Something New

Seldom do I step out of my comfort zone and select a random book (which I know absolutely nothing about, apart from reading the summary at the back) to buy. Something even more odd for me to do is actually take it off the shelves of my bookcase and read it. But, combine Middle Georgia's Friends of the Library Book Fair (where every book averages around 50¢) and a girl with the gems of her book stash in another state, and you get this highly unusual behavior.

However, I am actually glad I did this, because I was reminded that dystopian fiction was not the only genre (no, I am not coming down with something).  This book that I picked off of my shelf is what is called (according to my brother's lit teacher) "Realistic Fiction".  You can find a few good stories, but there isn't much to work with while staying within the boundaries of reality.  There are many books in my collection that fit into this category: Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson, Schooled by Gordon Korman, Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen, and this new read, Ten Miles Past Normal by Frances O'Roark Dowell. 

Ten Miles Past Normal is a story of a farm girl, Janie, who knows she's anything but normal.  Her best friend since the summer before first grade, Sarah, is the only friend she has starting out high school.  Little does she know, she will encounter everything from civil rights heroes and jam bands to hootenannies and a boy named Monster. All things that will make her realize that normal is simply overrated.

I was able to relate to this book more than I thought I would. I have started to make it a point to snap pictures of passages in books that make me laugh out loud or just make me stop and think. There is a particular passage in this book that made me think of my friend and our conversations about guys. You can see it at the bottom of this post.  Ten Miles Past Normal is definitely being added to the recommended batch of realistic fiction.

The Giver

I know this is slightly off topic, but I just finished watching the Belgium vs. US game. Excuse me while I scream in rage.

Anyways, I promised an update on The Giver, right?  Well, I tackled this classic about a month ago and ended up finishing it in about 2 hours (yes, I read for two hours straight- I was on a very long bus ride).  I extremely enjoyed the plot, it was a classic dystopian read, but the end puzzled me.  It was what you might call a cliffhanger...if there was a sequel.  Make sure to let me know your take on it after you read it. 

The Giver by Lois Lowry

Premiering August 15, 2014

Jonas is just a normal Eleven.  He completes his volunteer hours, plays with his friend Asher, and follows all the rules.  He, like all the other Elevens, is very nervous about the Ceremony of Twelve, where he is assigned his job in the community.  And then, he starts seeing things.  He can't quite describe it, but for less than a second, things like his apple or his friend Fiona's hair, look...different.  Things become even more complicated for Jonas when he is chosen to be the Receiver of Memory- the most unusual job in the community.  The current Receiver is one of the oldest members of the community and is hardly ever seen.  Jonas discovers many new things about his community and its past on the road to becoming the new Receiver- things which both disturb and amuse him.  But, in the end, he must decide between what is right and what is easy.

Ok so, the movie version is going to be quite different.  In the book, Fiona is no more than a friend to Jonas, pushed aside as a "minor character".  But, in this day and age, there must be a love interest and a kiss thrown in there.  So, apparently, Fiona and Jonas discover the secrets of their society together (WHICH MAKES ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE AT ALL).  Also, all of the members of the community are given a daily injection in the hand each morning.  There wan't even a whisper of that in the book (?!?!?). Those are the biggest developments in the new movie, so I guess we will have to see if it will be the next Percy Jackson movie or not.  As you can tell, my expectations are not very high.  I have attached the trailer for you to decide.

The Giver Movie Trailer- YouTube.com

Thank you and good night.

I'm Back (For Now)!

My gosh, has it been a while.  I had a good thing going back in November, and here we are almost in July for Goodness's sake!  I really miss posting.  I am going to try and start up again (hopefully speaking), but I probably won't be as dedicated as I was before. I am going into my Junior year and all (so I might actually have homework), and I probably need to get a job, blah blah blah blah blah. But, you've got to have SOMETHING to do during the summer when you have pretty much no social life.  Hopefully you will see a post from me tomorrow about my most recent dystopian read, The Giver, and how the movie adaptation seems to be coming along. 

Now, I am probably going to stay up until 11 (not texting, not partying...reading.)

Signing off,
AW

The Old Favorites

For all of you who are book lovers like me, you have that certain series (or couple series) that you go back to when there is a little gap in your to-read list.  I am at that point right now with my reading-- I finished the Divergent series by Veronica Roth (tears), I am still waiting for the last book in the Prodigy series by Marie Lu to come into my school's library, I finished Delirium, Requiem, and Pandemonium (fabulous), and I am still waiting for the last book in the Selection series by Kiera Cass.

So....I am re-reading the Mysterious Benedict Society series!  I think I did a review on it in one of my earlier posts.  It is probably one of the best series ever, in my opinion.  I will attach the link to that post right here: go check it out! :)

http://thenotquitenovelist.blogspot.com/2013/07/are-you-gifted-child-or-teen-looking.html

Catching Fire!

I know it might be a little late, but make sure to go and see "Catching Fire" as soon as you can!

I saw a collector's edition People magazine at Michael's, but didn't snatch it up in time.  I then made my mom drop me off at Kroger while she was getting gas so that I could purchase this:

Isn't it beautiful?!?  (Yes, I know that it's an Us. They didn't have any People's left.)  It better be beautiful.  I paid $12.95 for that thing.  I've been really careful with it because I'm afraid that I'm going to rip a page or something...

The Alchemyst Series

Sorry I haven't posted in a while...school has been keeping me busy!  We have been reading The Scarlet Letter in English and have to do entries for every two pages.  Ughhhhh.

Anyways, I have been reading the Alchemyst Series for the past few weeks, and I am pretty intrigued.  It has a lot of the elements that I enjoy, even though it is not dystopian fiction. :-)

The reason that I am not doing the three books that I have read so far in separate reviews is because each book is just a continuation of the last one.  It happens over a span of less than a week (which is really hard for me to remember when I am reading), so the author could really just put them all in a big, 1000 page book if he wanted to.  But, the good thing is that he tried his best to make a distinction between each of the books.  Each one focuses on a certain character and takes place in a certain location.  For example, the one that I just finished reading is called The Sorceress.  In the book, this is referring to Perenelle Flamel, Nicholas' wife.  The book primarily focuses on her and the things she is facing over this 6-day period.  Also, in this book, they are running around London, trying to escape the Dark Elders and their many followers.

Here is my official review of the Alchemyst Series 1-3:

The Alchemyst, The Magician, and The Sorceress by Michael Scott

The last few hours are a blur to Josh and Sophie Newman.  First, they were working their jobs across the street from one another, and now they are on the run with Nicholas and Perenelle Flamel, who claim to be over 400 years old. They witnessed this pair using what looked like magic to battle another one of their kind, and when Josh jumped in to help Nicholas, he changed both his and his twins sister's life forever.  The Flamels believe Josh and Sophie to be the twins of legend, and so they go on a journey to awaken their powers and learn the four elemental magics.  Will the twins be the ones to save the world, or the ones to release those who long to destroy it?

Age Group: 10+
Concerns: none
Rating: 8

Saxophone Day!

Today is Saxophone Day, which I know is everyone's favorite holiday.

I mean, duh.

Here is a pretty awesome saxophone:

Yeah.