Muggles. Wizards. Mudbloods. Squibs. Long ago, the four beings lived together in harmony. Then, everything changed when the Death Eaters attacked. Only the Chosen One, child of the prophecy, could stop the Dark Lord, but when the world needed him most, he was in hiding. Some time passed and Dumbledore’s Army found the Chosen One, a wizard named Harry. And although his magic skills are great, he has a lot to learn before he’s ready to save anyone. But I believe Harry can save the world.

Hello everyone! Another book tag today–I’m particularly excited about this tag because it’s based on my favorite TV series of all time- Avatar: The Last Airbender (if you couldn’t tell what it was by my sub-par Harry-Potter-ified recreation of the intro). This show has quite a number of tropes, and I’m excited to be connecting them to their YA counterparts 🙂 Without further ado:

~WATER~

1. Katara and Sokka: Best sibling relationship

Auggie and Via Pullman from Wonder by R.J. Palacio. These two break my heart. Even though they argue and get annoyed at each other quite consistently, I love how they’re always there for each other when it’s important, and care so deeply. This may not be the most prominent sibling relationship in the literary world, but to me it’s the most realistic and supportive.

2. Yue: Favorite star crossed lovers

Day and June from the Legend trilogy…soon to be quartet? I love both of the characters in this relationship individually, and I love them even more together. They’re meant to be (I’m really hoping they WILL be in Rebel please please please Marie Lu! ). The last chapter of Champion had me in literal tears, but with enough hope that something could happen…

3. Blood Bending: A book with a disturbing/unsettling concept

Wait Till Helen Comes by Mary Downing Hahn. I read this book when I was in fifth grade, and let’s just say it’s the reason I haven’t so much as picked up another horror novel in the last nine years. You can click on the title if you want to read what it’s about, but be warned.

~EARTH~

4. Toph: A character whose strength surprised you or surprised other characters in the book.

Probably Tessa Gray in Clockwork Princess. I had kind of given up on her for a while because she made quite a few stupid decisions along the way, but she really redeemed herself in the final battle against Mortmain. She definitely surprised everyone there, although I’m not sure if it was so much HER strength, or her angel’s…

5. The Tales of Ba Sing Se: The best short story/poetry collection.

To be honest, I don’t really sit down and read short story/poetry collections, but I read William Blake’s Songs of Innocence and Experience last semester for an English class, and I really loved it! Especially “Night” and “Another Sorrow” in Songs of Innocence and “The Clod and the Pebble” and “A Divine Image” from Songs of Experience.

6. Kyoshi Warriors: Best warrior character.

This may be cliché or whatever, but I’m going to have to go with Annabeth Chase from the Percy Jackson series. She was probably the single most inspirational female warrior character for me when I was growing up, and I wanted to be just like her to the point where there was a brief period during which I was convinced I wanted to be an architect. She’s not only brave and a highly skilled warrior, but also extremely intelligent and actually thinks things through (a skill I’ve noticed a lot of warriors lack *cough cough Percy*). LOVE HER.

~FIRE~

7. Zuko: Best redemption arc/a redemption arc that should have happened.

In my opinion, the best redemption arc in existence is that of Will Herondale’s. I’m still a bit shook by it, and I’ve read the books about six times. Never before had there been a character that I absolutely HATED but was then turned to love, much less a such character who ended up becoming my favorite fictional character of all time. If you haven’t read The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare, I would strongly suggest you do so, because this redemption arc makes the 1500+ pages WORTH IT.

8. Iroh: Wisest character.

Although I do feel like he made some frustrating decisions and sometimes withheld information he shouldn’t have, he’s the wisest character I can think of (plus- no matter how wise, we all make mistakes sometimes).

9. Azula: Best downfall.

Umbridge. I think there’s a general consensus within the literary community about how much we all hate Umbridge, and Rowling definitely did not disappoint with her downfall. I received so much satisfaction when I read of her being carried off by the centaurs after how much she had opposed their existence, although I would have appreciated a bit more information about what exactly happened to by the end of the series.

~AIR~

10. Appa: Favorite fictional animal/pet.

Hedwig!! Enough said.

11. Aang: Purest cinnamon roll.

Jem Carstairs…I actually don’t understand how someone can be THAT understanding and kind ALL the time (okay, minus that one time he punched Will, but Will definitely deserved it).

12. Avatar state: a stubborn character/a character that struggles with letting go.

Margot Covey from the To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before series. She always makes the decisions she believes are the most practical and morally “right” without regard to her feelings, and then struggles with dealing with her emotions afterwards. Her desire to be perfect and always do “the right thing” based on rationale sometimes leaves her hurt and struggling to let go of her feelings (e.g. breaking up with Josh before leaving for college in Scotland and then regretting it later).

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If you want to do this tag, I tag you! If you mention me in your tag, I’ll be sure to take a look at it 🙂 That’s all for now–thanks so much as always for reading, and stay safe! ❤