The Disney Book Tag!

Hi all!

I cannot even tell you how excited I am to be doing the Disney Book Tag today! You all know that I love the wonderful world of Disney/Books so the only question that remains is: why didn’t I do this sooner? I sourced these questions from rachelrexds so feel free to check out her responses by clicking on the highlighted link above. I have seen this tag done multiple times on YouTube and several different blogs so I was pretty keen to give it a go myself. Without further ado, let’s dive in!

THE LITTLE MERMAID

Name a character that is out of their element (‘a fish out of water’)

For this question, I’m going to go with Feyre from A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas. To add to the Disney vibes, this fantasy trilogy is loosely based on a Beauty and the Beast retelling. When Feyre kills a wolf disguised as a faerie in the woods, she is dragged from her home and family to live out the rest of her days as a prisoner in the Spring Court (a faerie realm). Feyre is the only human in this new world of magical creatures making her environment very unfamiliar and threatening. She struggles to fit in or feel comfortable, constantly longing for home. I am hard-pressed to read a Sarah J. Maas book I don’t rate highly. This series is mind-blowingly good! I am currently reading the sequel, A Court of Mist and Fury.

CINDERELLA

Name a character who goes through a major transformation

I am going to say Simon Snow from Carry On by Rainbow Rowell. This stand-alone fantasy novel follows Simon, the worst wizard at Watford School of Magicks. He cannot control his abilities nor emotions which usually leads to a disaster of epic proportions. He has a vampire roommate named Baz who detests him and a know-it-all friend named Penelope Bunce. I will not spoil the plot but in short, Simon undergoes a huge transformation within this story both personally and magically. It was so heart-warming and hilarious at times. I have these beautiful, big postcards of Simon and Baz from Carry On that I want to frame someday. I purchased them from Rainbow Rowell’s official website.

SNOW WHITE

Name a book with an eclectic cast of characters

I know it’s shameful but I’m going to plug my own books here. Astrology Pond (Book #1) and Facing the Stars (Book #2) by yours truly has a very diverse cast of characters. If you want to learn all about them, check out one of my older posts: Meet The Astro A Team & Counterparts! (Signs of the Zodiac Series) In this trilogy we follow twelve (one for each zodiac sign) teenagers that form an astrological group destined to unite their counterparts in an alternate universe. Each character has a distinct personality that is somewhat reflected by their horoscope. This causes a lot of clashes along the way producing mass amount of adolescent drama. The counterparts themselves are incredibly eclectic as well. The books also feature a strong presence of LGBTQ characters. I am close to finishing the third and final book: Aligning the Signs. 

SLEEPING BEAUTY

Name a book that put you to sleep

The worst, most boring book I have ever read (in my personal opinion) was A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce. I had to read it for my Literature class at University and it was a painful struggle. I honestly cannot remember one single thing that happened and I’m convinced James Joyce purposely tried to confuse readers with his writing. I couldn’t even tell you what the plot was about so I won’t try. I’ve heard his most famous novel Ulysses is one of the hardest books in history to understand. I’m sure many people love and appreciate his work but his writing just doesn’t appeal to me.

THE LION KING

Name a character that had a traumatic childhood

For this question, I’m going to go with Starr Carter from The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas. As a child, Starr witnesses her friend Natasha get shot by thugs and killed in her poor neighbourhood. Years later, as a teenager, she is present at the murder of her best friend Khalil by a police officer. I have actually written an extensive, spoiler-free review for this phenomenal book which will be up August 28th so stay tuned for that. I am going to be attending Angie Thomas’s YA Activism event at the Melbourne Writer’s Festival this weekend which I am really looking forward to so hopefully I can get a copy of my book signed. This story shook me. My heart broke for poor Starr over and over and over…

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST

Name a beast of a book (a big book) that you were intimidated by but found the story to be beautiful

I was initially intimidated by Lord of Shadows by Cassandra Clare as it was over 700 pages but I completely flew through it whilst travelling in Europe. This is the second book in the Dark Artifices series set in the Shadowhunter Universe. If you’ve read this book, you understand just how many feels there are. I was an absolute mess by the end. It was so beautiful and dark all at the same time. I liked the sequel even more than Lady Midnight and now I’m tortuously waiting for 2018 to find out what happens next. I really want to explain what this book is about but it will just give away spoilers so please do yourself a favour and pick it up!

ALADDIN

Name a character who gets their wish granted, for better or worse…

This one is easy! I’m going to say Scarlett Dragna from Caraval by Stephanie Garber. The story follows two sisters, Scarlett and Tella who are abused regularly by their cruel, wealthy father. All they have ever wanted is to be invited to Caraval, an annual faraway show put on by the illusive character, Legend. After years of writing letters, they finally receive their own official invitation to Legend’s private island to take part in the performance. They use this opportunity to escape with the help of a sailor but once they arrive, Tella is kidnapped. Scarlett is told it is all part of the show but nevertheless, she is given a certain amount of time to locate her sister after which she will be lost forever. Scarlett finally gets her wish granted of attending Caraval but at a huge price. I’m looking forward to the sequel!

MULAN

Name a character who pretends to be someone (or something) they’re not

I really don’t want to spoil anything so all I’m going to say is AIDAN from Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff. AIDAN is an artificial intelligence on-board a spacecraft called The Alexander. He is highly perceptive and calculating with a gift for manipulation. If you have not read the Illuminae Files yet, what are you waiting for? Even my husband loved them! The third and final book in the trilogy, Obsidio will be released in March 2018. I’m so excited to meet Amie Kaufman at the Melbourne Writer’s Festival next month. I am also attending a book launch in September for Jay Kristoff’s newest release – Godsgrave – so I get to meet him too!

TOY STORY

Name a book with characters you wish would come to life

For this question, I’m going to go with the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling. Do I really need to explain why I would want these characters to come to life? How amazing would it be to hang out with Harry, Ron, Hermione, Luna, Neville, Hagrid, Dumbledore and so on? Even better, hang with them at Hogwarts! These books have changed so many lives and still live on so strongly today. I cannot imagine a world without Harry Potter. I was really lucky to have attended the studio tour in London this year and witness all of the hard work and effort that went into making the films. I will absolutely be educating my children on this important series don’t you worry!

DISNEY DESCENDANTS

Name your favourite villain or morally ambiguous character

My favourite villain of all time is Lord Loss from the Demonata by Darren Shan. Lord Loss is a powerful Demon Master who has an obsession with playing chess. He is described as having pale red, lumpy skin and eight mangled arms. In the place where his heart should be is a gaping hole filled with deadly, venomous snakes. He has dark-red eyes and cracks all over his skin where blood consistently seeps out. He has two demon familiars, Vein and Artery, who are just as horrifying. Sounds like a charming guy right? What I love about Lord Loss is that for a disgusting demon, he is highly intelligent. He has the gift of being able to cure lycanthropy (the transformation from man to werewolf) but only if the victim can beat him in a game of chess. I rave about this series all the time but it is seriously that good!

I hope you enjoyed the Disney Book Tag! I nominate anybody who is interested to do it too. If you do, please link your post in the comments below so I can check it out. Also, if there are any other book tags you would like me to do, let me know. I have so much fun writing them. Thank you so much for reading. I hope you have a lovely day.

Peace & Love xoxo

Disclaimer: This post contains links to my Book Depository Affiliate which helps fund my blog, I am not being paid or sponsored for this post/products – all my thoughts/opinions are my own