Scalleywag Book Tag

~Scalleywag Book Tag- November 8th, 2017~

Instead of Top 5 Wednesday this week, I decided to do another tag. One of the creators of the ScalleywagAThon created this tag this week and I wanted to do it while I was doing the readathon. So far, I'm through two of the four books, so yay. I'll probably finish at least three today. It has been a great reading month so far.

The tag was created by Ali of the Hardback Hoarder. Here's a link to her video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=619_J74Ee90

1. All Hands on Deck!- Pick 3 characters on your crew!
- Captain Hook- because he's the first pirate that I ever loved. I'm now writing a retelling series that features the dreaded pirate and I sort of love him with all of my heart. So yeah, my version of Captain Hook will be there. Really, I would really just love to meet him. Best day ever!

- I'm stealing the answer from the creator of this tag: Inej from the Six of Crows duology by Leigh Bardugo- She is the first person I thought of and would be a great addition to my crew.

- Mother Goose from The Land of Stories by Chris Colfer because she's tough, knows how to have a good time, and would just be incredible to spend that much time with.

2. Open Waters- there's something lurking below your ship; name a fictional creature you don't wanna meet in your travels. 
- The Kraken, Minotaur from Greek Mythology, Hydra, and probably so much more.

3. Siren Song- you hear the song tempting you with love; name a book you didn't know you needed till you read it. 
- I have two answers for this one.
First, Simon vs. the Homo Sapien Agenda by Becky Albertalli, which is the sweetest and most adorable love story that I have ever read. I love Simon so much and Blue is just everything to me. It's just so darn beautiful.

- Also, The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller. This broke my heart, healed it, and then broke it into pieces. I adore Achilles and Patroclus, they are one of my favorite couples in literature. I went into this book knowing what would happen in the ending because it's based on the original Greek myths. That sure did not make it any easier for me to read. I willing went into this book knowing it would hurt me and I let myself fall so hard for this couple. So yeah, I didn't know I needed it when I read it, but that sure did not make it any easier for me. This was an instant favorite.

4. Parley- Your crew has been captured! What famous villain are you thrilled (and slightly scared) about meeting? 
- So this is not technically a book villain, but I'm going to say, Darth Vader. No, I don't know why he's out traveling in the ocean or why he has decided to attack my ship, but let's just go with it. I would be scared to death if I met him, but it would also be incredible to say that I met Darth Vader. He's my favorite villain. I wouldn't live to tell people but still.

5. Davy Jone's Locker- One of your crew members has died; name a book that provides a  unique outlook on death. 
Optional: choose a crew member to die. 
- I'm not choosing someone to die. I just don't want to.
- A book that has a unique take on the afterlife is, The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom. I haven't actually read this in five years. This deals with a man's death and him meeting five important people in his life, but many of them are not people that he ever would have expected. It's a cool concept and really makes you think about how every person you meet could have an important part in your life.

6. Yo Ho Ho!- you meet a fellow pirate at a pub; recommend a pirate related book
- Peter Darling by Austin Chant: This is a unique retelling of Peter Pan that I really like.

7. X Marks the Spot- you found the treasure; what is one fictional item you would love to have?
- For this, I'm going to say Hermione's bag from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling. I remember when I first read this book wanting that bag and I still do. Being able to make any size bag hold everything you ever need is just something I need. Or at least being able to cast that spell on one of my own bags. 

Disney's Hercules Review

🏺 Disney's Hercules Movie Review- Watched June 27th ⚡

In Honor of the 20th Anniversary of Hercules

🎞️🎞️🎞️🎞️🎞️

How better to spend the day than watch this movie? This is my second favorite Disney movie right below The Little Mermaid. It is the well-known hero story. Hercules goes off on a mission wanting to find out who he really is. He meets his father, Zeus, who tells him he has to become a true hero to join him as a God again. Hercules sets out to meet Philotetes (Phil for short). Over the course of the movie, Hades sets out on his mission. He falls in love, has to fight many creatures, and finds out what it means to be a true hero. 

"Zeusy I'm home"- Hades 

One of the reasons that I adore this movie and the biggest reason is James Woods as Hades. He is the funniest character in the movie if not the funniest in all of the Disney movies. He is my favorite Disney villain. I just adore him as a character. He's snarky, sarcastic, self-depreciating, and probably is the best part of the movie. Oh and I recommend watching the movie until the end credits because Hades talks to you. This was one of my favorite things when I was a kid. I want a Hades' movie right now. Come on Disney. Please. 

"I would go most anywhere to find where I belong"- Hercules "I Can Go the Distance" 

The music in this movie is perfect. Every single song hits me so hard when I hear them. I know all of the words because of a number of times I have listened to them and watched the movie. My favorite is "I won't say I'm in love" sung by Meg. It was just a song that I have always enjoyed singing myself. Also, the visuals with this are great. 

"At least out loud, I won't say I'm in love." - Meg "I Won't Say I'm in Love"

Greek Mythology has always been one of my favorite things to watch and read about and I blame that unconditional love on this movie. Thanks, Hercules you started an obsession that I will never get enough of. That's the one thing that I can easily say about this movie. No, it is not the same as the Greek Myths, which is a good thing since this is a kids movie. It made me want to research more about these characters and learn about the origins of them. I have heard so many people make fun of the fact that this is not a complete adaptation of the myths but I think that is a good thing. It is a great story that I love fully and cannot get enough of. 

"A true hero isn't measured by the size of his strength but by the strength of his heart."- Zeus 

20 years later I am still so obsessed with it. Here's to many more. 

Notes During the Movie (There are spoilers below, don't read these if you have not watched the movie) :
~ Baby Hercules and Pegasus are adorable *squeals at the cuteness*
   - the adorableness is too much
   - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zFDrIpZqOs 
~ Music
   -"I Won't Say I'm in Love"
   - "Go the Distance"
   - "Gospel Truth"
~ Artwork- beautiful style made with the help of
~ Changes are just fine
   - This was what made me interested in Greek Mythology when I was a child. It started my forever obsession with finding all information about the myths.
~ Hades- every single scene that he is in
   - James Woods
~ Jokes about Greek Mythology
   - Verse
   - Oedipus
   - Creating the great art pieces
~ Meg being one of Hades' cronies- interesting love interest problem
~ The Muses are a great way to narrate what is going on
   - Very reminiscent of "Tell me oh Muse."- from the Odyssey
   - Great use of the idea for narration device

Myths, Verse, and the Minotaur (Review of Bull by David Elliot)

🌟 Bull by David Elliot- Read May 18th 🌟

📚📚📚📚📚

"Mommy has a little calf.

      Little calf.

      Little calf. 

Mommy has a little calf.

His nose is black as tar.

She calls her calf Asterion .

       Asterion.

       Asterion.

That's my name —  Asterion.

I'm Ruler of the Stars. " - This is just one example of the beautiful writing in this book. It is also on the image of the bull head on the cover. 

 I adored this book. This looks to be the month of Greek mythology (so far I have read three and am at least reading one more) and the month of favorites. One of the greatest aspects of this book is the fact that it was written in verse. I can not imagine how long this book would have taken to write let alone contemplate. I love the idea of writing in verse myself, since I love writing poetry and I love reading it. The author explains at the end the types of verse that he used throughout for each character. Everyone of the characters speaks differently and brings new layers to the story. 

Another aspect I loved about this book was the way David retold the myth of the Minotaur and the Labyrinth. For those that do not know the myth I'll give a quick synopsis. Minos the king of Crete gets Poseidon the sea god angry. So Poseidon takes out his anger by making Minos' wife interested in a bull and ultimately has a child, Asterion with the bull. This bull grows up and is eventually placed in a Labyrinth by his stepfather the king, to take revenge on the Athens. This is one good example of Greek mythology for you 

What I really liked about David's book was that, yes he stuck to the myth but he added character and motivations to the story that were not already there before. He explained at the end his process in writing this and I loved that he did this at the end. This is one of my all time favorite Greek myths and he added a layer to the story that made me love it so much more. Asterion, the Minotaur becomes a tragic character in this story that I loved. In the original myth he really never had much of a character but in this David makes the character have new dimensions. I felt bad for him. 

David also made the story so funny and tragic throughout which added a great mix to the plot. Overall this was a creative retelling that I thoroughly enjoyed. I also loved Poseidon's character in this. He is so darn funny. Definitely a favorite of the year. 

Also the cover is great. 

May Reads: Classics Month Part 2

Will be released on May 16
One of my most anticipated
reads this year. 

For my second month of classics I decided to read four different classics: The Iliad and The Odyssey by Homer, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Troilus and Cressida by Shakespeare. Also during the month, I plan on reading at least five other books plus the books I am reviewing. The other books I plan on reading are Coraline by Neil Gaiman, Traveler by L. E. DeLano which is the first book in a duology, Furthermore by Tahereh Mafi, Can you Keep a Secret? by Sophie Kinsella and The Love Interest by Cale Dietrich (which comes out on May 16th).

I have eighteen books until I make my Goodreads goal of reading 100 books this year and I most likely will be able to accomplish that this month! 

The Classics

The Iliad and The Odyssey by Homer: 

For these two epics, I decided to read editions of the books that I had never read before. The first time I read The Odyssey was in my senior year of high school and then in my sophomore year of college, I read the same edition. The edition that I decided to read is an edition of both that is written in prose. This is going to be an interesting read. I have never read The Iliad before but I have known the plot of the story for most of my life. I look forward to reading both of these and finally knowing the full story of The Iliad.

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Great Gatsby is one of my favorite classics of all time and I have been waiting for a while to do a re-read of it. The first time I read this was in 2013 and I believe that four years is a long enough wait to read it again. I cannot wait to pick this one up this month.

Troilus and Cressida by William Shakespeare

This will be my first time reading this play by William Shakespeare. I thought it would be an interesting one to pick up and it seems like fate to read this the same month I'm reading The Iliad and The Odyssey (my brother picked the order I would be reading my classics these two months). This play takes place during the Trojan War. I do not know a ton about it other than that it is a love story between Troilus and Cressida. It will be great to read another Shakespearean play. I hope it is as good as I believe it will be. 

The Other Books

Furthermore by Tahereh Mafi 

I have been waiting to read this book since I had first heard about it sometime last year. Tahereh Mafi is one writer I have wanted to read a book from for quite awhile but I just never had. This I believe will be a great start into her books. I bought this book last year when it released and have been waiting for the right time to read it. I believe that it is the right time now. This is another book that I have high hopes for. I hope I love it as much as I believe I will.

Coraline by Neil Gaiman

Every year for the last couple of years I have read at least one Neil Gaiman book. In May I want to take the time to read Coraline one of Neil Gaiman's novels that I have been wanting to read for years and I never took the time to read. It looks like it will be something I will enjoy immensely. I love Neil Gaiman's books so much. He is one of my favorite authors but likes to spread his books out so I'm not reading a bunch of his books in one year so I never read more than two Neil Gaiman books that I had never read before. This year I plan on also re-reading Stardust which is my favorite of his.

Can you Keep a Secret? by Sophie Kinsella

I have been wanting to read a Sophie Kinsella book for a long time. This is one that I thought would be a great start. She is known for having funny little books and I figured that this would be a great book to read in between classics, especially books like The Iliad and The Odyssey. This is about a woman named Emma who has been holding in a bunch of embarrassing secrets. Then one day she reveals them to a stranger on an airplane, who she finds out is the CEO at the company she is working for. This is all that I know about the story but it looks like it is going to be a fun read that I am looking forward to reading.

Traveler by L. E. DeLano

This is a debut novel from L.E. DeLano that I wanted to read from the minute that I had first heard about it. It is a book about alternate realities and characters coming out of stories. This is the first book in a duology that I cannot wait to read. May is going to be another month of debut authors and reads. This book is one of the many books that I have been anticipating for a while. It came out in February but I have not wanted to read it until now.

And finally...

The Love Interest by Cale Dietrich

I had first heard about this from an article at the beginning of the year saying the YA books coming out in 2017. From the first time, I heard about this book I wanted to get it and I pre-ordered it so I could read it the day it comes out. I cannot wait to read this book and it is one of my most anticipated reads of 2017 right below Chris Colfer's Land of Stories: Worlds Collide.


I will be doing a full review for each of these books when I read them along with the other books I am reviewing this month. It is a good amount of books for this month but I believe that I will be able to do it. We will see at the end of the month. This is going to be one interesting and eventful month of reading. I cannot wait. 

Time Travel, Gods, Fairies, and Benjamin Franklin: Three Book Reviews

Time Stoppers: Quest for the Golden Arrow by Carrie Jones - Read April 25-27th 

Rating: 📚📚📚

This is a sequel to the book Time Stoppers by Carrie Jones.

I was interested in this book when I had first seen the cover and also the title. I love time travel books and thought that this would be an interesting Middle Grade read. This series so far is about a girl named Annie who is a Time Stopper. She is one of the last humans in existence that is able to control time. She is now living in a new home in the town of Aurora. There are many mystical and magical creatures that she lives with such as Eva a dwarf, Bloom an elf, and Jamie who may be a troll. They are all living with their guardian Miss Cornelia. She is another one of the Time Stoppers. In this novel, Miss Cornelia goes missing and Annie and her friends go on a mission to find her.

It took me a while to get into this novel once I started it through the idea of how the magic worked was something that kept me wanting to read.

I was given a copy of this book for an honest review. 

Tim Baker and the Ancient Curse (Gormless Gods and Hapless Heroes)- Read April 27th   

Rating: 📚📚📚📚

After breaking his mother's ancient Greek vase, Hercules comes out and starts to cause troubles in Tim's life. Tim is a middle school age boy who tries to help out around the house as his mother has to work two jobs. When he breaks the vase he does not realize that the man that comes out is a Greek demigod. He believes that the man is a genie. Throughout the story, Tim and Hercules become close as they try to teach Hercules how to act in our world and to also get back to his family.

This was a cute story with great little illustrations. It made me keep smiling with the references to Greek Mythology and just Hercules' personality. Each of the characters: Tim, Hercules, and Tim's Mom, are likable characters that are also relatable.  I love Greek Mythology and I believe that this would be a great introduction to it for younger readers. There are enough funny and touching scenes that will keep them interested though I wanted to know if they would get Hercules home also. This is the first book in a series and I would recommend picking this up for your little ones.
 A good addition to a good month of reading for me.

I was given a free copy of this book for an honest review.  

Benjamin Franklin: You've Got Mail by Adam Mansbach and Alan Zwiebel- Read April 27-28th

Rating: 📚📚📚📚

I  liked this book from the beginning until the end. Again this is another sequel to a book. The first book is called Benjamin Franklin: Huge Pain in my.... At the beginning of this book, our main character lets the reader know what happened in the last book. I will say that I have never read the first book but was told that this would be fine to just read this book. One of the aspects of this book that I really did like was the relationship between Ike and Ben. They both cared for each other and had to get used to working together so they could save their country. It was interesting to see the dynamic between them as Ike learned about the past and how he should act around people.

The story is about a thirteen-year-old boy named Ike who has been writing letters back and forth with Benjamin Franklin. He causes problems for Ben when he sends a present-day map back to the 1770s and peanut butter. After the map gets stuck onto the Declaration of Independence and gets sent to the British, Ben becomes a disgrace to the country and starts to have a lot of problems. Ike makes it his mission in this book to mail himself back to the 1770s so he can help Ben. Over the course of the story, Ben and Ike have to work together to try and fix the past so the future will not be wrecked. 

The humor was childish at times but then again this is meant for middle-grade students. I cannot be too hard on the book because really this did not take away from the story too much. I am interested in seeing what happens in the next book which I believe may happen because there is a hint of it at the end of the book. I'm glad that I got the opportunity to read this book about time travel and about the Revolutionary War. It was a fascinating look at this time period from the view of a young teenager who really just wants to help his friend. I would recommend reading this story, especially for readers that like Middle-Grade stories. 

I received a review copy of this book for an honest review.