#TopTenTuesday: the #WednesdayYA takeover — Book Battle, y'all!

At our June #WednesdayYA chat, Liz and I asked you guys how to pick July's book, and you (apparently) want to see Liz and I duke it out, because you chose a BOOK BATTLE. So we're taking over Top Ten Tuesday this week in an effort to convince you to pick the book we each want to read this month. Liz will be trying to talk up Eon, but before you go see what she has to say, let me tell you why I think we should totally read Scarlet by A.C. Gaughen! That's right, it's the battle of the gender-benders this month, and I. Am. Excite!

So why do I think we should read...

1. Because it's a retelling of the Robin Hood stories, but one where "Will Scarlet" is a girl in disguise. Just look at this synopsis and tell me you don't want to pick it up:
   

Posing as one of Robin Hood’s thieves to avoid the wrath of the evil Thief Taker Lord Gisbourne, Scarlet has kept her identity secret from all of Nottinghamshire. Only the Hood and his band know the truth: the agile thief posing as a whip of a boy is actually a fearless young woman with a secret past. Helping the people of Nottingham outwit the corrupt Sheriff of Nottingham could cost Scarlet her life as Gisbourne closes in.  It’s only her fierce loyalty to Robin—whose quick smiles and sharp temper have the rare power to unsettle her—that keeps Scarlet going and makes this fight worth dying for.

2. Because when we're reading about "Thief Take Lord Gisbourne," we can pretend we're reading about...
   

3. And because when we're reading about Robin...
   

4. ...just take a minute and let those, um, reasons sink in.
   There we go.
5. Because so many people loved it. Just loved it. People whose tastes I trust. Awesome people. And we could be those awesome people, too.
6. Because people have been pushing it on me for ages, and my fingers have been itching for it ever since it showed up and claimed a spot on my bookshelves.
7. Because if we read it, our monthly twitter discussion will naturally devolve into a discussion of other Robin Hood incarnations, including but not limited to the BBC version above, the Kevin Costner version*, and Robin Hood: Men in Tights. We can sing the song. [And we'll all agree to ignore how borderline offensive it is. Ahh, the 90s...]
   *And I will regale you with stories of how desperately in love with Kevin Costner I was as a kid. Like, embarrassingly.
8. Because it's not a BAJILLION PAGES LONG, like Eon. I mean, I like big books and I cannot lie, and all, but damn. It's summer. We could read Scarlet twice for the same amount of pages. Ain't nobody got time fo'...okay, maybe I do like to get lost in an epic on a balmy summer day, BUT STILL.
9. Because it not only hits on some of my major buzzwords, the things that make me auto-acquire a book (girl in disguise, retelling), but it also hits on one of my major, um... buzz covers? We need a word for that, community. Anyway, it has a dagger on the cover, and I'm all sorts of about that.
10. Because I really want to reeeeeeeeead it! And I think some of you have been meaning to, too. And some of you have already read it and loved it. And we should all discuss it together.

And there you have it. Feel free to go check out the reasons why Liz wants you to choose Eon (pfft!), and then let us know in the comments (here or there) which book YOU want us to choose for July's book club: SCARLET or Eon. We'll announce the winner tomorrow!