tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86627667024937975672024-03-13T05:09:24.146-07:00Reading Cause I'm AddictedKarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14467279788273920777noreply@blogger.comBlogger550125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8662766702493797567.post-88683684971196674172015-03-03T02:42:00.000-08:002015-03-03T02:50:43.545-08:00Seraphina Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61kZ5cqRedL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61kZ5cqRedL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg" height="320" width="212" /></a></div>
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<b>Summary:</b> Four decades of peace have done little to ease the mistrust between humans and dragons in the kingdom of Goredd. Folding themselves into human shape, dragons attend court as ambassadors, and lend their rational, mathematical minds to universities as scholars and teachers. As the treaty's anniversary draws near, however, tensions are high.</div>
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Seraphina Dombegh has reason to fear both sides. An unusually gifted musician, she joins the court just as a member of the royal family is murdered-in suspiciously draconian fashion. Seraphina is drawn into the investigation, partnering with the captain of the Queen's Guard, the dangerously perceptive Prince Lucian Kiggs. While they begin to uncover hints of a sinister plot to destroy the peace, Seraphina struggles to protect her own secret, the secret behind her musical gift, one so terrible that its discovery could mean her very life.</div>
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<b>My thoughts:</b> I did not expect to finish this book with tears in my eyes.
I’d expect that kind of reaction from a John Green novel or some other contemporary
story, but not a book about dragons. Because as impressive as Hartman’s take on
dragons are, it’s strange to find that my favorite parts weren’t the
fantastical beings or the greatly imaginative world, but the emotional,
intimate moments.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Seraphina is so delightfully layered and spellbinding
without even trying and it’s because of the characters more than anything else.
Do you want to know how you can have a story that includes basically any
concept in the world? You get us to care about the characters. When you start
with that kind of solid foundation, something to hold on to, readers will
follow you anywhere. Even more so if you can make them relatable. <o:p></o:p></div>
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In so many ways, Seraphina is a product of two worlds. And
yet she feels separated from both. She longs for things she thinks she can
never have, and if that isn’t relatable I don’t know what is: The need to
belong, to feel accepted and loved.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Not to mention that while she learns more about herself, the
“peace” between humans and dragons threatens to come undone. But simply replace
the words human and dragon with two new distinctive groups, be it by race, sex,
or anything else, it’s easy to see how this equates to real life. We often separate
ourselves in so many ways, producing the temptation to hate what is different,
rather than to celebrate it and try to understand it. <o:p></o:p></div>
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So as Seraphina works to accept herself and to be open to
the love she deserves, her two worlds must decide whether they can continue to
coexist and learn to accept each other. The former issue is addressed throughout
the story, in a coming-of-age way that made me more emotional than I thought I’d
be. The latter issue is still being worked on, with enough deep-rooted problems
to see why a second book would be helpful.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I look forward to continuing Seraphina’s journey. To see her
sacrifice for what she believes in, to see her grow, knowing that she’s good
enough, that she’s loved, and that she has a gift. One that might help bring
real peace between her two worlds.<o:p></o:p></div>
Karahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14467279788273920777noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8662766702493797567.post-11974312316440483372015-02-19T11:51:00.000-08:002015-02-19T13:29:19.324-08:00Blacklist Review: The Babysitter<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>General information:</b>
My current dream/goal is to be a screenwriter, but I’ve been pretty bad at
following one of the cardinal rules of writing. If you want to be a better
writer, read a lot. I’ve fallen off in that department, so this is a way to
publicly announce and hopefully fix my problem. I’m going to read through the 2014
Blacklist screenplays (in no particular order) and review as many as I can
here. Starting with--<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Blacklist Review #1:
The Babysitter<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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A lonely twelve year old boy in love with his babysitter discovers some hard truths about life, love, and murder.</div>
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To be honest, I’m not sure how <i>The Babysitter</i> ended up working as well as it did. But it was quick, simple, and a whole lot of fun, finding a way to be playful yet self-aware, regardless of the rules the writer decided not to follow.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The way screenplays are generally structured, something out
of the ordinary has to happen around 15 pages in. But nothing like that
happened until the end of the first act. And I didn’t mind it at all. Setting up
Cole’s world and the dynamic between Cole and Bee carried me the entire first
30 pages. You got a feel for Cole’s unease with himself as well as Bee’s
self-confidence and what that should mean for his growth during the following
pages. It’s still a coming-of-age story despite the murder.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The first act was like the beginning of a roller-coaster.
That slow crawl upwards that gets you going just off of the anticipation. And just
like a theme park ride, once it takes off, there’s no going back. After page
30, the story is at full speed. And since it takes place in one night (I love
those kinds of movies), it feels like one continuous, epic scene. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The writer does a great job of ignoring what a lot of my teachers
have told me not to do. Giving background info in the action lines in a way I
don’t mind. Skipping some of the structured steps found in most scripts, because he doesn't seem to need it. Plus his
dialogue could have become annoying and too wink-at-the-camera snappy, but he
makes it clever and laugh out loud funny. Not to mention all the small moments
he sets up that seem to have no relation to the plot, but comes back around in
the most satisfying of ways. He breaks some rules. But it works. Plus, if you
can get me to care about the character and keep the movie interesting, you have
a good chance of keeping me entertained.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I’m pretty impressed with my first script read of this
series. Well done Brian.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Side note:</b>
normally, when the bad guys are up to something, I eventually want to know what
it is. I still know next to nothing regarding why the bad guys DID what they
DID, and yet, it doesn’t matter.<o:p></o:p></div>
Karahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14467279788273920777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8662766702493797567.post-72185615878967363212015-02-04T09:00:00.000-08:002015-02-04T09:00:00.635-08:00Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><b>Summary: </b>Aristotle is an angry teen with a brother in prison. Dante is a know-it-all who has an unusual way of looking at the world. When the two meet at the swimming pool, they seem to have nothing in common. But as the loners start spending time together, they discover that they share a special friendship- </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">the kind that changes lives and lasts a lifetime. And it is through this friendship that Ari and Dante will learn the most important truths about themselves and the kind of people they want to be</span><b style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">.</b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">My
thoughts:</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"> There are stories so
simple and to the point that it's startling. No dragons to slay. No princesses
to rescue. Just your standard contemporary novel. Except that although it’s not
a fantasy, maybe there is still something to defeat. And maybe there is still
someone that needs to be rescued.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">To say <i>Aristotle
and Dante Discover the Secrets of the</i> <i>Universe</i>
is about two best friends as they grow (sometimes apart, sometimes closer) into
something more than boys, doesn't seem to do this story justice. This is about
love and everything that that can mean. But that seems too vast of an explanation.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Like every single person in this book, love
takes on a different form depending on who's expressing it. For every moment
Dante wants to feel and acknowledge aloud, Aristotle wants to store away and
ponder. To keep close and analyze. Ari's dad loves in silence. You can see
the way Dante's mother feels just by a look. Ari's mother and Dante's
dad through their words and in the way that they talk.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">So out of all the secrets in the universe that need
discovering, like what Ari's dreams mean, or why his parents won't talk about
his older brother, the biggest secret of them all seems to be about
self-discovery. Who am I? And what does that mean?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">It's weird growing up and learning who you are.
Whether you're becoming more of yourself or less. I'm not a teenager anymore, but I can
remember how fragile you can feel when everything about you seems unclear,
especially your feelings and who you feel them for. But when you see these
characters grow and change and learn to accept, it's a reminder. Some secrets
are meant to be shared. Some discoveries are meant to change you. And when they
do, those who love you will still be there.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Karahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14467279788273920777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8662766702493797567.post-73609264609678552612014-11-04T13:12:00.001-08:002014-11-04T13:13:05.760-08:00Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books I Want to Re-read <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/c/c5/DSB_final_6_1.jpg/200px-DSB_final_6_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/c/c5/DSB_final_6_1.jpg/200px-DSB_final_6_1.jpg" /></a><a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/717-ucdE5RL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/717-ucdE5RL.jpg" height="320" width="210" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348272658l/6604794.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348272658l/6604794.jpg" height="320" width="211" /></a><a href="http://thebooksmugglers.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/Ghosts-of-Ashbury-High.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://thebooksmugglers.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/Ghosts-of-Ashbury-High.jpg" height="320" width="212" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/40/The_Hundred_Thousand_Kingdoms_NK_Jemisin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/40/The_Hundred_Thousand_Kingdoms_NK_Jemisin.jpg" /></a><a href="http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1394240671l/6665671.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1394240671l/6665671.jpg" height="320" width="211" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://cannonballread.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/song-of-achilles.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://cannonballread.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/song-of-achilles.jpg" height="320" width="211" /></a><a href="http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1258758145l/6368610.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1258758145l/6368610.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
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<b>Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi:</b> It's everything I could ask for in a dystopian. And unlike other first novels in a series, a lot happens. It can get annoying when the first book in a series merely feels like a set-up for the real story in book two. Thankfully, <i>Under the Never Sky</i> was nothing like that.<br />
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<b>Daughter of Smoke and Bone:</b> This was both strange and beautiful. The kind of weird fantasy I enjoy with exquisite writing and a fresh plot.<br />
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<b>The Ghosts of Ashbury High by Jaclyn Moriarty:</b> I don't know what it is about Australian authors, but they continue to impress me. And this book remains to be one of the most intriguing, strange, entrancing stories I've ever read.<br />
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<b>The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson:</b> This book felt so pure and honest to me. It makes me remember moments in my life at that age. It's authentically beautiful. It's authentically heartbreaking. And it's a great lesson in moving on and growing up.<br />
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<b>Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A.S. King: </b>I don't know how King does it. But she takes these contemporary stories and adds a fantastical flare the make her novels "inhalable."<br />
(Inhalable books - A book that is practically inhaled based on how fast it was read.)<br />
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<b>The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N. K. Jemisin:</b> It's like the author created this just for me. I love anything with mythological gods/creatures. And this one manages to pull off an epic fantasy with politics, a murder mystery, and a deep family drama (to say the least).<br />
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<b>The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater:</b> This surpassed all expectations and gave my everything and I could have ever wanted from Ms. Stiefvater. I could write essays about how much I adore this book.<br />
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<b>Allison Hewitt is Trapped by Madeleine Roux:</b> This book never got as big as I'd hoped, but it really is one of my favorite zombie books of all time.<br />
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<b>Radiant Shadows by Melissa Marr:</b> Imagine my surprise when the fourth book in my favorite series, <i>Wicked Lovely</i> became my favorite one in the entire series. I've never read a series where the first book wasn't ultimately the best of the set.<br />
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<b>The Sons of Achilles by Madeline Miller:</b> Every few months I think about this book. It's one of the most beautifully written novels I've ever read.Karahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14467279788273920777noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8662766702493797567.post-27887106863311668202014-02-12T11:57:00.000-08:002014-02-12T12:05:30.435-08:00Earth Girl Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>Summary:</b> A sensational YA science fiction debut from an exciting new British author. Jarra is stuck on Earth while the rest of humanity portals around the universe. But can she prove to the norms that she’s more than just an Earth Girl?</div>
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2788. Only the handicapped live on Earth. While everyone else portals between worlds, 18-year-old Jarra is among the one in a thousand people born with an immune system that cannot survive on other planets. Sent to Earth at birth to save her life, she has been abandoned by her parents. She can’t travel to other worlds, but she can watch their vids, and she knows all the jokes they make. She’s an ‘ape’, a ‘throwback’, but this is one ape girl who won’t give in.</div>
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Jarra invents a fake background for herself – as a normal child of Military parents – and joins a class of norms that is on Earth to excavate the ruins of the old cities. When an ancient skyscraper collapses, burying another research team, Jarra’s role in their rescue puts her in the spotlight. No hiding at back of class now. To make life more complicated, she finds herself falling in love with one of her classmates – a norm from another planet. Somehow, she has to keep the deception going.</div>
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A freak solar storm strikes the atmosphere, and the class is ordered to portal off-world for safety – no problem for a real child of military parents, but fatal for Jarra. The storm is so bad that the crews of the orbiting solar arrays have to escape to planet below: the first landing from space in 600 years. And one is on collision course with their shelter.</div>
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<b>My Thoughts:</b> With YA, I’ve read a lot of books where the main female character is supposed to be special, but doesn’t know why. And that, by itself, is OK. I think a lot of people in real life don’t understand why they’re special, but it doesn’t mean it’s not true. Unfortunately, in these kinds of books, the character reminds you repeatedly how unsure of themselves they are at each turn. It happens to mirror some real life problems women deal with, but that’s a longer story. What was refreshing about Jarra is that I didn’t have to be concerned with that. She was exceptional, and she didn’t go off questioning it or apologizing for it.<br />
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Another standout aspect was the worldbuilding. This society that’s been built around portals, with their social caste and past that mirrors the 21st century, was so imaginative. By the beginning chapters, I was almost salivating with the thought of how cinematic this was. And that whatever problems Jarra faced to get what she wanted would be awesome to watch unravel. But here’s where things get a bit murky. Jarra’s main problems came from herself, which isn’t abnormal in a man vs. self-type conflict. But there were other problems that seemed to suggest man vs. nature, except there was no deeper connection between the inner and outer conflict. The “rescue missions” (I won’t say more than that) didn’t tie in well enough to the internal problem.<br />
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Or maybe my issue was that Edwards set up a world where something bigger could have happened. Like, don’t give me a<i> Star Trek </i>world and have the whole story take place on earth. That’s what it felt like. Jarra’s personal problems could have been in the midst of a bigger/deeper “world” problem, but it wasn’t. With that said, I’m aware that this is the first of a series. And because I loved Jarra and the world, and could still see where a second book could redeem the story, I won’t give up on this series. It has too much potential!<br />
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<b>Update: </b>I just read the premise of the second book, and it sounds like what I wanted to happen during the first book!<br />
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Karahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14467279788273920777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8662766702493797567.post-88660168353573381362014-02-05T11:28:00.001-08:002014-02-05T11:40:08.157-08:00The 5th Wave review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>Summary:</b> The Passage meets Ender’s Game in an epic new series from award-winning author Rick Yancey.</div>
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After the 1st wave, only darkness remains. After the 2nd, only the lucky escape. And after the 3rd, only the unlucky survive. After the 4th wave, only one rule applies: trust no one.</div>
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Now, it’s the dawn of the 5th wave, and on a lonely stretch of highway, Cassie runs from Them. The beings who only look human, who roam the countryside killing anyone they see. Who have scattered Earth’s last survivors. To stay alone is to stay alive, Cassie believes, until she meets Evan Walker. Beguiling and mysterious, Evan Walker may be Cassie’s only hope for rescuing her brother—or even saving herself. But Cassie must choose: between trust and despair, between defiance and surrender, between life and death. To give up or to get up.</div>
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<b>My Thoughts:</b> I read a blog post a couple of weeks back about insight into
what people working at book publishing companies look for in a manuscript. To
sum it up, there was nothing special this particular person was looking for. No
wizards over dragons, or road trips instead of dying patients. But something
that was interesting is that this person always looked forward to the novel
about a subject that they weren’t really into. Basically, if you wrote about
something she didn’t really like and made her like it, then the book was really
good. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The 5th Wave</i> is my supreme
example of that.<o:p></o:p></div>
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To my knowledge, I’ve never read a book about, pertaining
to, or including aliens. I avoid it. I try my hardest, and sometimes fail to
stop myself from rolling my eyes whenever my dad tells me he saw another show proving
aliens exist. And I put books like this, at the bottom of the tbr list, because
even though I’ll give it a try (because I’ve heard great things)… it’s still about
aliens. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Here’s the thing. Books are repetitive. Stories are
repetitive. There’s something a character wants, and the whole story is about
either striving to get it, and getting it, or striving to get it, but not
getting it (in that case they might get what they need rather than what they
want.) This is pretty simple. And when life as you know it ends, it’s hard to
talk about anything but grief. Well, Cassie could go on talking about grief and
despair (and other things) for a full series and I’d still eat it up. She
thinks brutally and honestly to the point that I’d start to get a feeling in my
gut that maybe I shouldn’t roll my eyes too hard when dad starts talking about
area 51. It felt that real.<o:p></o:p></div>
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As for the story, the way it was split up between the main
characters seemed questionable at first, but it was all brought together
perfectly by the end. I knew they would connect somehow, but I initially
wondered how story A would line up with story B. And it didn’t happen the way I
wanted it to. It actually turned out better than I could have imagined.<o:p></o:p></div>
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And the action! Even though we’re in characters heads a lot,
there is so much action. I read the first chapter and immediately thought that
this story was film-worthy. No wonder there was a deal for a movie before <i>The 5th Wave</i> was even released. There’s
irony, which makes the best kind of stories (especially movies). There’s people
you’re rooting for and people you’re suspicious about that seem to trade places
out of nowhere. There’s heartbreak, and not kiddie heartbreak. I mean people
suffering in terrible ways. And yet, there’s hope.
Hope that you’re a mayfly and not a cockroach (it’ll make sense if you
read it), or a human and not a shark. And even though life is fleeting, that you’ll
learn to use what little time you have left, alien invasion or not, to do something that matters.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
Karahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14467279788273920777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8662766702493797567.post-18158437676847276762014-02-01T14:20:00.001-08:002014-02-01T14:23:30.548-08:00Will it or Won't it: The Fault in Our StarsI’m not sure if it’s my love for books and movies or my years at film school (or both), but when I hear certain book adapted movies are coming out, I’m either immediately thrilled about it or dreading it. This often has nothing to do with whether or not I liked the book, and more to do with whether it makes a successful film. For instance, when I heard about the <i>Beautiful Creatures</i> movie, it was a no for me. When I saw the trailer it was an even bigger no. When I heard about the <i>Hunger Games</i> movie, I was ecstatic because it felt like a successful movie series. One that was an in between was P<i>ercy Jackson and the Olympians</i>. I thought it could be successful, and I still stand by that. It could have. But for whatever reason, it got turned into something less incredible.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://cdn.okgorgeous.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/13/2014/01/OR_The-Fault-in-Our-Stars-2014-movie-Wallpaper-1280x800-1000x625.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://cdn.okgorgeous.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/13/2014/01/OR_The-Fault-in-Our-Stars-2014-movie-Wallpaper-1280x800-1000x625.jpg" height="200" width="320" /></a><b>Will it or Won’t it</b> will be about YA (mostly) book-adapted movies that I think will or won’t be successful. Which is relative. One of these movies could still do well, but not well enough that I think it should have been made. Also, there are tons of excellent films that not many people go to see. I’d still deem that kind of film successful if it had all the right elements. And I will always support YA, which is why I still saw <i>Beautiful Creatures</i>. And why I’ll probably still see any other Percy Jackson movie (please let them continue to improve). Up first: <i>The Fault in Our Stars</i>.<br />
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<br />
I was so excited when I saw that the script had made it on Hollywood’s Blacklist in 2012. This is a film that I wanted to get made before I even finished the book. I read it when it first came out, so details are a bit muddled. I do remember that it’s the perfect mix of sad and happy. You want a movie that makes you laugh and cry. It’s also “movie funny,” as in, the things I read are things I want to actually see happen. It’s romantic in a way that makes me wish I had a relationship like that (sort of). And the whole book isn’t in the main character’s head. That’s what I think makes it really difficult to turn a book into a movie. When all the important parts are in someone’s head and you can’t see it through dialogue and action. How do you know what you need to know without the screenwriter and producers changing aspects about the story (which I hate and often doesn’t work)? <i>The Fault in Our Stars</i> isn’t a three book series that will turn into four movies. It's not the next <i>Harry Potter</i> or <i>Twilight</i>. It’s tragic. It’s about normal lives. And I don’t know how well it’ll do money-wise. But in my own version of success: <b>It Will</b>.<br />
<div>
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Karahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14467279788273920777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8662766702493797567.post-35579896582420027752014-01-30T05:00:00.000-08:002014-01-31T16:23:18.094-08:00Fangirl review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://rainbowrowell.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/FANGIRL_CoverDec2012-300x444.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://rainbowrowell.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/FANGIRL_CoverDec2012-300x444.jpg" height="320" width="216" /></a></div>
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<b>Summary: A coming-of-age tale of fan fiction, family and first love. </b></div>
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<br /></div>
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Cath is a Simon Snow fan.</div>
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Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan . . .</div>
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<br /></div>
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But for Cath, being a fan is her life — and she’s really good at it. She and her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it’s what got them through their mother leaving.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fan fiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere.</div>
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Cath’s sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can’t let go. She doesn’t want to.</div>
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Now that they’re going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn’t want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She’s got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who thinks fan fiction is the end of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words . . . And she can’t stop worrying about her dad, who’s loving and fragile and has never really been alone.</div>
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For Cath, the question is: Can she do this?</div>
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Can she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? Writing her own stories?</div>
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And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind?</div>
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<b>My thoughts:</b> 433 pages later, and it's still really hard to believe that the woman who wrote <i>Eleanor & Park</i> wrote this. That book left me with an open wound. <i>Fangirl</i> left me smiling cheesily. And I'm not trying to dismiss the hard parts of this book. The character's problems in <i>Eleanor & Park</i> were front and center for everyone to see, but <i>Fangirl</i>, not so much. Regardless, there's still lots of problems. Problems with siblings. Problems with family. Problems with boys. And problems with trying to be whole when people took pieces from you long ago. But all these troubles are intermixed with a lot of relatable good-natured positive aspects. Like new friendships, first loves, forgiveness, and an awareness of oneself like never before. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
And <i>Fangirl </i>speaks to me! The way Anna from <i>Anna and the French Kiss </i>did when I found out she wrote movie reviews. In a way, Cath is us!... Or better yet, Cath is me. The girl who is perfectly contempt with spending time with characters on a Friday night rather than going to a party, making pleasantries, and getting drunk (and the fact that I just said "making pleasantries and getting drunk" probably proves my point). </div>
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For me, this story wasn't hard hitting. But I don't think it needed to be. I don't need every good book to break my heart. Sometimes I just need one that can heal it.</div>
Karahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14467279788273920777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8662766702493797567.post-68564849922650025242014-01-25T12:54:00.001-08:002014-01-30T01:00:42.630-08:00The Lost Hero review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/9d/The_Lost_Hero_210.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/9d/The_Lost_Hero_210.jpg" height="320" width="211" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Summary: Jason has a problem.</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">He
doesn't remember anything before waking up on a school bus holding hands with a
girl. Apparently he has a girlfriend named Piper. His best friend is a kid
named Leo, and they're all students in the Wilderness School, a boarding school
for "bad kids", as Leo puts it. What he did to end up here, Jason has
no idea—except that everything seems very wrong.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Piper has a secret. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Her
father, a famous actor, has been missing for three days, and her vivid
nightmares reveal that he's in terrible danger. Now her boyfriend doesn't
recognize her, and when a freak storm and strange creatures attack during a
school field trip, she, Jason, and Leo are whisked away to someplace called
Camp Half-Blood. What is going on? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Leo has a way with tools. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">His
new cabin at Camp Half-Blood is filled with them. Seriously, the place beats
Wilderness School hands down, with its weapons training, monsters, and
fine-looking girls. What's troubling is the curse everyone keeps talking about,
and that a camper's gone missing. Weirdest of all, his bunkmates insist they
are all—including Leo—related to a god</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><b>My Thoughts:</b> I was excited about <i>The Lost Hero</i> for the pure fact that it was the beginning of a new series that still took place in the same world as Riordan's previous series. I loved being able to see old characters, but still having a new story to marvel over. I do admit that initially, I eyed Jason, Piper, and Leo with pre-judged contempt (sorry). It's like when new characters show up on my TV shows. I need a few episodes before I'm at ease with the situation (or not). And its not that I wanted the new trio to "match" Percy, Annabeth, and Grover. I just wanted them to stand out in their own way. I didn't want their quest to be underwhelming.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">And it definitely wasn't! There's a mystery that the main characters are trying to solve, both in relation to their quest and to their leader's identity. Thanks to my love of Greek mythology, I tried to solve the latter (I didn't want to "pre-guess" their quest), but to no avail until characters dropped huge hints near the end of the book.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">In both mysteries, I was impressed by Riordan's abilities to take this series to the next level. Everything seemed elevated. More things were at stake. And he won me over with the three main characters. They each had something in their personalities that made them endearing. They all had something in their pasts that made me sympathize. And this is just the beginning. I know I am behind in the series, but I'm positive that I'm in for a wild ride with the next three books. Up next: <i>The Son of Neptune</i>.</span></div>
Karahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14467279788273920777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8662766702493797567.post-43807424201693440332014-01-21T11:01:00.002-08:002014-01-21T11:01:46.337-08:00Top Ten Things On My Reading Wishlist <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">I have a bunch of ideas that I want specific authors to write about:</b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Maggie Stiefvater: </b>Speed
racing. I love movies with speed racing in them; I wish there were more YA
books about it. Although, Maggie doesn’t actually have to do this subject because I plan
to write about it… It’s just going to take a few years.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Another story told in the same world as <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Scorpio Races</i>. I don’t want to jinx anything but <i>Scorpio Races</i> is
my favorite book from her and has become one of my favorite books in general.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Jaclyn Moriarty: </b>I love anything
about King Arthur, especially before he became King (Sword in the
Stone-esqe). And I love the way Moriarty writes. Why
not put the two together?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Sidenote:</b> I was
going to say she should write a retelling of Sherlock but never mind.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Matthew J. Kirby: </b>Anything,
absolutely ANYTHING that’s similar to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Icefall</i>.
That was a book that I knew was good after I finished reading it, but it got
even better as I “lived” with it and processed it. So having anything like it
would be a real treat for me. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">N. K. Jemisin: </b>YA
coming of age love story with people of color at the forefront. I’m black. I
want to see someone black in my books, or at least something different.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>N. K. Jemisin: </b>Some story steeped in African mythology. I love the Greek gods, but it’s like we forgot there were other places with their own
mythology.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Melissa Mar: </b>A
story similar to the premise of the film <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Light
It Up</i>: where six teenage high school seniors hold a police officer hostage
inside their school after their attempt to defend their newly-fired teacher
goes horribly wrong.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Karen Healey: </b>Anything
like <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Shattering.</i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">A. S. King: </b>A
retelling of Medusa.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">John Green: </b>An
adventurous, one-day, hangover (for teenagers) styled story.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></b></div>
Karahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14467279788273920777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8662766702493797567.post-39142484323657323762014-01-20T13:22:00.000-08:002014-01-20T13:22:30.116-08:00The Name of the Wind review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1270352123l/186074.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1270352123l/186074.jpg" height="320" width="197" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Summary: </b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I have stolen princesses back from sleeping
barrow kings. I burned down the town of Trebon. I have spent the night with
Felurian and left with both my sanity and my life. I was expelled from the
University at a younger age than most people are allowed in. I tread paths by
moonlight that others fear to speak of during day. I have talked to Gods, loved
women, and written songs that make the minstrels weep.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">You may have heard of
me.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">My thoughts:</b> In
every story made, whether via book, show, movie, etc., there is always a way
for it to get better. From characters to plot points, there’s ways to enhance a
story. In this way, I don’t think I could ever call any piece of art form
perfect (even <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Breaking Bad</i>). With
that being said, I would have to dig deep, re-read, and make immense, detailed
notes in order to find something to improve about <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Name of the Wind</i>. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I like all kinds of books, but when it really comes down to
it, a hero’s journey is what I love to read about the most. And a hero’s journey
is what I got in Kvothe/Kote’s story. What makes it more interesting is that
this isn’t the beginning of a journey. Technically the story within the story
starts from the beginning, but the actual story isn’t about beginnings. In
fact, it almost sounds like it’s close to the end. And because everyone (in the
story) knows different parts of his journey, he’s already become a legend,
which is not an aspect I’m used to reading about when learning about the
beginnings of a hero. This means that from the start, Kote sounded too good to
be true. But when he started to tell his story, and it differentiated from the
amazing adventures of the legendary Kvothe, his authenticity and lack of
perfection made me love him even more than if the legends had been 100% true.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It was exciting to see the beginnings of a legend. And to
see how the art of storytelling truly is a huge part of everyone’s culture,
fictional or otherwise. And the importance of words! <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Name of the Wind</i> shows that there is truly a power behind the
name of something, and that there is magic in understanding. Also, the world building
is AMAZING; the story’s intense, and just about every character in this book could
have a successful (spinoff) book. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What’s really amazing is that 672 pages later, I can say
that I’ve read a fantastic book, but I still don’t understand how Kvothe turned
into the man Kote. He lived a lot of life in the story within the story of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Name of the Wind</i>, but it’s barely
just the tip of the iceberg. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Extra Love – <o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">- The University he
attends:</b> It’s like Hogwarts in the real world.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
- Speaking of words, Patrick Rothfuss really knows how to
use them:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i>Prologue<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i>A Silence of Three
Parts<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>It was night again. The Waystone Inn lay in silence, and it
was a silence of three parts.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>The most obvious part was a hollow, echoing quiet, made by
things that were lacking. If there had been a wind it would have sighed through
the trees, set the inn’s sign creaking on its hooks, and brushed the silence
down the road like trailing autumns leaves. If there had been a crowd, even a
handful of men inside the inn, they would have filled the silence with
conversation and laughter, the clatter and clamour one expects from a drinking
house during the dark hours of night. If there had been music… but no of course
there was no music. In fact there were none of these things, and so the silence
remained.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Inside the Waystone a pair of men huddled at one corner of
the bar. They drank with quiet determination, avoiding serious discussions of
troubling news. In doing this they added a small, sullen silence to the larger,
hollow one. It made an alloy of sorts, a counterpoint.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>The third silence was not an easy thing to notice. If you
listened for an hour, you might begin to feel it in the wooden floor underfoot
and in the rough, splintering barrels behind the bar. It was in the weight of
the black stone hearth that held the heat of a long-dead fire. It was in the
slow back and forth of a white linen cloth rubbing along the grain of the bar.
And it was in the hands of the man who stood there, polishing a stretch of
mahogany that already gleamed in the lamplight.</i></div>
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<i>The man had true-red hair, red as flame. His eyes were dark
and distant, and he moved with the subtle certainty that comes from knowing
many things. They Waystone was his, just as the third silence was his. This was
appropriate as it was the greatest silence of the three, wrapping the others
inside itself. It was deep and wide as autumn’s ending. It was heavy as a great
river-smooth stone. It was the patient, cut-flower sound of a man who is
waiting to die.</i><o:p></o:p></div>
Karahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14467279788273920777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8662766702493797567.post-77683175916421456322014-01-13T10:04:00.000-08:002014-01-13T10:04:22.418-08:002013 Highlights<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1348272658l/6604794.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1348272658l/6604794.jpg" width="211" /></a><a href="http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1371850438l/13069935.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1371850438l/13069935.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://rainbowrowell.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/EleanorPark_cover2-300x450.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://rainbowrowell.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/EleanorPark_cover2-300x450.jpeg" width="213" /></a><a href="http://www.ala.org/yalsa/sites/ala.org.yalsa/files/content/booklistsawards/bookawards/printzaward/Jellicoe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.ala.org/yalsa/sites/ala.org.yalsa/files/content/booklistsawards/bookawards/printzaward/Jellicoe.jpg" width="241" /></a></div>
<br />
2013 was a busy year for me, to say the least. I decided to leave all my friends and family to pursue my dreams of becoming a screenwriter in California, all before graduating from college. That happened this February. Almost a year later and I'm still nearly 2,500 miles away from home. I mean, you can basically draw a straight line from California to my state, on the other end of the map! This whole terrifying, amazing process of moving started in 2012, happened in 2013, and I don't know what to say about 2014 yet. I guess we'll have to see.<br />
<br />
Needless to say, Readingcoma and therefore reading in general had to take a backseat to the rest of my life. I've missed it dearly over these last 1 1/2- 2 years. It's frightening to momentarily (because years are going by really fast now) live a life where reading is nearly excluded. Where writing down my feelings is practically a thing of the past. Which is ironic since my main goal is to become a screenwriter. And of course like most have heard, if you want to write, you need to write, and read. But those were the very things I was being kept from. <br />
<br />
Nevertheless, I'm grateful for all the opportunities I gained in the last couple of years. I just hope 2014 won't be another year I neglect Readingcoma, because it feels oddly enough like I'm neglecting myself. I have no real (new years resolution) plans for 2014 other than to try harder regarding the aspects of my life I'm passionate about. Seeing how this blog is one of them, I hope you'll be seeing more of me.<br />
<br />
And 2013 wasn't totally void of books. I still read more than what most people my age read in a few years (which is really sad). Out of those books, four stayed heavily on my mind, from their boldness and haunting words, to their tragically poetic stories and real life problems and therefore pure moments of joy. I'm not going to go in depth about them, but I will link my reviews to this post for three of them. I'm shocked to see that I never did a review for <i>Ask the Passengers</i>, which is so good I've decided to read it again so I can do the review justice. Either way, through my real life journeys this year, these were some of the books that kept me company.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://readingcoma.blogspot.com/2013/06/goodreads-summary-seventeen-year-old.html">The Sky is Everywhere</a><br />
<a href="http://readingcoma.blogspot.com/2013/08/on-jellicoe-road-review_29.html">Jellicoe Road</a><br />
<a href="http://readingcoma.blogspot.com/2013/09/eleanor-park-review.html">Eleanor & Park</a>Karahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14467279788273920777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8662766702493797567.post-20928476746990939032013-12-10T14:36:00.000-08:002013-12-10T14:59:55.289-08:00Anna and the French Kiss review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background-color: black;"><b>Goodreads description:</b> Anna is looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. Which is why she is less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris-- until she meets Etienne St. Clair. Smart, charming, beautiful, Etienne has it all...including a serious girlfriend.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;">But in the City of Light, wishes have a way of coming true. Will a year of romantic near-misses end with their long-awaited French kiss?</span></div>
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<b> My Thoughts:</b> When John Green said “Anna and the French Kiss is like
Maureen Johnson and I had a baby, a French baby,” that was all I needed to
hear. Not to mention that most of the story takes place in France, a place I
can’t get enough of.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I was immediately sold, but for whatever reason, a good
amount of time passed before I finally read it. And an outrageous amount of
months flew by before remembering that I hadn’t reviewed it. So unfortunately
I’ve forgotten many details about the story. Thankfully I remember some of the
more important pieces. I remember liking that Anna and St. Clair became friends
before anything else. Because St. Clair is in a relationship, they try to keep
their boundaries. I love this for two reasons. For one, although if done well I
don’t mind it, I was getting tired of these quick-all-consuming loves in other
YA books. This relationship had a good foundation that expanded into something
loving yet realistic.<o:p></o:p></div>
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So as their feelings grew, we got to see more of these
characters, even the darker parts of their lives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And we also got to see an Anna that didn’t
“belong” to any guy. She’s the girl that hopes know one finds out who her
father is. She’s the kind of person that loves movies and gets ecstatic over
discovering independent cinemas. We also get to know about St. Clair and the struggles
he’s having with his parents and his future. Those are things I don’t think I
would have known if any and every thought they had, had been for the other
person. How would I know they were complex characters if all I found out about
them was that they couldn’t stop thinking about the other person?<o:p></o:p></div>
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Also, and this ties into the all-consuming type love, I’m
glad they both wanted to respect St. Clair’s relationship with his girlfriend.
Because this is the kind of book that shows you that there is still a life
outside two people who like each other. And that what they do still has
consequences, especially for those outside of their relationship. It shows that
although they might be better together, Anna and St. Clair were whole people
before they met. I think that’s important, and it’s a good enough reason to
finally read <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Lola and the Boy Next Door.</i><o:p></o:p></div>
Karahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14467279788273920777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8662766702493797567.post-18764281313556303232013-12-10T13:03:00.000-08:002013-12-10T13:03:35.652-08:00Top Ten Books on My Winter TBR List<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://hbowatch.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/american_godsonHBO.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://hbowatch.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/american_godsonHBO.jpg" width="213" /></a><a href="http://media.npr.org/assets/bakertaylor/covers/t/the-name-of-the-wind/9780756405892_custom-e1f427948003747f821e763ab0bc26291c32bbb4-s6-c30.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://media.npr.org/assets/bakertaylor/covers/t/the-name-of-the-wind/9780756405892_custom-e1f427948003747f821e763ab0bc26291c32bbb4-s6-c30.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1302743156l/9680114.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1302743156l/9680114.jpg" width="211" /></a><a href="http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t231/chosenbuffy100/gone-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t231/chosenbuffy100/gone-1.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1317793528l/9591398.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1317793528l/9591398.jpg" width="213" /></a><a href="http://cuddlebuggery.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/hunger.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://cuddlebuggery.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/hunger.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1359853842l/16101128.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1359853842l/16101128.jpg" width="213" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zAdegMQvHf0/T1p1PRkHokI/AAAAAAAACDo/p0kTQcbaIls/s1600/idtellyouilove.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zAdegMQvHf0/T1p1PRkHokI/AAAAAAAACDo/p0kTQcbaIls/s320/idtellyouilove.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/51/The_Knife_of_Never_Letting_Go_by_Patrick_Ness.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/51/The_Knife_of_Never_Letting_Go_by_Patrick_Ness.jpg" width="197" /></a><a href="http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y274/Stapps/Blog%20Stuff/tumblr_lrov27ejw31qddyjvo1_400_zpsffd561c8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y274/Stapps/Blog%20Stuff/tumblr_lrov27ejw31qddyjvo1_400_zpsffd561c8.jpg" width="203" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The Name of the Wind
by Patrick Rothfuss<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’ve gone too long without reading it.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">American Gods by Neil
Gaiman<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I was horrified when I realized I’d never read a Neil Gaiman
book, regardless of the fact that at least two of his novels have been
collecting dust on my shelves.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Gone by Lisa McMann<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I remember feeling sadness because this series was coming to
an end, apparently so sad that I never finished the last book.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Pure by Julianne
Baggott<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’ve had this book for so long and have seen enough good reviews in the last few months that I think It’s time to take it off the TBR pile.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Hunger by Michael
Grant<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I really enjoyed <i>Gone</i>, so I have no idea why I haven’t read books
2-6 (good gracious).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The Girl Who
Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Book Smugglers talked so highly of <a href="http://thebooksmugglers.com/2011/05/joint-review-the-girl-who-circumnavigated-fairyland-in-a-ship-of-her-own-making-by-catherynne-m-valente.html">it</a>. Now that I
finally have a copy there are no excuses!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">I’d Tell you I Love
You, But Then I’d Have To Kill You by Ally Carter<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I love the <i>Heist Society</i> series, so it makes sense to read
her other books.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The 5<sup>th</sup>
Wave by Rick Yancey<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Everyone seems to love it.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Ash by Malinda Lo<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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I think I bought this as soon as it came out, but never got
around to actually reading it. It’s time to rectify this situation.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The Knife of Never
Letting Go by Patrick Ness<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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I know a lot of people via the Internet have been trying to
get readers to pick up this series. It does seem highly underrated.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u>Honorable Mentions:</u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Akata Witch by Nnedi
Okorafor<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b>Variant by Robison Wells</b></div>
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This just feels like a ME book if that makes any sense.</div>
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<b>Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins</b></div>
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I feel the need to read it again after watching the movie.</div>
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<b>Y: The Last Man by Brian k. Vaughan</b></div>
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I just recently got into reading comics. I started reading <i>Private Eye</i>, a digital comic which is also written by Vaughan. I'm hoping I can finish <i>The Last Man</i> soon and acquire Vol. 1 of his other comic series, Saga (maybe a Christmas present?)</div>
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Karahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14467279788273920777noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8662766702493797567.post-52555565691758359402013-10-14T02:19:00.000-07:002013-10-14T02:46:32.341-07:00The Maze Runner Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/db/The_Maze_Runner_cover.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/db/The_Maze_Runner_cover.png" width="220" /></a></div>
<b>Goodreads: </b>When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his first name. His memory is blank. But he's not alone. When the lift's doors open, Thomas finds himself surrounded by kids who welcome him to the Glade-- a large, open expanse surrounded by stone walls.<br />
<br />
Just like Thomas, the Gladers don't know why or how they got to the Glade. All they know is that every morning the stone doors to the maze that surrounds them have opened. Every night they've closed tight. And every thirty days a new boy has been delivered in the lift.<br />
<br />
Thomas was expected. But the next day, a girl is sent up-- the first girl to ever arrive in the Glade. And more surprising yet is the message she delivers.<br />
<br />
Thomas might be more important than he could ever guess. If only he could unlock the dark secrets buried within his mind.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<br />
<b>My Thoughts:</b> I've had this book for at least four years, but it took the reminder of the upcoming movie and a sick day to remind me to read it. And to be honest, I thought it was just OK. It was interesting enough that I'll undoubtedly go see the movie, but it's almost in spite of the book, since I have mixed feelings. If you know anything about <i>The Maze Runner,</i> there's no secret that these guys are in/surrounded by a maze that they can't figure out. There's more to their problematic story than that, but it's already clear that this group of people don't know what's going on. And in turn, the reader doesn't either.<br />
<br />
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<br />
This wasn’t an uncommon way to tell a story, so I was fine
with being in the dark along with the characters. But little by little, when
parts of the truth began to be revealed, it begged for a huge reveal. It was
exciting to know that some of these answers would come by the end of the book.
But when I got them, they didn’t seem big enough. Or maybe they <i>were</i> too big. And
fantastical books don’t have to be realistic, but these answers didn’t seem
realistic for the world Dashner had painted. Either that or I didn’t truly
understand the reveal regarding the maze and its purpose. I think what else didn’t help is knowing that
the whole time I’m reading this, I’m thinking of how it would play out on a big
screen. And by the end of the story, I became afraid that viewers for the movie
might share the confusion I felt for the book. I really hope I’m wrong,
because I do want the potential movie franchise to succeed,
but I do have my reservations.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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I am however, still invested enough to read the second book.
Because despite the problems I had with it, it was still fun, interesting, and
fast-paced. Not to mention that I have so many unanswered questions. So I can’t
not continue with the series. Hopefully <i>The Scorch Trials</i> (and <i>The Death Cure</i>) will help clear things
up for me.<o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Karahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14467279788273920777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8662766702493797567.post-48704158067650898822013-09-08T16:55:00.000-07:002013-09-08T17:02:13.629-07:00Eleanor & Park Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1341952742l/15745753.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1341952742l/15745753.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
<b>Goodreads description:</b> Set over the course of one school year in 1986, ELEANOR AND PARK is the story of two star-crossed misfits – smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try. When Eleanor meets Park, you’ll remember your own first love – and just how hard it pulled you under.<br />
<br />
<b>My thoughts:</b> After reading a book like <i>Jellicoe Road</i>, it’s seems as if there’s no solution to such a book hangover. That is unless you decide to delve into a story such as <i>Eleanor & Park</i>. I’d made two earlier attempts to start a new book (<i>Ketchup Clouds</i> and <i>The Vile Village</i>) but it was in vain. It took a big girl with a head full of red hair and a half-Asian boy who looks like sunshine to break me from the hold <i>Jellicoe Road</i> had over me. And it actually wasn’t that hard in the end, switching worlds. It probably took me less than a chapter: right after Eleanor sits with Park on the bus for the first time.<br />
<br />
It was nice to see two people who didn’t know each other grow into two people who came to need each other. Sometimes, after I realized I’ve grown very close to someone, I wonder how we got there. What I mean is, I wonder how we got from trying to remember each other’s names and getting past the “awkward points” to automatically thinking about the same thing at the exact same time and/or always being together. How did we get so close? Here’s a whole book that takes a couple of strangers and makes them fit so well that any other result would seem ridiculous.<br />
<br />
And in this case, Eleanor and Park’s love story is like a bowl of ice cream. It’s great by itself, but what gives it that extra something is everything else, aka the proverbial cherry on top.<br />
<br />
<u>Cherries:</u><br />
- I don’t remember ever having a female main character in a YA book be big. This is so much so that even with my imagination, there was a limit to how she looked in my head. And in fact sometimes I couldn't imagine her at all past the red hair.<br />
<br />
- Park’s family and upbringing: Here’s a guy that knows kung fu, not because his mom is Korean, but because his dad loves it. A guy whose parents have basically the same routine every day when they see each other that includes making out. A guy who’s grandparents give him a kiss-me-I’m-Irish shirt every year. Basically his family is made of awesome, and not in a they’re-perfect kind of way, but in a they’re-awesome-because-they-love-each-other-and-they’re-trying kind of way. It was so different from Eleanor’s situation with her family, which in some scenes (especially with her mom and/or step-dad) made my insides go rotten.<br />
<br />
This is one of those stories with scenes that warmed my heart right before it was (temporarily) wrenched from my chest. But that made the story accessible and something...living. As a person who doesn't usually have the patience to re-read a book, the writing was so on point that I'd never mind revisiting this world. Basically it made me feel all-the-things! And what’s better than that?<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
Karahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14467279788273920777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8662766702493797567.post-63759384111118966432013-08-29T12:55:00.000-07:002013-08-29T14:31:41.029-07:00On the Jellicoe Road review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/516HBxJOEhL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/516HBxJOEhL.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
<br />
<b>Goodreads summary:</b> Abandoned by her mother on Jellicoe Road when she was eleven, Taylor Markham 17, finally confronts her past. Hannah, the closest adult she has to family, disappears. Jonah Griggs, moody stares and all, is back in town. If Taylor can put together the pieces of her past, she might just be able to change her future.<br />
<br />
<b>My thoughts:</b> It seemed like a gift and a curse to choose <i>Jellicoe Road</i> after one of the longest book slumps of my life. A gift because it practically yanked me out of my bookless world. A curse because it left me with a book hangover, which in the past has led me to... a book slump.<br />
<br />
I was so confused initially: by the sections in italics, the hermit, the cadets, and boys in trees in dreams. It was to the point that I wondered if I should stop reading. That was an option for me because I was tired of books that were just OK or just good. And I couldn't see a book that I barely understood being great. But after the melodramatic version of myself calmed down and pressed on, it became blatantly obvious how beautiful and powerful this piece of writing truly was.<br />
<br />
Taylor is this girl with a chip on her shoulder, but to understand where she comes from and what she's gone through, it's a wonder she's done so well. But she has help throughout the story, as she finds out more about the past (hers and others), from friends who aren't "supposed" to be friends. And as their lives begin to tangle into each other's, the sections in italics make more sense. And the idea of friends being your family (or at least a part of it) becomes a deep, recurring theme.<br />
<br />
It's amazing how the book that started off slow for me swept me away with its characters, writing, and plot.<br />
<br />
<u>Characters:</u> I respect the hec out of Jonah Griggs. I want to date Chaz Santangelo. I want to be best friends with Raffaela. And I want to love Taylor until the pain stops.<br />
<br />
<u>Writing:</u> I'm not really a fan of re-reading something (unless it's <i>The Phantom Tollbooth</i> or <i>Shadow of the Fox</i>) but there were so many fantastic passages that I'd be willing to re-read this.<br />
<br />
<u>Plot:</u> What seemed annoying at first was a pretty brilliant way to tell a story. As a future screenwriter (hopefully), it definitely encouraged me to "step my game up" as far as storytelling goes.<br />
<br />
It's an amazing thing to go from being mildly interested in a story to having to hold back tears during the last few chapters. There is no doubt as to why it won the Printz award, or why there's supposed to be a movie version coming out. The only thing I could hope for after was that I'd find another book that could move me... My review of <i>Eleanor & Park</i> should be up next week.Karahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14467279788273920777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8662766702493797567.post-47841145901133570722013-06-24T11:46:00.000-07:002014-01-13T09:58:28.688-08:00The Sky is Everywhere review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348272658l/6604794.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348272658l/6604794.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
<span id="freeText4233880382207275455"><b>Goodreads summary:</b> Seventeen-year-old
Lennie Walker, bookworm and band geek, plays second clarinet and spends
her time tucked safely and happily in the shadow of her fiery older
sister, Bailey. But when Bailey dies abruptly, Lennie is catapulted to
center stage of her own life - and, despite her nonexistent history with
boys, suddenly finds herself struggling to balance two. Toby was
Bailey's boyfriend; his grief mirrors Lennie's own. Joe is the new boy
in town, a transplant from Paris whose nearly magical grin is matched
only by his musical talent. For Lennie, they're the sun and the moon;
one boy takes her out of her sorrow, the other comforts her in it. But
just like their celestial counterparts, they can't collide without the
whole wide world exploding.<br /><br /> This remarkable debut is perfect for
fans of Sarah Dessen, Deb Caletti, and Francesca Lia Block. Just as
much a celebration of love as it is a portrait of loss, Lennie's
struggle to sort her own melody out of the noise around her is always
honest, often hilarious, and ultimately unforgettable.</span><br />
<br />
<span id="freeText4233880382207275455"> <b>My Thoughts: </b>This is another book I can't believe took me so long to read. It's sad yet hopeful and realistic in a way I didn't expect. Realistic in a way that caused me to think about the people that have died in my life. And not like a family member who's much older than me, but a friend or a fellow student. It seemed impossible because they were my age. They were my friends but they died and the world kept spinning. Oddly enough, the indescribable feelings I felt in those difficult times seemed a bit more easy to describe (and accept) thanks to this book. </span><br />
<br />
<span id="freeText4233880382207275455">And what makes <i>The Sky Is Everywhere </i>stand out is that not only does Lennie have to live past her sister's death, but she also has to deal with her weirdly-but-perfectly timed "awakening." She's finally leaving the comfort of her sister's shadow and coming more into her own. But of course, what is living and growing without making mistakes and/or being unsure of yourself? </span><br />
<span id="freeText4233880382207275455"><br /></span>
<span id="freeText4233880382207275455">And let me tell you, Jandy Nelson can write. It's in a way that makes sadness seem poetic but still very real. Especially when Lennie leaves her notes all over town.</span><span id="freeText4233880382207275455"> And if the captivating story or the gorgeous writing wasn't enough, there are these amazing and very descriptive characters:</span><br />
<br />
<span id="freeText4233880382207275455">- A giant hulk of a man for an uncle</span><br />
<span id="freeText4233880382207275455">- A beautiful guy with full lashes who can bat his way in or out of anything</span><br />
<span id="freeText4233880382207275455">- A mother/grandmother who's the best "florist" in town</span><br />
<span id="freeText4233880382207275455"><br /></span>
<span id="freeText4233880382207275455">It's just the perfect mixture of complex issues and normal situations that has me adding this to my list of favorite contemporary novels.</span><br />
<br />Karahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14467279788273920777noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8662766702493797567.post-59502016310876635112012-12-18T16:50:00.001-08:002012-12-18T16:52:58.035-08:00Raven Boys review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1346601744l/13449693.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1346601744l/13449693.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
<span id="freeText556190716427527837"><b>Goodreads:</b><i> “There are only two
reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark’s Eve,” Neeve said.
“Either you’re his true love . . . or you killed him.”</i><br /><br />It is freezing in the churchyard, even before the dead arrive.<br /><br />Every
year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the
soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue herself never sees them—not until this
year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her.<br /><br />His
name is Gansey, and Blue soon discovers that he is a rich student at
Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away
from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble.<br /><br />But
Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can’t entirely explain. He has it
all—family money, good looks, devoted friends—but he’s looking for much
more than that. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven
Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents all the privilege
around him; Ronan, the fierce soul who ranges from anger to despair; and
Noah, the taciturn watcher of the four, who notices many things but
says very little.<br /><br />For as long as she can remember, Blue has been
warned that she will cause her true love to die. She never thought this
would be a problem. But now, as her life becomes caught up in the
strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore.<br /><br />From Maggie Stiefvater, the bestselling and acclaimed author of the <i>Shiver</i> trilogy and <i>The Scorpio Races</i>,
comes a spellbinding new series where the inevitability of death and
the nature of love lead us to a place we’ve never been before.</span><br />
<span id="freeText556190716427527837"> </span><b> </b><br />
<b>My thoughts:</b><style>
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The kind of authors I enjoy are
ones that either stick to similar themes but have a creative way of telling
them or have drastically different stories with some familiar thread running
through them. Maggie represents the latter, and after reading and loving <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Scorpio Races</i>, I couldn’t wait to see
what new adventure she would design. And this one a very different, filled with
lay lines, sacrifices, and nature settings that have a fondness for Latin.
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><i>Raven Boys</i>
almost seems to start with an ending (a good way to start if you do it right, according
to my cinema teacher). Blue knows that if she kisses her true love, that person
will die. But she and we don’t know who and when. And you think it will go one
way as characters are introduced (mainly Gansey), but it doesn’t. As things
continue to be revealed, there are some secrets that have been "hidden," out in
the open the whole time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And there are
some things that you wouldn’t expect until it actually happens.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Raven
Boys</span></i><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> initially seems like a romance. But
once you get to know all the characters and see the complexity of their fate,
it is shown that there is more to this story. Not just with Blue and “the
boys,” but also with her mother and her psychic friends.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> The one thing I didn’ t like was how
things got wrapped up. I know this book has to help setup the series, but after
building and developing the story, it seemed to end too soon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not in the sense that I needed more pages,
just that something seemed missing. Other than that, it was a good story that
has set me on my own quest to learn more about a certain welsh king. At least until the
next book comes out.</span></div>
Karahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14467279788273920777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8662766702493797567.post-46242238830401875632012-10-15T04:00:00.000-07:002012-10-15T07:42:20.399-07:00Adaptation review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1344645496l/10744752.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1344645496l/10744752.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
<span id="freeText8885396097709197136"><b>Description:</b> Reese can’t remember
anything from the time between the accident and the day she woke up
almost a month later. She only knows one thing: She’s different now.<br /><br />Across
North America, flocks of birds hurl themselves into airplanes, causing
at least a dozen to crash. Thousands of people die. Fearing terrorism,
the United States government grounds all flights, and millions of
travelers are stranded.<br /><br />Reese and her debate team partner and
longtime crush David are in Arizona when it happens. Everyone knows the
world will never be the same. On their drive home to San Francisco,
along a stretch of empty highway at night in the middle of Nevada, a
bird flies into their headlights. The car flips over. When they wake up
in a military hospital, the doctor won’t tell them what happened, where
they are—or how they’ve been miraculously healed.<br /><br />Things become
even stranger when Reese returns home. San Francisco feels like a
different place with police enforcing curfew, hazmat teams collecting
dead birds, and a strange presence that seems to be following her. When
Reese unexpectedly collides with the beautiful Amber Gray, her search
for the truth is forced in an entirely new direction—and threatens to
expose a vast global conspiracy that the government has worked for
decades to keep secret.</span><br />
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{page:WordSectionMyMM</style><b>My thoughts: </b>It wasn’t until I started reading this that I realized this
was my first book I’ve reviewed that dealt with area 51 related controversies/we
are not alone related topics. Which excited me. </div>
<br />
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In <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Adaptation </i>we
have a big problem that has to do with birds. Then we have a seemingly small
problem (but it’s actually pretty big too) involving Reese and David. As
you continue to read, assumptions and theories of what happened to them are
proven (or disproved). </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And although there were parts of this story where I needed
to really suspend disbelief, there were various aspects of it that seemed hauntingly
real. Like the birds. The birds freaked me out because it reminded me of how it
felt when that was actually happening in real life. And I was almost as freaked
out during the occurrences in the book as when it was really happening.</div>
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It’s not that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Adaptation
</i>is scary, like Halloween movie scary (actually some of those are just
funny). But some passages did make me feel uneasy. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For instance, I could relate to a lot of Reese's inner dialogue right after she starts discovering things (she's not supposed to) because I
know what it feels like to be watched but not know who is actually watching me.
It’s freaky! But these are the kind of books I like to read in October. Plus I
was sick (still am) while reading this; so it reminded me of when I’d be in bed
with a box of tissues, chicken noddle soup, and goldfish watching the <i>X-files</i>.
Good times (except for the sick part).</div>
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<br /></div>
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As for the rest of the story, it was an easy read with an interesting
plot. I just feel like I really didn’t get to know the characters that well. In
fact, even though a lot happens in the story, it felt like it was just
touching the surface as far as what was in this peculiar world. Which is why I’m
hoping we’ll get to know everyone/thing better in the sequel.</div>
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<br /></div>
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My only real issue that kept bugging me was that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Adaptation</i> ended in a way that had me
wondering where book two would start.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
think it’s a pacing issue. It felt like I was being led to expect more, then dropped
at a not quit random but not quite expected place. Other than that one issue, the book was very entertaining. And
I’ll definitely read the next book when it comes out… Now all I need to do is find some episodes of X-files online.</div>
<br />
<br />
<br />Karahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14467279788273920777noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8662766702493797567.post-33335855643216106482012-10-14T22:27:00.002-07:002012-10-14T22:27:29.642-07:00What are you reading on Mondays?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_nQuEjBwEtFU/SsBYA2X4KWI/AAAAAAAAAUo/Wnq3vaiCPQc/s320/What+are+you+reading+on+Mondays.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_nQuEjBwEtFU/SsBYA2X4KWI/AAAAAAAAAUo/Wnq3vaiCPQc/s320/What+are+you+reading+on+Mondays.bmp" /></a></div>
<b>Book(s) read last week:</b><br />
Adaptation by Malinda Lo<br />
<br />
<b><b>Currently reading:</b></b><br />
<b><b> </b></b>I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore<br />
<br /><b><b>Upcoming read(s)</b></b><br />
The Power of Six by Pittacus Lore<br />
The Rise of Nine by Pittacus LoreKarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14467279788273920777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8662766702493797567.post-78043578445306182422012-10-14T10:04:00.001-07:002012-10-14T10:04:04.703-07:00In My Mailbox 84<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I've heard good things about both books. Hopefully I'll get to them both this week!<br /><br />Karahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14467279788273920777noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8662766702493797567.post-56818196197089543442012-10-09T08:58:00.000-07:002012-10-09T08:59:51.988-07:00Top Ten Favorite Books I've Read Since I Started Blogging<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_uu55yGt0iu0/S9ij4DSwKzI/AAAAAAAACfs/Ub6_H5jGCT0/s1600/series.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="118" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_uu55yGt0iu0/S9ij4DSwKzI/AAAAAAAACfs/Ub6_H5jGCT0/s320/series.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://johngreenbooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/PaperTowns2009_6A.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://johngreenbooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/PaperTowns2009_6A.jpg" width="132" /></a><a href="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1327869663l/99561.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1327869663l/99561.jpg" width="131" /></a><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a9/The_Fault_in_Our_Stars.jpg/200px-The_Fault_in_Our_Stars.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a9/The_Fault_in_Our_Stars.jpg/200px-The_Fault_in_Our_Stars.jpg" width="136" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UvCfXTmAWXs/TcMadUmEliI/AAAAAAAABpA/E6icNZXd6_4/s1600/summerthreepackbooks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="170" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UvCfXTmAWXs/TcMadUmEliI/AAAAAAAABpA/E6icNZXd6_4/s320/summerthreepackbooks.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b>This list isn't in any particular order:</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Wicked
lovely</b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
This is still my favorite series I've read since I started blogging. It's dark and twisted. And I love how intricate the story is between each book.<b> </b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">John
Green books</b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
<i>Paper Towns</i> is my favorite book ever! And <i>The Fault In Our Stars</i> and<i> Looking for Alaska</i> made me cry. I just love all things John Green.<b> </b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The Summer
I Turned Pretty series</b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
This feels like a simple story. But as I'm learning in my screenwriting class, have a simple plot and complex characters.</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The Ghosts
of Ashbury High</b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
This is one of the first books that stood out as different to me. I'm astounded, because I still haven't read anything like it. <b> </b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">5.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The
Hundred Thousands</b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
I don't really read adult books, so I was very unsure about this book. But then I basically inhaled the book<b>, </b>it definitely helped me be open to reading other genres.</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">6.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Allison
Hewitt Is Trapped</b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
People say this book confused them but I LOVE it. So much happens! And whether good or bad things were happening in a particular scene, it was all wrapped in mixture of comedy and action.<b> </b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">7.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Daughter
of Smoke and Bone</b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
The writing is sooooo beautiful, and the story is mysterious and entrancing.<b> </b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">8.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Under
the Never Sky</b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
This book basically had all the plot devices that I love in this genre. And the writer used them all very well.<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">9.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The
Scorpio Races</b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
THIS is the book I'd been waiting for from Maggie Stiefvater!<b> </b>It was harsh and real. I just couldn't put the book down.</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">10.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The
Song of Achilles</b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
Read my <a href="http://readingcoma.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-song-of-achilles-review.html" style="background-color: white;">review</a>!<b> </b></div>
Karahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14467279788273920777noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8662766702493797567.post-26937200505043983012012-10-02T09:56:00.001-07:002012-10-02T09:56:38.254-07:00The Song of Achilles review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-guHMecLOJAI/UAA_bRPIEFI/AAAAAAAAAZs/letexQMFmuY/s1600/song+of+achilles.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-guHMecLOJAI/UAA_bRPIEFI/AAAAAAAAAZs/letexQMFmuY/s320/song+of+achilles.jpg" width="211" /></a></div><span id="freeText3120893307322805389"><b>Description:</b> Greece in the age of Heroes. Patroclus, an awkward young prince, has been exiled to the kingdom of Phthia. Here he is nobody, just another unwanted boy living in the shadow of King Peleus and his golden son, Achilles.<br />
<br />
Achilles, 'best of all the Greeks', is everything Patroclus is not — strong, beautiful, the child of a goddess — and by all rights their paths should never cross. Yet one day, Achilles takes the shamed prince under his wing and soon their tentative companionship gives way to a steadfast friendship. As they grow into young men skilled in the arts of war and medicine, their bond blossoms into something far deeper — despite the displeasure of Achilles's mother Thetis, a cruel and deathly pale sea goddess with a hatred of mortals.<br />
<br />
Fate is never far from the heels of Achilles. When word comes that Helen of Sparta has been kidnapped, the men of Greece are called upon to lay siege to Troy in her name. Seduced by the promise of a glorious destiny, Achilles joins their cause, Torn between love and fear for his friend, Patroclus follows Achilles into war, little knowing that the years that follow will test everything they have learned, everything they hold dear. And that, before he is ready, he will be forced to surrender his friend to the hands of Fate.<br />
<br />
Profoundly moving and breathtakingly original, this rendering of the epic Trojan War is a dazzling feat of the imagination, a devastating love story, and an almighty battle between gods and kings, peace and glory, immortal fame and the human heart.</span><br />
<br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">My thoughts:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> I’m still struggling to explain how I feel about this book. I really haven’t read a story this stunning since <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Fault in Our Stars</i> came out. It reminds me that there are two ways I read a book. One way or one type of book causes me to feel my head with questions. What’s going to happen? Why would he/she do that? How did they pull that off? In this case I’m trying to be a part of the world. And these types of questions come from anticipation or frustration. I’m either excited about what’s going to happen, or annoyed about what’s already happened (or not happened) and confused about what’s going to happen.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The Song of Achilles</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> isn’t in this category. It’s one of those books that I just let immerse me. I have no questions (or at least no questions I really need answered), and nothing specifically stands out because none of the aspects of the book are lacking. The writing is exquisite yet harsh, the story vivid. And the characters are multifaceted (except for Agamemnon, he’s just a straight up jerk). And this book also made me look at a lot of characters (especially Achilles) differently. Except for the first time I saw the trailer for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Troy</i> (with Brad Pitt), I’d really never given him too much thought. Not to mention Patroclus.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt;">In fact, this book has made me want to give other characters from Greek mythology another look, because everyone has a story to tell. We might not get to hear it, but that doesn’t mean it’s not important or that the person wasn’t (once) important to someone at some point. The world is filled with people like Achilles and Patroclus, and only time will tell who will be remembered and uplifted, and who will be unappreciated and misunderstood.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt;">Also, JUST GO READ IT!... Thanks.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div>Karahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14467279788273920777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8662766702493797567.post-73945821498170497932012-09-25T16:07:00.000-07:002012-09-25T16:08:24.711-07:00My Top Ten Series I Have Yet To Finish<h3 class="r">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">1. The Black Dagger Brotherhood series by</span> <span style="font-weight: normal;">JR Ward</span></h3>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-n1_Izwp26JI/TZp6EmesRiI/AAAAAAAAAFg/LGxDPlK3grk/s1600/lover-unleashed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-n1_Izwp26JI/TZp6EmesRiI/AAAAAAAAAFg/LGxDPlK3grk/s320/lover-unleashed.jpg" width="213" /></a><a href="http://yummymenandkickasschicks.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/loverreborn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://yummymenandkickasschicks.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/loverreborn.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
<h3 class="r">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></h3>
<h3 class="r">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">2. The Chemical Garden series by Lauren DeStefano</span></h3>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1324955449l/11112619.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1324955449l/11112619.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<h3 class="r">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></h3>
<h3 class="r">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">3. The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare</span></h3>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/9f/Cassandra_Clare_City_of_Fallen_Angels_book_cover.jpg/200px-Cassandra_Clare_City_of_Fallen_Angels_book_cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/9f/Cassandra_Clare_City_of_Fallen_Angels_book_cover.jpg/200px-Cassandra_Clare_City_of_Fallen_Angels_book_cover.jpg" /></a><a href="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1325708287l/8755776.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1325708287l/8755776.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
<h3 class="r">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></h3>
<h3 class="r">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">4. The Summer I Turned Pretty series by Jenny Han</span></h3>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-A26fObJhUSE/TZtbL5NEUbI/AAAAAAAACfA/MzWS-sTgeGQ/s1600/We%2527ll_Always_Have_Summer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-A26fObJhUSE/TZtbL5NEUbI/AAAAAAAACfA/MzWS-sTgeGQ/s320/We%2527ll_Always_Have_Summer.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<h3 class="r">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></h3>
<h3 class="r">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">5. Heroes of Olympus series by Rick Riordan</span></h3>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.rickriordan.com/Files/Images/SoNcover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.rickriordan.com/Files/Images/SoNcover.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
<h3 class="r">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></h3>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">6. The Inheritance Trilogy by N. K. Jemisin</span></h3>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">7. Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead</span></h3>
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<a href="http://i2.listal.com/image/productsus/1000/1595142509/books/spirit-bound-vampire-academy-novel-richelle-mead.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i2.listal.com/image/productsus/1000/1595142509/books/spirit-bound-vampire-academy-novel-richelle-mead.jpg" width="213" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_P1xqkEcvZnY/S7srZEpfHvI/AAAAAAAAAHg/iUzgocDVAXI/s1600/lastsacrifice_spoiler.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_P1xqkEcvZnY/S7srZEpfHvI/AAAAAAAAAHg/iUzgocDVAXI/s320/lastsacrifice_spoiler.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">8. Divergent series by Veronica Roth</span></h3>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">9. The Forest of Hands and Teeth series by Carrie Ryan</span></h3>
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<a href="http://blogs.aurorapubliclibrary.org/blogs/teens/files/2010/09/dead-tossed-waves.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://blogs.aurorapubliclibrary.org/blogs/teens/files/2010/09/dead-tossed-waves.jpeg" width="209" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Hbx0-CMYAb4/TYo2K1DoPaI/AAAAAAAAB6s/Nz2RM6CIPjs/TDaHP.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Hbx0-CMYAb4/TYo2K1DoPaI/AAAAAAAAB6s/Nz2RM6CIPjs/TDaHP.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">10. Gone series by Michael Grant</span></h3>
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<a href="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1235748013l/5047880.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1235748013l/5047880.jpg" width="211" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_9xWU1WmRSQM/THfSxcw5hKI/AAAAAAAAAlg/o28PFwqv1kk/s1600/Lies+by+Michael+Grant+Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_9xWU1WmRSQM/THfSxcw5hKI/AAAAAAAAAlg/o28PFwqv1kk/s320/Lies+by+Michael+Grant+Cover.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1277829926l/6686101.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1277829926l/6686101.jpg" width="210" /></a><a href="http://thebooksmugglers.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/8811134.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://thebooksmugglers.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/8811134.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;"> Some of these series (1, 3, 4, and 7) include books I haven't started (or finished) because I was tired of reading the newest book in one or two days, then having to wait another year for the next one to come out. But I finally decided that I'd rather devour a book than never read it.</span></h3>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">The other ones are just books I haven't gotten to because I've been trying to catch up on review books. But I'm DETERMINED to catch up on every series on this list before the end of this (school) year.</span></h3>
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Karahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14467279788273920777noreply@blogger.com1