Once Upon a Time ~ Book Tag

Hey hi hello!!

Today I’m completing the Once Upon a Time tag, for which we were tagged by Bookworm Hollow‘s own Victoria!! Give it up for Victoria, ladies and gents, for her answers were spectacular. Go look at it and her cozy lil blog, while you’re at it. Thanks a million, y’all 😊

The Royal Rules:

• thank the blogger who tagged you
• use the featured graphic (optional)
• answer the following 12 questions about books you have read
• tag as many bloggers as you like! 

These sound like doable restraints, so onward we shall go.

Cinderella—a book that changed your life

Dust and Shadow by Kara Swanson have changed my life forever. I was a casual fan of Peter Pan before reading these books, but now–I love this tale with an undying love. This is how you write a retelling. The point is not to tell it better, but to make your readers fall even more in love with the original work.

Sleeping Beauty—a book that took you forever to finish

Mere Christianity 👀 It has a mere 191 pages; this book is the tiniest thing. However. It took me eight months to read. It just had so many abstract ideas that took a lot of brainpower to comprehend. I could have powered through and understood approximately 15% of what I was reading, but I did want to remember at least a bit of it…so here we are.

A Thousand and One Nights—a book you couldn’t stop reading

The Q, by Beth Brower!! I meant to just read a few more chapters…but you know how that goes. I finished the book sobbing at like, eleven thirty at night. This book broke me and put me back together in a different arrangement. Ten out of ten stars, would absolutely recommend.

Little Red Riding Hood—a book you recently read in an unfamiliar genre

The graphic novel adaptation of 100 Cupboards. I don’t often read graphic novels (usually just out of curiosity towards how they adapt to a different media format), but this one intrigued me while bored at work. I actually think I liked the graphic novel version better than the original, but that’s not saying too much because I didn’t enjoy 100 Cupboards very much *hides*

The Wild Swans—a book with your favourite sibling relationships

the PENDERWICKS AND THE VANDERBEEKERS AHHH I LOVE THEM SO MUCH!!! I know they’re different series accomplishing far different storylines, but at the end of the day they’re books about siblings. Siblings who will fight for each other and look out for each other, no matter what happens. I adore a good sibling book 😊

Snow White—a book filled with beautiful prose

Anne of Green Gables is such an atmospheric and beautiful book…the descriptions of the surroundings are gorgeous. Truly, all of L.M. Montgomery’s books have the best settings.

Rapunzel – a book you procrastinated on reading after buying

Augmented, by Candace Kade. I bought it in August or September of last year and uh…still haven’t read it. I know, I know, abominable behavior to be sure, but I haven’t read the two books before it in a while and need to refresh my memory on the world again and three books is kind of a commitment and–

Yeah whatever. That’s an awful excuse. I have no good reasons.

The Little Mermaid – a book that took you on a magical journey

The Secrets of Ormdale series!! I’ve truly never read a series like this one before. It’s our world, but it’s so much more magical and enchanting and delightful than ours seems to be. Good for an Emma M. Lion hangover, or vice versa.

The Frog Prince – a book you’d like to turn into a frog because you hated it so much

I don’t often hate books…*consults DNF shelf on goodreads*

How about Winterhouse?? I read it right after reading Greenglass House, and since the premises were really similar, one had to come out on top. Winterhouse fell a bit flat…it just felt creepy where Greenglass House felt cozy, too modern rather than classic, and dark rather than light. I didn’t consider it worth finishing.

Peter Pan – a book that reminds you of your childhood

PETER PAN MY LOVE MY ONE AND ONLY!!!

uh what?? No, I’m fine, psh, of course I can actually answer this question instead of fangirling over Peter Pan…

Boxcar Children, hands down. We had an entire shelf full of these books. Those kids never aged… *gazes wistfully towards childhood*

The Goose Girl – a book that you had low expectations for, but ended up loving

Sunrise on the Reaping. I wasn’t sure about the series as a whole from the outset, but I did indeed enjoy the trilogy!! Songbirds and Snakes was very mid, in my opinion, so I was back to low expectations for SotR. Oh was I ever proven wrong. It had all the novelty and questions from the first book, but with the added satisfaction in the easter eggs and valuable backstory.

Hansel and Gretel – a book that made you hungry

uhh…how about the Sweet Seasons series?? The main character gets a job selling seasonal treats at a theme park. I could really do with some cotton candy or candy corn right now…scratch that, I just need some sweets.

Tags and Clean Copy of Questions

Victoria already tagged Journey, or she’d be first on my list. Alas. Instead I’ll tag Isabelle at Spring Falls Chronicle, Luca Faith at Lighten Up the Page, and Lola Mae at Lola Mae Writes!! And if I didn’t tag you but you want to participate–as always, snurch away.

Here’s a clean copy of the questions to copy and paste at your leisure 🫡

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Cinderella—a book that changed your life

Sleeping Beauty—a book that took you forever to finish

A Thousand and One Nights—a book you couldn’t stop reading

Little Red Riding Hood—a book you recently read in an unfamiliar genre

The Wild Swans—a book with your favourite sibling relationships

Snow White—a book filled with beautiful prose

Rapunzel – a book you procrastinated on reading after buying

The Little Mermaid – a book that took you on a magical journey

The Frog Prince – a book you’d like to turn into a frog because you hated it so much

Peter Pan – a book that reminds you of your childhood

The Goose Girl – a book that you had low expectations for, but ended up loving

Hansel and Gretel – a book that made you hungry

Coda

I adore fairytales with all my heart. When I was smol, I would check out Hans Christian Andersen and the Brothers Grimm fairytale collections from the library. My mother thought nothing of it; they’re classics, so what could go wrong?? As it turns out, fairytales are a lot darker and more twisted than Disney would have you believe. At the end of the day, I seem to have overcome my dark childhood reading choices and clung to some spark of whimsy, for here I am–stubbornly avoiding dark mode on my devices and avoiding making deals that involve my unborn children (not for lack of trying, Madi 👀).

Happy reading, and may your tale end on a better note than the Little Mermaid!!

Always,

Ava 🏰