Positions Book Tag

Today, I'm sharing a new book tag created by Cielo over at Bellerose Reads who tagged me in her new Positions book tag. I love working on book tags inspired by pop music, so I was thrilled to get the tag. If I'm being totally honest, I wasn't super into Positions, Ariana Grande's latest album. I'm much more of a Thank U Next fan because that album was far more lyrically focused. Positions reminds me a lot of Sweetener. I do like "POV", the closing track of the album. Still, I'm super excited to share the tag because these are some of the best tag questions I've ever seen. Cielo did a wonderful job coming up with really cool prompts. I had a blast thinking of books that fit them. As always, just click the book title to read my review of any of the books I mentioned. And don't forget to read the original tag here. 

 shut up – a book you couldn’t shut up about 

There are way too many. Honestly, a ton of them are already sprinkled through this post because they're my favorites so of course I'm going to talk about them constantly. But this probably goes to Look by Zan Romanoff. I'm pretty sure this is the book I've yelled about most this year because it felt like it needed the extra love. Everybody needs to read this book, and I have not seen enough people talking about it, so I've made it my job to talk about it as much as possible. 

34+35 – a book that you stayed up to finish

Today, Tonight, Tomorrow is one of the few books I stayed up late to finish in the last year. I've mostly stopped reading at night because I get so swept into the books, but I started reading this one early in the day and wound up glued to it all night. The book takes place in a single day/night, and the pacing is perfect to keep you turning the pages while still getting fully immersed in the characters. Fantastic book.

motive – a book that left you questioning everything

This has to go to Permanent Record. The book is all about this guy who dropped out of NYU and has no direction in life. The book is a super close first person and more of a character study than anything else. His crisis about growing up definitely triggered my own. How do we all know what we're supposed to do with our lives? How do you get there? It was both comforting and spiral inducing beyond it just being a brilliant book. 

just like magic – a book with all your favorite tropes

You'd Be Mine by Erin Hahn will always have my heart because I love books with famous main characters, musical main characters, messy relationships, and books that are honest about mental health. This book is fun and fully grounded. It'll make you smile and tug at your heart strings, and I will keep recommending it for the rest of time. 

off the table – a book that raised your standards

I haven't talked about Wild and Crooked in a while, but it honestly raised my standards for YA in the sense that it was a brilliant, gripping, emotional book that had no romantic component. The book was also effortlessly inclusive. Almost all the characters were LGBTQIA and one of the leads was disabled, but it wasn't a flashy point of the book. They were simply parts of the characters just like how real life is. It felt like representation that wasn't asking for a gold star or something like some books. Also, it just focused on the power of platonic love and connection. Platonic love is so underrated. 

six thirty – a problematic book you love anyway

I'm not sure if this book is actually problematic, but the first YA book I ever read and loved was All The Bright Places. The book has definitely faced understandable criticism for its dark portrayal of bipolar disorder and lack of trigger warnings. The book definitely could've taken a more nuanced approach, and I feel like if it came out in 2020, it would've. But the book will always have a place in my heart because it made me love YA and broke down my internalized stigma with mental illness because I saw myself and my struggles in it so much. While I recommend books with better, own voices portrayals of mental illness, I'm never giving away my copy. 

safety net – a book you immediately knew was a 5 star read

I'm only 20% in right now, but I'm pretty sure This Will Be Funny Someday is going to be my first read and my first 5 star read of the year. I've already connected with the main character's voice, and I relate so much to what she's going through. Bonus points that the book is hilarious. 

my hair – a well-known author whose work you haven’t touched but are interested in

This one is hard because I've read most of the hyped authors I'm interested in reading. I feel like there are so few huge names in YA contemporary vs fantasy that I have a smaller pool to choose from. I guess Stephanie Perkins maybe? I have read her thriller book, but that's so different from the series she's most famous for that it feels like it doesn't totally count. 

nasty – a new release you can’t wait to read

I can't wait to pick up Sarah Suk's debut Made in Korea. It features two warring Korean beauty business run out of backpacks between two high schoolers. I think it's also enemies to lovers. Other books I can't wait for include: It Goes Like This by Miel Moreland, A Taste for Love by Jennifer Yen, and A Pho Love Story by Loan Le. Read all my most anticipated of 2021 on my massive list here. 

west side – your favorite series

I haven't read a series in an incredibly long time, so my answer to this is a throwback. Percy Jackson will probably always be my favorite series. It got me through some of my worst school years, and I loved the blend of Greek mythology and worlds I related to. I don't think a series will ever mean as much to me, and I'm excited for it to get the adaption it deserves so it can hopefully replace everyone's reliance on Harry Potter with an inclusive, caring series not helmed by someone who wants to take others rights away...

love language – a comfort book you keep returning to

I know I've talked about it nonstop, but it's the honest answer. I Would Leave Me If I Could has become a serious comfort read. Beyond it being amazing and incredibly honest and soothing, it's a book of poetry, so it's easy to dip into the book and read a few poems and then go on with my day instead of having to get invested in an entire book again. I think I've read it maybe 12 times now. 

positions – a book that subverted a cliché

Perfect on Paper owns my heart forever because it made me love a trope a hated because it is never done super well- love triangles. This book has a perfect love triangle. I could not put it down. Usually, love triangles feel cliche to me, and it's SO OBVIOUS who the protagonist is meant to end up with. Everyone in this book is so fully realized. Also, the book has a queer club where students get together to have community and talk out issues, and this gathering is so honest and subverts so many cliches that sometimes fall on queer characters. 

obvious – a book you loved from a genre you don’t normally read

To Kill a Kingdom is a book I read back when I first started blogging. It's a fantasy retelling of The Little Mermaid, and it was the last fantasy book I actually finished. I read so much fantasy when I read middle grade, but it intimidates me in YA. Still, I loved that book, and it still has a special place in my heart.

pov – a book you loved to see told from a different point of view

I really want to read Super Fake Love Song from Gray's point of view. I didn't give the book a great rating, and I generally wasn't much of a fan, but I love Gray. I guess I identified with him a lot, and his struggle between practical and dreams was something that I've been grappling with a lot lately. I only kept reading for him, so I would've loved it if I could've read his story instead of Sunny's. 

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