crazy weird animals, only a single sun... it's just not as cool and interesting. 


#8: Denduron

I like Denduron. I think it's really interesting with the Bedoowan versus the Milago and the huge castle carved into the mountain. However, I don't think it's quite as interesting as some of the other territories. 


#7: First Earth

If I were to choose a time in Earth's history to travel back to or have characters travel back to, 1930s New York would be pretty low on the list. Obviously, that's when the Hindenburg crash was, so that can't really be helped, but I just really wish that First Earth could have been in a slightly more interesting time in Earth's history. That being said, I'd much rather live on First Earth than any of the territories that fell lower on this list.  

#6: Second Earth


You probably think I'm crazy for putting the territory that we all live on (if we're pretending for a moment that other territories do, in fact, exist) so far down on the list. Allow me to explain. If this list were purely based on where I would want to live, yes, Second Earth would obviously be slightly higher. However, this list is based off of both how interesting I find a territory as well as how much I would want to live there. And because of the first aspect, this is slightly lower. Maybe Second Earth would be interesting to someone who lived on a different territory, but to humans on Second Earth, it's just... normal. 


#5: Ibara


When I first started re-reading this book, I felt a very strong resemblance to 1984 because of how information was withheld and because people could disappear just because they spoke their mind. But then when you dig deeper and find the truth about the society, it's incredibly interesting, and I especially loved the twist about the rest of the territory and the whole reconstruction plan. 


#4: Veelox


I'm a sucker for virtual reality. I wouldn't want to live in Veelox, but I would certainly love to go and visit and jump inside Lifelight just once. And because of the whole everyone-is-in-lifelight-and-not-actually-living thing, it definitely has the feel of a dystopian civilization, which is also one of my favorites to read about. 


#3: Third Earth

And when I say Third Earth, I'm obviously talking about the Third Earth we see at the beginning of the series. The untainted, perfect Third Earth. The technology is astounding, the people live in entire cities underground, on the moon, and underwater. Just... whoa. And they figured out how to stop destroying the earth. The only sad part is that actual books aren't really a thing on Third Earth. But that's a small price to pay... right? I would love to live on Third Earth. If I could bring some family members and a few friends with me, I'd be set.


#2: Quillan

Remember how I said that I really like dystopian worlds? Yep. Quillan. The entire society is really interesting! And though I don't know this for sure, it seems like DJ MacHale might be making some sort of statement about where our society is headed. Blok, a company, basically runs the entire territory. The poverty is out of control and people gamble with their lives. Literally. And let's not even get started on the games. I obviously wouldn't want to live on Quillan because it's a disaster, but it would be really cool to have a Quillan Games channel on my TV. 


#1: Cloral

Was there ever any doubt? Everyone loves Cloral! How cool would it be to live in a world that's made up completely of water and live on a floating city? They have such cool technology too, like the domes that mold to your head so you can breathe, and skimmers! Race you to Grollo's for sniggers! 


Ranking The Travelers

For this list, I stuck to just the travelers with Bobby/ of his generation of Travelers. And I decided to go with Elli Winter and exclude Nevva. Does Nevva even count at this point? Anyway, I also left Bobby off the list. Obviously, Bobby would be #1. Duh. He's our main character. But since that's a given, I decided to just rank the other 9 of them.

#9: Elli Winter (Quillan)


I don't hate Elli. Sure, I'm a little sad when women are really timid and scared and meek, but that's just me. But she's just not traveler material. She just can't handle anything. And she's also the traveler we see the least of, which doesn't help her chances of getting any higher on my list.


#8: Aja Killian (Veelox)


Aja is intelligent, confident, head-strong, and talented. Sounds like a character I would love, right? Well... maybe not so much. As a character, I have nothing against her, but as a traveler, I do. She caused so many problems for Bobby when he went to Veelox. She had problems cooperating and letting go of control so that Bobby could do what he knew best. She thought she knew it all and she didn't. Not a great quality for a traveler to have.

#7: Patrick Mac (Third Earth)

I really wanted to like Patrick. He's a really smart dude, and he's a professor (or is he just a teacher? Can't remember) And once again, I didn't dislike Patrick! I really didn't. But he just panicked and ended up causing problems that he couldn't fix. Cool guy, not so great for the whole traveler thing.


#6: Kasha (Eelong)


I grew to like Kasha eventually, but when we first meet her, she's a doozy. I think I was mostly annoyed with the fact that she didn't want anything to do with Bobby and hated him just because he represented the stuff her dad told her about. But it's always hard to shake bad first impressions, so I only like her a little.


#5: Siry Remudi


At first, he's incredibly frustrating and I wasn't really sure I would grow to like him, but when he eventually came around, he was super loyal to Bobby and I really ended up liking him.


#4: Gunny VanDyke


Gunny is just great. He's one of the most level-headed people in the entire series, and it's great that Bobby can depend on him and trust in him to pull through.


#3: Alder


He's such a lovable, clumsy teddy bear, and yet he's a highly trained fighter. He's such a loyal companion and always eager to jump in and to help Bobby. I'm just glad he's on our side.


#2: Spader


Spader is just great. He always has a great attitude about everything and keeps optimistic. He's such a fun guy but at the same time he's also incredibly loyal and wants to do what's right. He may not be a fighter, but he's lots of fun to have around. Hobey ho!


#1: Loor


How could anyone beat Loor? She's an amazing warrior. It takes her a while to appreciate Bobby but she quickly becomes his go-to traveler for whatever he needs. She's great to have on your side, and she's a great friend to Bobby, not just a companion. She's absolutely incredible, and she's certainly my favorite traveler, and probably my favorite character in the whole series.

So, that's it for my summer reading challenge! All of them are completely done! I can't believe the summer will be drawing to a close in less than a month! Seems really crazy!

I've also created a Facebook page for my blog, so if you want to check that out and like it, you can click HERE. I'll try to keep that pretty up-to-date with new posts and such.

Thanks for reading this! If you like my posts, don't forget to subscribe/follow, since it lets me know that you're enjoying what I'm doing. See y'all soon!

Sunday, August 3, 2014

The Pendragon Adventure: Series Discussion! [Summer Reading Challenge]

Hey, y'all! I'm here with one of my last summer reading challenge posts! I finished the final series in my challenge, which is super exciting! I did individual posts on each book, so here are the links to all ten posts:


Now, I'm here to discuss the series as a whole, including my opinions about the entire series, my rankings of the books, rankings of the covers, and some of my favorite things in the series.

Also, unlike the other series, there will be one more post about Pendragon. There were so many rankings that I wanted to do (books, covers, territories, and travelers) that I decided to do a separate Pendragon ranking post. I'll do the book rankings on this post, but the rest of them will be in that post, which should be up tomorrow!

Series Summary



The Pendragon Series is a young adult fantasy series. The beginning books could be classified as middle grade, but I think young adult is a better label. The series begins with the main character, Bobby Pendragon, at age 14. One day, his uncle suddenly shows up at Bobby's house and tells him that he needs some help. What Bobby doesn't realize is that he's about to be taken on the biggest adventure of his life. Bobby learns that there are 10 territories (alternate dimensions) and that he is a Traveler, a person tasked with the protection of the territories. Bobby quickly learns that a guy named Saint Dane is attempting to throw the territories into chaos, and it's Bobby's job (along with the travelers from the other territories) to stop him and save all of humanity.

Our main perspective is of Bobby, told in first-person through journals which he sends to his best friend to keep a record of what is happening. The secondary perspective is of Bobby's best friend, Mark, and pseudo-girlfriend, Courtney, who receive the journals and go through their own problems on Earth. The majority of the books focus on a single territory each, as Bobby travels there to thwart the evil Saint Dane.


Overall Opinions

Like most of the books I read in this reading challenge, this entire series was a re-read for me. I was a little concerned going into this re-read, because I was worried that now that I'm 20, I wouldn't like it as much as I did back when I read it in junior high. But I shouldn't have been concerned, because I absolutely loved it once again.

I really like the dual perspectives in this book, because it's great to see what's going on on Second Earth while Bobby is out jetting across Halla. This is especially interesting after the first few books.

Overall, I was really surprised by which books I really loved and which I didn't. I distinctly remembered not liking one section of the series, but ended up really loving that part this time while I was reading. 

Ranking The Books

#10: The Rivers of Zadaa


This book just is not my favorite, and it's for a combination of reasons. First off, the setting. Of the territories, I find Zadaa to be one of the least interesting. Each territory has something interesting going on with it that makes it unique, but Zadaa is just basically a desert. On top of that, we have a fairly basic plot. There are two tribes warring over water. And the argument is starting to heat up. Yes, many of the Pendragon books have plots that aren't as unique, but it's also the third Pendragon book to feature two tribes having conflicts with each other. It just got old. 

Favorite moment: I really loved the section where Bobby is training at Mooraj, as well as the ending. 
Rating: Overall, on a 10 star system, I'd give it 8 stars out of 10.


#9: The Never War


I knew going into the series that this book wouldn't be one of my favorites. I appreciated that Bobby was faced with his first real moral dilemma, but that was the only really intricate part of the book. And while I do enjoy First Earth, it's not quite as exciting as some totally foreign territories, and old-timey gangster stuff isn't really my thing and got old quickly. 

Favorite moment: The trip to Third Earth. Our first glimpse into Third Earth is just amazing.
Rating: I'd have to give it 8.25 stars out of 10.


#8: The Merchant of Death


I feel kinda sad putting the book that started it all at spot #8, but that's really where I think it belongs. I really love seeing Bobby freaking out about what's going on. Of the books, this is the one that's most obviously told from a 14 year old's POV. It sounds kinda childish, which is part of its downfall. The plot isn't my favorite as far as Pendragon books go, but I really like the way it introduces us to the series. It's very action-packed and exciting.

Favorite moment: Probably just the very beginning because at this point it's just extremely familiar to me.
Rating: I'm going to go with 8.5 stars out of 10 for this one.


#7: Raven Rise


As I expressed in the post about this book, I was very torn on my feelings about this book. On the list, after this one is when we get to the books I really enjoy in the series. Basically, I think that the book was really good, but I didn't particularly super super like it. Obviously, I did like it because it's not just tossed at the bottom of my list, but my kinda aesthetic displeasure got in the way just a smidge. 

Favorite moment: Uh... I guess maybe when Bobby gets back into the game?
Rating: Overall, I'd give it 9 stars out of 10.


#6: The Lost City of Faar


Setting, setting, setting. I've always been of the mindset that everyone's favorite Pendragon books are significantly effected by their favorite territories. Well, Cloral is certainly one of my favorite territories. It's just so much fun! Although the plot isn't super intricate, it's interesting and that is amplified by the fact that the territory is just so cool.

Favorite moment: When Bobby takes Spader to Zadaa!
Rating: I'd have to give it 9.25 stars out of 10.


#5: The Reality Bug


Yet another setting which creates an amazing book. I just find lifelight super interesting and love seeing all the sequences that go on because of it. 

Favorite moment: Any moment in lifelight!
Rating: I'd probably have to go with 9.4 stars out of 10


#4: Black Water


Black Water has possibly one of the best plots in the entire series. I love the back and forth with Bobby and Courtney and Mark, with all of them joining together for a single cause. It's really fast-paced and exciting. This one and #3 are pretty much tied, but it was my love of the territory of the other to set that one in the higher position. 

Favorite moment: I'm not sure that there's just one best moment. But it's always nice when we get to see Cloral!
Rating: Overall, I'd give it 9.6 stars out of 10.


#3: The Quillan Games


This is another one where the thing that made it amazing was the setting. I find Quillan super interesting. I love the games and I love the dystopian-esque world and I love that we got to hear the history of the world. It's just really interesting and I really love this one. 

Favorite moment: I mean, any time that the games are going on. So cool.
Rating: I'd have to give it 9.6 stars out of 10.


#2: The Soldiers of Halla


I went into this book thinking it was one of my least favorites, but my opinion changed very quickly. When I first started making this list, I had this book at #1 originally, but I kept constantly thinking about the book that I'd placed at #2. This one is certainly the most epic of the series and the whole shift in the mission and in the travelers' abilities is really amazing. And while it may be slightly more action-packed and epic than the one I placed at #1, I just completely fell in love with the other one, so this comes up as a mostly tied second. 

Favorite moment: I mean, can you really choose one in this? Maybe *SPOILER ALERT* when they finally defeat Saint Dane? 
Rating: I'm going with 9.8 stars out of 10.


#1: The Pilgrims of Rayne


Just like with The Soldiers of Halla, I originally didn't like this book. But when I re-read it this time, I fell in love. I wish that I could have erased my memory of this book so I didn't know about the major plot twist, but even though I knew that one, there were many things I forgot and got to experience as if it were the first time. The society of Ibara is so secretive and controlling of knowledge, and the plot of the book is really great... I just really love this book. Oh, and plus it has probably my favorite Mark/Courtney plot of the entire series.

Favorite moment: Oh man. All of it? Or maybe the part where the council explains stuff?
Rating: I was very tempted to go all out on 10 stars, but because it only edged ahead of Soldiers of Halla because of my love for it, I went with 9.8 out of 10 stars for this one as well. 



I got rid of those little favorite/least favorite sections, because one wasn't relevant, and others will be talked about tomorrow in my rankings post, which will be my last summer reading challenge post! Woohoo!

I've also created a Facebook page for my blog, so if you want to check that out and like it, you can click HERE. I'll try to keep that pretty up-to-date with new posts and such.

Thanks for reading this! If you like my posts, don't forget to subscribe/follow, since it lets me know that you're enjoying what I'm doing. See y'all soon!