Summer of Sailor Scouts: The Book Tag Lives On!

Hey bookworms!

Sooooo a hundred million years ago, Alexa from Alexa Loves Books tagged me to do this because she was putting together The Summer of Sailor Scouts this past July. And....I wrote out the answers the same day!!! But then I left it in draft mode because I needed to format everything and was going to stage books and take pretty pictures....and then I had no time. And then I forgot.

The post sat. And sat. And SAT. I rediscovered it today! The tag is old now and Alexa's event is long gone, but I hope you still have fun reading my answers and tell me some of your own below!!! Or go ahead and host this on your own blog and link to me so I can see! I won't tag anyone specifically because the event is over, but it would be fun to keep this fun tag going, doing you think?

(And I am totally stealing the tag logos from one of the event's co-hosts, Girl in the Pages, because I never did get around to making anything and otherwise this post will be image-free.... ^^;;;)

A BOOK THAT MAKES YOU HUNGRY 

I have to go with either THE GIRL OF FIRE AND THORNS by Rae Carson or SILVER PHOENIX by Cindy Pon. Both books made me want to eat ALL THE FOOD because they are described SO WELL!!!!

A BOOK THAT FEATURES TECHNOLOGY 

The first two books to spring to my head are CINDER by Marissa Meyer and STITCHING SNOW by R.C. Lewis. Ironically, both are fairy tales set in space...but that's also what I love about them! The way both authors use technology to build their worlds is amazing and vast!

A BOOK THAT MADE YOU WANT TO PLAY VIDEO GAMES 

My answer is going to be SUPER non-traditional and unexpected here. I'm choosing RUINED by Amy Tintera--which isn't about video games at all!!! Shortly after I'd seen the cover reveal and gotten my hands on an ARC of RUINED, I had a really strange dream where you could reach into the cover of a book, drag out the weapon, and use it in-game if you were playing a video game (Sort of like you can with Skylanders, Disney Infinity, Amiibo, Lego Dimensions, etc). It was all inspired by the awesome cover of RUINED! I even created a whole post about the books I would use if such a game existed here!

If I had to choose something that made me legit play a video game (Though I do wish that book game existed!), I'd actually go with a movie. Disney's Wreck-It Ralph made me wish I could play Wreck-It Ralph...AND the Sugar Rush racing game, too!!! If only they existed!!!

A BOOK THAT IS INSPIRED BY MYTHOLOGY OR FOLKLORE 

I could go with soooooo many books here. I've read a TON, and loved so many. I decided to choose a lesser-known book that I adore, though: SOLSTICE by P.J. Hoover. This was originally self-published, and I read and adored it way back then. I even purchased the book when it first came out...and then I loaned it out and it STILL hasn't been read and given back to me, so I can't re-read it in its revised, "official" version. *weeps*

This one is a retelling of Persephone and Hades, which is a favorite of mine to begin with! It also deals with global warming and has a dystopian environment, and I loved it so much!!!

A BOOK THAT GIVES YOU STRONG FEELINGS 

EVERY SINGLE TIME I pick up MY SISTER'S KEEPER by Jodi Picoult and read it, I always trick myself into thinking things will end differently. This is my all-time favorite book by anyone and it destroys me every time I read it. I won't even see the movie because they changed SO MUCH, including THIS, and...I just can't.

While I haven't been able to bring myself to re-read it yet, I'm saving ALLEGIANT by Veronica Roth to re-read on an Ugly Cry Day. (You know, those days when you WANT a good cry???) I didn't hate the book like so many other people did because it came full circle.

If I were to mention a book that made me want to chuck it across the room because I hated the characters and their horrible decisions so much, I'd definitely go with GONE GIRL by Gillian Flynn! I read an ARC back when the book wasn't very well-known and there was no movie deal because I'd read her before. My co-worker was the only other person I knew who had read it and she was OFF for two days and we couldn't commiserate together and complain about the characters, lol! Still can't forgive her for that... ^.~

A POST-APOCALYPTIC BOOK YOU LOVED 

You know what?? When I first prepped this tag, I chose THE PLEDGE by Kimberly Derting, though I wanted to research if it actually WAS post-apocalyptic or not because sometimes it can be hard to realize this.

But I actually have an answer that I never would have had if I'd done this tag in a timely manner. Now, I really have to go with The Remnant Chronicles series by Mary E. Pearson. You guys, I didn't even KNOW that these books were post-apocalyptic until I read the novella MORRIGHAN, and that came out AFTER the first two books in the trilogy, THE KISS OF DECEPTION and THE HEART OF BETRAYAL had been released--and read! I read MORRIGHAN for the first time before re-reading the first two books as I got ready for the release of THE BEAUTY OF DARKNESS earlier this month (Which I'll review sometime...I'm still gathering my thoughts!) Even after re-reading the first two books and reading the final book, it was SO HARD to realize that this world is OUR world. You only see it in MORRIGHAN. The "new world" is so many centuries away from when our world fell that the characters have NO concept of what the world once was. Absolutely EVERYTHING is gone.

How amazing is that??? Mary E. Pearson is brilliant, and I've never seen a post-apocalyptic world quite like this one!!!!!!

A TIME TRAVEL BOOK

I'm actually not a huge fan of time travel books. It has to be done right for me to enjoy it. That said, I really love the River of Time series by Lisa T. Bergren. If you like books such as Diana Gabaldon's popular Outlander series, you'll love this romantic YA series about sisters who travel back to 14th Century Italy and find themselves finally at home..... *swoon* I am due for a re-read of this series, especially since the author is releasing a new spin-off/companion series this year!!!

A BOOK THAT FEATURES ELEMENTAL MAGIC 

I LOVE books that feature elemental magic. It's a favorite genre of mine!!! So this topic is harddddddd. The first one to come to my mind is the brilliant trilogy by Sherry Thomas that begins with THE BURNING SKY. This series is best described as Avatar the Last Airbender meets Tamora Pierce's Song of the Lioness meets J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter. PLUS, Thomas specializes in adult romance novels and The Elemental Trilogy was her first YA series...but it still packs plenty of heat!!

A BOOK THAT FEATURES MUSIC 

The first book I thought of was INCARNATE by Jodi Meadows. Sam is a musician who invented so much, and Ana is a new soul enraptured by music. The other book I thought of was OPEN ROAD SUMMER by Emery Lord because I wanted to HEAR the music of Reagan's best friend Dee, who is the Taylor Swift of our world, and I especially wanted to hear Matt Finch sing his song "Human." I was so bitterly disappointed that this music wasn't real and couldn't be obtained!!!

I'd also like to add one more book to the list that I couldn't have if I'd done the tag on time. There is a brilliant book coming out in early 2017, WINTERSONG by S. Jae Jones. (Check out that link for a sneak peek that's 100% spoiler-free! My review won't come until next year!) Music IS this book. It is the air the book breathes. It is life. It is EVERYTHING. This book would not and could not exist without music, and I would be remiss to leave it out of this tag!!!

A BOOK THAT FEATURES A MASQUERADE 

OR HIDDEN IDENTITIES 

I already talked about INCARNATE by Jodi Meadows, so I shouldn't tell you that one of my favorite scenes in the whole trilogy is this gorgeous masquerade from the first book....should I talk instead about Jodi Meadows' other series and the fact that Wil is hiding her identity in THE ORPHAN QUEEN? No?

Okay, okay.

Then I'm going to go with the physical MASK. I can think of two books where masks change the atmosphere of the book.

The first is FAIREST POISON by Lauren Skidmore, which I read earlier this year. The society is one where EVERYONE is masked. As in, ALL THE TIME. The color of your mask signifies your importance in society. Nobility is more masked and hidden than anyone else. It plays a huge part in the book, and I loved the non-traditional world and the issues that ensued!

The other big book where masks play a huge role is A COURT OF THORNS AND ROSES by Sarah J. Maas. It's a huge spoiler to tell you WHY all the fae in the Spring Court are cursed to have masquerade masks welded to their faces day in and day out, but it plays a huge role in the book, so....!

A FAVORITE MIDDLE-GRADE BOOK 

Ackkkkk, I again have two. I am so bad at this choosing thing.

My absolute favorite series from today's MG authors is The School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani. I reviewed the first and second book and posted about why the series is an all-time favorite (in lieu of a spoilery third-book review). I was so happy to hear that the author just announced he'll release a fourth book next summer--which will be the first in a new series, ahhh!!!

The other book I want to shout out to is OUT OF MY MIND by Sharon Draper. It is a book I recommend ALL THE TIME and think every teacher needs in their classroom and every single kid needs to read. It takes a look at how we treat fellow classmates with disabilities and assume things that aren't true and forces us to examine ourselves and the people around us. If you know someone 5th-7th grade, GIVE THEM THIS BOOK.

A BOOK FOR ANIMAL LOVERS 

In high school, I discovered Tamora Pierce, and my world was never the same. Daine's quartet The Immortals is still one of my top series by Pierce. The quartet is about a girl who can talk to animals, and the war coming with immortal creatures thought to no longer exist (griffins, spidrens, undines, stormwings....need I go on? So many immortal creatures, some good, some bad!).

I've been wanting to re-read all of my favorite Tamora Pierce books for so long now, and this tag just makes me want to read them even more.....!