Mean Girls Tag

Well, I survived the big, scary blizzard. Today I am extremely sore after spending three hours shoveling my driveway yesterday. But anyway, today I’m going to do my first book tag in a while. As you can tell by the title, this tag is based on the movie Mean Girls. It takes quotes from the film and turns them into unique questions. So, let’s get to answering:

“It’s pronounced like Cady.” – Which fictional characters’ names did you get completely wrong?

Draco Malfoy from Harry Potter by JK Rowling and Feyre Archeron from A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas. I pronounced Draco with a short “a” sound like in “rack” and Feyre like “fair.” Obviously, I was off on both accounts.

“She doesn’t even go here!” – Which character would you like to place in a fictional world from another book or series?

I would put the Six of Crows (Leigh Bardugo) characters into the Shades of Magic (V.E. Schwab) universe. Or at least Kaz and Inej. I’d love to see them on a pirate crew with Kell and Lila. I just really wish I could see those characters interact.

“On Wednesdays we wear pink!” – Repetition. Which book gave you deja vu of another book whilst reading it?

Ash Princess by Laura Sebastian. This novel doesn’t come out until April 24^th, but I received an arc from Netgalley in the hopes I’d review it. I’m only a few chapters in, but it feels very cut-and-paste YA high fantasy. You’ve got the displaced princess poised to lead a rebellion, the cartoonishly evil king, and the forbidden romance. It gets style points for at least trying to use different European influences than usual and I believe our protagonist and her people are supposed to (ambiguously) be people of color, but it still feels like Every YA Fantasy Book Ever. I’m still going to try and finish it so I can review it, but so far I am not loving it.

“You all have got to stop calling each other sluts and whores. It just makes it okay for guys to call you sluts and whores.” – Which book gave you the complete opposite of girl power feels?

As I Descended by Robin Talley. This book is a Macbeth retelling, but a really bad one. And our protagonist Maria’s reason for killing her rival? A scholarship to a school she can already afford and get into because of her grades and extracurriculars. She also hates this girl because reasons. Seriously, she’s not even a mean girl. Not only that, but all the queer characters are in the closet and all the Latinx characters pretend they’re white. So, not only is this book anti-girl power, it’s anti-feminist.

“You go Glen Coco!” – Name a character you felt like you wanted to cheer on whilst reading.

Kelsea Raleigh Glynn from The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen. This is how you long-lost-queen-returning-to-reclaim-her-throne trope. I love her so much. She’s clever and stubborn, but she loves her people more than anything. I support everything she does and would die for her.

“Get in loser, we’re going shopping!” — How long do you typically spend at a book shop?

I’ll say probably about a half hour or forty five minutes. But that’s because I usually have someone with me who either does not want to be there or is finished in a far shorter amount of time. If I could, I’d spend all day in a bookstore.

“It’s not my fault you’re like in love with me or something!” – Which character would have to get out a restraining order on you, if they were real?

I hate to (sort of) repeat an answer, but Kell Maresh from Shades of Magic. He is my son and I love him.

“I can’t help it that I’m popular.” – Which overhyped book were you cautious about reading?

The Wicked + The Divine by Kieron Gillen. This was a graphic novel series I’d been interested in trying for a while, but I waited a long time because of who I saw hyping it. The person I heard about this series from is a BookTuber I am hot and cold with. Sometimes I agree with her 100% and others I feel the complete opposite of what she does. Due to this, I was nervous I’d wind up hating this series. Instead, I wound up loving it. It’s so good, though admittedly not for everyone.

“She’s a life ruiner. She ruins people’s lives.” – We all love Regina George. Name a villain you just love to hate.

Once again, I hate to repeat an answer but I have to pick the Red Queen from The Queen of the Tearling series. She’s such an interesting villain. Instead of being irredeemably evil, she’s complex and flawed. She has deep insecurities and fears that drive her, chinks in her armor we get to see when reading from her perspective. She’s also dark and without mercy, a killer queen if there ever was one. But she’s got so much depth, she’s just that much more of a threat. Amazing character. I still hope she chokes though.

“I’m not like a regular Mom, I’m a cool Mom.” – Your favorite fictional parents.

Arthur and Molly Weasley from Harry Potter. The amount of love in that household… oh wow. They would literally die for their children. Not only that, but they take Harry in as another son, no questions asked. I love them. They’re so pure.

“That is so fetch!” – Which book or series would you love to catch on?

The Seraphina duology by Rachel Hartman. Though dense, it’s a really good and inventive series. It’s also about dragons, which is awesome. I just got Hartman’s new book Tess of the Road (out February 27^th) from Netgalley and am so excited to start it. Her worlds are amazing.

“How do I even begin to explain Regina George?” – Describe your ideal character to read about.

Antiheroes and morally gray characters. I am so sick of the good vs. evil dynamic. I want more characters that fit somewhere in between. They’re so interesting to read about.

“I just have a lot of feelings.” – What do you do when a book gives you a bad case of ‘the feels’?

Go to Twitter and emote. That’s all you can do.

“Nice wig Janice, what’s it made of?” “Your Mom’s chest hair!” – Which characters one liners would you love to claim for your own?

Christian Ozera from Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead. He’s always got a sarcastic remark up his sleeve. I love my goth son.

“Boo, you whore.” – Name a time a character’s decision has made you roll your eyes.

Aza from Turtles All the Way Down by John Green. Although, it wasn’t so much her decisions as it was her word choices. I know this is more of a writing style choice than a character choice, but it still drove me nuts. I strained my eyes from rolling them so hard— and that was just the first five pages! So glad I DNF-ed this one.

Do you have any answers to any of these questions? Let me know in the comments!