UNPOPULAR OPINIONS 2.0 TAG

 I first saw this tag over at the Youtube channel of Angela from Literature Science Alliance. Check out her video here!

So we all know the OG Unpopular Opinions book tag, but there is also a 2.0 version with even more questions! Here are my answers. 

As always, feel free to do this tag if you see it!

1. A genre "great" that you didn't get the hype for.

I'm gonna have to say Educated by Tara Westover. For those who don't know, it is a memoir about the author who grew up in an unconventional (and unfortunately toxic) family, and then when she goes to university she learns way more about the world and starts healing from all the emotional scars she got growing up. It sounded like a memoir up my alley, but the thing that made me not like it was I didn't like the way it was written (as in, I didn't like the author's writing style). I actually DNF'd it after chapter 1! The author had a tendency to drone on about details that didn't add much to the story, and the tone of the book (or at least of the sample that I read) felt very...detached? I get that maybe it was hard for her to write about since a lot of it is very traumatic stuff, but with her not sounding interested in telling her own story, I couldn't get into it, either. So, yeah, not my thing. 

2. An adaptation you wish was never made. 

So I am a fan of the Wayside School books by Louis Sachar, but did you know there was a cartoon based off the books? I watched a couple of random episodes of the cartoon adaptation, but I really didn't like it! The tone of the show, unlike the books, is very mean-spirited. It also relied way too much on random=funny humor. All the characters felt super one dimensional compared to their book counterparts, too. The original books are also very humorous, but they take on a more lighthearted tone and the characters are way more likable. So, yeah, if you like Wayside school, I don't recommend the show. 

At least the theme song is catchy. It is sung by Skye Sweetnam. You can listen to it here. 

3. A book/series you have to fight back your inner snob, because you think people just don't get it.

It took me a while to find an answer for this one, but I will have to go with The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon. Here's the thing: I LOVE this book. It was the book I read several years ago that go me out of the reading slump I had for most of my teen years. I seen a lot of people criticize the book for being unrealistic since everything happens within a single day, especially with the main characters falling in love (yes, it's instalove). But honestly, when I read the book, none of that stuff bothered me! The story was just so sweet and funny (and even sad!) at times that I had a blast while reading it, and it's one of my favorite YA contemporary novels of all time. So yeah, I think it's one of those book that you shouldn't have to think too much while reading it. I just wanted to be entertained, and The Sun is Also a Star delivered that to me. 

4. A book or a series that you're tired of everyone hating on. 

I think "hate" is a bit of a stretch, but I still see a lot of people criticizing One Piece by Eichiro Oda (manga and anime alike). The most common criticisms are that it is soooo long, and the character designs are not particularly attractive, and the characters are annoying. Believe it or not, I used to be one of those people, but I ended up giving it a try and I ended up loving it and I got hooked! I can still see how it may not be everyone's cup of tea, but a lot of the criticism stems from people who haven't even seen a sample of the show. It's one of the few shonen manga series I like. 

5. A book or series everyone thinks is really powerful, but that you didn't connect with.

The only answer I could think of is the graphic novel Bloom by Kevin Panetta. I've seen this book recommended all over Instagram. I read it earlier this year and I found it to be just okay (aka 4 stars). The romance in the story wasn't very captivating, and I found the main character to be kind of annoying. It's not a terrible story, but not one I highly recommend either. There are other LGBT romance books I prefer. 

6. A character you don't get the hype for.

I am gonna have to go with Ms. Piggle Wiggle from the series of the same name by Betty Macdonald. I read this book last year and gave it 3.5 stars because I did not find Ms. Piggle Wiggle as endearing as I thought she was going to be. I also didn't like the book overall for the things in it that haven't aged well (the book is from the 1950s).

7. A book or series everyone wants an adaptation for, but you don't.

This is actually a series I read as a kid, and that's the Junie B. Jones series by Barbara Park. I LOVE this series so much, but despite how popular it is, I can't really see it getting an adaptation. Especially in this day in age when the series is over a decade old (the first book was published in 1992 and the last one was published in 2007). I have a feeling an adaptation wouldn't be successful because I feel kids nowadays might not be into it the same way people around my age are. Adding onto that, the series has been controversial with parents and teachers considering Junie B tends to throw a lot of tantrums and she speaks with bad grammar. Above all, I don't want to see any TV or movie writers giving it a lot of drastic changes from the source material either. 

8. A book or series you think people have bias towards and don't really love/hate as much as they claim.

I don't have one exact title or single book series for this answer, but I have noticed a lot of popular books, especially YA books, that are usually published before 2015, tend to be very looked down upon in the bookish community, or at least some of the people I follow. Some examples of book/series include Twilight, Maximum Ride, Divergent, and The Maze Runner. I am personally not a fan of these series either, but I think a lot of the negative bias towards these series is mostly from the fact that they were popular at one point in time and people just like to hate on things that are popular. I mean, a lot of people like myself don't like some of those older YA series that were once popular because they do tend to be badly written/problematic, but I have seen people hating on them or avoiding them like the plague just because they were once popular. But that's just what I've noticed in my experience of the bookish spaces that I follow. Like I always say, your mileage may vary!