Truth? That's a lie. (Book Review)

Truth (XVI #2) by Julia Karr

In this sequel to "XVI," Nina Oberon's life has changed enormously. After her mother was killed, Nina discovered the truth about her father, the leader of the Resistance. And now she sports the same Governing Council-ordered tattoo of XVI on her wrist that all 16-year-old girls have. But Nina won't be anyone's stereotype. Original. (Summary from Goodreads)

In XVI Nina Oberon was such a strong and interesting character. The whole plot felt so interesting to me and I coudn't help but get enthralled in the world that was the novel. I wish I could say that Truth was as good as XVI, but I would be lying. 

It seems like Nina has just gotten angsty with her new tattoo. There was info-dumping and it just seemed overly emotional. Like the book was trying to hard to live up to the first one and it failed. Miserably.

I wish I could say that I cared enough to read the next book but I'm not sure that I do.

2 points out of 5

Dearly, Departed NOOOO DONT LEAVE ME! (Book Review)

Love can never die.

Love conquers all, so they say. But can Cupid’s arrow pierce the hearts of the living and the dead—or rather, the undead? Can a proper young Victorian lady find true love in the arms of a dashing zombie? 

The year is 2195. The place is New Victoria—a high-tech nation modeled on the manners, mores, and fashions of an antique era. A teenager in high society, Nora Dearly is far more interested in military history and her country’s political unrest than in tea parties and debutante balls. But after her beloved parents die, Nora is left at the mercy of her domineering aunt, a social-climbing spendthrift who has squandered the family fortune and now plans to marry her niece off for money. For Nora, no fate could be more horrible—until she’s nearly kidnapped by an army of walking corpses. 

But fate is just getting started with Nora. Catapulted from her world of drawing-room civility, she’s suddenly gunning down ravenous zombies alongside mysterious black-clad commandos and confronting “The Laz,” a fatal virus that raises the dead—and hell along with them. Hardly ideal circumstances. Then Nora meets Bram Griswold, a young soldier who is brave, handsome, noble . . . and dead. But as is the case with the rest of his special undead unit, luck and modern science have enabled Bram to hold on to his mind, his manners, and his body parts. And when his bond of trust with Nora turns to tenderness, there’s no turning back. Eventually, they know, the disease will win, separating the star-crossed lovers forever. But until then, beating or not, their hearts will have what they desire.


I'm not sure why I didn't think that I would love this book. Maybe it's because of all the really cheesy zombie novels that have come out before. The ones that were overly dramatic, or just too quirky for my taste. But that is no matter because this book surpassed all of my expectations. 


I loved the diction in this novel that really fleshed out the "New Victorian" steampunk setting. Words like "festooned" and "spangles" that I don't read very much caught my attention and made me love this book all the more. 


I must admit that the POV changes could get confusing, but at the same time, it also made the story come together well so I understand why it was done. Bram might be my favorite zombie of all time :D


I can't wait to read the sequel!

4 points out of 5

Incarnate (Book Review)

Isn't the cover just beautiful???

New soul

Ana is new. For thousands of years in Range, a million souls have been reincarnated over and over, keeping their memories and experiences from previous lifetimes. When Ana was born, another soul vanished, and no one knows why.

No soul

Even Ana's own mother thinks she's a nosoul, an omen of worse things to come, and has kept her away from society. To escape her seclusion and learn whether she'll be reincarnated, Ana travels to the city of Heart, but its citizens are afraid of what her presence means. When dragons and sylph attack the city, is Ana to blame?

Heart

Sam believes Ana's new soul is good and worthwhile. When he stands up for her, their relationship blooms. But can he love someone who may live only once, and will Ana's enemies--human and creature alike--let them be together? Ana needs to uncover the mistake that gave her someone else's life, but will her quest threaten the peace of Heart and destroy the promise of reincarnation for all?

It seems that many YA novels have been following a pattern lately. There’s a weak-willed female character that doesn’t know much of anything(for whatever reason), meets the boy(or two) of her dreams, then comes a big fight scene and one way of another she ends up with the boy of her dreams. In all, the plot is pretty expectable. I hoped that Incarnate wouldn’t be one of those stories. Luckily enough for me, it wasn’t.

The very premise of the novel is unique. I can’t even say how many novels I’ve read where the female character is reincarnated each life in a world were most people aren’t. I love how the author put a completely different spin on the idea, making an idea that has begun to seem cliche, fresh. I’m so used to novels with a female MC that is different in a beneficial way. Ana’s difference has been her weakness all along. 

I admit that Ana is not the most likeable character at times. She can be overly needy, accusing, and possessing a “woe is me” attitude, but in the end, her faults make her all the more likeable. Not even counting the plot, idea, well fleshed out supporting characters, and writing that can all combine to make a really great YA novel. Don’t even remind me to read the next on. Already on my “to-read” list in Goodreads.

4 points of 5

Everneath? Evernope (Book Review)

Everneath by Brodi Ashton 

Last spring, Nikki Beckett vanished, sucked into an underworld known as the Everneath, where immortals Feed on the emotions of despairing humans. Now she's returned- to her old life, her family, her friends- before being banished back to the underworld... this time forever. 

She has six months before the Everneath comes to claim her, six months for good-byes she can't find the words for, six months to find redemption, if it exists. 

Nikki longs to spend these months reconnecting with her boyfriend, Jack, the one person she loves more than anything. But there's a problem: Cole, the smoldering immortal who first enticed her to the Everneath, has followed Nikki to the mortal world. And he'll do whatever it takes to bring her back- this time as his queen. 

As Nikki's time grows short and her relationships begin slipping from her grasp, she's forced to make the hardest decision of her life: find a way to cheat fate and remain on the Surface with Jack or return to the Everneath and become Cole's...

Sadly, I must admit, Everneath is one of those paranormal novels I didn’t expect to love from the beginning. But I thought it could be interesting. I thought it could be funny. The plot seemed good. But it really just didn’t cut it for me. 

Here is sort of how my mind reacted while reading:

Me: A broken girl deciding to go away for a century with an immortal and then suddenly coming back? That sounds amazing. She could learn so much! In a hundred years she could be easily the smartest girl out there. She must have gone back to earth to help society in some way, right? 

Book: Of course not! She did it for a boy. 

Me: Well, Jack must be really special. He must be somehow connected to the plot in some way that can effect all of the Everlings. He must be able to save her like no other. 

Book: Nope. It’s just their love. 

Me: Well it must be really special like- 

Book: No, Sarah. Their very unorigional teen love saved her. That is what this story is about. 

Me: Oh-.-

For all the people that really liked this novel, i’m sorry, but I just could not get into it. None of the twists surprised me. Nothing got to me emotionally. Part of me just wanted to stop reading this dang book. But it wasn’t quite that bad.

The end of the book was the best, and by the end of the book I mean the last 5%. The only thing that interested me in the entire novel was the bit with the professor and how it was realted to Egyptian-ness.

Will I read the next book? Deffinitely not. Did I like it? No really.

1 point out of 5

Books I Would Hate/Love to be Movies

With The Hunger Games movie so close and my giddiness coming to a climax I thought it would be good to talk about my nerves about the movie.
I’ve read the Hunger Games, the whole series, and it was brilliant. I was so enthralled with the series that when I first found it would be a movie I was so excited. The bright clothes, Rue’s song, how it was all supposed to me some kind of sick TV show. Unless they pulled a Twilight[by that I mean good actors with a horrible script because Twilight was a horrible book], there was no way it could go wrong.
But not all books are great for the silver screen. Here are some books that that I love to read but I would hate to see.
1. The Night Circus- The only way it would work is if it had a James Cameron style budget. Everything is so elaborate. There’s a lot of settings and the actors would have to be really good(even the child ones). I just don’t see it realistically being a good movie.
2. City of Bones- This wouldn’t work. All the hinting at incest would probably not go into the movie and then would change a lot of the plot. Maybe it would work more as a TV show? I’m not sure. Just no movie.
3. Before I Fall- This should be obvious. All the repittion would get really annoying and tiring in a movie.

Although there’s always the impending threat that the movie won’t live up to its book, there are some books that I would like to see as movies because they could just work.
1. Crank- It would be an interesting movie and a lot of people might not like it, but I think that it would just work. To be able to see how Bree changed and became so different and to what lengths you could take the movie would be interesting.
2. Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight- It would be so cute! Just the perfect love story all wrapped up into one cute movie. I would call it the new “When Harry Met Sally” with pride.
3. Daughter of Smoke and Bone- I just keep thinking of the fight scene in the air and how cool that would look. Might not work as well as it does in my head. But I love it.

The Power of Six... Or Seven?.. Or Ten? (Book Review)

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I really dislike the cover :(

The Power of Six by Pittacus Lore

I've seen him on the news. Followed the stories about what happened in Ohio. John Smith, out there, on the run. To the world, he's a mystery. But to me . . . he's one of us. 

Nine of us came here, but sometimes I wonder if time has changed us—if we all still believe in our mission. How can I know? There are six of us left. We're hiding, blending in, avoiding contact with one another . . . but our Legacies are developing, and soon we'll be equipped to fight. Is John Number Four, and is his appearance the sign I've been waiting for? And what about Number Five and Six? Could one of them be the raven-haired girl with the stormy eyes from my dreams? The girl with powers that are beyond anything I could ever imagine? The girl who may be strong enough to bring the six of us together? 

They caught Number One in Malaysia. 
Number Two in England. 
And Number Three in Kenya. 
They tried to catch Number Four in Ohio—and failed. 

I am Number Seven. One of six still alive. 

And I'm ready to fight.

I also really dislike the blurb. Is that okay? YES because overall, I liked the sequel to I Am Number Four. It started out really slow and that caused me to keep putting it off(the very reason I am only reviewing it now), but now that I have read it, I wished that I had kept on reading. 

Number Seven is currently alive in Spain under the pseudonym of Marina and living in an orphanage with her Cepan, Addelina. She was thoroughly unlikable to me in the beginning of the book, which was why the only thing that kept me reading half of the time was Four's POV. The dialogue is occasionally really fake, sounding nothing like teens today would at all but most of the time it works, which was good enough for me.

Things that annoyed me or I would have changed:
*The text messages conversation between Sarah and John. It just was so fake I wanted to puke. 

*Sarah in general. "oh boo hoo people call me a weirdo." Go eat a cheezburger and GTFO.

*The character Miranda that just so happened to look a lot like Number Seven. At least mention the character before. -.- #ThingsThatFusterateMeInBooksToNoEnd

Quote that I absolutely LOVED:

Being in love is a very strange thing. Your thoughts constantly drift towards this other person, no matter what you’re doing. You could be reaching for a glass in the cupboard or brushing your teeth or listening to someone tell a story, and your mind will just start drifting towards their face, their hair, the way they smell, wondering what they’ll wear, and what they’ll say the next time they see you. And on top of the constant dream state you’re in, your stomach feels like it’s connected to a bungee cord, and it bounces and bounces around for hours until it finally lodges itself next to your heart.

 Overall:
*Did I completely LOVE the book to no end? No
*Were there PARTS of the book that I really loved? Yes. The fight scenes, above quote, Bernie Kosar, Sam, Number Ten and Sam's Dad.
*Will I read the next one in the series? With a cliffhanger like the one that I got how could I not? Things are finally starting to heat up!

4 points out of 5


Surprised that I've been doing a book review once a week? So am I! :D Hopefully I will keep it up. I do have a goal to read 100 books by December 31. And I suspect that about 20 to 30 books will be read over the summer. Anyway, until next time :)

Inspiration: Not the Usual This Week

I was going to post my normal pictures and music that inspired me this week but when thinking of inspiration two things stuck in my head and two things only. First was the song from the group piece that I am in. It is "Drumming Song" by Florence + The Machine, and I love it. It is at the top. But what I really wanted to write about was letting go. That was really what my week was about.

I'm a very bold person, and I never let anything try to stop me. In some ways, I think it's my best trait but sometimes it can be my worse. You see, I never can just let go. I'll believe in someone with all of my heart. I'll get attached, but life doesn't always go as planned and when there's problems I never can just let go. I'll keep pushing, keep hoping, keep praying, but sometimes all the action in the world wont help anything.

In January, I gave up. Second semester had just started and my life got turned completely upside down. There were tears, a lot of them, and I just couldn't handle it anymore. I had to get away, so I stopped trying. At everything. School. Writing. Cello. Friends. Relationships. Everything but Dance. I thought that by letting go everything might just fall into place. It didn't.

I now have bad grades, a novel that still isn't finished, very rusty skills at cello, less friends than I've ever had in my entire life, and I'm single. Am I angry at myself? Well, it's complicated.

I learned that when it comes to school, no matter how smart you are, you still have to work. I had always taken my work ethic for granted but now I value it. I also learned that cello isn't like riding a bike, you can't just relearn all your skills in a couple of minutes.

But on the other hand, I found that real friends are the ones that stay with you even when you have given up. Sometimes, after putting so much work into a relationship you have to step back and see if it can stand on its own. And taking a break from writing can occasionally be a good thing. It gives you a chance for a new perspective.

So letting go, not always the best. But do I regret it? Never.

This is My Cover Story :)

I read ebooks but covers still are important to me. A cover(along with your blurb) is your book’s first impression on a reader. I remember, when I was younger, walking into my town’s Borders. First, my mom would say, like she did every time we walked in, how she loved the smell of books and paper. She always said how there was nothing like it. Then I would wander away from her, over to the children section in the far left corner, and search for my next good book.

Since I was little, I would always look at the book in this order: Cover, title, blurb. And if one of them didn’t work for me then I would set it down and look for one that better matches my criteria. Now that I have a kindle it has changed a little bit. But I still do love good cover art. Here are some covers that I absolutely love and why.

Stargirl by Jerry Spinnelli

So it’s the first cover and you can already tell that I like simple covers. But what can I say? A simple cover says a lot. I love how the picture of the star and the girl both look hand made. It gives the book a real and authentic look. I love how the girl is imperfect which mirrors the story in a good way.



The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Whenever I see this cover I get this feeling of giddy wonder that I had when I first read the book. I love how the border around the title is so elaborate. I love how the circus looks so perfect and toy-like in the pretty gloved hand. This cover goes with the story so well. I couldn’t see anything else do it justice.

A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray

I occasionally will read a historical fiction novel and love it. That happened with this book, but what really drew me in was the cover. The girl looks shy in mysterious at the same time which intrigues me. I especially love the corset and how simple yet elaborate it looks. And the font that goes right over is just seems to match

So what’s your favorite cover?

I'm Not Okay

Sadness is one of those things that are different for everyone. Here’s a little snippet of how it is for me...
Let me tell the truth here guys. I’m not really the happiest person right now. That’s why all this work has been getting done. It’s why ally my writer-ly friends have been hearing from me so much. When I get sad it’s not just one thing. It never has been. You see, I’m the kind of person that has a bad habit of bottling up all my feelings. After a while, they start to leak out and eventually (you guessed it) I explode. So what do I do then? Cry, scream, pretend that I’m not alive anymore? Of course not. I throw myself into my work.
Thinking too much kills me. I’m always halfway between the real world and my imagination anyway, so when I’m sad and I cant stop thinking about it I don’t know what to do anymore. I just start gazing off into space. I get lost.
My only way to fix that is to throw myself into anything and everything. I try to talk and laugh with everyone. I write large portions of Doppled in Gray, I edit, I revise. I sing. I dance some more. It doesn’t change anything I’m feeling on the inside but it pushes it down a bit.
It’s not like no one can tell. I’m not shy. I never have been. Just yesterday, I walked up to a guy and said his Mohawk was sexy. I’m open, I say what’s on my mind as soon as it gets there. My need to communicate is overwhelming sometimes. So when I get quiet, because I’m lost in the sadness that I just cant get rid of, no matter what my word count is or how many pirrouettes I did that day, people notice. People ask me what’s wrong. I always have the same answer. Nothing.
It’s not because I want attention. I don’t want you to keep asking. What I want you to do, is let me get over it by myself. This kind of sadness can’t be fixed. I’ve tried. You just have to let it go away at its own pace. Saying something wont fix anything. Be happy for me.
So what does this say for my work? I will be a fabulous worker until I get over this. Get ready for lots and lots of book reviews(One a week for, who knows how long...) and blog posts on interesting stuff. I’ll also try posting teasers of Doppled in Gray every time I write something I think is pretty good.

In all I’m not okay. But everything else will be. So don’t worry :)

Legend (Book Review)

Legend by Marie Lu
What was once the western United States is now home to the Republic, a nation perpetually at war with its neighbors. Born into an elite family in one of the Republic's wealthiest districts, fifteen-year-old June is a prodigy being groomed for success in the Republic's highest military circles. Born into the slums, fifteen-year-old Day is the country's most wanted criminal. But his motives may not be as malicious as they seem.

From very different worlds, June and Day have no reason to cross paths - until the day June's brother, Metias, is murdered and Day becomes the prime suspect. Caught in the ultimate game of cat and mouse, Day is in a race for his family's survival, while June seeks to avenge Metias' death. But in a shocking turn of events, the two uncover the truth of what has really brought them together, and the sinister lengths their country will go to keep its secrets.
[BEWARE: THIS DOES CONTAIN SPOILERS]

This book wasn't particularly bad, I just feel that after all the dystopian novels I have read (including the Hunger Games, Uglies , Unwind. All of which I fell in love with.) I have became sort of a critic to this sort of genre. Especially when the dystopian involves romance.

I didn't find the plot-line particularly believable. June is already too young for the school that she is in and they are making her a full blown agent just because her brother dies? Can't see that happening. Sorry. 

Something else that through me off was how quickly June decided that Thomas was the killer. Just automatically thought that he couldn't be trusted. She was so quick to decide that Day was right about everything instead of the people that had protected her for her entire life. 

What must have annoyed me the most was the romance. I know that this was the first book in a series but really?! One kiss and you decide that he can't be that bad. The romance should have been either fleshed out a lot more or just completely taken out. It annoyed me to no end. 

Some things I did like: 
*The use of the character Kaede. Maybe some other people expected her to come in handy later in the novel, but I didn't. 
*The setting. I really like some of the details of the republic and how different states are fighting with or against each other. There is a lot that is possible with this. 

Did I have problems with this book? Yes. Would I read the sequel? No. Was it absolutely unreadable? No. 

3 points out of 5.

Inspirations of the week! (Feb13-18)

#1 Quote by Ellen Hopkins
"Did you ever, when you were little, endure your parents’ warnings, then wait for them to leave the room, pry loose protective covers and consider inserting some metal object into an electrical outlet? 

Did you wonder if for once you might light up the room? 

When you were big enough to cross the street on your own, did you ever wait for a signal, hear the frenzied approach of a fire truck and feel like stepping out in front of it? 

Did you wonder just how far that rocket ride might take you? 

When you were almost grown, did you ever sit in a bubble bath, perspiration pooling, notice a blow dryer plugged in within easy reach, and think about dropping it into the water? 

Did you wonder if the expected rush might somehow fail you? 

And now, do you ever dangle your toes over the precipice, dare the cliff to crumble, defy the frozen deity to suffer the sun, thaw feather and bone, take wing to fly you home?" 
— Ellen Hopkins (Burned (Burned, #1))
I've read just about all of Ellen Hopkin's books and I just LOVE her work. This is one of the poems that gives me chills every time I read it :)


#2 Doomsday

This gosh-darn song is so pretty! A friend showed it to me after much coaxing on her part. I'm glad she did because I absolutely LOVE it. 


#3 The Hill (Song From the Movie Once)

This song is beautifully heart-breaking and touches me in ways I cannot describe. The singer's voice is just so beautiful...

#4 Banner that a friend made for me for Doppled in Gray :)

I love this picture so much. It really reminds me of Daze's roots as must a body in a tank while she was in a virtual world. :D Loveee ittt!!! Changed my cover to this too :)

On Change.

Change is an interesting thing.

When I was in elementary school, wide eyed and thinking that I was ready to face the world on my own, I used to imagine what I would be like now. Clear face, perfect grades, popular, cheerleader, tall, skinny, football player boyfriend; it was all so perfect in my head. I wanted to be the "it girl"; the one that everyone would see and say, "I want to be just like her." When I grew up I was going to be a veterinarian from UC Berkeley, and then be a millionaire. Most importantly, I would have a best selling YA book by the time I was eighteen so I wouldn't have to worry about college tuition.

When I was in middle school, my dream changed. I wanted to be part of the hipster/scene crowd, the one that everyone wanted to be, but wouldn't dare say so. I was always trying to figure out how I could be edgy and reach that amount of cool that everyone else was too "afraid" to reach for. I wanted the perfect boyfriend that was a "scene" kid(you know, the ones with the eyeliner and skinny jeans). I wanted to be perfect. I was going to grow up and move down to LA and become an actor and then be a millionaire. Most importantly, I would have a best selling YA novel by the time I was eighteen so I wouldn't have to worry about money.

Now my dream has changed. I don't want to be a part of a crowd, and I would never want to be someone everyone wanted to be. Role models irk me. I have a boyfriend but he's not perfect and either is our relationship. And honestly, I don't want to be a millionaire. I want to be able to live my life. I want to live on the East Coast. My two dream jobs would be a columnist for a magazine with a job as a dance critic on the side or a literary agent before becoming an editor. Yeah, I have a book. I have more than one finished book actually. But I realize that I probably wont have them published by time I'm eighteen, and I'm happy with that. After writing for so long, I've realized that it's not about the fame. For me, writing is about being able to share a piece of yourself with others. It's about inviting them into your world. And if they don't like it? Well, that's life. Isn't it? We aren't going to like every person we meet.

I try to not focus on the change as much as I do on the continuities now. Throughout my life, I've only had a few thing that stayed the same my entire life. Those are my love for writing fiction, my ability at math and my glass mickey mouse cup from 2000. I don't want to do the impossible anymore when I can find the impossible in every day life. Maybe that's just me growing up. Maybe it's my writer-ness talking. Does it really matter? Change is an interesting thing. But what doesn't change is what you can depend on :)

Valentines Day

I usually hate Valentines day and I probably will hate this one too. But I do LOVE love. So here are some quotes and little facts about this loving holiday.

1.Young girls in the United States and the United Kingdom believed that they could tell the type of man they would marry based on the type of bird they first saw on Valentine's Day. A blackbird means a clergyman, a robin redbeast means a sailor, while a goldfinch indicates that they would marry a rich man. A sparrow means a farmer, a blue bird a happy man, a crossbill an argumentative man, and a dove a good man. Seeing a woodpecker is said to mean that they would not marry at all.
2. In the Middle Ages young men and women drew the names from a bowl to see who would be their Valentine. They would wear this name pinned on their sleeves for one week. This was done so that it becomes easy for other people to know your true feelings. This was known as "to wear your heart on your sleeve."
 3.  "I love you" in German is "Ich liebe dich." In Italian it is "Io ti amo." In French it is "Je t'aime."

4.189 million roses are sold in the US on Valentine's Day

5. A group of feminists began to celebrate an occasion called "Quirkyalone Day" as an alternative to Valentine's Day. It is geared toward people who "resist the tyranny of coupledom." The SAD or Single Awareness Day, on the other hand, aims to remind people that they do not need to be in a relationship to celebrate the 14th of February.

Romantic and/or Loving Quotes:

• “There is never a time or place for true love. It happens accidentally, in a heartbeat, in a single flashing, throbbing moment.” 
  ― Sarah Dessen
• “We’re all a little weird. And life is weird. And when we find someone 
  whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall into 
  mutually satisfying weirdness—and call it love—true love.” 
  ― Robert Fulghum
• “If I had a flower for every time I thought of you...I could walk through my garden forever.” 
  ― Alfred Tennyson
• “Come sleep with me: We won't make Love,Love will make us.” 
  ― Julio Cortázar
• "This time when we kiss, I feel it in the pit of my stomach, I feel it in my heart. And I realize love isn't about sex. It's about connection." 
  — Ellen Hopkins

Have a great Valentine's Day everyone! :D

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight (Book Review)

Who would have guessed that four minutes could change everything?
Today should be one of the worst days of seventeen-year-old Hadley Sullivan's life. She's stuck at JFK, late to her father's second wedding, which is taking place in London and involves a soon to be step-mother that Hadley's never even met. Then she meets the perfect boy in the airport's cramped waiting area. His name is Oliver, he's British, and he's in seat 18C. Hadley's in 18A. 
Twists of fate and quirks of timing play out in this thoughtful novel about family connections, second chances and first loves. Set over a 24-hour-period, Hadley and Oliver's story will make you believe that true love finds you when you're least expecting it.

I must admit, I was in the perfect frame of mind to read this. I had just finished reading the Fever series by Karen Marie Moning. That series I read in about a week and left me sort-of drained emotionally. I really just wanted an easy romance novel that wasn't complicated or hard to follow and just would make me feel all lovey-dovey inside. I found that in this novel.
In my head this book really played out as a movie of utter perfection. Although the novel only takes place within 24 hours, there were points where I felt that the relationship just wasn't moving fast enough between Hadley and Oliver. Throughout the entire book, I was rooting for them.
The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight isn't a complex romance. It's not meant to make you think hard about life and the universe. This book is perfect for anyone who just wants something to make them feel good. And it does have a good lesson or two in there. (Bonus points anyone?)
5 points out of 5 :)

On Deadlines.

So I would rather do this when I wasn't already posting something because I love to space my posts out but I feel like I must put it out there to make it official. I am going to have Doppled in Gray FINISHED by May31 if it is the last thing I do. I realize how crazy this sounds as I write this once I think about all the school things I have to do but I really don't care. I need to finish this darn thing so I can get to editing. In a perfect world I would have the novel done by the end of next month and then edit April and May but I realize that is not very likely. But I will try? Definitely, 1k a day can't kill me.
I think it's important to set deadlines with your writing because it really focuses you. I really do want to publish this novel but I cant do it if I keep putting it off. I also have another project (I've been planning and outlining for over a year)that I want to do this summer. I love the world that I have created but I really feel that it's getting to be time to move on.
How am I going to accomplish my goal? Schedule. I am a very unorganized person but if I want to get this done I wont be anymore.
I go to the library after school and usually just hang out with my friends. I can make that time productive by actually doing my homework AND writing while I'm there instead of playing around. I wont give up I wont back down. And as soon as this fist draft is done I WILL murder my darlings until its perfect :)

Inspirations of the week! (Feb6-12)

#1 Blackbird by the Beatles

Must I even have a reason?

#2 Life Experience
Thought I would just add this since it really did inspire me a bit.
Sometimes you believe you know people. You hear all about them and think you have them all figured out. That you know "their type." It's human nature to come to quick conclusions. It's a way of protecting ourselves. But once in awhile you have to communicate. Take in your surroundings, feel whats going on around you. Really try to get to understand yourself and people around you. It makes everything so much more clear. Sometimes you find the answers without asking the question. Sometimes you just have to listen. :)

#3 Star Wars quote

Like many other nerd brethren, I forced myself to see Star Wars: Episode one yesterday. And although I do have many problems with the newer Star Wars movie, I must admit that I have a good quote from Yoda that I just could not get out of my head.
"Fear is the path to the Dark Side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering. Yes, I sense much fear in you."

Inspirations of the week! (Jan29-Feb4)

I've been having a rough week. Well make that a rough couple of months but I've promised myself to get back in the habit of writing because I realized how good it really is for me. Especially the Inspiration of the week. It helps me reflect :)
#1 Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night- A Poem by Dylan Thomas

My favorite stanza from this poem is:

"And you, my father, there on the sad height, 

Curse, bless me now with your fierce tears, I pray. 

Do not go gentle into that good night. 

Rage, rage against the dying of the light."

This poem has slowly began to mean a lot to me. It became my favorite a week or so ago when I first read the entire thing. I know that it's about always trying to fight death even when you know it's coming, but to me it also means living every moment to it's fullest because you can. 

#2 I Died in a Car Crash- Dance

This video should be self explanatory. It's so beautiful.  

#3 Youth by Daughter

I am an avid dubstep listener so I heard the remix of this song first, (Link: http://soundcloud.com/dubstep/youth-by-daughter-love-thy-brother-remix) but when I heard the begining of the song and it's beautiful lyrics I knew I had to hear the entirety of this song. And it is magical. I love it so much and the truth just rings in your ears because of it.

Only three for the week that just passed. I'll prob have more for this week :)

To better my writing skills....

For my own personal sanity and others I have decided to start writing again. Granted I still have a lot of school work and I will have a lot of tests coming up so I wont be blogging every day but I will try to blog as much as possible. Here are some of the things I will be doing from now on.
*Book Reviews: Every time I read a new book I will review it. I love reading so this will probably be something that happens a lot.
* Grammar Nazi stuff: I've been learning a LOT about Grampians lately so I thought it would be a good idea to share it with everybody.
*Complaining/gushing about being a writer: I do this a lot already and it is self explanatory.
*Inspiration: This will include photos, songs, quotes and just about anything I find inspiring to my writing or just my daily life. :D

I'll probably have more but that is all I can think about for now.
Until next time :)