Let's start with the ones that got it right. Two come to mind immediately. The first is Kallie, from Five Flavors of Dumb, by Antony John. At first, we are led to believe that she is the airheaded pretty and popular girl that everyone looks up to. Little by little, we and the main character, Piper, start to realize there is a lot more to this girl than we just see on the outside. She is so much more deep, sensitive and three dimensional than any of us gave her credit for. And as a result, she ends up being one of my favorite characters in the whole book.
The second book that got it right was Anna Dressed in Blood. Carmel, the Queen Bee in this book, is completely unexpected in a wonderful way. She somehow is able to keep her popular status but at the same time break the mold, and hang out with the outcasts, Cas and Thomas. There were several encounters with her underlings that made me laugh out loud. I remember one situation where one of the girls seems geared up to dethrone her. But Carmel somehow takes back her power with ease and grace. Although she is the Queen Bee, we see a three dimensionality to her, and this makes her surprisingly likeable.
Now for the books that I feel missed out on a great opportunity. The first is Anna, from The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer. She is the pinnacle of the mean girl-- mean without any remorse. Her plan is to take down Mara from the beginning because Mara has done what no other girl has managed to do-- snag Noah Shaw. We aren't given any back story on her, and to me, that made her boring. She doesn't have to be nice deep down inside, but people are more complex than that.Next is Jenn from The Edge of Nowhere by Elizabeth George (which by the way, may be one of my least favorite reads of the year). I'm not sure she's actually a Queen Bee, but she sure is mean. And mean for reasons that I can't comprehend. I guess George throws us some vague hints that she may have an awful home life, but still, we don't get much of a glimpse into her inner self. She could be so much more three dimensional, and George loses some coolness points with this rather useless character.
Finally, I just want to end with my favorite mean girl novel, possibly of all time. Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver STARS one of the mean girls. Samantha isn't the Queen Bee, but she is in the inner circle. Oliver toes a dangerous line-- Sam is not likeable in the beginning. But slowly, all of us start to see how Sam blossoms-- too late possibly-- but regardless, becomes the woman that she was meant to be. I rarely cry during novels, but this magical evolution of someone that seems too far gone makes it a heart wrenching novel.Who are your favorite Queen Bees or Mean Girls?
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Thank you for a most interesting post, on a topic that is very important within literature. There are many books with heros and heroines in them, but there is always that one female character who is slightly unique, different and who stands out thus inevitable becoming either a favorite character within the story or someone important - as without them the storyline would not be as intense.
ReplyDeleteFor example i would say firstly Hermione in the Harry Potter series who is not the main character, but a very important one out of Harry's friends as she is strong, gutsy and bold. Like Eowyn in Lord of the Rings, i love Hermione's spirit as she knows who she is and is true to herself.
Thanks for responding, Lucinda! I loved Hermione and Eowyn!
DeleteGreat post, Christina. My feeling is that the more nuanced the villain / Queen Bee, the more scary / intimidating they become. Hannibal Lecter scares me far more than the Grim Reaper, because he operates in a far more intellectual, insidious manner. In the same way, the Queen Bee who brings true power to bear while couching it in a kind of gentle humanity is a far more powerful figure.
ReplyDeleteGlad you liked Kallie in DUMB. Part of my motivation for her character was to set her up as a one-dimensional Queen Bee and then pull back the layers until she's just as unsure and vulnerable as everyone else.
I loved Kallie! :-) And I totally agree with what you say about how characters are more scary the more human they are-- because we could see ourselves becoming the villain! Ok, maybe not Hannibal ;-)
DeleteFrom the books you've mentioned, the only one I read so far was Before I fall. I enjoyed how the main character matured and learned from her mistakes.
ReplyDeleteI liked those books that have their Queen Bees that annoy you but you learn to understand where they're coming from. You hate them but you sympathize. An example of this is Sara Dailey and Staci Weber's Pack of Lies which has a character named Kendall. She is expected to be the soon-to-be Alpha's mate and she's done everything just to stay on her throne. She has POV in the story so you understand what she's going through- that she's not being mean just because she liked to.
Great post by the way!
Thanks, Karina! I really enjoy Queen Bees as long as they are done well!
DeleteGreat topic! I think that every book needs a Queen Bee because without her there wouldn't be any broblems or fights which makes a book boring. We may all hate the Queen Bee characters in the books we read but they are very important and often have a story to tell.
ReplyDeleteAseel, great post. I totally agree-- I think a Queen Bee character can be quite pivotal and three dimensional when done right.
DeleteI was so happy to see Before I Fall in your list! I was scrolling down to make a comment about it. I would probably have called out Lindsay as the queen bee of that book. She had such an edge to her, you couldn't really be sure how much of her attitude was just lashing out from deep-rooted pain or a genuine nastiness on her part.
ReplyDeleteI'm getting ready to read Anna Dressed in Blood, so I can't wait to see how the Queen Bee character plays out in addition to the creep factor of the story overall, lol! I agree with Shawn--it's really cool that Before I Fall is on here. I thought it was written outrageously well and brought out a LOT of emotions in me. Samantha was definitely a character I wasn't too fond of in the beginning, but she eventually grew on me as she grew as a person herself.
ReplyDeleteThere is nothing like a well fleshed out mean girl to make a book even juicier. I don't know if you have ever read Some Girls Are or Cracked Up To Be by Courtney Summers, but if you haven't and you want some seriously mean, mean girls? Those are the books for you. And crapoly, they are rough to read. By the way, Mean Girls was Awesome. I love it, and I watch it anytime it shows up on the tube!
ReplyDeleteI think my favourite Mean Girl would be from the movie Mean Girls, Regina George played by Rachel McAdams.
ReplyDeleteOh, I didn't know The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer was about a mean girl...from the cover I thought it'd be something fantastical. :) I would still like to read it though.
While reading this, I couldn't help but say how true it is! And the minute I saw the title, I thought of Before I Fall. I recently read it after being recommended by my friend and I honestly did not regret it! It was so simple yet so complex. A author has to be very skilled to repeat and write about the same scene, situation and etc without making it boring. Fantastic! :)
ReplyDeleteWell said mate
ReplyDeleteMy favorite is Anna from Mara Dyer.Only read 2 books out of this list ,I should read more.
ReplyDelete