Dear Readers,
The semester is over and I am happy to report I can start blogging more. I have decided to start a new segment of this blog called Author Spotlight. This is where I talk about certain authors and who they are, what they write, why I like them, and what are some of my favorite books by them. The first spotlight is about Young Adult book writer, Sarah Dessen.
Sarah Dessen is a young adult novelist who has written about 10 novels for young adults all featuring young female protagonists. The books usually feature teenage girls living in a small town and romance, friendship, and family relationships that occur during that time in their lives. The books usually also feature heavy themes such as violence, drugs, drinking, teen pregnancy, rape, etc.
What I really love about Sarah Dessen is the way she writes her characters .She writes them in ways that are not only relatable to our real world society, but also writes the characters as 3-dimensional and not perfect. A lot of times you see either the girl protagonist in the book be "saved by the boy" or the boy meets this perfect girl that saves him or the girl and boy ride off into the sunset together and get a happy ever after ( okay well things sort of like that do happen occasionally in a few of her books, but not always or exactly like that). Some of the relationships do take realistic turns like break ups or not being together due to one half of the couple is not good for the other and it is acknowledged ( like in her book Dreamland). I think Sarah also goes a good job of writing books that do not just talk about love between a couple, but love between family, friends, a dream,etc. The theme of love goes beyond a romantic relationship and that is acknowledged and addressed greatly in all her books. Sarah Dessen is a treasure of an author who goes above and beyond the stereotypical teen love story.
Some of my favorite books by Sarah are:
1. Dreamland
2. Someone Like You
3. Just Listen
4. Along For the Ride
5. That Summer
I have not read all of Sarah's book but I hope to do so soon. I also plan to try to write more blog post so stay tuned :)
- Jessica
Wednesday, May 13, 2015
Saturday, February 28, 2015
To Be Read Pile
Dear Readers,
I want to apologize for my absence lately, I have not been able to write a lot because of all the homework I have been doing. I also have a lot of books to read for not just fun, but school as well. So between all of that it is hard for me to find time to read a lot. Anyway, this is just a short update of all the books in my TBR pile, my next review can be on a book you want to read next if you comment below and tell me what book so I can make sure to put it at the top of the pile.
That being said here is a list of all the books I have in my pile yet to read:
1. No One Else Can Have You by Kathleen Hale ( Currently Reading)
2. The Duff by Kody Keplinger
3. Girl Online by Zoe Sugg
4. Little Bee by Chris Cleave
5. The Willing Widow by Ursula LeCoeur
6. If I Have a Wicked Stepmother, Where's My Prince?
7. A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray
8. Summer at Tiffany by Marjorie Hart
9. The Name of The Star by Maureen Johnson
10. Madness Underneath by Maureen Johnson
11. Between the Lines by Samantha Van Leer and Jodi Picoult
12. Cinder by Marissa Meyer
13. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
14. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
15. Meant To Be by Lauren Morrill
16. The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han
17. A Little Something Different by Sandy Hall
18. Famous Last Words by Jennifer Salvato Doktorski
19. The Introvert Advantage by Marti Olsen Laney, Psy.D.
20. The Art of Secrets by James Klise
21. L.A. Candy by Lauren Conrad
22. As You Wish by Jackson Pearce
23. Lexicon by Max Barry
As I stated above I am currently reading No One Else Can Have You, I hope to be done the book soon but with school and work it is very hard. I will try to update as soon as I can but no promises to when I will actually be able to write another post.
So till then.
Keep reading and comment below please.
- Jessica
Saturday, February 14, 2015
Why I Hate Romeo and Juliet
Dear Readers,
I am sorry I have not updated in a while. I have not had much time to update. Since it is Valentines Day I thought I would talk about a love story. Not just any love story though, Romeo and Juliet. Now before all you die hard fans of this novel get over excited I have to admit, I really hate this story. I am sorry but it is true, now please hold your tomatoes and am and let me explain exactly why I hate this story.
William Shakespeare has written hundreds of different stories. Romeo and Juliet is probably his most well known play to date next to things like Hamlet or Othello. Let me first start by saying I do not hate Shakespeare. While like many of my peers, I may have a difficult time understanding the language that he uses in his novel at time, I do not hate his work. I actually enjoyed stories like Hamlet and other works that I have read in school by him. While I do not know if I would ever see a play of him live willingly or read a book outside of the classroom by him, I do not hate him at all. I do however have a large hatred of Romeo and Juliet.
The story of Romeo and Juliet is one that has been told and or parodied by others in many different ways ( cough cough West Side Story cough cough), while I feel some parodies or forms of media based off the original play are better than Romeo and Juliet ( cough cough West Side Story cough cough), we can get into that later. The story for those 2% of you who don't know goes like this, Juliet Capulet is a 13 year old girl who is a Capulet. The Capulet's hate the Montague family and vice versa. Romeo Montague is getting over a girl he loved named Rosaline. Even though he is still pining for Rosaline, he decides to go to a party where he meets Juliet. They instantly fall in love and even after learning of their families feud, secretly meet and decide to get married ( this all happens in a 24 hour period of meeting). Romeo then gets in a fight with Juliet's relative, Tybalt and kills him after Tybalt kills Romeo's friend Mercutio. With Romeo on the run and Juliet wanting to get away from her parents who want her to marry a boy named Paris, they hatch a plan with Juliet's nurse and the friar who married them to help them run away together. The plan is to make people believe that Juliet is dead, even though the poison she will be drinking is fake. Romeo finds Juliet in her comatose position and due to not getting the letter in time that explain the plan to Romeo, Romeo believes she is dead and kills himself to be with her in heaven. Juliet wakes up, finds Romeo dead and kills herself to be with him. The play ends with the two families discovering the bodies, burying them, and realizing to late that their feud was not worth the end results.
There are a few reasons why I hate this story. Lets first start off with the main characters of Juliet and Romeo. Romeo is an older and more mature character age wise, but he also it a bit of a girl hopper from what we are shown. He seems to be so in love with Rosaline and having such a longing to be with her until the second he lays eyes on Juliet. Now you could say that it is love at first sight, but honestly I do not believe in such a thing. There can be lust at first site, but to really have true love with a person's both physical and emotional being, you have to have an actual conversation with that person to really be in love with them. Romeo however, just automatically forgets Rosaline and goes right to Juliet, as if his past feelings of love and devotion for Rosaline mean nothing now. While I can see that possibly being realistic if he had maybe had a conversation with Juliet and then feel in love with Juliet after, throwing Rosaline into a pile of things to never discuss or think about ever again seems to be a bit extreme. Especially, when those feelings are possibly not mutual and when his feelings for Roaline seemed so strong. Juliet, though 13 and a bit naive, has her own character flaws. First of all she is bit selfishly goal oriented. While being ambitious and driven is not a bad thing, Juliet seems to be more narrow and one track minded. She does not seem to think of other options or ideas in which she can be with Romeo or seems to think any of people that she could be hurting in her actions. Not even her own life she seems to think about, because the only thing on her mind it seems is being with Romeo. Which leads me to another flaw in the story.
While it is understandable that Paris is not Romeo and Juliet loves Romeo much more than Paris, Paris is never really a bad guy. He is from a good family and can provide for Juliet a lot. He is not a bad guy, even though some may believe he is.Just because someone is not the main love interest and wants to be with the main character does not mean they are bad or the villain. Paris was never written as the villain, Juliet though seems to act in the play like marrying Paris would be the worst thing in the world. While I do understand that she does not love Paris, Juliet would honestly rather risk having more people die and having her family and friends believe she is dead, just to marry someone she met 24 hours ago. At least she knows Paris and it would not cause a huge controversy if she married him. While I understand wanting to not settle for less than who you loved, there is a bigger picture here. Juliet has seen what has happened and been caused by her wanting to be with Romeo and what will occur later from wanting to be with Romeo. She has seen all the deaths that have occurred and knows how sad her loved ones will be when they discover her "dead," Juliet though only seems to care about her love for Romeo. No one else seems to matter but a boy she met 24 hours ago and married a day after meeting him. While I understand that Juliet is young and not as mature as average adults that get married, I would believe at least she could stop and think about all the horrible events that have taken place or will be taking place if she tries to run off with Romeo.
My last complaint about the story is the ending, the fact that Romeo and Juliet kill themselves is unsatisfying, depressing, and immature. Again, I understand that they are both apparently young in the story, but killing themselves to both be with each other in heaven seems to be a bit extreme and something that even young teens would have second thoughts about. Then again, these teens both seemed to be perfectly fine with making it seems like they were gone forever before, so maybe it is not that surprising. Anyway, the fact that they decide to kill themselves is not at all romantic. Honestly, it is sad, selfish, and stupid. The mature thing to do would have been to move on from each others death and go on like the other person would have wanted them to do. This is why I am a fan of more the based off of Romeo and Juliet stories, rather than the original play. In the musical, West Side Story, the characters of Tony and Maria are much better and more realistic in portraying star crossed lovers and a situation in which their association with rivalries causes a problem in them being together. In West Side Story, Maria and Tony do not get married ( though they play pretend and act as though they are going to get married), they do decided to run away together but not by pretending to be dead, and in the end after Tony is killed, Maria does not kill herself. She does what I wish Juliet had done, she gets upset and angry but walks away. She realizes the best way to get through a loss is not to kill yourself, but to move on and try to accept the fate that you cannot change. Maria accepted that Tony is dead and while she is angry she is also understanding of that fact. She gets up, dust herself off, and while sad and grieving she is seen walking away as to symbolize that she has to get on with her life like Tony would have wanted. Juliet does not seem to think of that at all, she thinks of just one thing, being with Romeo no matter what the cost. Even if that cost, is her own life.
Romeo and Juliet are both love struck teens who do things selfishly and on a whim. They do not seem to think of anyone else lives and how what they are doing could be affecting other people. While I do agree that their ages need to be considered, some of the actions that they take to make sure that they get what they want are even extreme for some adults. Romeo and Juliet is a problematic story about two immature teenagers who put their feelings and actions above other people in the "name of love." While I do believe in being with the one you love and fighting to what you believe in , this story seems to pass that immensely. Some adults have trouble sacrificing careers or their own potential goals to be with people they love, but Romeo and Juliet in all honesty, would lie, run away, kill, and commit suicide just to be with each other. They both seem to go to extremes on a whim. Romeo kills Tibalt because Tibalt killed Mercutio, while it is understandable being upset with Tibalt and wanting to hurt him. The actual actions of Romeo are not thought out at all, he just kills Tibalt because Mercutio is dead. Not thinking about how this could affect his relationship with Juliet or make it harder on himself or anything like that. He just kills because he is angry. Much like how Juliet does not even think about marrying Paris. She does not even see that as a suggestion or a possibility. She just wants to be with Romeo and would literally kill herself to be with him. She does not think about her family or friends or how others could be affected by believing she is dead or her actual death. She just wants to be with Romeo. In a way Romeo and Juliet are maybe perfect for each other in a problematic sort of way. They are both stubborn, selfish, and immature. They could maybe possibly have been a perfect couple, even though I am betting that neither one of them knows very much of anything about the other person except that they love each other, which in reality is not always enough to make a relationship work.
This book is a timeless classic to some and pile of garbage to others, I am in the later category. While the writing of Shakespeare is not particularly bad, the story and characterization as a whole is enough to make me stay far away from this play. While I understand the appeal of wanting to read about star crossed lovers, may I suggest you read a book like The Fault in Our Stars or The Notebook if you want to read about star crossed lovers that try to beat the odds, even The Notebook in my opinion is better than this love story.
- Jessica
I am sorry I have not updated in a while. I have not had much time to update. Since it is Valentines Day I thought I would talk about a love story. Not just any love story though, Romeo and Juliet. Now before all you die hard fans of this novel get over excited I have to admit, I really hate this story. I am sorry but it is true, now please hold your tomatoes and am and let me explain exactly why I hate this story.
William Shakespeare has written hundreds of different stories. Romeo and Juliet is probably his most well known play to date next to things like Hamlet or Othello. Let me first start by saying I do not hate Shakespeare. While like many of my peers, I may have a difficult time understanding the language that he uses in his novel at time, I do not hate his work. I actually enjoyed stories like Hamlet and other works that I have read in school by him. While I do not know if I would ever see a play of him live willingly or read a book outside of the classroom by him, I do not hate him at all. I do however have a large hatred of Romeo and Juliet.
The story of Romeo and Juliet is one that has been told and or parodied by others in many different ways ( cough cough West Side Story cough cough), while I feel some parodies or forms of media based off the original play are better than Romeo and Juliet ( cough cough West Side Story cough cough), we can get into that later. The story for those 2% of you who don't know goes like this, Juliet Capulet is a 13 year old girl who is a Capulet. The Capulet's hate the Montague family and vice versa. Romeo Montague is getting over a girl he loved named Rosaline. Even though he is still pining for Rosaline, he decides to go to a party where he meets Juliet. They instantly fall in love and even after learning of their families feud, secretly meet and decide to get married ( this all happens in a 24 hour period of meeting). Romeo then gets in a fight with Juliet's relative, Tybalt and kills him after Tybalt kills Romeo's friend Mercutio. With Romeo on the run and Juliet wanting to get away from her parents who want her to marry a boy named Paris, they hatch a plan with Juliet's nurse and the friar who married them to help them run away together. The plan is to make people believe that Juliet is dead, even though the poison she will be drinking is fake. Romeo finds Juliet in her comatose position and due to not getting the letter in time that explain the plan to Romeo, Romeo believes she is dead and kills himself to be with her in heaven. Juliet wakes up, finds Romeo dead and kills herself to be with him. The play ends with the two families discovering the bodies, burying them, and realizing to late that their feud was not worth the end results.
There are a few reasons why I hate this story. Lets first start off with the main characters of Juliet and Romeo. Romeo is an older and more mature character age wise, but he also it a bit of a girl hopper from what we are shown. He seems to be so in love with Rosaline and having such a longing to be with her until the second he lays eyes on Juliet. Now you could say that it is love at first sight, but honestly I do not believe in such a thing. There can be lust at first site, but to really have true love with a person's both physical and emotional being, you have to have an actual conversation with that person to really be in love with them. Romeo however, just automatically forgets Rosaline and goes right to Juliet, as if his past feelings of love and devotion for Rosaline mean nothing now. While I can see that possibly being realistic if he had maybe had a conversation with Juliet and then feel in love with Juliet after, throwing Rosaline into a pile of things to never discuss or think about ever again seems to be a bit extreme. Especially, when those feelings are possibly not mutual and when his feelings for Roaline seemed so strong. Juliet, though 13 and a bit naive, has her own character flaws. First of all she is bit selfishly goal oriented. While being ambitious and driven is not a bad thing, Juliet seems to be more narrow and one track minded. She does not seem to think of other options or ideas in which she can be with Romeo or seems to think any of people that she could be hurting in her actions. Not even her own life she seems to think about, because the only thing on her mind it seems is being with Romeo. Which leads me to another flaw in the story.
While it is understandable that Paris is not Romeo and Juliet loves Romeo much more than Paris, Paris is never really a bad guy. He is from a good family and can provide for Juliet a lot. He is not a bad guy, even though some may believe he is.Just because someone is not the main love interest and wants to be with the main character does not mean they are bad or the villain. Paris was never written as the villain, Juliet though seems to act in the play like marrying Paris would be the worst thing in the world. While I do understand that she does not love Paris, Juliet would honestly rather risk having more people die and having her family and friends believe she is dead, just to marry someone she met 24 hours ago. At least she knows Paris and it would not cause a huge controversy if she married him. While I understand wanting to not settle for less than who you loved, there is a bigger picture here. Juliet has seen what has happened and been caused by her wanting to be with Romeo and what will occur later from wanting to be with Romeo. She has seen all the deaths that have occurred and knows how sad her loved ones will be when they discover her "dead," Juliet though only seems to care about her love for Romeo. No one else seems to matter but a boy she met 24 hours ago and married a day after meeting him. While I understand that Juliet is young and not as mature as average adults that get married, I would believe at least she could stop and think about all the horrible events that have taken place or will be taking place if she tries to run off with Romeo.
My last complaint about the story is the ending, the fact that Romeo and Juliet kill themselves is unsatisfying, depressing, and immature. Again, I understand that they are both apparently young in the story, but killing themselves to both be with each other in heaven seems to be a bit extreme and something that even young teens would have second thoughts about. Then again, these teens both seemed to be perfectly fine with making it seems like they were gone forever before, so maybe it is not that surprising. Anyway, the fact that they decide to kill themselves is not at all romantic. Honestly, it is sad, selfish, and stupid. The mature thing to do would have been to move on from each others death and go on like the other person would have wanted them to do. This is why I am a fan of more the based off of Romeo and Juliet stories, rather than the original play. In the musical, West Side Story, the characters of Tony and Maria are much better and more realistic in portraying star crossed lovers and a situation in which their association with rivalries causes a problem in them being together. In West Side Story, Maria and Tony do not get married ( though they play pretend and act as though they are going to get married), they do decided to run away together but not by pretending to be dead, and in the end after Tony is killed, Maria does not kill herself. She does what I wish Juliet had done, she gets upset and angry but walks away. She realizes the best way to get through a loss is not to kill yourself, but to move on and try to accept the fate that you cannot change. Maria accepted that Tony is dead and while she is angry she is also understanding of that fact. She gets up, dust herself off, and while sad and grieving she is seen walking away as to symbolize that she has to get on with her life like Tony would have wanted. Juliet does not seem to think of that at all, she thinks of just one thing, being with Romeo no matter what the cost. Even if that cost, is her own life.
Romeo and Juliet are both love struck teens who do things selfishly and on a whim. They do not seem to think of anyone else lives and how what they are doing could be affecting other people. While I do agree that their ages need to be considered, some of the actions that they take to make sure that they get what they want are even extreme for some adults. Romeo and Juliet is a problematic story about two immature teenagers who put their feelings and actions above other people in the "name of love." While I do believe in being with the one you love and fighting to what you believe in , this story seems to pass that immensely. Some adults have trouble sacrificing careers or their own potential goals to be with people they love, but Romeo and Juliet in all honesty, would lie, run away, kill, and commit suicide just to be with each other. They both seem to go to extremes on a whim. Romeo kills Tibalt because Tibalt killed Mercutio, while it is understandable being upset with Tibalt and wanting to hurt him. The actual actions of Romeo are not thought out at all, he just kills Tibalt because Mercutio is dead. Not thinking about how this could affect his relationship with Juliet or make it harder on himself or anything like that. He just kills because he is angry. Much like how Juliet does not even think about marrying Paris. She does not even see that as a suggestion or a possibility. She just wants to be with Romeo and would literally kill herself to be with him. She does not think about her family or friends or how others could be affected by believing she is dead or her actual death. She just wants to be with Romeo. In a way Romeo and Juliet are maybe perfect for each other in a problematic sort of way. They are both stubborn, selfish, and immature. They could maybe possibly have been a perfect couple, even though I am betting that neither one of them knows very much of anything about the other person except that they love each other, which in reality is not always enough to make a relationship work.
This book is a timeless classic to some and pile of garbage to others, I am in the later category. While the writing of Shakespeare is not particularly bad, the story and characterization as a whole is enough to make me stay far away from this play. While I understand the appeal of wanting to read about star crossed lovers, may I suggest you read a book like The Fault in Our Stars or The Notebook if you want to read about star crossed lovers that try to beat the odds, even The Notebook in my opinion is better than this love story.
- Jessica
Wednesday, December 24, 2014
Best Holiday Books
Dear Readers,
Merry Christmas Eve, Happy 8th Day of Hanukkah, and Happy Holidays to all of you. I saw I have not updated in a while, so I thought the best option would be for me to write a post and seeing as it is holiday season I thought that I would write about the best books to read during the holiday season or at least some of my favorites. So without further ado... here are my top five favorite holiday stories to read during the season.
5. Let it Snow by John Green. Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle.
This book is perfect to read during the holidays. It tells three different stories of being snowed in on Christmas eve and stuck together. Three different people with three different stories all coming together. There is not much to tell about this book except it definitely gets you in the holiday mood. I would recommend this to anyone who is a fan of movies like Love Actually or Valentines Day.
4. On Christmas Eve by Ann M Martin
This is a book by one of my favorite childhood authors. It tells the story of a young girl who is trying to celebrate the holidays season but is upset about her best friends father dying of cancer as well as wondering about the existence of Santa Clause. She does actually get to meet Santa and even ask him for a favor as well as make new discoveries about things she once thought she knew and even learns a lesson in the end of you can't always get what you want. This book is especially for those who are a fan of Ann Martin's writing style and just any kid looking for a short but sweet chapter book talking about the holiday season and lessons we can learn from it.
3. The Nutcracker by E.T.A Hoffman with illustrations by Don Daily
There have been many printed editions of this ballet. My favorite though is the one with illustrations by Don Daily. While the story of a girl on Christmas getting a nutcracker and it coming to life in her dreams and taking her to a magical world, is a beautiful and creative store in itself, the illustration in this edition of the book are extraordinary. The painted pictures are gorgeous and make the characters of Clara and the sugar plum fairies look almost life like. These are all painted pictures and Don Daily does a brilliant jobs of creating paintings that help to bring the story to life. If you are a fan of the ballet or even just a fan of the story and gorgeous illustrations, I 100% recommend this edition of the book to you.
2. The Polar Express
This is not only one of my favorite Christmas books, but one of my favorite childhood stories ever.The movie is even probably one if not my favorite holiday movie. The story is of a young boy who is having trouble believing in Santa Claus. On Christmas eve he gets picked up by a train holding other kids all heading to the North Pole. It is said Santa will choose one child to be given whatever gift they ask for on that night. The boy is chosen and chooses something very unique and special representing the belief someone has for Santa and the season all together. I won't give away the ending but I really do recommend that this book become a classic to read in your home during the holidays. Especially if you are a fan of the movie or beautifully illustrated stories.
1. The Night Before Christmas
The Night Before Christmas is a cliche holiday book pick, but because it is so timeless and classic does not mean it is bad. The story is just what it says, about what happens on Christmas Eve. From children sleeping to milk and cookies to Santa on his sleigh, everything that happens on this magical night. It is a timeless classic that every Christmas loving person should read at least one Christmas Eve. What more can I say then :Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night,"
-Jessica
Merry Christmas Eve, Happy 8th Day of Hanukkah, and Happy Holidays to all of you. I saw I have not updated in a while, so I thought the best option would be for me to write a post and seeing as it is holiday season I thought that I would write about the best books to read during the holiday season or at least some of my favorites. So without further ado... here are my top five favorite holiday stories to read during the season.
5. Let it Snow by John Green. Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle.
This book is perfect to read during the holidays. It tells three different stories of being snowed in on Christmas eve and stuck together. Three different people with three different stories all coming together. There is not much to tell about this book except it definitely gets you in the holiday mood. I would recommend this to anyone who is a fan of movies like Love Actually or Valentines Day.
4. On Christmas Eve by Ann M Martin
This is a book by one of my favorite childhood authors. It tells the story of a young girl who is trying to celebrate the holidays season but is upset about her best friends father dying of cancer as well as wondering about the existence of Santa Clause. She does actually get to meet Santa and even ask him for a favor as well as make new discoveries about things she once thought she knew and even learns a lesson in the end of you can't always get what you want. This book is especially for those who are a fan of Ann Martin's writing style and just any kid looking for a short but sweet chapter book talking about the holiday season and lessons we can learn from it.
3. The Nutcracker by E.T.A Hoffman with illustrations by Don Daily
There have been many printed editions of this ballet. My favorite though is the one with illustrations by Don Daily. While the story of a girl on Christmas getting a nutcracker and it coming to life in her dreams and taking her to a magical world, is a beautiful and creative store in itself, the illustration in this edition of the book are extraordinary. The painted pictures are gorgeous and make the characters of Clara and the sugar plum fairies look almost life like. These are all painted pictures and Don Daily does a brilliant jobs of creating paintings that help to bring the story to life. If you are a fan of the ballet or even just a fan of the story and gorgeous illustrations, I 100% recommend this edition of the book to you.
2. The Polar Express
This is not only one of my favorite Christmas books, but one of my favorite childhood stories ever.The movie is even probably one if not my favorite holiday movie. The story is of a young boy who is having trouble believing in Santa Claus. On Christmas eve he gets picked up by a train holding other kids all heading to the North Pole. It is said Santa will choose one child to be given whatever gift they ask for on that night. The boy is chosen and chooses something very unique and special representing the belief someone has for Santa and the season all together. I won't give away the ending but I really do recommend that this book become a classic to read in your home during the holidays. Especially if you are a fan of the movie or beautifully illustrated stories.
1. The Night Before Christmas
The Night Before Christmas is a cliche holiday book pick, but because it is so timeless and classic does not mean it is bad. The story is just what it says, about what happens on Christmas Eve. From children sleeping to milk and cookies to Santa on his sleigh, everything that happens on this magical night. It is a timeless classic that every Christmas loving person should read at least one Christmas Eve. What more can I say then :Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night,"
-Jessica
Monday, November 17, 2014
Afterworlds Review
Dear Readers,
I recently read the book Afterworlds and had some interesting thoughts on the book after reading. The book is written by Scott Westerfeld (Author of the Uglies Series) and is split into two parts. The first part is about a girl named Darcy and her experience after getting a 50K publishing deal after writing a young adult novel in a month. She moves to New York City to meet other authors and use that time to write the sequel to her book. The second part of the novel is the actual story that she wrote which is about Lizzie, a teenager who after almost getting harmed in a terrorist attack discovers that she has ability to travel to place called Afterworlds, talk to ghost, and basically become a ghost herself.
Darcy's Story
The Main story is about Darcy and her experience in New York City. I enjoyed this part immensely because of how much I enjoy writing and New York City. I enjoyed the Meta part of this novel as well because it pokes fun at many different authors and writing related events and activities ( John Green Spoof, Nanowrimo Spoof, etc.). Besides the references to relevant authors and writing activities, Darcy having an actual reason to live in an expensive apartment in Manhattan and actually having a realistic budget and money concern (unlike Sex and The City or Glee), and writers real struggles of controversy, worry about book releases, and writers block; something I really enjoy about this book is Darcy's nontraditional love interest. Darcy is a lesbian and falls in love with a fellow writer Imogene. Darcy and Imogene's relationship and struggle in the book is kinda cliche, but creative elements to the story make their relationship something worth enjoying. I really enjoy Darcy' story line because I feel it really does go into the actuality of being a up and coming author at such a young age. Darcy is a very likable character and I like how Darcy uses things from her own life to help create her soon to be published book.
Lizzie's Story
The Lizzy story was less appealing to me. I like sci-fi and fantasy books, but I am very picky about the kinds I read. It has to have a interesting, but understandable story. While the story was interesting, it felt a bit too complicated for me. As far as I can tell the story is about a girl named Lizzie who discovers she can travel to a place called the Afterworld and talk to ghost. She ends up meeting Yamaraj, a cute boy who is like her in the sense that he has powers like her, meets the ghost of her moms childhood friend named Mindy, and tries to help get revenge on Mindy's killer as well as stop a man trying to capture Mindy and other ghost. The story is confusing and kinda skip worthy. In all honesty I was trying to speed read through those portions of the book. That may be though because of my pickyness with fantasy literature. If you like fantasy content you may enjoy this, it just was not my cup of tea.
Final Verdict
Afterworlds is a good book, though I don't think it is my favorite I did enjoy it a lot. I liked seeing Darcy's experiences as a New York City author. I enjoyed her and Imogene's relationship even if it did contain a lot of cliche tropes of typical straight relationships. The fantasy book is okay and decent at best, but the Darcy story line makes up for it. I did however, in the fantasy part, enjoy Mindy and Lizzie's friendship. All in all I would recommend this book, I don't know if I will be re reading it again anytime soon but if you like romance, fantasy, realistic fictions, drama, and meta-ness, then I suggest this book would be to your liking.
-Jessica
I recently read the book Afterworlds and had some interesting thoughts on the book after reading. The book is written by Scott Westerfeld (Author of the Uglies Series) and is split into two parts. The first part is about a girl named Darcy and her experience after getting a 50K publishing deal after writing a young adult novel in a month. She moves to New York City to meet other authors and use that time to write the sequel to her book. The second part of the novel is the actual story that she wrote which is about Lizzie, a teenager who after almost getting harmed in a terrorist attack discovers that she has ability to travel to place called Afterworlds, talk to ghost, and basically become a ghost herself.
Darcy's Story
The Main story is about Darcy and her experience in New York City. I enjoyed this part immensely because of how much I enjoy writing and New York City. I enjoyed the Meta part of this novel as well because it pokes fun at many different authors and writing related events and activities ( John Green Spoof, Nanowrimo Spoof, etc.). Besides the references to relevant authors and writing activities, Darcy having an actual reason to live in an expensive apartment in Manhattan and actually having a realistic budget and money concern (unlike Sex and The City or Glee), and writers real struggles of controversy, worry about book releases, and writers block; something I really enjoy about this book is Darcy's nontraditional love interest. Darcy is a lesbian and falls in love with a fellow writer Imogene. Darcy and Imogene's relationship and struggle in the book is kinda cliche, but creative elements to the story make their relationship something worth enjoying. I really enjoy Darcy' story line because I feel it really does go into the actuality of being a up and coming author at such a young age. Darcy is a very likable character and I like how Darcy uses things from her own life to help create her soon to be published book.
Lizzie's Story
The Lizzy story was less appealing to me. I like sci-fi and fantasy books, but I am very picky about the kinds I read. It has to have a interesting, but understandable story. While the story was interesting, it felt a bit too complicated for me. As far as I can tell the story is about a girl named Lizzie who discovers she can travel to a place called the Afterworld and talk to ghost. She ends up meeting Yamaraj, a cute boy who is like her in the sense that he has powers like her, meets the ghost of her moms childhood friend named Mindy, and tries to help get revenge on Mindy's killer as well as stop a man trying to capture Mindy and other ghost. The story is confusing and kinda skip worthy. In all honesty I was trying to speed read through those portions of the book. That may be though because of my pickyness with fantasy literature. If you like fantasy content you may enjoy this, it just was not my cup of tea.
Final Verdict
Afterworlds is a good book, though I don't think it is my favorite I did enjoy it a lot. I liked seeing Darcy's experiences as a New York City author. I enjoyed her and Imogene's relationship even if it did contain a lot of cliche tropes of typical straight relationships. The fantasy book is okay and decent at best, but the Darcy story line makes up for it. I did however, in the fantasy part, enjoy Mindy and Lizzie's friendship. All in all I would recommend this book, I don't know if I will be re reading it again anytime soon but if you like romance, fantasy, realistic fictions, drama, and meta-ness, then I suggest this book would be to your liking.
-Jessica
Monday, November 3, 2014
Nanowrimo! What it is and Why you should Participate
Dear Readers,
November is almost upon us and that means football and turkey dinner for most people, for inspiring writers though it means something else as well. It means National Novel Writing Month or "Nanowrimo." Nanowrimo is also the name of a national novel writing competition. The goal is the write a book that is at least 50,000 words in 30 days. I have already started writing mine and have tries to make myself a goal of 1,00-2,000 words a day at least.
Why should I participate?
One of the hardest parts of writing is finding an idea as well as keeping yourself motivated to a certain idea and to keep on writing. With Nanowrimo it gives you a deadline, a higher goal, and a chance to help you stay on top of your writing. It also can help you achieve your goal of being a published author if you win.
What is the prize?
The prizes vary to book deals, publications, subscriptions to certain programs to help with writing,etc. The prizes vary as well as the ways to win. The main goal is to help finish writing a book. If you can do that than it will feel much more rewarding even if you do not win.
Remember, just because you do not win does not mean you can not try to have your book published. After finishing it you can always send it to publishers, self publish, or keep it for yourself. You can do whatever you want. It is your book and you should feel happy and accomplished with completing it.
-Jessica
November is almost upon us and that means football and turkey dinner for most people, for inspiring writers though it means something else as well. It means National Novel Writing Month or "Nanowrimo." Nanowrimo is also the name of a national novel writing competition. The goal is the write a book that is at least 50,000 words in 30 days. I have already started writing mine and have tries to make myself a goal of 1,00-2,000 words a day at least.
Why should I participate?
One of the hardest parts of writing is finding an idea as well as keeping yourself motivated to a certain idea and to keep on writing. With Nanowrimo it gives you a deadline, a higher goal, and a chance to help you stay on top of your writing. It also can help you achieve your goal of being a published author if you win.
What is the prize?
The prizes vary to book deals, publications, subscriptions to certain programs to help with writing,etc. The prizes vary as well as the ways to win. The main goal is to help finish writing a book. If you can do that than it will feel much more rewarding even if you do not win.
Remember, just because you do not win does not mean you can not try to have your book published. After finishing it you can always send it to publishers, self publish, or keep it for yourself. You can do whatever you want. It is your book and you should feel happy and accomplished with completing it.
-Jessica
Thursday, October 2, 2014
My Favorite Childhood Book Series and Books
Dear Readers,
I apologize for the long wait, I have been creating a new blog that needed my attention. This is a fashion blog I have created, if anyone wants to read it here is the link: http://cutfromsamecloth.blogspot.com/
Anyway, I wanted to make a post about my favorite childhood books and book series.These books are the ones that I read in elementary school mostly ( except the 5th one which I read in elementary and middle school) Books were a large part of my childhood and I wanted to make a post to share with you my favorite books and book series of my younger years. So lets begin:
5. Judy Blume Novels
While that may be a strange place to start, I remember my love of Judy Blume from when I first read the Fudge books. Later I moved onto the classic "Are you there God, It's Me Margret" (Aka a book that I believe almost every preteen girl in the read at least once in their life) and my personal favorite "Starring Sally J. Freedman as Herself."Judy Blume is someone who I grew up reading, from her fudge books to Forever ( did not read that until High School). She is an author who will always have a special place in my heart and on my shelf.
4. Magic Tree House Series
When I was younger next to my number 1 book pick this was the series I read most in elementary school was The Magic Tree House series,The series is about two children who find a tree house in the woods that is filled with books. Once inside they realize that the tree house in magic and that all that books in the tree house can transport them to different times and worlds. They can open a book about dinosaurs and be transported to the Jurassic age or open about space and be transported to the moon. The stories and possibilities were endless and I loved it. My favorite I think was the one with Pompeii, it was educational, interesting, and adventurous all at the same time. I also liked the Shakespeare one and how they kinda change history by making Annie be able to play one of the roles even though girls were not originally allowed to be in plays during that time (at least I believe that is part of the plot of the book). This series is definitely something that I will always remember from my childhood
3. The Polar Express
Polar Express is one of my favorite books I ever read when I was little and something I always have to read and watch every Christmas time. The book is about a magical train that comes on Christmas eve to take kids to see Santa. There, Santa will choose one child and ask him what he wants for Christmas and they will get their wish. The book is a sweet book, with beautiful painted illustrations to go with the words. It is a Christmas classic with a pretty sweet message at the end ( won't spoil it for people who are interested in reading the book). I recommend giving it a read this holiday season to a younger child, sister, brother, or even just yourself.
2. The Kissing Hand
If there is one picture book I remember as a child it is The Kissing Hand. The book is something that my mother read to me the first day of kindergarten. The book is about a raccoon and his mother. The young raccoon is scared to leave his mom to go to school, so the raccoon's mother kisses the palm of her child's hand and says that he know has the kissing hand. This means that whenever he misses her he can look at his palm and remember that his mothers kiss is there and that she is always with him. My own mother actually did the same thing with me on my first day of kindergarten. So while this story has sentimental value to it for me, it is also a cute and nice book with beautiful full page illustrations to accompany the story. If you ever want to know what to read a child on his or her first day of school, I would definitely recommend this book.
And My #1 book series or book as a child...
1. Junie B. Jones Series
As surprising as it may sound I was not always a reader. I used to have to be bribed by my mother to read for 15 minutes when I was younger. Then I discovered the Junie B Jones. The book series changed my life. It was a series that started off my love of reading. The books are about a young Kindergartner by the name of Junie B. Jones, she is cute, funny, annoying at times, and totally relatable to me. I believe that the reason I first did not enjoy reading is because I could not find a book I could relate to and really enjoy. This book I immensely enjoyed and would spend afternoon after afternoon reading. For my birthday, Christmas, and even just random days I would ask my dad or mom to buy me one if we were in Walmart. I think I probably got everyone out of the library and god, I even went to a Junie B. Jones smelly Bus tour ( which had an actress dress up as Junie B. Jones and her kindergarten bus driver and talk to us) at a book store ( which I would like to thank my parents for taking me to even though the book store was most likely an hour or so away because I had never been to it). This book series set off my love of reading and for that I am eternally grateful.
-Jessica
I apologize for the long wait, I have been creating a new blog that needed my attention. This is a fashion blog I have created, if anyone wants to read it here is the link: http://cutfromsamecloth.blogspot.com/
Anyway, I wanted to make a post about my favorite childhood books and book series.These books are the ones that I read in elementary school mostly ( except the 5th one which I read in elementary and middle school) Books were a large part of my childhood and I wanted to make a post to share with you my favorite books and book series of my younger years. So lets begin:
5. Judy Blume Novels
While that may be a strange place to start, I remember my love of Judy Blume from when I first read the Fudge books. Later I moved onto the classic "Are you there God, It's Me Margret" (Aka a book that I believe almost every preteen girl in the read at least once in their life) and my personal favorite "Starring Sally J. Freedman as Herself."Judy Blume is someone who I grew up reading, from her fudge books to Forever ( did not read that until High School). She is an author who will always have a special place in my heart and on my shelf.
4. Magic Tree House Series
When I was younger next to my number 1 book pick this was the series I read most in elementary school was The Magic Tree House series,The series is about two children who find a tree house in the woods that is filled with books. Once inside they realize that the tree house in magic and that all that books in the tree house can transport them to different times and worlds. They can open a book about dinosaurs and be transported to the Jurassic age or open about space and be transported to the moon. The stories and possibilities were endless and I loved it. My favorite I think was the one with Pompeii, it was educational, interesting, and adventurous all at the same time. I also liked the Shakespeare one and how they kinda change history by making Annie be able to play one of the roles even though girls were not originally allowed to be in plays during that time (at least I believe that is part of the plot of the book). This series is definitely something that I will always remember from my childhood
3. The Polar Express
Polar Express is one of my favorite books I ever read when I was little and something I always have to read and watch every Christmas time. The book is about a magical train that comes on Christmas eve to take kids to see Santa. There, Santa will choose one child and ask him what he wants for Christmas and they will get their wish. The book is a sweet book, with beautiful painted illustrations to go with the words. It is a Christmas classic with a pretty sweet message at the end ( won't spoil it for people who are interested in reading the book). I recommend giving it a read this holiday season to a younger child, sister, brother, or even just yourself.
2. The Kissing Hand
If there is one picture book I remember as a child it is The Kissing Hand. The book is something that my mother read to me the first day of kindergarten. The book is about a raccoon and his mother. The young raccoon is scared to leave his mom to go to school, so the raccoon's mother kisses the palm of her child's hand and says that he know has the kissing hand. This means that whenever he misses her he can look at his palm and remember that his mothers kiss is there and that she is always with him. My own mother actually did the same thing with me on my first day of kindergarten. So while this story has sentimental value to it for me, it is also a cute and nice book with beautiful full page illustrations to accompany the story. If you ever want to know what to read a child on his or her first day of school, I would definitely recommend this book.
And My #1 book series or book as a child...
1. Junie B. Jones Series
As surprising as it may sound I was not always a reader. I used to have to be bribed by my mother to read for 15 minutes when I was younger. Then I discovered the Junie B Jones. The book series changed my life. It was a series that started off my love of reading. The books are about a young Kindergartner by the name of Junie B. Jones, she is cute, funny, annoying at times, and totally relatable to me. I believe that the reason I first did not enjoy reading is because I could not find a book I could relate to and really enjoy. This book I immensely enjoyed and would spend afternoon after afternoon reading. For my birthday, Christmas, and even just random days I would ask my dad or mom to buy me one if we were in Walmart. I think I probably got everyone out of the library and god, I even went to a Junie B. Jones smelly Bus tour ( which had an actress dress up as Junie B. Jones and her kindergarten bus driver and talk to us) at a book store ( which I would like to thank my parents for taking me to even though the book store was most likely an hour or so away because I had never been to it). This book series set off my love of reading and for that I am eternally grateful.
-Jessica
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