The Princesses Read: Mulan

YAYAYAYAYAY, it’s Mulan’s day! I love Mulan. There are so many heart eyes when it comes to this movie and this Princess. I will never stop signing, “I’ll Make a Man Out of You.” I’m not sure if it’s Donny Osmond or just the addicting lyrics and tune, but it’s forever my favorite Disney jam.

And to quote that jam, let’s get down to business (although we’re not defeating Huns today sadly)!

Each Saturday, I will be showcasing a lovely Disney Princess (or when they run out, some other Disney leading ladies and more) and showcasing what they might be picking up if they were reading YA today. It will be based off their likes, interests, personalities, and their storyline. At the end, I will also feature a book that the Princess would NOT be picking up and a section of books that are based off either the plot or original princess fairytale. Check out more info here on my original post! We’ve done Tiana, Belle, Jasmine, Rapunzel, Moana, and Snow White so far!

Our Princess this week is…

Mulan!

Oh, what can I say about Mulan? There is simply too much. She is totally near the tippity top of my favorite Princess list, and when I rewatched her movie last year, I instantly few in love so hard. Mulan has an amazing sense of family – standing up for her father when he can no longer fight – and she becomes not only stronger physically but also emotionally and mentally. She’s a hardcore fighter in every sense of the word. She’s passionate about her family, friends, and country, and seriously, we all knows who saves her country in the end of her movie. Omigosh, I need to go rewatch this movie right now. I just need all the feels again.

So, basically, the next following books will just be all fierce ladies, and we can bask in their greatness.

So what books would show up in  Mulan’s YA reflection?

Grave Mercy by Robin Lafevers

Fierce, fierce, fierce, fierce, fierce! That’s how I will continuously describe this book and its heroine, Ismae. She is one of my favorite heroines ever, and she is so ridiculously strong in ever sense of the word. She comes from major adversity – coming from a town that hated her just because of her scars – and she became one of the coolest assassins ever – a nun-like one to the god of Death. So I mean, I definitely think her and Mulan would totally get along justtttttttt fine. Maybe even compare kickbutt moves. Plus, the romance in here is a bit like Li Shang’s and Mulan’s with how they are forced work together to save a country. 😉

A Darker Shade of Magic by V. E. Schwab

It’s been a while since I met as epic of a heroine as Lila Bard. She’s witty, she kicks some major butt, and she’s wicked smart. Mulan would totally love her right away. Forget awesome Kell and witty Rhy. She would be like, yup, I love Lila. Get me some knives as well or a sword and let’s kick some butt. I definitely think Mulan would be interested as well in White London, and totally been like, if I was running the army…then I would have kicked those rulers out a while ago. But she still would have appreciated the epicness that was this book overall.

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

How could I not include this book with Mulan? Inej and Nina are some of the fiercest ladies in YA today, and Mulan would love, love, love them. I think Mulan would totally be jealous of Inej’s skills as a wraith, but mostly, I feel like she would just want to learn from her and totally be as silent and deadly as her. I feel like she would also appreciate the humor from Kaz, Jesper, and Nina. Jesper’s humor, especially, I feel like would totally remind her of a dear, little dragon sidekick. Plus, I totally think Mulan would be taking down notes on how the Dregs broke into places to help her with army strategy. Overall, a very insightful book for Mulan. 😉

Daughter of the Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller

Alosa = one fierce heroine. Therefore, Mulan would enjoy. Mulan would also love how no one really questions the fact that Alosa is a lady pirate, but everyone distrusts because she is so epic. Also, there is an interesting dynamic between father and daughter in this one, and I think Mulan would connect to Alosa over the fact that they both did pretty huge things for their fathers. Also, Alosa has some great humor and her red hair might remind her of a certain dragon sidekick as well. Mulan never had any water scenes, but I totally think that Mulan would be down to go fight armies on the high sea for her country.

Also, why do all of Mulan’s books so far have the same color scheme?

And of course, the The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer. Each of these ladies brought new strength – mental, emotional, physical – to the table in the books, just like Mulan. It showed a different kind of princess – a princess that can fight in multiple ways, just like Mulan showed us. Plus, Thorne basically is a swoony Mushu, so there is that.

A book that Mulan would NOT pick up

The Best Kind of Magic by Crystal Cestari

This book is about a funny, witty…matchmaker. Yeah, Mulan would probably not be going anywhere near any books that have that word around after her own disaster with a certain moustached matchmaker…well, moustached after The Whole Debacle. It would definitely bring back painful memories, so Mulan would be all like, nope, not today, book! Or any day. But especially not today.

 

What to see more of Mulan? Well, erm, huh.

Well, there are a few obvious choices right now in YA, but they aren’t necessarily based on the original Chinese tale of Mulan. Mulan was actually based off a Chinese female warrior, Hua Mulan, who was first described in The Ballad of Mulan. Things get a little more twisty and less wholesome than the Disney version, so there are not many actual retellings to it. There are a few stories that have come out recently that do feature one of the most prominent features of Mulan: the cross-dressing aspects. Here is a list of a few more, but The Flame in the Mist and The Kingdom of Ash and Briars are some of the most recent ones. I have yet to read The Flame, but I have read Kingdom, and it was bleh. The list I included, though, has a few more that might be of interest.

Next weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek

I apparently keep failing to pick a new princess until like the day before, so why not keep the streak going? It’ll be fun, right? D:

What do you think? What books do you think Mulan would read? What other fierce heroines do you think Mulan would be interested in? Let’s discuss in the comments below!