Top Ten Worlds We'd Never Want to Live In AND Characters We'd Never Want to Change Places With

Hosted by: The Broke and the Bookish

We LOVE this week's topic so much, we've decided to do a combination of both of the choices. There's so many crazy worlds and I'd-hate-to-be-them characters out there, so let's get started.

Lindsay's Selections:

I am seriously excited about this one. Some weeks are harder than others (last week's Top Ten was more difficult for me), but this week is most definitely not. Since Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Dystopian are my favorite genres to read, I have lots of worlds and characters to choose from this go round. I'm going to alternate the worlds I'd never want to live in {designated with a (w)} with characters I'd never want to change places with {designated with a (c)} for this week's list. Note: Certain plot points may be discussed for characters especially, but only for the most well-known books.

Let's start with the most obvious....

1(w). Panem from The Hunger Games. I mean who out there would want to live in a world like this? Ridiculously oppressive government, horrible living conditions, and that whole kids being forced to kill each other for sport thing. Yeah, count me out.

Which brings me to...

1(c). Finnick Odair. You thought I was going to say Katniss, right? But think about it. How much crap did Finnick have to endure? He won his games, only to be used and abused in the most awful ways in the Capitol. He was forced to sell his body. Forced to be paraded around like a piece of meat. The girl he loved, Annie, was driven mad. Then he had to go BACK into the arena to fight AGAIN. He makes it out of there alive only to die at the hands of the mutts while breaking into the Capitol. And doesn't even get to see his child born. I'd take Katniss over Finnick any day.

2(w). The cities from Pawn. A caste system based on test scores (and a rigged testing system at that)? A world where you can only have 1 kid, and if you do have more, the kid is placed in an orphanage? Think about the job Kitty chooses as an ALTERNATIVE to working in the sewers. Apparently prostitution is better than cleaning sewers. No thanks.

2(c). Rachel from Defiance/Deception. You're in love with a guy who doesn't return the sentiment. Your dad is missing/dead. You have a giant THING from the underworld who wants to kill everyone. The Commander of your city pretty much wants you dead. And then you're forced to leave your home and roam the wilderness, only to get kidnapped.

3(w). The world in Under the Never Sky/Through the Ever Night/Into the Still Blue. While living inside a Pod where your whole life is basically a virtual reality wouldn't be too terribly awful, it's the world outside the pod that would suck. Two words: Aether storms. Not even Perry or Roar could make it worth living there.

3(c). Lilac LaRoux from These Broken Stars. The whole spoiled girl part isn't THAT bad. But then being stranded on a crazy planet (even though it's with Tarver) would be horrible. Hearing voices and thinking you're going crazy? No fun. Plus that whole {highlight for spoiler} *being dead and then resurrected thing*.

4(w). The City of Chicago in Divergent/Insurgent/Allegiant. A whole world of sucky. Having to decide where you are going to live for the rest of your life at age 17? A decision teenagers can totally be trusted with /sarcasm/. Add that to the fact that it is basically some ridiculous experiment for the government to study you.. count me out.

4(c). Alyssa from Splintered. She hears bugs talk. BUGS you guys. I hate bugs. Also the skeleton rabbit-like thing. And flowers that chase you. And alllll of the other weird things that inhabit Wonderland.  I'm currently reading this one, and only 50% through, but you couldn't pay me enough to take her place. Waaaaay to creepy for me.

5(w). Lumatere from Finnikin of the Rock. While Lumatere gets better during the second and third books, it would be one of the worst places to live during the days of the Unspeakable and during the rule of the Imposter King. Homes and crops burned to the ground, murder and rape. Terrible living situation.

5(c). Frodo Baggins from The Lord of the Rings/The Two Towers/The Return of the King. I thought for my final pick I would go a little "old school." While I considered Bilbo and numerous other characters, the honor of person I would least like to trade places with is Frodo. He inherits this lovely, shiny ring from his eccentric uncle, only to discover its the One Ring. He embarks on a journey to destroy the ring which leads to him getting stabbed by a magical blade (that still hurts him many years later), sees his wizard buddy die, is attacked by one of his supposed protectors, followed by a creepy dude named Gollum, goes through a place called the Dead Marshes (full of dead people. DEAD people just floating there, face up. Staring at you), wrapped up by a giant spider for food, and has a digit bitten off by Gollum. Poor Frodo. At least he gets to hang out with some elves in the end, right?

Honorable Mentions: The worlds from: the Shatter Me trilogy, The Host, Shadow & Bone/Siege & Storm, and These Broken Stars. Also these characters: Melanie from The Host, Molly Weasley from Harry Potter, and Four from the Divergent Trilogy.

Sarah's Selections:

This Top Ten Tuesday wasn't as easy for me. Not because I couldn't think of anything or anyone, but because there were too many characters and worlds to choose from. Here are the ones that made the top ten. 

1. Gemma from Stolen. First of all, who wants to be kidnapped? Duh. Second. How horrific is it when you don't know how you feel towards your kidnapper? Do you fear him or love him? Not a place I'd like to be. 

2. Panem in The Hunger Games. While the subject of children fighting to the death makes for an incredible reading and marvelous cinematic  experience, who in their right mind would actually want to live in Panem? Oppression, starvation, rebellion, and witnessing the slaughter of children are way low on my bucket list. 

Which brings me to ...

3. Johanna Mason. She says it all when she says, "They can't hurt me. I'm not like the rest of you. There's no one left I love." It breaks my heart just thinking about it. They've taken everything from her. 

4. Lumatere from Finnikin of The Rock (during the days of the unspeakable and the rule of the Impostor.) There's no sun, the river has ceased to flow, the impostor king has the crops burned and the young girls raped. At times the fathers choose kill their daughters to keep them from this fate. Need I say more? 

Which brings me to... 

5. Lady Beatrice from Finnikin of The Rock. She repeatedly sows her crops only to have them burned by the Impostor's men. She taken in front of the people of her village, beaten and used as leverage to get them to obey the Impostor. She's raped repeatedly and ends up pregnant by one of her rapists. Not exactly a situation anyone would want to be in.

6. The Village of Novikribirsk from Shadow and Bone. Being taken by The Fold and falling victim of the volcra aren't exactly appealing. 

Which brings me to ...

7. Genya from The Grisha Trilogy. Sure she's gorgeous and everyone envies her beauty. However, who wants to be used by the Darkling to seduce a sleazy old King? Then forced to betray their one true friend? And to top it off the Darkling takes away her beauty, the only thing she has left, by disfiguring her. I think Genya definitely got the short end of the stick. 

Which also brings me to...

8. Baghra from The Grisha Trilogy. A mother's love has no boundaries. That's why Baghra's story breaks my heart. To be the mother of The Darkling, to know the truth about the evil he's done, to have a glimmer of hope for redemption, and then for that hope to be stripped away by her own son ... I can't imagine. 

9. Scotland in 1743 from Outlander. No plumbing, no electricity, disease, no modern medicine, the infant mortality rate, the mortality rate during labor, the constant fighting between England and Scotland ... I could go on and on. As romantic as it is on paper, when you think about it from a reality standpoint, it's not romantic at all. 

Which brings me to... 

10. Claire from Outlander. Most people would think I'm nuts but I'm coming at this from a very logical place. Time travel would be pretty awesome. However, when you think about the impact you could have on ALL of history by changing the smallest thing, it loses most of its appeal. Claire basically has the world riding on her shoulders. Her situation comes with so much responsibility. Everything she does, everything and everyone she she touches could possibly change the course of History. Not to mention, girl couldn't shave, bathe regularly, or use deodorant ... Thank you, but no.

(Note from Lindsay: Uhhh wouldn't Jaime make up for all of the above?? Cause, JAIME FRASER.)