Musical Shuffle Book Tag!

Hello everyone, and welcome back! Today, I’m bringing you the Musical Shuffle Book Tag! I discovered this tag on Sara’s blog, and it sounded so fun that I reverted to my tag thieving ways for a chance to complete it. I mean, books + musical theatre is the best combination ever, and I know all of you are in agreement. Speaking of which, there is going to be a lot of musical theatre in this post, so if that is somehow offensive to you (um… how?), you can skip over today’s post, I guess 😂

So let’s get started!

The Rules

In this tag, we put the tunes on shuffle & with each song we list a character, a ship, a book — whatever book-related that the song reminds us of. Consider it their song. Let’s do it for 5-10 songs (y’all can be extra if you want. I love people who are extra) & then TAG 5-10 OF YOUR FELLOW BLOGGERS. 

(This tag was created by Bex @ Becca Leighanne.)

“WORDS FAIL” from Dear Evan Hansen

Be right back, just sobbing in a corner. Why, shuffle, why?!?!?

No, I’d rather pretend I’m something better than
These broken parts
Pretend I’m something other than this mess that I am
‘Cause then I don’t have to look at it
And no one gets to look at it
No, no one can really see

For this song, I choose Zofia from They Went Left by Monica Hesse. Throughout the book, the reader follows Zofia on her journey to healing as she tries to unravel her tangled memories in the aftermath of World War II. The lyrics fit perfectly with her character arc.

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“MASQUERADE / WHY SO SILENT?” from The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall

MASQUERADEEEEEE — wHy sO sIlEnt gOoD mEsSiEuRs?? I love Ramin Karimloo’s Phantom. Perfection.

Masquerade!
Paper faces on parade
Masquerade!
Hide your face, so the world will never find you

This song is basically about a party with some sinister undertones. That reminds me of Nik from the Illuminae Files. On the surface, he’s a happy-go-lucky drug dealer, but once the reader starts to understand him better, it’s clear that his personality is a way of hiding a darker past. He has a knack of making me cry, especially during scenes set in train cars (if you know, you know).

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“DON’T LOSE UR HEAD” from Six: The Musical

OMG THIS SONG 😂 It’s not my favorite song from Six, but it’s pretty obvious why it’s one of the most popular tracks on the album. You gotta love Anne Boleyn.

Mate, what was I meant to do?
Sorry, not sorry about what I said
I’m just trying to have some fun
Don’t worry, don’t worry
Don’t lose your head
I didn’t mean to hurt anyone
LOL
Say “Oh, well!”
Or go to hell!

This song fits perfectly with Samantha from American Royals. As the spare royal, Sam hasn’t been the focus of attention in her family in… like ever. In a desperate bid for attention, she’s constantly acting up, kissing guys in coat closets, speaking impulsively, et cetera, et cetera. Although her motives are definitely deeper than Anne’s (who I doubt has any motives at all), this song is the soundtrack to her life, at least at the beginning of American Royals.

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“FARMER REFUTED” from Hamilton

UNDERRATED SONG ALERT (as underrated as any Hamilton song can be). I live for Alexander Hamilton casually roasting random guys on a street corner. And the overlapping lyrics and melody are just amazingly crafted. It’s insane how brilliant this song is.

Don’t modulate the key then not debate with me!
Why should a tiny island across the sea regulate the price of tea?

I’m going to go with All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr for this one. I read this book some time ago, but I remember how beautiful and raw the writing was. One of my favorite quotes of all time is from this book: “All your life you wait, and then it finally comes, and are you ready?” CHILLS.

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“WHO LIVES, WHO DIES, WHO TELLS YOUR STORY” from Hamilton

Sobbing in a corner, part 2. 

But when you’re gone, who remembers your name?
Who keeps your flame?
Who tells your story?
Who tells your story?
Who tells your story? Your story?
Eliza

Seriously, the way Renée Elise Goldsberry says her line — every other Founding Father story gets told, every other Founding Father gets to grow old — breaks me. Every time. And of course we have Philippa Soo, whose job as a member of the original cast seems to have been to make me sob my eyes out.

But anyway. For this one, I’m going with The Voting Booth by Brandy Colbert. The Voting Booth is all about making a difference and letting your voice be heard. I think this book answers Hamilton’s question perfectly: We tell our story. It’s up to us how we are remembered, and it’s how we act in the face of injustice and ignorance that will be our legacy.

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“STAY ALIVE (REPRISE)” from Hamilton

Shuffle hates me.

I did exactly as you said, Pa
I held my head up high

I know, I know, shh
I know, I know, shh
I know you did ev’rything just right

Please, just — stop. 😭😭😭😭

I choose Spin the Dawn by Elizabeth Lim. This is a recent read of mine (review to come!), and I’m not kidding when I say I was crying from the first chapter. Lim’s writing is simple, but that simplicity is exactly what doubled me over when she described the emotion that Maia, our protagonist, was going through. This entire book was a very emotional experience, just like listening to “Stay Alive (Reprise).”

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“HARD TO BE THE HARD” from Something Rotten!

Well, that’s quite the change in tone. This song is absolutely hilarious.

That one little nugget, that one little spark
Then Eureka! You find it, you’re ready to start
So now you can write, right? Wrong!
You’re not even close, you remember that, damn it
Your play’s gotta be in iambic pentameter!

I’m going with the Land of Stories series by Chris Colfer. This is a middle grade fantasy series that I devoured a few years back. Colfer does a splendid and hilarious job of reimagining well-known fairytale characters, just like the Bard is reinterpreted in Something Rotten!. I love how he pokes fun at standard fairytale tropes by giving the stories totally different meanings.

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“LOST IN THE WOODS” from Frozen II

Oh my goshhhhh 😂 You know what the funny thing is? When I saw this movie in theaters, I completely lost it. But now that I think about it, it’s a pretty romantic song? Like, I would be thrilled if someone sang this song for me. Hands down one of the best songs from the album.

Now I know you’re my true north
‘Cause I am lost in the woods
Up is down, day is night
When you’re not there
Oh, you’re my only landmark
So I’m lost in the woods
Wondering if you still care

But anyway. This song is the perfect fit to The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary, which I am currently reading. Although there are darker themes underlying the book, The Flatshare, at its heart, is a romantic comedy. I was laughing so hard yesterday reading this book that my mom thought I had finally gone crazy. Not yet, Mom, not yet.

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“OUR LADY OF THE UNDERGROUND” from Hadestown

Hadestown makes an appearance! This is honestly one of my favorite songs from the album. Amber Gray’s voice is just amazing in this, and I love how she breaks the fourth wall to shout-out the band members.

I got the wind right here in a jar
I got the rain on tap at the bar
I got sunshine up on the shelf
Allow me to introduce myself
Brother, what’s my name?
My name is —
Our Lady of the Underground!

Ooh, this is hard. The best adjective I can think of to describe this song is atmospheric, and my mind immediately went to The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater for that. Do I talk about this book too much? Maybe? But I can’t resist. Stiefvater’s writing is so beautiful that I feel like I’m there, you know? Like I’m in Cabeswater and I’m at Blue’s house and I’m in the Monmouth Manufacturing building. So beautiful.

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“CARRYING THE BANNER” from Newsies

I LOVE THIS SONG. OMG, WHEN THE ENSEMBLE STARTS GOING INTO ROUNDS OR WHATEVER YOU CALL IT — I LOVEEEEE IT.

You wanna move the next edition
Give us an earthquake or a war!
How ‘bout a crooked politician?
Ya nitwit, that ain’t news no more!

Same, guys, same. It’s not just the Gilded Age.

I’m choosing Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson for this song. Similar to Newsies, Chains takes place during a revolution, although a more literal one. Our main character is Isabel, an enslaved girl fighting for her and her sister’s freedom, who gets caught up in the Revolutionary frenzy in New York City. I don’t talk about Chains as often as I should. It’s such an important contribution to historical fiction set during the Revolution.

That’s it for today! This was so much fun, and a lot harder than I thought it would be?? I tag anyone who’s interested!

Now, your turn! Do you agree with my pairings? Have you read any of the books I mentioned? Chat with me in the comments!