Author Guest Post: Rachel Hawkins, Hex Hall

Author Rachel Hawkins has generously submitted a guest post for you, my readers!

A few months ago, an author friend of mine (I won't say her name, but it rhymes with Bindsey Beavitt) and I were talking about boys in YA. Specifically, the boys in Sarah Dessen's books, and how amazing she is at writing real (dreamy) boys who are (hot) completely believable. This got us talking about some of our favorite teenage boy characters, not just in YA, but in all literature, and eventually, I came up with a list that I like to think of My Literary Boyfriends. I thought I'd share the top 3 with you today!

3) Gilbert Blythe, The Anne of Green Gables series, L.M.M. Montgomery

Swooooon. That's what I think of every time I hear the name Gilbert Blythe. He's cocky when Anne first meets him, but also sweet, and loyal, and he's just such a good person. Remember when he gives up he sweet scholarship so that Anne can stay at Green Gables with Marilla? Sigh. Gilbert also just gets Anne. He loves her for how different she is, but he also calls her on some of her stuff. One of the things I love most about Gilbert and Anne's relationship is that they're friends. The love they find isn't, as Anne would say, "marble halls and diamond sunbursts," but it is the Real Deal.

2) Christopher Heron, The Perilous Gard, Elizabeth Marie Pope

One of my goals in life is to introduce more people to this fabulous book, and it's surly-but-witty hero, Christopher Heron. Kit is my favorite kind of (fictional) guy. He's beautiful, and wounded, but he's still funny. Well, snarky. His family holds him responsible for the disappearance of his niece, and everyone thinks he's crazy until Kate Sutton comes to stay in his brother's castle (the book takes place in Tudor England, another reason I love it with a fiery passion). They strike up a friendship that's affectionate and antagonistic in equal measure, something I definitely see echoes of in Archer and Sophie's relationship in HEX HALL. Christopher also delivers The Best Marriage Proposal Ever at the end of that book. Seriously, read it and you'll see why he's so high on this list! In fact, he would have been number one if it weren't for...

1) Cal Trask, East of Eden, John Steinbeck

Oh, Cal. The prototypical tortured bad boy! Cal isn't really bad. Okay, so he does basically murder his brother, so there's that. But really, he's just conflicted. And hurt. And needs love so, so much. For me, it's hard to separate Book Cal from Movie Cal, AKA James Dean (but then even Steinbeck said, upon first meeting Dean, "That young man is Cal!" so I figure it's okay). But whether you're reading the book, or watching the movie, I think you'll agree that Cal is Super Dreamy. Not only is he suffering because his father prefers his brother, but he's harboring Illicit Secret Love (my favorite kind! In fiction!) for his brother's girlfriend, Abra. That scene in the movie when he kisses her on the Ferris Wheel? FORGET IT.

So that's my list of Literary Boyfriends, and if you try to take any of them, I will fight you in the parking lot! Okay, not really.

I found her entry to be interesting but unrelatable. :( I actually haven’t read any of these books that these guys came from! How about you? Do you agree with her? Or does your heart belong to other literary “boys”? Let us know!

Don’t forget to check out my review of Rachel’s new release, Hex Hall, that was posted earlier today. There’s also a chance to win a super cute Hex Hall t-shirt!

Thanks to Rachel and Disney-Hyperion for the guest post and the t-shirt giveaway!