Today we have Dana from Dana Square. Dana is a 17 year-old
from New York with a love of books, movies, TV and make-up (girl after my own
heart!) She blames her brother for her love of books, which is nice because the
only thing I blame my brother for is my hight complex. ;)
For this post Dana and I have had ourselves a little book club! We both had The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepherd on our
reading list and I thought this would be a really fun was to tick it off.
Bellow we've answered some book club style questions and I will warn you now,
if you haven't read the book then there are some MAJOR SPOILERS ahead.
What were you’re first thought’s when finishing The
Madman’s Daughter?
Mily: That I needed book two! This is such a good book, a lot darker than
I imagined it would be but still really amazing. I’ve not read the H.G. Well’s
book so I can’t make any comparisons but for me it had a very strong
Frankenstein vibe to it. Shepherd’s descriptive skills are insane – no pun
intended – which made the whole book creepy and completely captivating.
Dana: That ending! WHAT WAS THAT? I got teary
eyed. I have seen some of the movie because of my grandmother and now I need to
read the original. I knew the basics of the story going into it, but I didn’t
expect to fall in love with it like this. I loved that it had this genre bending
feel to it. It was historical, romantic, filled with science fiction, and there
were fantasy elements as well (the shapeshifting thing).
Mily: I totally agree! I had been told this book was good but I really
didn’t think it was going to be THAT good. I know right? How could he leave
her?
Dana: I need to buy book two now because of
that cliffhanger.
Do you think the wait Juliet defines herself as the
book progresses?
Mily: I loved the change in Juliet throughout this book. From her need to
be part of society to her bold un-lady-like out bursts towards the end. She
fines her own voice and comes to terms with the animal inside her, which I’m
not sure I would have been able to do. I think that by the end of the book
Juliet is stronger and much less naïve. Although at times I still found her a
little selfish. Especially at the end with Balthazar!
Dana: I don’t think Juliet was that great of a
female protagonist despite the evident progression in character. I definitely
disagreed with her actions during multiple parts of the book. I think she was
very hypocritical at the end and selfish. She was by no means a perfect and
impartial narrator. At times I liked that she was flawed and had these
contradictions; it made for an interesting internal conflict.
Mily: I don’t know. I think you’re being a little harsh on her. Okay, I
completely agree what she was selfish at the end but I found that her flaws
made her endearing.
Dana: She annoyed me a lot. It didn’t take
away from my love for this book, but I am not her biggest fan.
How did you feel about the relationship between Juliet
and her father?
Mily: I hate him. Full stop end of story. I think that he got what he
deserved and I hope that Jaguar had a right old chow down on the not-so-good
doctor! I hated the way that he acted with his daughter and the fact that he
only ever saw her as a means to push his scientific discoveries forward. I
pitied Juliet because of this and I found that as the book went on and their
relationship became more tenuous that I was glad, because at least this way Juliet
can see what a monster her father really is.
Dana: He is a horrible human being. Juliet and
her father had a very interesting relationship. I agree that I loved the
character development we see in Juliet from beginning to end, where her opinion
of her father is concerned. At the beginning she believed his lies and doubted
the truth. By the end of the book there is zero doubt that he is the true
abomination of this story.
What was your least favorite part of the book?
Mily: The cover! I actually loved pretty much all of the book itself
although that cover is leaving little to be desired! I get it; I just wouldn’t
have picked it up in a shop.
Dana: I think the cover is pretty, but it
could have more to do with the story. My least favorite part was how
unsympathetic Juliet was for Balthazar and Edward, especially Balthazar. Edward
was winning my heart by the end of the story even when she found out the truth
about him. Balthazar was innocent in this and yes he was deformed, but she felt
it was best for him to live on that island. That just makes me like her less.
Mily: I agree with you there. Juliet had sort of won me over but in that
moment I wanted to slap her. I think I secretly love Balthazar. Not like
romantically but the way you would love a sibling or a pet.
Dana: How could you not? Balthazar was so
innocent in all of this.
What did you think of Montgomery’s decision to stay
behind? What choice would you have made?
Mily: You mean apart from the fact it broke my heart? I kind of saw it
coming, not a long way off but from the moment the three of them were getting
ready to leave the island. I wanted to throw the book at his head and tell him
to get in the damn boat but at the same time I understand why he did it. It was
actually quite moving, that he would choose his responsibilities over his love
for a girl he’s been parted from for so long. If I were in his position I
probably would have left. I think that my heart would have won over my head,
although I would have insisted on taking Balthazar! I still can’t believe
Juliet even considered leaving him behind!
Dana: IT BROKE MY HEART, TOO! I didn’t expect
it. In my head I was hoping he would make Balthazar come along, which that
whole situation angers me. I really loved Montgomery’s loyalty to those he
wronged. I would have thrown Balthazar on that boat and hit the road jack.
Did you feel like there was any redemption for
Juliet’s father, Dr. Moreau?
Mily: Maybe sixteen years ago but now, no! He’s a monster, mad with power
and incapable of seeing reason. I’m glad he died and I hope that Juliet can see
that she’s nothing like him.
Dana: HAHA no; when Juliet was a baby,
perhaps. He was too far off the deep end for redemption.
Mily: I guess that’s a resounding
no then!
If you had been in Jaguar’s potion would you have
chosen to regress? How would you cope finding out that you we’re all human?
Mily: I don’t know. I think I would have had some kind of psychotic break
if I had found out I was made from a collection of animal parts but I’m not
sure I would have been able to give it up the way he did.
Dana: I don’t think I would have been able to
give up the humanity. That would definitely be a crazy thing to find out, but I
wouldn’t go back.
How did you feel towards Edward? Did you hate him?
Love him? Pity him?
Mily: I pitied him. It wasn’t like he was going around killing people for
fun. I had this uneasy feeling about Edward at the beginning but by the time we
find out that he’s the ‘monster’ I had completely forgotten about it and was in
total shock. I mean I wouldn’t have chosen him over Montgomery but I had
respect for him. I wish they could have found a way to make him better. To make
him human.
Dana: I fell in love with Edward. Montgomery
was a great character, but Edward was in a lot of ways this lost soul and I
loved the complexities in his character. He couldn’t control who he was and his
actions weren’t his fault. I really connected with him from when they rescued
him. I was rooting for him from the beginning, but Montgomery was a great male
love interest too.
Mily: No! How could you
choose him over Montgomery? I’m shocked Dana…
Dana: I think my love for Edward grew more so after finding out he was
the monster. Don’t get me wrong I loved him before, but I am crazy about
sympathetic villains.
How did you feel
about the experiments Dr. Moreau was doing? Did you think Montgomery was just
as bad as the Dr.?
Mily: We had this
discussion back when I was going my GCSE’s and we talked about Frankenstein and
his motives for what he was doing. I have more sympathy for Frankenstein but
essentially it’s the same kind of thing. They were playing God, although Moreau
was hurting the creatures in the process. He was cruel and his experiments were
inhumane.
As far as Montgomery is
concerned, in a way yes I think he’s just as bad. He was messing around with
things that he shouldn’t be. Although as far as a human being he was kind and
nothing like the Dr.
Dana: Moreau was a perfect villain and not one of those villains that
you could sympathize with. He was evil and he thought he was doing something
good. He called himself a god.
Montgomery though was a
good person and had the ability to love. But in many ways he is worse than
Moreau because he knew it was wrong, but did it anyway. I don’t think Moreau
ever saw what he was doing was wrong. Yet, Montgomery does the right thing in
the end and takes care of what he did, dealing with the consequences.
Mily: I don’t want to agree
with you because I’m a little in love with Montgomery but I do. Moreau was
certifiably insane. Montgomery was not. I hadn’t looked at it that way before.
Dana: I still think he is a good person, but his actions are worse
than Moreau’s in my mind. (P.S: I think that it is really cool that we can
display different sides by liking different aspects of the book J. )
What was you’re
favorite moment from The Madman’s Daughter?
Mily: Well to start with
there was the moment when Montgomery finally kisses Juliet! That was hot!! But
I think that my favorite moment was when Juliet shouts at her father for the
first time:
“You’re a female. You
can’t control yourself.”
“The hell I can’t.” I
pushed off the table, swinging my fist.
If only she had hit him! I
think it would have made my day, although Dr. Moreau did get his fare share of
punches thrown at him.
Dana: I really loved the moment when Juliet connects everything
together and we realized who the monster was. Edward III being the literary
name that Edward was given by Moreau. I also really loved when Edward tells
Juliet that the picture was of her and her mother. It was so sweet and I loved
it.
Mily: So in other words you
just loved Edwards? ;)
Dana: That would be an accurate observation. ;)
