renegades – The Bookish Mutant

Chapters & Melodies Tag 🎵

Posted on November 24, 2021 by madeline @ The Bookish Mutant

Happy Wednesday, bibliophiles!

I have so many tags that I’ve been meaning to do for a while, so I figured I’d take some time on my break to do…well, at least one of them. Since I’m almost as big of a fan of music as I am of books, this is the perfect tag for me! The tag was created by Evin @ A Curly Sue’s Ramblings and Diamond @ I Have 12% of a Plan, and I found the tag over at Suhani @ Random Reader’s Rambles.

RULES:

Link back to the creators’ posts – I have 12% of a plan & A Curly Sue’s Ramblings
Thank the person who tagged you
Answer the prompts and use the original graphics
Tag 5 bloggers who would enjoy doing this tag
Notify them by commenting on their blog
Use the tag “Chapters & Melodies Tag” in your post
Have fun!

Let’s begin, shall we?

☾ — fantastictvs: Legion S01E06. — here I am cycling through all possible “Syd or Lenny wearing headphones” gifs

🎵CHAPTERS & MELODIES TAG🎵

A SONG AND A BOOK THAT SHARE A TITLE

Supernova: Meyer, Marissa: 9781250078384: Books - Amazon.ca

This prompt took a WHILE of digging through my read books on Goodreads, but I’ve found one: Supernova (Marissa Meyer) and “Supernova” by Liz Phair!

A SONG THAT REMINDS YOU OF A BOOK

Amazon.com: The Final Six: 9780062658944: Monir, Alexandra: Books

At the time that I read The Final Six, I was somewhat familiar with Radiohead, but seeing the reference to “Paranoid Android” is what made me dive deeper into their music—OK Computer in particular. OK Computer is one of my favorite albums now, and Radiohead is one of my favorite bands. So, uh…thanks, Alexandra Monir!

A BOOK THAT FEATURES MUSIC IN IT

Ziggy, Stardust and Me by James Brandon: 9780525517641 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books

Ziggy, Stardust and Me gets its name from David Bowie, and his music features prominently in the novel, which I loved! (Bowie’s my favorite) There are also a few Pink Floyd references, from what I remember—I think specifically about “Time.”

A SONG THAT REMINDS YOU OF YOUR OTP

Let Auri Twirl!!!!!! Auri from Aurora Rising #aurorarising #auroracycle #fanart #sketch #sketchbook #copicmarkers #illustrati… | Aurora rising cat, Aurora, Fan book — art credit to L004P on Tumblr

Auri and Kal from Aurora Rising are 100% my OTP! They’re the sweetest, most tender pair together, and over the years, both of them—especially Auri—have become such important characters to me. I associate “Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space” with them for a few reasons—the lyrics (in this version, at least), fit, and the sweeping, space-y atmosphere fits the feel of the book itself. But if there’s one thing, ONE THING that I would give anything to see in the TV adaptation, it’s this song playing in the scene with Auri and Kal in the pollen fields. THAT’S ALL I ASK.

FAVORITE SONG FROM A MOVIE THAT WAS ADAPTED FROM A BOOK

Dune: Deluxe Edition: Herbert, Frank: 9780593099322: Amazon.com: Books

Technically, this song is a) a cover, and b) was only in the trailer, but for me, it’s a fantastic cover! Gives me chills every time, and it has ever since I first saw the Dune trailer last year. Great book, great movie.

I TAG:

Hundreds & Thousands of Books
Riddhi @ Whispering Stories
Becky @ Becky’s Book Blog
Becca @ Toastie Books
Sabrina @ Notes from a Paper Plane Nomad
+ anyone else who wants to participate! And if I tagged you and you’ve already done it/don’t want to do it, no worries.

Today’s song:

That’s it for this tag! Have a wonderful rest of your day, and take care of yourselves!

Book Review Tuesday (1/7/20)–Supernova (Renegades, #3)

Posted on January 7, 2020 by madeline @ The Bookish Mutant

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Hey there, fellow bibliophiles!

I’ve mentioned this one several times before, as it was one of my most anticipated 2019 releases. And man, am I glad to say that this book was not only my first read of 2020, but an incredible conclusion to an unforgettable, action-packed series.

WARNING: This post may contain some spoilers for the previous two Renegades books. For my reviews/Goodreads reviews for books 1 and 2, click here:

Renegades (Renegades, #1)

Archenemies (Renegades, #2)

Enjoy this week’s review!

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Supernova (Renegades, #3)

Nova and Adrian. Both battling their forbidden romance and their inner demons. Both with double lives, days from being exposed and shattering each other’s relationships.

As an old enemy resurfaces in Gatlon City, the two Prodigies must reconcile their pasts and save their beloved city from the brink–even if it means exposing themselves and those who they love. And the further Nova and Adrian entrench themselves in their webs of lies, the more they realize…is the line between heroes and villains as clear as it is made out to be?

…

Marissa Meyer truly outdid herself in this final installment to the Renegades. With such a wide cast of characters, I’m still astounded by the way that they were all intertwined so seamlessly, without muddying or confusing the story. (Though, I suppose the very high body count thinned the cast out a bit, but mostly for character development. Mostly.) The theme of the moral gray area between good and evil was stronger than ever, and Meyer’s clever writing and world building truly shined in this novel. Clocking in at 548 pages, I was worried for the last 100 or so that the rest of the plot would be filler, but boy, we almost had not one, but two incredibly climactic battles that served the plot well and furthered the story in a satisfying way.

My only qualm, is, I’ll admit, pretty nit-picky. One thing that bothered me a little bit was the dialogue; some of the characters (Nova, etc.) seemed a bit…too eloquent in the way that they spoke. I get it, she and some of the others are intelligent characters, but their lines read like they were reading from a ghostwritten speech. It made for a bit of discordance in some of the more climactic scenes, but I’m glad to say that it didn’t take away too much of my enjoyment.

Overall, a simultaneously shocking and satisfying conclusion to a YA superhero series that may well become the benchmark for the sub-genre to come.

Solid 4.5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Supernova is the end of the Renegades trilogy, but I’m almost certain that Marissa Meyer has another whopper up her sleeve, though nothing’s been confirmed yet. I just have a gut feeling. 😉

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Today’s song:

[heart eyes] SOOOOOPPPHHHHIIIIIIIEEEEE

That just about wraps up this week’s Book Review Tuesday! Stay tuned for more content later in the week! Have a great rest of your day, and take care of yourselves!

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Book Tags, Books, Weekly Updates

Weekly Update: December 30, 2019–January 5, 2020

Posted on January 5, 2020January 5, 2020 by madeline @ The Bookish Mutant

Happy Sunday, everybody!

Whew, what a week it’s been, the last week of the decade, and the start of a new one. Also, this is my last day of winter break, so…school starts back up tomorrow…[sad harmonica]

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Hey, at least I soaked it all up. I had a lot of fun–festivities with family, two rounds of TRoS and one of Knives Out, the first ski trip of the year, and LOTS of reading and writing. Success! 😀

WHAT I READ THIS WEEK:

Bowie’s Bookshelf: The Hundred Books that Changed David Bowie’s Life–John O’Connell

(⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)

Supernova (Renegades, #3)–Marissa Meyer (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5)

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Darius the Great is Not Okay–Adib Khorram (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)

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Sanctuary (Sanctuary, #1)–Caryn Lix (⭐️⭐️⭐️.5)

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POSTS AND SUCH:

CURRENTLY READING/TO READ NEXT WEEK

Half Bad–Sally Green

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Rebel–Marie Lu (Finally bought it!)

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I’ll start posting a list of the week’s songs once I get more of them, but since I only have two, I’ll skip it this time. But this one’s been stuck in my head for a few days this year, and I’ve really taken a liking to it, so here you go…

Hope you had a great start to the decade! Have a great rest of your day, and take care of yourselves!

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Book Tags, Books

Get To Know Ya Book Tag

Posted on January 2, 2020January 2, 2020 by madeline @ The Bookish Mutant

Happy New Year, bibliophiles!

I found this tag on A Little Haze Book Blog, and I’m so excited to take part! Let’s begin, shall we?

FAVORITE BOOK OF ALL TIME

Oooh…hard decision, but if I had to pick, I’d go with Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. I read it a little under two years ago for the first time, and it’s never left my thoughts since.

FAVORITE BOOK FIVE YEARS AGO

The entire Search for WondLa trilogy captured my heart around middle school, but my favorite of the three was the beautifully written (and illustrated) and shocking finale, The Battle for WondLa.

FAVORITE DUOLOGY/TRILOGY/SERIES

Hands down, Ashley Poston’s masterful Heart of Iron duology. Both books are so lovable in every sense of the word.

LAST BOOK YOU READ

I’ll be reviewing this one later, but I just finished up Supernova, the last installment in Marissa Meyer’s Renegades trilogy. Such a stunning end to the series!

LAST POETRY BOOK YOU READ

I bought a collection of Tennyson’s poetry in April, I think. Such remarkable and heartstring-tugging words…In Memoriam was probably my favorite.

WHAT BOOK MOST INFLUENCED YOUR LIFE?

Alright, sorry, I know I keep coming back to this, but The Search for WondLa was not only my gateway to my favorite genre, science fiction, but what inspired me to be an author. Tony DiTerlizzi will never stop being my hero, just for that series alone.

BOOK THAT MADE YOU UGLY CRY

Yeeeeeeeesh, A Monster Calls SLAYED me when I first read it. I had to re-read it over twice, and both times, I ended up bawling my eyes out at the end. GOD. 😭

BOOK THAT MADE YOU LAUGH

Good Omens, without a doubt. I don’t think a book has made me laugh as much as that in a very long time.

CHARACTER YOU’D LIKE TO BE FOR A DAY

Hmm…the first character that came to mind was Alosa from Daughter of the Pirate King duology.Oh, to be a fearsome pirate queen on the high seas (with fabulous hair)…

BOOK SO GOOD YOU DREAMT ABOUT IT

I can’t quite think of any books that come to mind other than WondLa, and I’ve already mentioned that one in two of the questions, so…sorry about that.

BOOK YOU DNF’D

Oh, there’s a long, long list…

But the most recent book I DNF’d was Lifestyles of Gods and Monsters. Such an interesting concept for a plot, but the dialogue made it crash and burn. Curse you, deceptively gorgeous cover…

WHAT BOOK ARE YOU EXCITED TO READ?

I loved The Hazel Wood, and I just found out that the sequel, The Night Country, will be released on January 7th! REJOICE!

That just about wraps it up! If you’d like to do the tag, feel free to do so. Please be sure to link back to this post if you do so 🙂

Today’s song: “One and a Half Stars”–Wilco (listening to this as I wrap up this post!)

Have a lovely rest of your day, and take care of yourselves!

Book Tags, Books

End of the Year Book Tag

Posted on December 9, 2019 by madeline @ The Bookish Mutant

Hey, fellow bibliophiles! Sorry that I haven’t been active since Tuesday. I’ve had a kind of rough, busy, and rather emotional week (and an awful lot of homework), but hey, at least I finally finished watching Good Omens.

I saw this post on Prose and Pancakes, and I figured that I’d give it a go. (And if you can, please check out Nikita’s lovely blog!) The tag itself was created by Ariel Bisett. So, without further ado, let’s begin!

Are there any books you started this year that you need to finish?

Well…not quite, in the sense of the question. I’d like to think that I’m pretty good about finishing books in one sitting. BUT, I did just start reading Bill Konigsberg’s The Music of What Happens, which I’m enjoying so far! 🙂

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Do you have an autumnal book to transition into the end of the year?

I read pretty much all of the autumnal books that I wanted to read either in October or over the summer (oops), but I think Rainbow Rowell and Faith Erin Hicks’ Pumpkinheads would fit the bill perfectly.

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Is there a new release that you’re still waiting for?

I think this one technically came out in November, but I haven’t yet read Marissa Meyer’s Supernova, and I am OVER THE MOON excited for that one!

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What are the three books you need to read before the end of the year?

Hmmm…

I don’t really have anything that I have planned for the end of the year, so I’ll just hash out a few books off of my TBR that I’m particularly excited about…

Hopefully I can get this one on my next comic-shop run…

I’m fascinated by the direction that Magneto was taken in during the Brian Michael Bendis run, and I’m excited to see it all from his perspective. I also loved Bunn’s work on Harrow County, so I’m sure it’ll translate well to the iconic villain.

And speaking of X-Men (references, anyway)…

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I’ve been meaning to read Lyn Miller-Lachmann’s Rogue for ages, and I haven’t been able to find it anywhere. I haven’t read much MG in a while, and it seems like this will be a very poignant coming-of-age story.

Aaaaaaand completely unrelated from the other two, here’s Marcus Sedgwick’s The Monsters We Deserve. As Frankenstein is one of my favorite (if not my favorite) book of all time, I’m intrigued to see his take on the fateful night that Mary Shelley spun the iconic story.

Is there a book that could still shock you and become your favorite book of the year?

I doubt it, honestly. My expectations have practically shot through the stratosphere after the combined glory of Honor Bound, Aurora Rising, Like A Love Story, The Pioneer, and The Toll. (I’ll be reviewing the latter of those next week. MY GOD…)

Have you already started making reading plans for 2020?

Reading plans? What are these ‘reading plans’ you speak of?

Not really, no. But, I’d like to up my Goodreads reading goal to…let’s say…250. I’ve already passed my goal of 200 this year, and my goal was 300 the year before, and that was veeeery stressful. Barely passed that one. So I’m hoping that 250 will be a happy medium.

And, that just about wraps it up! I tag:

Beck @ SMELLFOY CAN READ?
Kayla @ Kayla’s Wordsmithy
Megabunny Reads
And YOU, if you wish to participate! 😀

I hope you had a wonderful week! Stay tuned for more content tomorrow!

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Book Review Tuesday

Book Review Tuesday (10/10/17)-Renegades

Posted on October 10, 2017 by madeline @ The Bookish Mutant

Hey everyone!

Okay, first of all, I’m really sorry that I couldn’t get to the first October BRT. I had loads of homework, and I had to get a lot of it done sooner due to a Shins concert at Red Rocks and a weekend trip to Vail (both of which were A-MAY-ZING!). And I’ll miss one more in about a week or so because I’m going on another school trip. So, you’re not in for as much BRTs this month, so sorry. 😦

But anyway, I’ve got a GREAT review today of one of my personal most anticipated books of 2017…

Drumroll please…

…RENEGADES! YEP, THAT’S RIGHT, THE LAST BOOK IN THE RANDOMS SERIES!!! SQUEE!

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Renegades

After his last adventure in space, Zeke Reynolds has landed himself on Earth yet again (unintentionally), at a boarding school for “disobedient children”. The Phands have also begun their ultimate takeover, and are slowly brainwashing the entire human race. But a quick escape by Zeke and his friends put them back into space…and far from their original plan. Now it’s all a mess-Zeke’s stuck on an uninhabited planet with Villainic, Tamret’s kinda-sorta-maybe-former boyfriend, his remaining friends have been captured, and to top it all off…Tamret’s not really his girlfriend anymore (uncertain…). With the help of a misfit gang of rebels and some unexpected allies, will Zeke and his friends be able to stop the Earth from being taken over?

OH MY GOD. Words cannot describe how this book made me feel.

Okay, well…they kinda can, but it’s a rather…unarticulate choice of words. I just went on an emotional rollercoaster-laughing, anger, mind explosion, almost crying-the whole shebang. I was in emotional disarray for about a day afterward. I’m pretty sad that one of my favorite series has to end, but it ended with a bang, and I was satisfied.

Well then, have a great rest of your day, and enjoy October!