The Wanderlust Tag | Blog Tag

This week I was tagged by Sara @ The Bibliophagist for The Wanderlust Tag! Since I’ve been working on new kinds of blog content this month, I was delighted to be tagged and have another reason for a more relaxed and casual blog post that allows new followers to learn a little more about me and my interest. While this blog tag is specific to books, but I think that book recommendations reveal a lot about a person who put the list together. So hopefully it’s a fun read for anyone who has decided to follow this blog!

I’m also using this post as an opportunity for an informal catch-up. I’ve been so busy this week with helping to get the house ready for the flyer pictures. Now I won’t know with much warning when I’ll be expected to pick up and leave for house viewings. I also met with my Red Cross supervisor this week to find out what is expected of me. I’m going to start preparing social media content for our region at the start of April, so I’ll be figuring out just how long it takes me to do that next week!

Thank you so much for your support this month with all my posts and blog changes! I’m so happy with everything and can’t wait to see what April brings. I plan to publish Monday, Wednesday, and Friday this week, so I’ll be working on these posts this weekend. Hopefully they don’t take too long, because this week I need to set up my April bujo spread!

What Is The Wanderlust Tag?

❝ If you have been following my little blog, you’ll also know that I’m all about the world building. I love how a good setting works to elevate the overall mood and tension. Nothing beats the draw of an eerie moorland, murky rivers, a wind-swept coastal town or even a ruthless, Tolkien-like fantasy world. [This blog tag is] a celebration of immersive settings that transport us to alternative realities ❞ – Alexandra @ Reading by Starlight

The Rules

  • Mention the creator of the tag and link back to original post
  • Thank the blogger who tagged you
  • Answer the 10 questions below using any genre
  • Tag 5+ friends

If you find any of the books listed below fascinating I’ve included links to them on both Goodreads and Amazon. Just so you know, I am now an Amazon affiliate. If you do end up making a qualifying purchase through my one of my links I may make a small commission at no extra expense to you. ^_^

SECRETS AND LIES | A BOOK SET IN A SLEEPY SMALL TOWN

⟡ Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
⟡ Pages: Paperback, 288 pages
⟡ Published: August 31, 2010 by Vintage Books
⟡ Genres: New Adult / Speculative
⟡ Goodreads | Amazon

From the Booker Prize-winning author of The Remains of the Day and When We Were Orphans, comes an unforgettable edge-of-your-seat mystery that is at once heartbreakingly tender and morally courageous about what it means to be human.

Hailsham seems like a pleasant English boarding school, far from the influences of the city. Its students are well tended and supported, trained in art and literature, and become just the sort of people the world wants them to be. But, curiously, they are taught nothing of the outside world and are allowed little contact with it.

Within the grounds of Hailsham, Kathy grows from schoolgirl to young woman, but it’s only when she and her friends Ruth and Tommy leave the safe grounds of the school (as they always knew they would) that they realize the full truth of what Hailsham is.

Never Let Me Go breaks through the boundaries of the literary novel. It is a gripping mystery, a beautiful love story, and also a scathing critique of human arrogance and a moral examination of how we treat the vulnerable and different in our society. In exploring the themes of memory and the impact of the past, Ishiguro takes on the idea of a possible future to create his most moving and powerful book to date.

Never Let Me Go was one of my first forays into literary fiction as a high schooler. The movie came out around my junior year of high school, which is why this book was on my radar. It’s a beautifully sad tale about what it means to be human. I still remember by frustration and confusion about why they don’t make a run for it and why they aren’t more frustrated with their fates. They were so resigned to it.

SALT AND SAND | A BOOK WITH A BEACHSIDE COMMUNITY

⟡ We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
⟡ Pages: Paperback, 227 pages
⟡ Published: May 13, 2014 by Hot Key Books
⟡ Genres: Young Adult / Family Drama
⟡ Goodreads | Amazon

We are the Liars.

We are beautiful, privileged and live a life of carefree luxury.

We are cracked and broken.

A story of love and romance.

A tale of tragedy.

Which are lies?

Which is truth?

You decide.

This young adult novel is one of my inexplicable favorites. It gets me every time. I feel like it’s best to go into this book somewhat blind, so all I’ll say is it’s a great summertime read. The characters have summer vacations a dreamy private island and occasionally visit the nearby beachside town. In my head I picture where the cast of Gossip Girl go at the start of…Season 2 or 3?

HERE THERE BE DRAGONS | A BOOK WITH A VOYAGE ON THE HIGH SEAS

⟡ Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
⟡ Pages: Hardcover, 462 pages
⟡ Published: September 29, 2015 by Henry Holt and Company
⟡ Genres: New Adult / Fantasy
⟡ Goodreads | Amazon

Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price—and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can’t pull it off alone. . . .

A convict with a thirst for revenge

A sharpshooter who can’t walk away from a wager

A runaway with a privileged past

A spy known as the Wraith

A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums

A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes

Kaz’s crew is the only thing that might stand between the world and destruction—if they don’t kill each other first.

This book is just…everything. I don’t have time to get into it! I’ll just say that a lot of important moments happen at sea and around docks. The gang travels by sea to get to their heist and then need to return the same way.

TREAD LIGHTLY | A BOOK SET DOWN A MURKY RIVER OR A JUNGLE

⟡ City of the Beasts by Isabel Allende
⟡ Pages: Paperback, 408 pages
⟡ Published: April 27, 2004 by Rayo
⟡ Genres: Young Adult / Contemporary
⟡ Goodreads | Amazon

Fifteen-year-old Alexander Cold is about to join his fearless grandmother on the trip of a lifetime. An International Geographic expedition is headed to the dangerous, remote wilds of South America, on a mission to document the legendary Yeti of the Amazon known as the Beast.

But there are many secrets hidden in the unexplored wilderness, as Alex and his new friend Nadia soon discover. Drawing on the strength of their spirit guides, both young people are led on a thrilling and unforgettable journey to the ultimate discovery. . .

I reread this book for the first time since I was a teen last year (and reviewed it) and I did not remember how violent and dark this story was, considering its targeted towards young people. It’s very descriptive of the Amazon and the dangers it holds, so it’s a great read for anyone who enjoys high-stakes adventures.

FROZEN WASTES | A BOOK WITH A FROSTBITTEN ATMOSPHERE

⟡ Troubling a Star by Madeleine L’Engle
⟡ Pages: Paperback, 336 pages
⟡ Published: September 2, 2008 by Square Fish
⟡ Genres: Young Adult / Contemporary
⟡ Goodreads | Amazon

The Austins have settled back into their beloved home in the country after more than a year away. Though they had all missed the predictability and security of life in Thornhill, Vicky Austin is discovering that slipping back into her old life isn’t easy. She’s been changed by life in New York City and her travels around the country while her old friends seem to have stayed the same. So Vicky finds herself spending time with a new friend, Serena Eddington—the great-aunt of a boy Vicky met over the summer.

Aunt Serena gives Vicky an incredible birthday gift—a month-long trip to Antarctica. It’s the opportunity of a lifetime. But Vicky is nervous. She’s never been away from her family before. Once she sets off though, she finds that’s the least of her worries. She receives threatening letters. She’s surrounded by suspicious characters. Vicky no longer knows who to trust. And she may not make it home alive.

This prompt was a little hard for me. I almost went with The Golden Compass, but then I remembered this childhood classic. It’s another that I reread last summer and it’s a highly underrated book from the author of A Wrinkle in Time and A Ring of Endless. It’s got a very strong message about environmental conservation woven into this tale of a girl who gets to go visit Antarctica on an educational trip and inadvertently gets mixed up in political intrigue and dangerous plots.

THE BOONIES | A BOOK WITH ROUGH OR ISOLATED TERRAIN

⟡ The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer
⟡ Pages: Paperback, 380 pages
⟡ Published: May 2004 by Atheneum Books for Young Readers
⟡ Genres: Young Adult / Speculative 
⟡ Goodreads | Amazon

With undertones of vampires, Frankenstein, dragons’ hoards, and killing fields, Matt’s story turns out to be an inspiring tale of friendship, survival, hope, and transcendence. A must-read for teenage fantasy fans.

At his coming-of-age party, Matteo Alacrán asks El Patrón’s bodyguard, “How old am I?…I know I don’t have a birthday like humans, but I was born.”

“You were harvested,” Tam Lin reminds him. “You were grown in that poor cow for nine months and then you were cut out of her.”

To most people around him, Matt is not a boy, but a beast. A room full of chicken litter with roaches for friends and old chicken bones for toys is considered good enough for him. But for El Patrón, lord of a country called Opium—a strip of poppy fields lying between the U.S. and what was once called Mexico—Matt is a guarantee of eternal life. El Patrón loves Matt as he loves himself for Matt is himself. They share identical DNA.

Another really dark read for children, The House of the Scorpion becomes an thrilling adventure story about halfway through the book. The protagonist is treated horribly and unlike the characters of Never Let Me Go, does eventually make a run for it. There are dangerous characters to fend off and the terrain he must trek is not much friendlier.

HINTERLANDS AND COWBOYS | A BOOK WITH A WESTERN-ESQUE SETTING

⟡ Holes by Louis Sachar
⟡ Pages: Paperback, 233 pages
⟡ Published: September 2, 2000 by Scholastic 
⟡ Genres: Young Adult / Folk Tales
⟡ Goodreads | Amazon

Stanley tries to dig up the truth in this inventive and darkly humorous tale of crime and punishment—and redemption.

Stanley Yelnats is under a curse. A curse that began with his no-good-dirty-rotten- pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather and has since followed generations of Yelnats. Now Stanley has been unjustly sent to a boys’ detention center, Camp Green Lake, where the warden makes the boys “build character” by spending all day, every day, digging holes: five feet wide and five feet deep. It doesn’t take long for Stanley to realize there’s more than character improvement going on at Camp Green Lake. The boys are digging holes because the warden is looking for something. Stanley tries to dig up the truth in this inventive and darkly humorous tale of crime and punishment—and redemption.

I’ve not read any westerns beyond one that was a little overrated (highly promoted) a few years ago now. I forget what it was called. Anyway, Holes eventually came to mind. The movie came out the year before I started middle school, so I remember that more clearly than I do the book, but this book involves history of the west where the story’s setting is located. There are a collection of interwoven tales that link the protagonist, antagonists, and Camp Green Lake to the past during the time of trains and robbers.

LOOK LIVELY | A BOOK ACROSS SWEEPING DESERT SANDS

⟡ Cress by Marissa Meyer
⟡ Pages: Paperback, 550 pages
⟡ Published: January 27, 2015 by Square Fish
⟡ Genres: Young Adult / Science Fiction / Fantasy
⟡ Goodreads | Amazon

In this third book in the Lunar Chronicles, Cinder and Captain Thorne are fugitives on the run, now with Scarlet and Wolf in tow. Together, they’re plotting to overthrow Queen Levana and her army.

Their best hope lies with Cress, a girl imprisoned on a satellite since childhood who’s only ever had her netscreens as company. All that screen time has made Cress an excellent hacker. Unfortunately, she’s just received orders from Levana to track down Cinder and her handsome accomplice.

When a daring rescue of Cress goes awry, the group is separated. Cress finally has her freedom, but it comes at a higher price. Meanwhile, Queen Levana will let nothing prevent her marriage to Emperor Kai. Cress, Scarlet, and Cinder may not have signed up to save the world, but they may be the only hope the world has.

Cress is the third book in the Lunar Chronicles and probably my favorite. I love Cress best of all and her story is the saddest and loneliest. To travel with her on her adventures once she escapes her prison is so much fun. A lot of this book is set in the desert where she and Captain Thorne crash land on Earth.

WILD AND UNTAMED | A BOOK SET IN THE HEART OF THE WOODS

⟡ Uprooted by Naomi Novik
⟡ Pages: Paperback, 438 pages
⟡ Published:  March 1, 2016 by Del Rey 
⟡ Genres: New Adult / Fantasy
⟡ Goodreads | Amazon

“Our Dragon doesn’t eat the girls he takes, no matter what stories they tell outside our valley. We hear them sometimes, from travelers passing through. They talk as though we were doing human sacrifice, and he were a real dragon. Of course that’s not true: he may be a wizard and immortal, but he’s still a man, and our fathers would band together and kill him if he wanted to eat one of us every ten years. He protects us against the Wood, and we’re grateful, but not that grateful.”

Agnieszka loves her valley home, her quiet village, the forests and the bright shining river. But the corrupted Wood stands on the border, full of malevolent power, and its shadow lies over her life.

Her people rely on the cold, driven wizard known only as the Dragon to keep its powers at bay. But he demands a terrible price for his help: one young woman handed over to serve him for ten years, a fate almost as terrible as falling to the Wood.

But Agnieszka fears the wrong things. For when the Dragon comes, it is not Kasia he will choose.

This book feels like its a few different books all cut and pasted together to make one. It’s a really beautiful and pretty fun read that ends up in a place I really didn’t expect it to go. The corrupt Wood is one of the scariest settings/entities that I’ve ever read. I had some nightmares after reading this book, which I’ve never really had happen with a book before.

WILDEST DREAMS | A WHIMSICAL BOOK SHROUDED IN MAGIC

⟡ Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor
⟡ Pages: Paperback, 349 pages
⟡ Published: July 11, 2017 by Speak
⟡ Genres: Young Adult / Fantasy 
⟡ Goodreads | Amazon

Sunny Nwazue lives in Nigeria, but she was born in New York City. Her features are West African, but she’s albino. She’s a terrific athlete, but can’t go out into the sun to play soccer. There seems to be no place where she fits in. And then she discovers something amazing—she is a “free agent” with latent magical power. And she has a lot of catching up to do.

Soon she’s part of a quartet of magic students, studying the visible and invisible, learning to change reality. But just as she’s finding her footing, Sunny and her friends are asked by the magical authorities to help track down a career criminal who knows magic, too. Will their training be enough to help them against a threat whose powers greatly outnumber theirs?

I’ve never read another book that makes me feel the way I did when I first read Harry Potter. That desire to enter the world and experience its magic personally. I know a lot of authors have attempted it, but it’s never really been the same. I love the worldbuilding in Akata Witch so much because it feels so much more real than Harry Potter. It’s set in Africa, which read a lot to me like places from my actual childhood in the more rural hispanic parts of the US. It feels less like of an ivory tower than Hogwarts, more attainable.

I Tag…

Eline | Czai | Charleigh | Olivia | Angelica | Sam

I’ve seen this tag making the rounds, so I don’t remember who all has already done it! I’m just tagging the people I’ve most recently tagged who I think might enjoy it if they haven’t already. Of course, if this sounds like something you’d like to and you haven’t been tagged yet then consider yourself personally tagged by me ^_^

Recent Posts

Well this post took the better part of my Saturday morning and afternoon, with breaks of course! I’m about to call it a day and go start Part 2 of The OA on Netflix! I’ve been anticipating it all month and then I go and forget about it this week as soon as it debuts. Typical.

The last week of March will be dedicated to bullet journal content as I move into my new bullet journal and set it up for April. On that note, some of you may have gotten a sneak preview this week of the post that will go up on Monday! Sorry about that! It was not quite finished, and I forgot to move it after failing to complete it last weekend. There’s a lot more I want to add to it, so that it is as amazing and helpful as possible for newbies to journaling.

Thank you for reading!
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28 thoughts on “The Wanderlust Tag | Blog Tag”

  1. Coffeeeandcream

    Great post, and congrats for getting this award keep up the good work! I took a break from blogging for a while but I’m now back and so excited to get back into it, so would love if you wanted to check it out! x

    Reply

  2. crystalsandcurls

    Omg I loved we were liars! (Which is admittedly rare for me to say about a YA.) Honestly didn’t see that plot twist at the end coming at all! (May have cried a tiny bit) Loved this post, really cute tag xx

    Reply

    1. Lori @ The Inky Saga

      I think older non-YA books are harder to find talked about in the online bookish community. This was one of the books that got me back into recreational reading in high school, so it has a special place in my heart. I have a few more books by Ishiguro that I still want to read, so I might do a themed week later this year once I find the time ^_^

      Reply

    1. Lori @ The Inky Saga

      I love to hear that other people know about The House of the Scorpion! It was such a random read for me when I was younger that took me some searching to find again years later. It’s such a different kind of YA novel, Holes too really. We need more books like this these for young readers!

      Reply

  7. Lori @ The Inky Saga

    That’s really unfortunate. I can see how it may not be many people’s cup of tea. It’s definitely one of my favorite books and I talk about it a lot on this blog, sooo…. Welcome!

    Reply

  8. Angelica (TheBookCoverGirl)

    Than you so much for the tag!! I can’t wait to do it! And Cress is such a great choice for that question. It’s definitely my favorite in The Lunar Chronicles. And Six of Crows is definitely everything, and then some! Every part of that book was amazing!

    Reply

    1. Lori @ The Inky Saga

      Hi, Emma! I’m definitely interested. I usually like to talk collab type stuff in DMs on Twitter where I’m @theinkysaga.

      I also have a blog-specific email at the bottom of my About page. It’s in bold. I’m wary of sharing it in the comments section for fear of spam bots, but it’s a gmail account that’s same as my twitter handle…if you catch my drift ^_^

      Reply

    1. Lori @ The Inky Saga

      It’s such a lovely idea for a tag! I’m glad you liked my entry. I hope you like We Were Liars! I have blogger friends who low-key hated it, and it hurts my heart and makes me nervous to talk it up too much. But I love it and I’ll share it whenever I can ^_^

      Reply

      1. readingbystarlightblog

        Oh don’t worry – I think we all have that one book or series that everyone hates and we low-key love… *cough cough* Twilight and After *cough*. I’ll defiantly let you know what I think when I get my hands on it! ;)

  11. Olivia @ Purely Olivia

    Thank you so so much tagging me! This tag looks like so much fun and it really did get me wanting to travel.☺️I’ll definitely have to give it a go sometime in the next month-ish! Aah, I loved We Were Liars- and by loved, I mean it completely ripped my heart to shreds, but I would read it all over again.

    Reply

    1. Lori @ The Inky Saga

      You’re welcome! <3 You're one of the few bloggers that come to my mind when I need to tag people who are game for a fun, unique tag ^_^

      I'm glad to have reaffirmed that there are people out there who also love We Were Liars. It touches an emotional chord deep down inside of me that I'm currently unwilling to examine. <3

      Reply

  13. Pingback: The Wanderlust Tag – aquapages

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