The Mystery Blogger Award

!!! I’m so excited about this award! Thank you so much to the wonderful Lauren @ Wonderless Reviews for nominating me – you’re the absolute best 💘

This award/tag was created by Okoto Enigma!

About the Award:

“Mystery Blogger Award” is an award for amazing bloggers with ingenious posts. Their blog not only captivates; it inspires and motivates. They are one of the best out there, and they deserve every recognition they get. This award is also for bloggers who find fun and inspiration in blogging; and they do it with so much love and passion. – Okoto Enigma

Rules: 

• Put the award logo/image on your blog (I picked an alternate version of the logo).
• List the rules.
• Thank whoever nominated you and provide a link to their blog Mention the creator of the award and provide a link to their blog as well.
• Tell your readers three things about yourself.
• Answer questions of nominator.
• Nominate 10-20 people.
• Ask your nominees any 5 questions of your choice; with one weird or funny question.
• Share your link to your best post(s).

3 things about me

1. I love debate! I think it’s interesting how, although debating has been one of the biggest parts of my life for about 4 years now, I rarely talk about it on this blog. We should change that, hahah! I currently compete in the World Schools format and represent the United States on its international team (Team USA!! Aka, the only point in which I ever have patriotism, HAHAH), and have been coaching middle school students in debate for about a year and a half now. 

2. I’ve held Justin Bieber’s hand. This is just an interesting fact that I like to share, hahah – people are usually amused/intrigued by this. It was when I was 13 years old and at one of his concerts for the Believe Tour – my friend and I were seated at the edge of the aisle, near the stage’s catwalk, and got to hold onto his hand when he passed by and reached out to all of the screaming, pre-teen girls, HAHAH. 

3. I’m a huge history nerd. I feel like I have this in common with a lot of book bloggers, but history is definitely my favorite subject (even if it’s not what I’ll be majoring in, sadly!). Specifically, I love learning about world history, with a focus on East Asia! 

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Lauren’s questions

1. A series that you hope to start or finish this year?

There are definitely a LOT of great series I want to begin this year, but the first series that came to mind was The Grisha Trilogy by Leigh Bardugo – I absolutely fell in love with the world of Grisha when I read Six of Crows, and considering my love for that duology, I can’t wait to read more about their world through Leigh Bardugo’s beautiful writing, and better understand its history.

2. Current favourite song?

Shoot. This was a hard one, and I was really tempted to answer with one of Chance’s songs (if I haven’t mentioned this before, I absolutely adore Chance the Rapper), but I think it’s going to have to be Sleep on the Floor by The Lumineers, from their album, Cleopatra. 

I just find this album to be so beautiful – from the songs themselves to their music videos, Cleopatra is unbelievably touching, and weaves a beautiful, but heartbreaking, story. Sleep on the Floor is my personal favorite, but all of its other songs are just as breathtaking. There’s even a song The Lumineers wrote for the Mockingjay soundtrack, dedicated to Gale! My debate teammates and I are in love with this album, and played it throughout our most recent tournament, so there are also a lot of good memories associated with this. 

3. ONE upcoming release that you could read right now if you had the chance?

AHHH this was such a hard question to answer – there are so many phenomenal books coming out in 2017, and I just can’t wait to read them all. But, if I had to choose only one, it would have to be The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas. If you haven’t heard of The Hate U Give yet, it’s a contemporary YA based off of the Black Lives Matter movement – its movie rights have already been sold to Fox, and Amandla Stenberg (one of my all time favorite actors and people – they’re absolutely amazing) is set to play the lead. I absolutely can’t wait to read it, and I think it’s going to be extremely insightful and powerful. I can already think of a handful of people in my personal life who I want to recommend this to, hahahah.

4. What was your most recent 5 star read?

I recently gave two books 5 star ratings, which is extremely out of character for me. But both of these reads were phenomenal, and I wouldn’t have changed anything about them. 

A Torch Against the Night was a fantastic sequel to An Ember in the Ashes, and Crooked Kingdom was an absolutely phenomenal conclusion to the Six of Crows duology (to the point in which it’s joined Harry Potter, The Raven Cycle, and Throne of Glass as one of my favorite series of all time). Both of these books were breathtaking, and I’d recommend them + their counterparts to anyone. 

FUN/WEIRD Question: You’ve instantly taken the place of the main character in the book you’re currently reading/last read. How screwed are you?

I’d be taking Yael’s place, so I’d be so screwed. There’s no way in hell that I would be able to go through the things that Yael goes through, or undertake her mission – at least not in one piece, and I’m being completely literal when I say that, HAHAH. Yael is ridiculously strong (mentally, physically, and emotionally), and I could only mimic her strength and tenacity in my wildest dreams. 

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My blog’s prides + joys

• Discussions: Asian Representation in YA is Important, What Harry Potter Has Taught Us
• Reviews: The Infernal Devices trilogy review, Six of Crows, The Raven King

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My questions

1. If you could try one fictional food, what would it be?

2. Let’s say that, for your major in university, you could select one book/series to study – this includes the characters, the world, its history, etc. What book/series would you choose?

3. Who is your ultimate fictional crush/friend crush (the character you would die to be best friends with)? Throughout the years, have you noticed that you have a ‘type’?

4. What is your favorite fictional friendship(s)? (Ex. the Golden Trio)

FUN/WEIRD Question: Would you rather have the ability to read your favorite characters out of their books and into the real world, OR have the ability to read yourself into any fictional world?

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I tag:

Aimal @ Bookshelves & Paperbacks • Liam @ Hey Ashers! • Beth @ Reading Every Night • Rachael @ rachaelrexds • Niraja @ Fantastic Books and Where to Find Them • Calliope @ Calliope the Book Goddess • Amy @ Inkyspells • Paige @ Between Reality • Shealea @ That Bookshelf Bitch 

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If anyone else would like to participate in this tag, feel free to tag yourself!