Strong Women: A Recipe for Success

Today, my family and I saw Brave. We have been looking forward to this movie for so long that I had started wondering if it was ever going to be released. It did not disappoint. I will have a more dedicated review on Mom in Love with Fiction this week.

I have three daughters, so I love "princess" movies that empower women. Mulan will always be one of my favorites as well as Tangled and Shrek. I want my girls to see that women can be strong and self-sufficient and still fall in love and embrace femininity when sthey choose. What I loved most about these titles: the main female characters were not dainty in their beauty. Their beauty was so much deeper.

There's nothing about the "damsel in distress" that I find interesting. Never did.

One of my biggest issues with the popularity of Twilight... Bella seemed so weak and whiny to me. I almost gave up on the series during Book Two. I couldn't understand why two hot men would fight over her, much less a vampire and a wolf-turner (he's not a werewolf, right, so what is he called?!). I didn't see any strength in Bella until she became pregnant in Breaking Dawn, the fourth book of the series.

Compare that to Hunger Games. Katniss Everdeen is an amazing character. She's loving and fiercely protective, going to what seems like certain death for her sister, and quite capable of defending herself. But she also struggles to find love and meaning in the world around her. I found her flaws as interesting as her strengths. One of the best female characters I read in the last year.

Just a few weeks ago, I saw Snow White and the Huntsman. I found myself more intrigued by the queen. I would have loved more of her story: what made her the beauty-obsessed, insecure woman she became.

Please share your favorite female character in the last few years, either book or movie. What made her memorable?

Now that I've opened up this can of worms, I'm going to give some thought to my top five favorite female characters for a future post. Hmmmm...

Middle Child Day: Friday Feature

Somewhere this week, and I say somewhere because I read so much both online and elsewhere I have no idea where I find things anymore, I saw that August 12th is Middle Child Day. I'm the first born of three girls, but today happens to be my middle sister's birthday. Happy Birthday, Tara! I'm also married to a middle child. For today's Friday Feature, the best thing I read this week and why, I wanted to talk about the middle.

My husband and I both come from families of three (and same-sex families of three at that). The nice thing about three... it is well-defined with a beginning, a middle, and an end. The bad thing... it is well-defined. Many scholars have studied birth order and its effect on the family and the individual. What I find interesting is how often you hear the term "middle child syndrome" versus talking about first or last borns. My husband and sister would agree they felt lost in the shuffle.

Then I realized I could tie this into reading. Actually I've found I can tie just about anything back to reading or writing, but I digress. I enjoy series, but almost always note the second book syndrome in a trilogy. This happened for me in the Twilight (okay, second book of four), Hunger Games and City of Bones series. So maybe there's some validity to lost in the shuffle. The first book lands the author the series commitment, so it needs to be stellar and attention-grabbing. The second book usually fills in story to prepare the reader for the thrilling conclusion of the third book. It's sad, because the second book can keep me from continuing the series. I devoured Hunger Games, but Catching Fire lacked the spark to propel me to the third which is collecting dust in my to-read pile.

A lesson can be learned by both parents and writers: give special love to your second baby and make sure they don't feel lost or neglected. I know I strive to do this with my beautiful second daughter, Reagan. Of course, it helps to have both my sister and husband constantly reminding me.

A special shout-out to all who find themselves in the middle. It can truly be a special place, especially if you make sure people see you.

Here I am with my sister, Tara

My middle daughter, Reagan

My two middles, husband Ed & Reagan

Are you stuck in the middle? What's your story?