What did Cynthia facing constant danger do for the book?

Use this forum to discuss the June 2019 Book of the month, "Cynthia and Dan: Cyber War" by Dorothy May Mercer.
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Bhaskins
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Re: What did Cynthia facing constant danger do for the book?

Post by Bhaskins »

I agree. I feel like women have “protective strategies” pounded into our heads from an early age so it makes it not very realistic.
sarahmarlowe wrote: 01 Jun 2019, 19:31
Ferdinand_otieno wrote: 01 Jun 2019, 09:04 Did you feel that a protagonist who seemed to be in ever present danger and just barely survived was good for the book? Did she make the story more thrilling?
I didn't like Cynthia as a protagonist from early in the book. I found her dimwitted about her surroundings, getting herself into danger as much as having danger find her. For example, when she meets Sky, she trusts him enough to give him the make, model, and tag number of her unlocked, keys-in-it car? Good grief. And then she is happy that "his friend" has taken care of it? She's not my definition of a strong female character. Or strong any kind of character. I don't think she made the story thrilling, more like frustrating.
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Post by beccabecky »

juliusotieno02 wrote: 01 Jul 2019, 12:51 I think the author used these scenes to build the storyline and maybe develop some characters. I think they did well for the story though.
I agree, I feel this was the motivation the author had through the book, but I'm not sure it was a good literary resource to use, at least not repeatedly in the way it was here.
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Jorge Leon Salazar
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Post by Jorge Leon Salazar »

Cynthia's attitude was rather unjustified for a person who is supposed to be trained to combat danger, one would expect her to always be cautious, this does not make the plot more exciting but rather strange or perhaps disconcerting
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Post by Nyambura Githui »

I think Cynthia always being in constant danger made the story more thrilling. It kept me on my toes, thinking of what she'll do to get herself out of it.
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Post by J_odoyo »

I think it was very ridiculous and annoying to see Cynthia behaving like someone who lacks common sense. Trusting someone you've known for the fast time is an under appreciate thing as far as security is concerned. I think having her as protagonists could have been substituted for someone else. To me she contributed nothing to make thus story thrilling.
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Post by OliviaLouise »

Cynthia is definitely a "damsel in distress" type, and more often than not got herself into trouble! Her instantaneous trust of Sky and compliance with his patronizing behavior was obnoxious and hard to read.
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Post by Samy Lax »

How can Cynthia, who is under the threat of terrorism, venture into a stranger’s apartment alone? Is that even plausible? This was beyond me! However, her spontaneity did make the story highly thrilling.
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Post by Oyedeji Okikioluwa »

The fact that she is faced with one crisis to another makes the book intriguing and this to me is the fun part of the book.
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Post by Felicity Granger »

I do appreciate a suspenseful, edge-of-your-seat thrill when I'm reading a book, but a character's ever-present naivety is so tiresome you begin to feel frustrated and the story just loses its appeal. I would prefer if a situation where our protagonist is befallen by something or the other it's credible and not a result of extremely annoying absent-mindedness.
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Post by Thebookwasbetter12 »

I do believe her hardly surviving made the book more thrilling and suspenseful because, as you read the novel, the protagonist’s fate seemed to change constantly, thus compelling you to finish the book in order to find out what ultimately happens. Additionally, I feel that the fact that the protagonist actually ends up surviving makes the novel worthwhile- if the main character died, I feel like it may have been a slight letdown.
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Post by Sakeenah143 »

I believe Cynthia was not a strong protagonist. Her character wasn't really fit. The writer definitely need to improve her character if that can be done.
And because of how her character was moulded that's why she's in constant danger.
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Post by Laila_Hashem »

I mean, I always believed that books need some extent of realistic events in them so I could remain interested. for me, after a while the fact that she was in constant danger took away from that; it was too much and ceased to be thrilling, so I would say no.
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Post by mam_reader »

Considering whoi she was and what she did for a living, her character seemed ditzy to me and outright stupid. A stronger female character would have made the book more thrilling.
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Post by Tester013 »

It was certainly thrilling at first, but after a while, it felt boring and that the new "normal" was for her to be in constant danger..
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Post by Areej Tahir »

Honestly no. She was a little stupid and yet she worked for the senator? she lacked common sense.
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