The One- A Book Review

And I'm back for another book review. It's another end of the series book.

The One by Kiera Cass

 

 

(goodreads)

 

The time has come for one winner to be crowned.

When she was chosen to compete in the Selection, America never dreamed she would find herself anywhere close to the crown—or to Prince Maxon's heart. But as the end of the competition approaches, and the threats outside the palace walls grow more vicious, America realizes just how much she stands to lose—and how hard she'll have to fight for the future she wants.  

 

♥♥♥♥

This book killed me.

It was such an emotional train wreck for me. Half the time I was screaming at America to pull her head out and grow up, and when I wasn't screaming at her, I was screaming at Maxon.

(I never did scream at Aspen, except to say I love you)

It was frustrating, but not in a way that made me want to quit reading. It was just so easy to get emotionally invested in their lives and then freak out when I thought they were going to ruin things.

I had a couple problems with the book.

There was quite a bit more cussing in this one than I remember being in the first two books.

And there were a few romantic scenes that were a little hotter than the others got. It wasn't terrible. There was no sex or anything like that, but some people might be uncomfortable with the level of touchy-feely kissy stuff that was in it. If you don't like that sort of thing it was easy to see coming and skip over.

I did have the end spoiled for me before I started the book, but I sort of hoped it wasn't true.

I guess if America had to end up with that boy then the ending was good.

Let me put it this way, the ending was very well done, I was just rooting for the other boy.

Overall I did love the book. The humor in it was hilarious and there were several twists and flat out shockers that I did not expect.

I'm actually looking forward to reading The Heir now.

Of course, Minion 1 has first dibs on it, so I'll have to wait before I get to find out how on earth one girl handles 35 suitors.

That's got to be either bucket loads of fun, or hoards of trouble.

 

 

 

After Christmas Post

Hello all!

I hope you had a lovely Christmas.

Mine was swell. My grandma came over and I literally ate myself sick.

I honestly did not mean to. I had a regular sized dinner, and I felt stuffed immediately and hardly ate any dessert until hours later.

It was pineapple upside down cake- totally worth the wait.

Christmas eve I went to my grandma's house on my mom's side and played with all the little girl cousins, and got to hold the new baby. She is inhumanly beautiful. I mean, I have never saw a baby that adorable. And she always smiles. Even when she's crying.

My family loves me very much. To show my level of appreciation for them, I will be locking myself away with the spare tv for a long period of time.
See, they got me Revolution season 2, Legend of Korra season 1 and 3, and The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. Minion 1 got The Maze Runner.
So we have a lot of watching to do.

Christmas day we made my poor parents and grandma sit through the Maze Runner. It wasn't as good as the book, but it was a decent movie. I'll probably do a review on it in the near future. (I also have one for Mockingjay part 1- yes, I watched it and didn't tell you.)

Minion 2 got me a Tim Tebow poster. Minion 2 is my best friend forever.

I had so much fun tricking my sisters into whose box belonged to which person, and what was inside and all that fun stuff. It was great.

How was your Christmas?

A Christmas Story

Hi guys! I wrote this short story for a contest over at Ravens and Writing Desks (which is still open for submissions by the way), but I thought I'd share it with you guys here as a special Christmas post. Hope you enjoy it! (My mouse on the computer broke, so I had to work this out on my iPod, so excuse the weird formatting and lack of a picture) Merry Christmas everyone!! Don't eat yourself sick  and remember the reason we celebrate. I'll be spending time with my family and grandma today.

Psalm 19:1

The heavens declare the glory of God;

and the firmament sheweth his handywork.

There is a song floating on the wind this night. My fellow stars, the moon, and all the heavenly bodies hum in happy praise. I join in with them, shining bright and happy. Something is about to happen.

I search the earth below me for the cause of the excitement racing through the skies. Shepherds nestled down with their fuzzy sheep. A couple traveling on the road leading into Bethlehem. Miles away from them, men pouring over scrolls and gazing up at us.  It all looks the same as other nights. But it is not the same. I know it is not. Never before, since my birth at the creation, have I felt the heavens so alive with anticipation.

I look closer at the sleepy world below. What is different? The shepherds are there every night. The men with scrolls have been watching us for months. The travelers perhaps? There have been many traveling lately, but not usually at night.

It takes me a moment to find them again. They have made it to the city. The man is standing outside the door to a building. An inn, I think.

I wish I could get closer. That is the problem with being a star. I can see nearly everything, but nothing very close.

The traveler’s donkey brays mournfully and the sound travels to me in the clear air. The woman leans on his neck. She looks tired. The man turns from the door, and his step is urgent when he returns to her. He takes the donkey’s lead in one hand, and puts the other around her shoulders. He handles her with care as he pulls her toward a stable. They disappear inside and are lost to me.

Curiosity pulses in me. The song continues around me. The air still crackles with joy. Why? What is going on?

I try to listen past the strange song, to the sounds of the night. A few restless lambs bleating, a shepherd’s soft murmur, a cry. It sounds like pain, but I cannot be sure. I have never been part of the feelings of the breathing creation. Where is the sound coming from? I try to see.

The shepherds do not seem to hear it, and the sheep are quiet now. Bethlehem then. I watch, but no one comes out of the inn, even though the crying continues. Maybe I am mistaken, and it is not pain I hear. Why would pain prompt this song? I do not understand.

As if signaled by my thoughts, the music builds to a crescendo, filling the heavens with joy so loud I want to forget my wonders and join in. Before I can start, everything goes silent. The music stops and the world seems to hold it’s breath. What...?

A sound pierces the night air. The strong, clear noise of a baby cry.

All the heavenly bodies draw closer to hear. I hope to catch some kind of view of whatever is happening.

So intent am I on the little stable that I am startled when the messenger glides to my side. His glow is enough to match mine, and he smiles when he sees he has my attention. “Shine, little Bachir. Almighty God has chosen you to mark the place of His Son.”

I want to ask questions. Why me? How long? Who is His Son? But he shakes his head and flies off.

I do as he said, shining brighter and watching his path as he wings down to the shepherds. The sheep do not seem to mind him at all, but the shepherds jump to their feet and I can hear their frightened voices.

I listen to the angel’s message to them.

“Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.”

Great joy, Bethlehem, a savior born. Excitement tingles in me at the words. A savior. The savior the world has been waiting for since the fall? The promised one? It must be. I wish I could see.

Suddenly, more angels fly by me, congregating with the one who told me to shine. Hundreds of them. Thousands. More than I can try to number. They begin to sing and the sound shames that of my fellow stars.

I sparkle, and we all add our voices to it, praising our Creator for all we have been witnessing.

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”

The shepherds scramble, bundling their things together and abandoning their sheep as they start for Bethlehem. I examine the fluffy white creatures. They look happy too, as if they understand what is happening. I do not think they will wander away.

Activity pulls my attention from them to the east. The men who watch the stars are crowding together, pointing excitedly. Pointing at me. I wonder if they know why I am shining so bright tonight. I can see them examining the charts, and the other stars around me. They should not mind me. I am shining for the savior. The one who has come to redeem men and set us free from the curse.

After awhile, they leave their lookout and I see someone run out to get some camels saddled. Then all goes still there. When I look back to Bethlehem, the shepherds have made it to the stable and I see the couple standing in the doorway. The woman looks different now, and she is holding a small bundle.

The shepherds crowd around and I strain to see. The bundle turns slightly and I glimpse a face. The tiny, wrinkled face of an infant. But I know him.

My center self warms and I pulse with energy. I know him. He was the one who brought all things into creation. He was there when I was named and numbered. His is the savior. The Son of God in heaven.

            Now the name given to me makes sense. Bachir. Chosen.

Joy overwhelms me and I shine with all my might, joining my voice with all nature to welcome Him.

(All Bible verses from the King James Version. Psalm 19:1, Luke 2: 10-12, 14.)

Reached- A Book Review

I've been doing basically all reading and no writing lately, so I have several book reviews in the works.

Today I am reviewing Reached by Ally Condie. It's the final book in the Matched series. (I need to stop starting series' at the same time, because then I finish them all at once and I'm an emotional wreck)

Let us consult Goodreads:

After leaving Society to desperately seek The Rising, and each other, Cassia and Ky have found what they were looking for, but at the cost of losing each other yet again. Cassia is assigned undercover in Central city, Ky outside the borders, an airship pilot with Indie. Xander is a medic, with a secret. All too soon, everything shifts again.

The feels are strong in this one. It's going to get four hearts.

♥♥♥♥

For once in my life I was not disappointed by how the love triangle turned out. (that's a rare feeling for me) As far as the plot goes, it was very good. There were lots of twists and 'edge of your seat' moments. There were several times I was ready to crawl into the book and beat the characters senseless, and then a few chapters later I would discover they actually did have a brain in their heads and knew what was going on. I really appreciated that the characters changed and grew, while still keeping the personalities I had grown to love throughout the last two books. I did miss Ky and Xander's banter, but I suppose there really wasn't any place to fit that sort of thing in.

There were some horribly sad moments, and some perfectly thrilling moments, so overall I was very pleased with the book. I don't have anything too negative to say. there was some language, but nothing too horrible, and not much of it, and there was also some kissing.

Reached threw me for a loop several times. Some of the guesses I made while reading the first two books turned out to be wrong. I found myself hating people that I'm not sure the reader was supposed to hate. There were strings tied up that I didn't expect to go together but they did, and it was amazing. Some of he background characters that I became attached to got thing sorted out for them, and that was great.

All in all it was a very satisfying end to the series.

The only bad thing I can say about the whole experience is that halfway through the book I was certain my favorite love interest was going to die, and Minion 1 had to be annoying and read the last page and kept taunting me with her knowledge of who Cassia ended up with.

Such is the life of a bookworm big sister I guess.



A Novel Idea

Hello!

Today I am answering last weeks writing style questions for A Novel Idea. They're really cool.

What things influence you to write?
Lots of thing. People I see, pictures and quotes from Pinterest, song lyrics. Any number of things make me want to get writing.

Advice on how to start a story?
Um...Don't start it by having the main character waking up and starting her day (unless she's Cinderella, then that's fine)

Honestly though, I'd say start in the middle of some kind of scene. Make it interesting. If you start in the middle then the reader will want to know what is going on, and it draws them in.

Advice on how to end a story?
Tie up the loose ends. Even if you don't end the story the way some people might want it to end, at least make it believable. Don't forget any background characters, because readers care about them too. Also, it really helps if you leave at least one of the favored main characters breathing.

What do you do to make a story interesting and not boring?
I have no idea. I try not to show too much regular life. I mean, yeah, it's realistic, but we all know what normal life is like. As readers we are there for the abnormal. The exciting stuff we can't do ourselves. I try to balance off things like narrative and dialogue. Also, chapter and scene breaks make stories interesting for me. I love cutting a scene off short, or switching point of views. It keeps things jumping for me.

Do you ever get sick of writing?
I'm sick of writing right now actually. That's why I have done hardly any blog posts. I've have hardly wrote a word since I finished The Iron Curse (more on that later). I get burned out on writing sometimes, especially if the story isn't going like I wanted or I was putting a lot of pressure on myself to get one done by a certain date. When that happens I'm useless as a writer and spend way too much time reading, liking things on pinterest (because I'm too lazy to take the time to actually pin them), and watching movies I've saw a hundred and fifty times.

Monster- A Book Review

Hi all! Today I am reviewing Monster by Mirriam Neal. I finished this book close to a month ago, but I haven't had the emotional stability, nor the time to write a review on it. But today I shall attempt it.

This is what Goodreads has to say about it, since me trying to explain it would just go like

 "kjkldjfkajfkjgfkajgkdj!!!!"

 

The year is 2053, and the world is recovering from a Morbus, a plague that swept across the globe, destroying millions of lives. Eva Stewart is a promising young WorldCure scientist assigned to a facility in Alaska where she is made a Handler and given her own human Subject for research and experimentation. What she believes to be a step up in her career becomes a nightmare when she discovers writing on her Subject’s cell wall. "I still have a soul." Soon Eva is drawn into a horrific plot kept quiet by WorldCure, and as everything she knew collapses around her, she must discover the truth behind her Subject, her beliefs, and herself.

The cover says "I still have a soul" and maybe he does, but I don't.

This book ripped it out and shredded it.

 

 

I'm giving this book five (broken) hearts.

♥♥♥♥♥

I've never read a book at all like this. The science involved was intriguing, and completely believable even though it was set so far in the future.

I loved the characters, SO much. One of the guys in the book made it onto my "favorite fictional guy" list (I'm not revealing who). I fell in love with Eva from the first chapter, and her Subject completely freaked me out. Pocky was hilarious. I love him. Enough said.

As for the plot...wow. The whole idea was amazing, and every time I thought I had figured out where the story was going, it took another twist. Some of those twists threw me into the wall and left me sniffling pathetically. There were actually a couple times I had to stop reading it for a few days just to try and collect my scattered emotions. But oh, the plot was great. It was so great.

The message in the story was touching. So many themes about human life, and morality, but never once did the book sound 'preachy'. Even as a Christian I cant stand it when books try to shove the Bible at me in a nutshell. This book didn't do that at all. But the messages came across so clear. 

Basically,  everything about this book was great. It was great. Go read it.

....

I suppose I'm supposed to have some constructive criticism to make this review believable...

Um...

There was a typo....I think. But honestly, what book doesn't have any?

I could say that the ending crushed me, but it was so well done I can't even fault anyone for it. All things considered, it was a very satisfying ending.

 

As far as 'mature content' goes, there was nothing in this book that bothered me at all, but I know some of my blog readers are a little more conservative with what they read, so here is everything I can think of that might bother some readers.

 

The story has moments that are somewhat gruesome. There are torture scenes, and bloody operations, and things like that.  

There was zero language in the book.

There was talk of two Subjects being bred, but nothing graphic.

 

There you have it! I loved this book. It has prompted more ranting facebook posts than any book I've read lately, and that's a very good thing.

 

Also, Mirriam is awesome and posted a Monster short story on her website. It's amazing. If you haven't read the book yet, don't read it though. It's chuck full of spoilers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

An entry

Hi all! There is a contest up and going over at Teen Words of Steel. Entries are due at noon, so you still have some time to enter!

Here is mine. It's 269 words long and I ended up using both prompts, though I changed the tense of the phrase.



Its a beautiful, haunting scene that plays behind my eyelids. A breeze blows, setting the empty swings swaying. The merry go round creaks as it slowly turns. Laughter echoes from somewhere just outside of my view.
The sunshine fades quickly and darkness engulfs everything. I try to scream as I'm pulled back to wakefulness. The white walls and ceiling nearly blind me when I open my eyes, and the ever present smell of antiseptic makes my empty stomach lurch painfully. Voices murmur and I try to turn my head to see who is here.
I'm strapped down again. The voices are unfamiliar. How long was I unconscious this time?
She's awake."
"Finally. Get the vaccines. We have to try it before she goes under again."
I can hear many sets of shoes moving around me, but all I can see is the IV bag, dripping nutrients into my veins.
I'm nourished. Surrounded by people. But I feel empty, alone.
I feel a pinch in my arm as a person in full lab gear injects me with something clear. I try to speak, but my voice hasn't worked in a long time. I wish it did. I would tell them not to inject me anymore. Not to keep trying. I don't mind slipping away anymore. I'm tired. I'd like to sleep. Forever. It's been years. I know that. The family I had is gone. There is no one to go back to. Staying here like a lab rat is not living, even if my lungs keep breathing and my heart keeps pumping blood.
I don't want to be cured.