Long Time No Post

Random thoughts from an official BYU Junior:

~ The Band Perry. LOVE THEM! Their lyrics are clever, her voice is lovely, and they are siblings. What more can you ask for? My favorite song -If I Die Young. It is so beautiful.

~ Utah. It's too hot. I get to class, and I'm already a sweating, sticky mess. Ew. Who's going to want to sit by me??? Although, it does make for intense popsicle enjoyment.

~ Writing. I've started kinda narrating my life as I wait for class to start, or someone to come meet me. Maybe I'll post some of them. I've also started writing me in an alternate world. For example, I was angry and feeling dramatic, so I wrote a brief chunk of what alternate me would do: scream, throw things, ect. It was quite exciting. Maybe I'll post a few of those as well.

~ Water. I am finally drinking it. Another benefit of the heat, I guess.

~ Hobo Gloves. I finally own some!!! That will greatly enhance my winter-typing.

~ Tron. Didn't like the original, didn't like the new one. Both are visually hard to look at, the plot line is lacking (reminds me of Gregor the Overlander), and I don't care for video games. Oh well.

~ Books. I am currently reading The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. I like it a lot. I finished Matched recently...I need to do a blog review...

Hmmm....what else? My cousin headed off to the BYU Jerusalem Center today. She is hopefully going to start a blog, and if she does I will share the link.

Ok, that's all for now. I have American Lit to read for. Happy Reading!

Book/Movie Review: The Help by Kathryn Stockett

The Help was fantastic. The writing was impressive, the characters touch your heart, and it makes you think. I love books where the characters find the courage to make a difference. I highly recommend this book - you will be impressed with Stockett's writing.

The Help is now also a movie, and I recommend that too. It was very well done and pretty much stuck to the book. The few things that were changed were a good idea since it was for a movie version. I advise reading the book before seeing the movie because there are details in the movie that you won't appreciate unless you've read the book.

HAHAHA

Dear Justin Bieber,
Please. At 13 you had your first love? When I was 13 I was planning world domination.
Sincerely, Lord Voldemort.

Dear Lord Voldemort,
How many death eaters are there? Like 2,000, tops? Now how many views of my music video, "Baby", are there on Youtube? Oh, that's right.. ...601,815,140.. So who's dominating the world again? At least my evil brain-washing scheme worked. Have fun with the kid stuff.. "Lord".
- Justin Bieber

Lock and Key

A while back my friend Krista (a fellow blogger/writer/reader) wrote a book review for Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen. You can read her post here. I blogged about the same book a while back too, (read that post here) but I thought it would be neat to have another person's perspective.

Happy Reading!

Book Review: What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen

I read yet another Sarah Dessen novel. I told you she was good. :)

Mclean was named after the greatest Defriese University basketball coach ever. Her dad lived and breathed DB - Defriese Basketball. She grew up playing the sport and attending Defriese games. So when Mclean's mom leaves her and her dad for the new Defriese basketball coach, it basically throws Mclean's life into a tail spin. Her dad gets a new job that means travelling a lot, and after many custody meetings, Mclean and her dad are finally on their own, moving from place to place. As Mclean goes to new school after new school, she looks at each one as a new start; a new place, new school, new people, where no one knows her back story. So she makes up new names and new personalities each time, not making any permanent relationships since she just packs up and moves a few months later. At least, that's how it was until Lakeview. For the first time in three years, Mclean is going by her real name, making real relationships, and actually growing roots.

Once again, Dessen did not disappoint. This book was fantastic. It was full of characters, a plot line, and situations that are easy to relate to. Dessen does such a good job of writing interesting novels with fantastic depth and meaning. I think everyone should read What Happened to Goodbye, including adults even if it is labeled as YA fiction. Her writing is phenomenal, and I highly recommend this novel!

"We make such messes in this life, both accidentally and on purpose. But wiping the surface clean doesn't really make anything neater. It just masks what is below. It's only when you really dig down deep, go underground, that you can see who you really are" (360-361).

"Home wasn't a set house, or a single town on a map. It was wherever the people who loved you were, whenever you were together. Not a place but a moment, and then another, building on each other like bricks to create a solid shelter that you take with you for your entire life, wherever you may go" (364-365).

Book Review: The Cupcake Queen by Heather Hepler

The Cupcake Queen was so darn cute!

Penny moves to a dinky little town called Hog's Hollow with her mom after living in NYC while her parents go through a "seperation." She doesn't want to be there so she takes a long time even bothering to go anywhere. Her mom opens a cupcake shop called the Cupcake Queen, which leads to Penny making an enemy before school even starts. But she does make friends - with the Rock-Paper-Scissors fanatic, Tally, and her tomato-growing-sorta-boyfriend, Blake. Penny is interested in the boy who runs on the beach, Marcus, but he has a more dramatic past than she does and he seems to be two different people depending on where he is.... With stupid, mean pranks, a falling-apart family, and some kooky, but kind-hearted friends, Penny slowly realizes some things about life that make you, as the reader, stop and go "huh."

This book was sweet and just plain good. It was 100% clean! The only thing I wasn't a fan of is that Penny is a freshman, but some of the story line and dialogue and whatnot seemed like it would fit better with an older character. Not a lot older, but maybe more like 16 or 17. But that's not a big thing at all, so I highly recommend this book!

"Life can be pretty hard...I'd like to tell you it gets easier, but it doesn't. It just gets different."

"I guess at some point you just have to let go of what you thought should happen and live in what is happening" (210).

Blur of Delight

(I tweaked this story, so I thought I'd repost. Let me know what you think please!)

I stood there, at the base of the ferris wheel, waiting. He was late, if he was even coming at all, and now I wasn’t so sure. It wasn’t cold, but seeing all the other people having fun was making me feel lonely and chilly. Their grinning faces flashed past in a blur of delight that I wasn’t a part of. I yanked at my jacket, holding it closed.

I waited and waited. Was it even worth it?

I noticed a little boy licking his ice cream cone. A little girl sitting on a bench was watching him. A few moments later he marched over to her, sat down, and they both happily licked the dripping chocolate.

I scanned the crowds again and watched as two laughing, young teenagers climbed into a bumper car together. He put his arm around her as they sat down.

I turned away from the comfy couple and my eyes were drawn to a lady in a bright, bold skirt. It was covered in huge, overly cheery sunflowers. Her skirt swooshed around her as she kissed her husband, and the whimsical sunflowers seemed to taunt me with their gaudy happiness.

I heard a shout, and looked over at an old man throwing his hands in the air at one of the carnival games. Triumphantly, he took the large stuffed giraffe the carnival worker handed him. He passed the giraffe to his wife and she kissed him on the cheek.

I glanced at my watch. He was now an hour late. Why was I still even standing here? Angrily, I stomped into the ferris wheel line. I was hurt. I felt rejected, unwanted. I thrust my ticket at the carnival employee.

The ferris wheel groaned as I went up and up. My seat stopped at the top and I looked out over the carnival. The breeze felt refreshing to my frustrated body. I shouldn’t have bothered to wait that long. Obviously I wasn’t very important to him.

I clambered out of my seat when my ride was over. I was still irritated, but I resolved to have fun at the carnival by myself.

I was chucking darts at paint-filled balloons when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned and came face to face with the guy who ran the ferris wheel. He smiled at me.

“Hi. I, um, well, you were standing by the ferris wheel for a long time…and I couldn’t help but notice you…” He shuffled his feet nervously. “And I was wondering if…well, I’m done with my shift for the night…and I have two tickets for the roller coaster. Would you like to go with me?” He brushed his sandy hair out of his eyes.

I felt myself smiling in return, my annoyance vanishing. “Sure,” I said, setting down my darts. He held out his hand, and I took it. I scanned the crowds again as we walked to the roller coaster. I didn’t see the boy I had been waiting for, but maybe this night would turn out better than expected.

Book Review: So Much Closer by Susane Colasanti

When I first read So Much Closer's flap, I was skeptical. But it was a lovely book that I really enjoyed.

Brooke has been in love with Scott Abrams for two years. The only problem is, Scott doesn't know that. She finally talks to him at the Junior Picnic and she learns that he is about to move to NYC. Well, Brooke just can't let the love of her life leave her like that! She's always dreamed of living in New York, and her dad lives there now, so she calls him up and moves to the Big Apple to tell Scott they belong together. But when that actually happens, things don't end up the way Brooke imagined.

With divorced parents, we get some family and trust lessons in this book. There is a ton of great emphasis on following your dreams and making them come true. We learn some great lessons from John, the guy Brooke tutors. He has a great head on his shoulders and is a pretty fantastic character. I really liked this book and Colasanti is a great writer. I highly recommend this novel!

"One of the most amazing things that can happen is finding someone who sees everything you are and won't let you be anything less. They see the potential of you. They see endless possibilities. And through their eyes, you start to see yourself the same way. As someone who matters. As someone who can make a difference in this world.

If you're lucky enough to find that person, never let them go" (240-241).

Book Review: The Frog Prince by Gillian McKnight

This is the sequel to To Catch a Prince. Once again, it was a fun read, but it also gave me huge feeling of deja vu. Helene and Alexis (remember, they are stepsisters) head off to Paris for the summer and once again have a very eligible man in their sights. But what happened to the British boys from the previous novel? Well apparently Simon, Alexis' catch, is no longer part of the story. And Lazlo, Helene's beau, has stopped emailing, which has Helene in the dumps and prompts her to set her sights on another guy. I felt like I was rereading the same story line for most of the novel. Near the end, it finally became it's own story, but it was pretty predictable, minus a long-lost-mother-showing-up-on-the-doorstep incident that seemed utterly ridiculous and random. It was almost like McKnight was trying to tie up loose ends that were never even loosened in these novels. There was basically no point to that scene. McKnight did successfully write another cutesy chick flick novel, but I don't recommend it, seeing as I read the same thing a few weeks ago (and I did enjoy it then). Honestly, I question why this novel was published.