Reading Response || Character Resistance

Sometimes i feel as if the idea of resistance to characters in the story can change within one sentence. In the book The Nine Lives Of Chloe King by Liz Braswell tells the story of young Chloe King, who finds out that she is a descendant of the ancient Mai tribe, a generation of the gods with physical and mental attributes of cats. When she is found by other Mai, she is taken in by Sergei, a supposedly wonderful character who acts like the father Chloe has never had. But, as the story progresses, you see the faltering in his happy personality, and wonder how good of a person he really is.

At first, i thought that Sergei would protect Chloe and make her feel welcome and protected from all of the enemies that she accumulated. It states on page 396, "Sergei couldn't refuse a thing to his adopted daughter...". In the beginning/middle of the story, Sergei is the most idealistic father figure a girl like Chloe could ever have. He cares for her, entertains her, keeps her company, and all in all is there to guide her. At this time in the book, I felt no resistance to him because he seemed perfect. But, now that i think about it, there never is a "perfect". So, therefore, i realize that while reading i did have an ominous feeling that something bad was going to happen, because there can never be a truly idealistic person in an idealistic situation.

But, when Sergei let loose his bullet during the fight between the clans, i could immediately tell that the bullet was meant for Chloe. I know that Chloe herself doubted herself when similar thoughts flashed through her mind, but i really feel that this was the case. "Sergei had let out a shot, but Chloe still wasn't sure who the bullet had been meant for. Had it really been aimed at Brian and not her mom? Could it have been meant for Chloe?" [p. 546]. I think that Sergei did indeed intend the bullet to hit Chloe. I think this because shooting Chloe could mean one of two things: killing Chloe, or proving that she is the One. Being The One would mean that Chloe would usurp Sergei's leadership and become the clans spiritual leader, and he would get lost in the sand of time. I feel that Sergei's personality is one that makes him seem very stubborn and overall not a pleasant person once you see his inner thoughts, so this also adds to my resistance towards his character.

This is it. The moment when a major spoiler alert is revealed. heh... I WAS RIGHT!! As i have spent a couple days writing this response, i have read more and more of the book and learnt that even if Sergei's bullet was or wasn't meant for Chloe, he still wants her killed. As i found out on page 521-522, Sergei does want her killed, just as he wanted the previous One to get murdered as well. He is a power-hungry man who seems to be wiling to do anything to create a world where he is the king and everyone bows down to him and ONLY him. Chloe is just a nuisance in the way of his mighty plans. I feel that all in all, my prediction was correct, and i was right to feel resistance to him based on the small clues that the author gave the readers, like me.

Resistance to characters is very common, but when you feel resistance to someone who is considered a good guy, i believe that it is good to look into your feeling and try to figure out why you feel this way. i  think that the way the author made you feel resistance towards Sergei from the very beginning shows her successes in her writing career as she is able to craft fully incorporate a suspicion into her words. A resistance can tell you many things about yourself, and i feel that you could learn about yourself from it.