One of our most highly-anticipated releases this summer is BECAUSE YOU LOVE TO HATE ME: 13 Tales of Villainy, a collection of short stories edited by Ameriie. In these 13 short stories written by 13 amazing young adult authors, readers get to see the villain's side of every story --- for better or for worse. At the end of each story, 13 BookTubers break down the themes, character arcs and motifs that make each one deliciously devious. In this post, Teen Board Member Reanna H., who reviewed BECAUSE YOU LOVE TO HATE ME, shares the playlist she created of songs to accompany each story.
As you delve into the devious world of BECAUSE YOU LOVE TO HATE ME, here’s a playlist to accompany you with every story along the way! (Spoilers!!!)
“The Blood of Imuriv” by Renne Ahdieh --- “Eyes On Fire” by Blue Foundation
I had a really hard time finding a song for “The Blood of Imuriv.” There is no love in this story, no compassion, no feeling. Rhone may seems like he has remorse for what he’s done, but he really doesn’t. He plays into the game of his family, only to bring them down.
“Eyes on fire
Your spine is ablaze
Felling any foe with my gaze
And just in time
In the right place
Steadily emerging with grace”
You have to give Rhone some props, as he really was graceful, regardless of how it seemed. He had his eyes set on a goal, and his subconscious took over and got it.
“Jack” by Ameriie --- “Angel of Small Death & the Codeine Scene” by Hozier
I suspect that Jack knew what he was getting into when he kept going up the beanstalk, and that as much as he wanted to, it wouldn’t end well. The girl knew it as well, but they kept up their relationship until it ended horribly. Hozier put it best:
“Leash-less confusion, I'll wander the concrete
Wonder if better now having survived
Jarring of judgement and reasons defeat
The sweet heat of her breath in my mouth I'm alive
With her sweetened breath, and her tongue so mean
She's the angel of Small Death and the Codeine Scene”
They both know (in some way) that she will be the end of Jack, but he’s addicted to her as she is to him.
“Gwen and Art and Lance” by Soman Chainani --- “Lunar Eclipse” by Bridezilla
Is it terrible that I didn’t even recognize that this was based off of characters from the King Arthur Legend? A little bit, but it was pretty entertaining regardless. They all were kind of terrible people and Gwen won the trophy. She basically said out loud these lyrics to Lance, including:
“I don't ever even think of you,
But it's nice to be loved by you
And though it's so easy to figure it'll end someday soon
Without a note or word I wanna be seen or heard”
In other words, she literally only wants their love to be in private and wants to be at top of the social power.
“Shirley & Jim” by Susan Dennard --- “Leaving Tonight” by The Neighbourhood
I had to really think about what I wanted to pair with “Shirley & Jim” and I settled on “Leaving Tonight.” The Neighbourhood is my go-to band for just about everything and every emotion, and they didn’t disappoint this time. Listen to these words:
“You fooled me from the start
When you let me start to love you.
It's like a bunch of broken picture frames
But the photo still remains the same.
And I, I thought it'd be easy to run
But my legs are broken.”
Jim was just not a nice dude and completely took advantage of Shirley’s love. I think the last two lines of lyrics especially are important to the end of the story when she rises for vengeance.
“The Blessings of Little Wants” by Sarah Enni --- “Everybody Wants To Rule The World” by Tears for Fears
I had no idea where this story was going for a long time and I’m still a little confused about what actually happened because there was some chaos. Sigrid was a pretty unreliable character but one thing was known by the end: she wanted to rule the world. Tears For Fears said it perfectly:
“It's my own design
It's my own remorse
Help me to decide
Help make the most
Of freedom and of pleasure
Nothing ever lasts forever
Everybody wants to rule the world”
Also give a listen to Lorde’s cover of the song, a much darker interpretation of the lyrics.
“The Sea Witch” by Marissa Meyer --- “Human” by Sevdaliza
You have to find the irony in me choosing a song called “Human” to go with a story about a mermaid who gets turned into a human only to vow to be turned back into a mermaid. Her vengeance is strong and she’s not ashamed of it, so when I hear lyrics like this, I think of her instantly.
“Been in and out
And in front of my judgmental eyes
My precious disguise
Business so cold
Can’t cope with my own”
She has a precious disguise, buisness so cold, and she can’t cope with her own world. Perfect song, if I do say so myself!
“Beautiful Venom” by Cindy Pon --- “My House” by Pvris
This is hands down the most heartbreaking short story throughout BECAUSE YOU LOVE TO HATE ME. “Beautiful Venom” deals heavily with abusive relationships and rape, which can be hard to discuss but successfully highlighted the injustice of these situations. For that, I think “My House” is a perfect anthem for Mei Feng.
“It's my soul
It isn't yours anymore
It's my house
And I think it's time to get out
Yeah, I think it's time to get out”
Mei Feng’s house was her body, her temple, which was taken over by Hai Xin. She left us on her path to take back control over herself, even if it meant losing herself in the darkness.
“Death Knell” by Victoria Schwab --- “Seven Devils” by Florence + The Machine
Never has Death been so captivating and never has Death seemed so human, so scared, so delicate. When he comes for Grace, Florence + The Machine narrates their encounter perfectly.
“Seven devils all around you
Seven devils in my house
See they were there when I woke up this morning
I'll be dead before the day is done”
Florence sings behind a soundtrack that can be only be described as morbidly beautiful. When I read “Death Knell," “Seven Devils” came to my mind right away.
“Marigold” by Samantha Shannon --- “Me, Myself & I” by Beyonce
I don’care what anyone says, this was the most girl power story ever. So, of course, I had to turn to the Queen Bey herself to get some inspiration for “Marigold.”
“Me, myself, and I
That's all I got in the end
That's what I found out
And it ain't no need to cry
I took a vow that from now on
I'm gonna be my own best friend”
I loved when Marigold started to befriend herself and take control of her life with a little help from a fellow Queen. But, to be fair, Isaac was actually a good guy in my eyes and just happened to be in George’s plan, getting screwed over in the end.
“You, You, It’s All About You” by Adam Silvera --- “Gimme All Your Love” by Alabama Shakes
While reading “You, You, It’s All About You,” I was really puzzled with the relationship between Slate and Karl. I’ve been thinking about it, and I think Slate was so desperate to feel love she would do absolutely anything to get it. I thought of these lyrics by Alabama Shakes when I think of her “love” for Karl.
“So tell me what you wanna do
You say the world, it doesn't fit with you
Why don't you talk to me for just a little while?
I can only try to make it right
If you just gimme all your love
Gimme all you got, babe
Gimme all your love”
She completely abandons her sharp edges for Karl, doing things just to please him. Wanting him to give her all his love.
“Julian Breaks Every Rule” by Andrew Smith --- “Toes” by Glass Animals
I knew that I had to pair a Glass Animals song with the Andrew Smith story because they both break every rule in the book (see what I did there?). Julian is basically my favorite character ever, though he seems less than human. Therefore, this song make perfect sense.
“I'm a man, I'm a twisted fool
My hands are twisted, too
Five fingers to black hooves
I'm a man, don't spin me a lie
Got toes and I can smile
I'm crooked but upright”
Julian’s a pretty twisted fool, going around and killing people with no remorse. He’s special that way.
“Indigo and Shade” by April Genevieve Tucholke --- “The Wolf” by Fever Ray
There’s something so satisfying about this story. The “golden boy” of the town, who can everything and everyone that he’s ever desired is at the beckoning call of a whimsical forest girl who just happens to be terrorizing his community. Fever Ray explains it all, with lyrics like
“Our temple, your tomb
Can be your pick, not pawned,
The poisonous blood.”
Our beast Indigo has drawn him into her temple and he stays, even if it will call for the destruction of his world.
“Sera” by Nicola Yoon --- “I Saw Your Eyes Close” by Local Natives
Sera’s a pretty twisted girl and she doesn’t care. There are many theories as to why people turn into psychopaths but her mom knew she was one since day one. From the minute Sera closed her eyes.
“Hey now, the slip, the doubt, the itch
You bow so long to live beyond
Now you're walking, humming your song
Mirror in the bathroom, nails getting long
Aw please, tell me I'm wrong
In the third act, it's gotta go off”
Her mom still wants to believe she’s wrong about her daughter, but nothing can turn Sera into a normal girl at this point.
