top ten childhood characters i'd like to visit as adults

Hello, friends! Today's Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, is all about nostalgia (for me, at least). We're going to be talking about characters I loved when I was younger and really want to know what they're up to now. Not even necessarily books I read when I was a kid; we're gonna go into my teen years, too. Let's get started! 

1. Everyone in the Harry Potter series, duh. Oh hey, Cursed Child! Oh hey, dreams coming true! Didn't see you there! 

2. Suze from The Mediator series. Same deal as above (although I really have no idea why I haven't picked up Remembrance yet). Soon, my minions. 

3. Madison Finn from The Files of Madison Finn. I remember really loving these books when I was a preteen, and I really do credit my love of pugs to them. And my short obsession with acquiring an orange laptop (it never happened). I feel like she'd probably work for Buzzfeed, to be honest. 

4. Halley and Scarlett from Someone Like You. I hope they're still best friends. I hope Scarlett's baby is doing well. I just really loved their friendship dynamic and now I wanna reread it. 

5. Audrey from Audrey, Wait! I see her being part of a "Someone Wrote A Song About Me" support group. Delilah, Roxanne, and Becky will also be there. 

6. The whole gang from the Twilight series. I've been known to talk some smack about the series, I know. But I do think it would be fun to check in on the Cullens and see how their lives are going. That's what Stephenie Meyer should have done instead of the stupid gender reversal. Yes, I'm bitter. No, I'm not sorry. 

7. Eleanor and Park from, well, Eleanor & Park. I did not get any closure from that book. I really need to know how it ends up for those two, okay? Please tell me they live happily ever after. 

8. Jane and Rochester from Jane Eyre. It would be cool to see how their kid turns out, y'know? Also, does Rochester stop being kind of an asshole? And what about Adele?! How's she doing? 

9. Clay from Thirteen Reasons Why. I don't know if I'm the only one who feels this way, but that boy must be all kinds of fucked up after what he went through. I would just love to see how he copes and the effects of this traumatic experience on him. 

10. All the kids from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (except for Charlie). Look, I don't really care what happened to him. What matters to me is the other kids. Does Violet ever turn back to a normal colour, or does she just stay blue? Does Augustus start eating salads? Does Mike grow back to his normal size? Does Veruca learn to stop being such a bitch? Most importantly: Does Willy Wonka get sued? He totally should. 

ten fairytale retellings on my tbr

Happy Tuesday, my lovely little unicorn friends! And for my fellow Canadians, I hope you enjoyed your long weekend! I had a little bit of a Disney binge over the weekend - I watched The Little Mermaid, The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin. Well, it turns out this was very fitting, because this week, Top Ten Tuesday (hosted weekly by The Broke and the Bookish!)  is all about fairytale retellings! Now, I'm going to stretch this a little bit to incorporate some other stories - things like myths, legends, ancient tales, you get the gist. All in all, these are some of the retellings that I'm dying to read!

1. The Lunar Chronicles series by Marissa Meyer
Inspired by: Cinderella/Little Red Riding Hood/Rapunzel/Snow White
Exciting news, guys! I finally started reading Cinder! I'm currently about a hundred pages into it and absolutely adoring it so far. Really don't know why I didn't read this sooner!

2. A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas 
Inspired by: Beauty and the Beast
Ever since I started the Throne of Glass series, I've been hooked on Sarah J. Maas's writing. Not to mention the fact that Beauty and the Beast is my absolute favourite Disney movie (is there any book lover who doesn't want that library?)

3. A Thousand Nights by E.K. Johnston 
Inspired by: A Thousand and One Nights
I met E.K. Johnston when she did a signing/panel at my local Chapters with Kendare Blake and Michelle Krys, and she was awesome. I haven't read her other books yet, but this is very high on the tbr. And just look at that cover.

4. The Wrath and the Dawn  by Renee Ahdieh
Inspired by: A Thousand and One Nights
My friend Tracy (HAPPY BIRTHDAY TRACY!) recommended this one to me and of course I had to buy it. And judging by the reviews and how hyped up this book has been, I'm sure it'll be worth it.

5. Antigoddess by Kendare Blake  
Inspired by: Greek mythology
Again, Kendare Blake was at the signing in Chapters a couple months ago, and she was awesome. I loved Anna Dressed in Blood (it's set in my hometown), so I was immediately a fan of Kendare after reading that! I'm also very interested in Greek and Roman mythology, so this is definitely appealing to me.

6. Never Never by Brianna Shrum
Inspired by: Peter Pan
I'm going to be honest here: I've never been a huge, die-hard Peter Pan fan. I know a lot of people are, but I never fully connected to it as much as some other stories. Nevertheless, I've always been intrigued by books that tell the villain's side of the story, and that combined with the fact that I kinda think Peter's a bit of a jerk makes me very excited for this!

7. The Covenant series by Jennifer L. Armentrout 
Inspired by: Greek mythology
Jennifer L. Armentrout is one of those authors that I never fully jumped on the bandwagon for. I loved the one book I read by her, but I've never been as addicted as some people seem to be. I really want to get into her books more, and I feel like a mythology-based series is the perfect way to do it!

8. The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly by Stephanie Oakes
Inspired by: The Handless Maiden
How deliciously creepy does this sound?! I'm all about the non-watered-down, terrifying original Grimm stories, and this sounds like it's not going to hold back any punches when it comes to sticking to the original. Tracy also read this one and said it was pretty disturbing, so weirdly enough, I can't wait to be scared shitless.

9. Alice in Zombieland  by Gena Showalter

Inspired by: Alice in Wonderland 

I don't even feel like I need to explain this one that much. I mean, Alice and zombies. I've heard kind of mixed reviews about this one to be honest, but I don't even care. I'm giving it a try and that's all there is to it! 

10.The Sleeper and the Spindle by Neil Gaiman 

Inspired by: Sleeping Beauty 

Would you believe me if I said I've never read anything by Neil Gaiman? I think a nice, illustrated retelling of Sleeping Beauty would be a wonderful start to my collection. I've been eyeing up this particular set of his books for a while now, so I think I'm going to read this one and then take the plunge into some of his other books.



What fairytale retellings are on your must-have list? Let me know in the comments!

top ten books that celebrate diversity

Hello, all! Top Ten Tuesday is hosted every week by The Broke and the Bookish, and this week, we're talking diversity. It's no secret that this particular topic has been huge in the bookish community recently, and for good reason. The #WeNeedDiverseBooks campaign has been making waves lately, and it's great so see how many authors and publishers are embracing differences in colour, ability, religion, race, sexuality... The list goes on. Here are the ten books I picked that celebrate diversity in all forms. 

1. The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling 

I feel like this series, especially for children who are reading it the first time, doesn't come across as particularly diverse right away. But it's not hard to see the commentary regarding race relations and cultural genocide in the issues between pure bloods, Muggle-borns, and Muggles. 

2. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz 

Here, we've got two separate strands of diversity - the two boys are Mexican American, making them racially diverse, as well as part of the gay community. What more could you ask for? 

3. April Raintree by Beatrice Culleton 

This is a book that I read for my YA Lit class last year (it's actually a revised edition of In Search of April Raintree). I think it's particularly important for Canadians, or anyone living in an area with a large Aboriginal population. It really captures the struggle of being othered in your own land in a beautiful and heartbreaking way. 

4. Eleanor & Park  by Rainbow Rowell

Both of the protagonists in this book are different in their own ways. Park comes from a Korean family and fills the role of a racially diverse character, while Eleanor reads as diverse to me because she's simply not the typical love interest in a YA novel. She's overweight and plain and doesn't really fit the teen girl stereotype, but we still see her as beautiful through Park's eyes, which is so important. 

5. What Night Brings by Carla Trujillo 

This book broke me, plain and simple. I read it for my Latina/o Lit class and I don't think any of the books I've read for school have ever hit me as hard as this one did. Marci is an eleven-year-old Latin American girl who wants God to turn her into a boy. Pretty much, we have a trifecta of diversity in here with the racial, religious, and gender-related contexts in this book. 

6. Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan 

Tiny Cooper. End of story. 

7. The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins

I mean, just think about all the diversity between districts! We've got race, class... Even Katniss and Peeta become physically disabled by the end of the series. 

8. I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson

This is just a beautiful example of what it means to love someone who is othered. The dual perspective really works to give us a look at both sides, so we're not just learning what it's like for Noah (a gay character), we also see how it affects his twin, Jude, and how she deals. 

9. The Summer of Chasing Mermaids by Sarah Ockler

I'll admit right now - I'm not done this book yet, but already I'm loving it! The narrator is Elyse, a girl from Trinidad and Tobago, who lost her voice in a boating accident. She's one of the only POC's in the small town where the story takes place, and with her disability on top of that, she's definitely very different from those around her. 

10.  Everything, Everything  by Nicola Yoon

I don't want to give too much away because this book isn't out yet (thanks, Netgalley!) but I will tell you what you can find out from the synopsis: the narrator is an Afro-Asian teenager living with SCID, a disease that pretty much means she's allergic to the entire world. 

What diverse books are you loving?

last ten books that came into my possession

Hello, lovely people! Today is Tuesday, which means I'm going to make a list and you're going to read it. Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, and this week it's all about our most recent book finds. Since I haven't yet reached the level of superstardom that allows me to receive free books from publishers, all of these were purchased by myself. So, starting with the most recent and going from there... 

top ten hyped books i've never read

Happy Tuesday, my lovely friends. I'm currently sitting in my back yard with a coffee and a book, enjoying my day off. What a perfect time to write! Today, we're talking about hyped books we haven't yet picked up (or don't plan on picking up at all!). Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Let's get started!

top ten books i've read so far in 2015

Happy Tuesday, all! Today I'm preparing for a bit of a fail, since I honestly don't think I've read ten books yet this year that I've loved. Might have something to do with the fact that I've been super busy since I got out of school  a couple months ago, but maybe I've just had bad luck. We'll see how many we can get to! As always, Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovely ladies at The Broke and the Bookish. 

my ten favourite top ten tuesday topics from the last 5 years

Hi all, and welcome to Top Ten Tuesday! If you're familiar with the world of book blogging, I'm sure you know what this is all about - for those of you who are new, Top Ten Tuesday is a feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish every week. Now, this week is a special one because it's the 5th anniversary of Top Ten Tuesday! So, in celebration, we're going to be talking about our favourite topics from the last 5 years. 

Just a disclaimer: I haven't been blogging for very long at all and I'm pretty sure that this is actually my tenth time doing Top Ten Tuesday. So, I'm just going through their list of past topics and picking the ones that look most fun to me. In no particular order. :) 

1. Top Ten Favourite Book Quotes

2. Top Ten WOW Endings

3. Top Ten Most Frustrating Characters

4. Top Ten Best/Worst Movie Adaptations 

5. Top Ten Books I HAD to Buy But Still Haven't Read

6. Top Ten Characters I Would Crush on if I Were Also a Fictional Character

7. Top Ten Best Bookish Memories

8. Top Ten Minor Characters

9. Top Ten Fictional BFFs

10. Top Ten Books I'd Quickly Save if My House Was Going to be Abducted by Aliens (or any other natural disaster) 

I'm kind of considering doing these ones sporadically over the next little while, or at least a couple of them. They just look so fun! Could be a good idea for the times when I want to write but have no ideas. What do you guys think? 

top ten books for readers who like character driven novels

Hi, guys! Sorry I've been so MIA lately, school has been absolutely crazy and I haven't had any time to read for fun, let alone blog about it. Sadface.  But I have a bit of a break for a week or two, so I'm hoping to at least get a couple smaller posts up! 

As you all know, Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovely people over at The Broke and the Bookish. This week, we're talking about character driven books - the ones that don't really focus on plot as much as the people within the story. 

1. We Were Liars by E. Lockhart - This book.  Such a good job of really getting into Cadence's head and showing how she learns the truth. 

2. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton - I feel like I'm cheating a bit because I just read this book for one of my classes, but hello. 

3. Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson - I mean, I think we can all agree that Morgan Matson is the queen of heartstring-tugging, tear-inducing stories. And the way she revolves the plot around the characters rather than the other way around just makes it even more effective.

4. Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson - Ditto. (Yes, I just said ditto. Yes, I mentally live in 2004. Get over it.) 

5. Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell - I MEAN. Does this even need an explanation? Really? 

 6. Just One Day by Gayle Forman - For me, the most interesting part of the book is the last two-thirds that don't include Willem. I just really loved seeing Allyson come into her own and grow up. 

7. Paper Towns by John Green - If Morgan Matson is queen, let's make John Green king. All his novels are very character driven, but I recently reread Paper Towns and it really resonated with me how much  Q grows throughout the course of this book. 

8. The Torontonians by Phyllis Brett Young - This book is totally the ugly duckling of the list, but oh well. I'm sure most, if not all, of the people reading this won't have heard of this book, but I read it for my Canadian Prose class and figured it was a good fit since the whole thing is totally introspective. 

9. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins - I know, I know, this book does have an extreeeeemely fast plot. But I'm thinking of the series as a whole, and how much Katniss grows internally during all the shit she goes through.

10. If I Stay by Gayle Forman - Duh. (Update: Still living in 2004.) 

So, there's my list! Let me know if I missed any you guys would have added, or if you agree with any of my picks!