Happy Friday!

This week was a rollERCOASter so I only wrote and edited this blog post last night…but, it is up and here obviously because you are reading it so at least I got it done! Anyways, I really wanted to make another book tag and since I’ve had to read lots of classics lately, and I thought a classic literature tag was the way to go. I hope you enjoy these questions and if you want to do this tag then I tag you! Just make sure you tag me in your post so I can read your answers 🙂

1. Oedipus the King – Pick a Book With An Interesting Family Dynamic

(WARNING: Spoilers for The Mortal Instruments series below)

Oedipus the King is a Greek tragedy written by Sophocles and follows Oedipus, the king of Thebes, who learns the true origins of his past…and it is a little shocking, to say the least. A family like that but in more current literature is the Morgenstern family from The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare. Not only do Clary and Jace fall in love and then think they are siblings, but even when they find out they aren’t we still learn that Clary has kissed her brother because he is a sick and twisted demon baby…yeah, interesting isn’t a strong enough word to describe this family.

2. Macbeth – Pick a Book That Bleeds Murder and Betrayal 

(WARNING: Spoilers for the Harry Potter series below)

Macbeth is the well-known Shakespeare play that follows a man (Macbeth) who becomes king after killing the king…and then is basically driven mad with an unquenchable thirst for power. A book with a similar plotline to this that contains lots of murder and betrayal is honestly the Harry Potter series by JK Rowling. I mean, Harry’s parents are killed by Voldemort when he is a baby, Neville’s parents were killed by Bellatrix also when he was a baby, Quirrel betrays everyone by housing Voldy on the back of his head, Dumbledore dies, Snape dies, Mad-Eye Moody dies, Hedwig dies, Fred dies, and honestly, Harry can’t nor doesn’t trust anyone towards the end of the series. Is that enough death and betrayal???

3. The Odyssey – Pick a Character Who Is On a Journey to Get Home

The Odyssey by Homer is one of two epic Greek poems where the main idea is that Odysseus is trying to return home. A character that reminds me of Odysseus and whose series also includes Greek mythology is Apollo from The Trials of Apollo by Rick Riordan! The whole plot for this trilogy is that Zeus casts Apollo down to earth as a mortal with the task of earning his godly powers back by completing tasks. Much like Odysseus, he is struggling to return home and the journey is not easy. I haven’t finished reading this series, but I am hoping to in the near future…however, my TBR list is massive so maybe we will say just sometime in the future for now.

4. Romeo and Juliet – Pick a Romance Book…But That Has a Twist

(WARNING: I spoil Eleanor and Park below so…)

We all know the story, Romeo and Juliet, right? Honestly, I have never read it but I get the gist of it. Two young (very young) people fall in love even though their families hate each other, but they can’t help it! Raging hormones and such…well, you know us teens. Anyways, they love each other so, so much that when one of them fakes their own death, the other one kills themselves because they can’t bear to be parted from their beloved. Crazy, I know. Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell is an amazing contemporary following two characters, Eleanor and Park who develop a strange, but an adorable relationship, however, their story doesn’t tie up with a pretty bow. While neither of them kills themselves, Eleanor just disappears from Park’s life and I don’t think any of us were expecting that. Much like Romeo and Juliet.

5. Pride and Prejudice – Pick a Strong Female Character Who Goes Through Lengths to Prove Herself

Jane Austen wrote many books where the main character was a female struggling in a world of men, and even today we still see women treated unfairly. One character that comes to mind that has had to prove herself a lot during her story is Gwenyth Shepard from Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier. In Ruby Red, Gwen is from a family of time-travellers, however, her cousin, Charlotte is thought to have the gene. When Gwen travels back in time though, she realizes that she’s the one with the gene and is thrust into a world of chaos and time-travel. Since Gwen is unexpectedly the time-traveller of the family, she doesn’t have the training in languages, history, arts, etc that Charlotte does, and because of that, she is constantly undermined by most of the characters in this trilogy. While Gwen is no world-changer of a character, she is just a normal, teenage girl that is trying to weave her way in life and on top of all that, time-travel as well yet is constantly weighed down by the doubt of others…mostly men, to be honest.

6. Lord of the Flies – Pick a Book Where Morals Are Very Grey

Lord of the Flies was not a favourite of mine but I had to include it in this tag. It follows a group of boys on an island when their plane crashes after they flee London which is currently under attack by the Germans. Without any adults, their responsibility and morals are really put to the test when they find themselves battling against nature, and themselves. I think all books need characters who are “morally grey” because that is a reality for a lot of us. Most people are neither good or bad, give or take a few, and that needs to be reflected more in literature. One series that has a quite a few characters like this is the Shatter Me series by Tahereh Mafi. Most of the characters are overall decent people but would do anything for the people they love or even just for themselves. They don’t always make the right or best decisions, and sometimes people have to pay for that.

7. The Hobbit – Pick a Character Who Leaves Everything Behind For An Adventure

I love The Hobbit movies but have yet to read the books…I know, I know, but honestly, I find the books a little hard to read. One character that reminds me of this question, and I am not saying she reminds me of the main character who is a hobbit, but that is Margo from Paper Towns by John Green. Margo literally picks up everything and leaves her family and friends without an answer to go on an adventure doing who knows what and where. She is spontaneous and free-spirited because of that and is always seeking an adventure.

8. The Great Gatsby – Pick a Character Who Strives For the “American Dream”

The Great Gatsby takes place during the Roaring Twenties where there was lots of dancing, flappers, jazz, and the gloriously, wealthy idea of the “American Dream” which is something the main character chases. However, the “American Dream” is kind of unattainable and our main character doesn’t realize this until it’s too late. A character in another book that reminds me of this, as someone who loves the lights, the camera, and the action I guess you could say, is Lola Nolan from Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins. Lola loves dressing up different each day, never wearing the same outfit twice. She also expects to live happily ever after with her boyfriend, Max and have a perfect life…but the reality is a little different than that.

9. The Tempest – Pick a Character Who Is On the Run

Another Shakespeare plays but this one is a little different and weirder than his others in my opinion. In this story, Prospero and his daughter, Miranda are hiding from his evil brother but she doesn’t know. There is love, betrayal, and all that fun Shakespeare stuff. A character who is very much on the run is Day from the Legend trilogy by Marie Lu(or I guess series now, actually) because he is a convicted criminal on the run from the very corrupted government, called the Republic. So yeah, Day!

10. The Secret Garden – Pick a Book That Has a Secret World

Okay, again, I have never read The Secret Garden…but I have seen the movie. I wish I read it when I was younger because I just don’t think I would enjoy it as much now! However, as it says in the title, the main character of this story is a young girl who finds yes, a secret garden. Lots of YA books have secret worlds hidden in them, amongst all the normal, much like Mary finding the secret garden which brings her a lot of good. In The Light Between Worlds by Laura E. Weymouth, our two main characters, Evelyn and Philippa, as well as their brother, discover a secret world amongst the chaos of World War II, called The Woodlands. The Woodlands is a magical world of nature and beauty but much like our characters world back home, a war is upon them. The siblings stay and help out with the war, but once it is over they are sent back despite Evelyn’s protests and have to learn to adjust in the real world. They all needed this world badly for different, reasons, and it helped bring out their true selves in the real world because of it!

Okay! So those were my ten questions for the classic literature book tag, and I hope you enjoyed. Please tag me if you decide to do this tag because I’d love to see your answers! Don’t forget to check out my last blog post, as well as my social media accounts for more bookish and writing related content. Everything is linked below, thanks 🙂

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