Making a Cotton-ball Bird Or: Writing a Book

Hey Blogger Buds,
This is going to be, like, my first actual WRITING advice. *pats self on back* What prompted this is a little ball of fluff sitting in front of me that looks like a bird. He's from the Animal Rescue Center. One of his wings is clipped, so he can't fly away.
But I digress get ahead of myself..
As you may know (I'm not sure if I mentioned this or not), I'm working in a day camp. A friend of mine works in the Arts and Crafts room. Two weeks, or so, ago, I took a break snuck out went to visit her on "business" and saw a cute little birdie made from those plastic feather things and colorful cotton balls. So I asked her to make me one, but there were no open feather bags. Yesterday my kids did a project with-you guessed it-cotton balls and feathers. So I got a bunch of different colored cotton balls and two orange feathers and now I have a Bird of Paradise, or so he is dubbed being ultra-colorful.
My birdie is like writing a book, though my friend glued him in about 5 seconds.
This is the barest writing process. It doesn't really even qualify as advice, in my opinion.

Note: This post is dedicated to M.B. for making me a birdie!

Step One: Plan it out. Or not. I painstakingly chose cotton balls for my birdie's head, body, tail, and feet. I didn't just grab pieces out of the bag.

You can either plan out your book carefully before making it, or you can make it up as you go along.

Step Two: Start off. Choose your fluffy yellow head for your birdie. This is a medium-sized ball.
Get it all started. Right your intro. Simple. Ease into the plot, get to know your character. Don't make it too massive. That's the plot's job, and you don't want a lopsided birdie with a head as big as its body.

Step Three: Make the body pretty. Or exciting. Or green, as my birdie's is. You have to have the Big Green Fluff to glue your Medium Yellow Head to.
Now the plot comes in. It's big. Not a stupid part of it all, like the feet or extra tail bit (more on that in a moment.)

Step Four: The Tail. Bring in a deep, dark blue bit for the tail. Use a small one. Glue it to the end of the body.
Ending. Small and neat. Tie all the bits together.

Step Five: Add wings. Get out your bright orange wings and glue them to the sides of the birdie so he can fly.
The sub-plots and the characters. Fill them out. Let them fly. Don't ground them.

Step Six: The Beak. Trim a piece of plastic from the end of one of your orange feathers. (Not the side with the feathers, the stem.) Glue it on to the front of your Yellow Face for a beak.
Use those sub-plots and characters. Take from them and bring to the beginning of the story, using foreshadowing. (That's the key word here; foreshadow.)

Step Seven (Optional): Feet. Take two tiny pink cotton balls and add them beneath your green body as feet.
The minuscule details that support the plot, make it more real for the reader.

Step Eight (Optional): Add a tip to the end. Take a third tiny ball and stick it onto the tip of the deep, dark blue one. Don't make my mistake and use brown. It makes it look wrong and no longer Rated E for Everyone.
Wrap it more tightly and neater. Just don't make a stupid mistake in the wrap-up that makes it not even worth it. Sometimes the deep, dark blue piece is better than adding brown at the end, which can ruin an awesome-sauce (I thought I was over that?) book.

Differences between books and cotton ball birdies:
Birdies
Books
Takes two minutes
Takes months/years.
Plays nice.
Doesn't.
Doesn't want to fly off, and does as told.
Fight back and tries to fly off, but you can't clip any wings because that's inhumane.

Enjoy!

Peace,
RR

Current Music: The Time of My Life by David Cook
Current Mood: ......Complacent.

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Awesome-Sauce Post: Contests and My First Award!

Hey Blogger Buds,
I had some stuff I was going to think about posting today, but I changed my mind when some awesome-sauce (did I just say that? What's wrong with me?)  stuff demanded my attention. So, I've got some contest-y stuff to tell you about, and exciting news. Oh, and I apologize for missing CCT. I promise to cast someone cute/handsome next week. Exciting news first:
I was reading Market My Words today, and she was Paying it Forward today (and yes, I used caps just now). And she gave me an award! I got the From Me to You award along with LJ, Dorothy, Natalie, and AiCP. Congrats, guys! Now, on to me.
It's an award for constant commenting, so I'm going to give it to some commenters too! I don't get many comments, but I'm going to give this over anyways! Officially choose 5 peeps, but I'll do as I please and I'll give this to three awesome peeps.
LReneeS over at Fictional Writer. LRS is awesome; constant commenter, dedicated blogger, writing lover, the whole thing.
Liz of Cleverly Inked. She's one of the top bloggers, like, ever. Lots of giveaways,  interviews, and awesome stuff.
Candace of The Misadventures in Candyland. I love Candyland. She's, like, a person. (Well, most of us we all are, but she's this deep blogger with, like, emotions she's not afraid to show.)
Well, there's no need for me to go around praising them for commenting,  but TOO BAD. Come get your award, and pas it on. And peoples: You totally have to check out these blogs.

On to Part Two: Contests!

1)The awesome Bree zy Tanner Despain released the cover to Lost Saint yesterday. And me, being an idiot with OCD, didn't want to post twice in one day. So, it's here today. I didn't want to enter the cover contest, but I had a feeling it would be either purple ribbon on arms or a different color ribbon on legs. Well, I was totally off. This is it.

Just kidding! Don't worry! This is a spoof cover by editor Greg Ferguson. The real cover is much prettier, and I'm going to send you over to Bree for it. It's right here! I haven't actually read TDD yet, but it's on my reading list for as soon as I get back in late August! (Well, first I have some stuff about to be released; Mockingjay and Iron Daughter, along with maybe something else.)
PS: The contest is that by making this post I'm entered to win some awesome-sauce books.

2)I think I mentioned this on Monday, but I'm going to mention it again. Scroll down to the bottom of this page. I'll wait. There, did you see it? Those awesome-sauce fancy-shmancy T-Shirts on a pretty little poster down there? Well, the aforementioned awesome-sauce Candyland is  holding this major contest. Buy an a cool t-shirt for lots of entries, or buy a CD by New Medicine, Matt Brady's band. (Matt Brady is Candyland's celeb crush, by the way.) I have yet to hear their music, but I plan to listen veeeerrrrrry soon. If you don't want to spend money on the contest, even though all the money goes to Ghana, you can make a graphic for the contest. More info on Candy's site, as well as the prizes. (Prizes include: tons of critiques and agent talks, autographed books and a CD, ARCs, swag, and T-Shirts.)

3)There are three really cool and really awesome-sauce ARC contests going on, for stuff I'm dying for. One I'm not entering, which is Alexandra's, but you totally have to check out Sarah Saradise and Carol's contest. Make sure you tell them that I referred you so I can win the awesome-sauce Firelight, which I've been moaning and groaning for for ages! I <3 dragons.

4) Don't forget, my awesome-sauce Forgive My Fins contest is still open! I have over 60 awesome-sauce followers(!!!!!!) and only, like, 10 entries! It's easy to enter with awesome-sauce chances of winning! (Linky below!)

Edit: 5)I almost forgot: Shooting Stars Mag is giving away tons of awesome stuff if you pre-order rance. I usually don't do this kinda stuff, but it looks awesome and I'm getting three other books! For less than $9 dollars (less than $8.99 too, and that's including tax!) get Trance on the day it comes out-it's an awesome-sauce hardcover, I believe, and e-mail your receipt to SSM (e-mail on their blog) for some awesome-sauce prizes! At my last check, what's left is The Alpha Bet, soft lips, signed hardcover Taken by Storm and swag packs. Most of the stuff has at least a bit of swag in it. Go now! I usually don't do this stuff either, but considering the prices it's totally worth it.

That's all for now, folks!

Peace,
RR

Current Music: About to plug my earbuds in...
Current Mood: Frustrated, but excited with my contests and stuff!

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Eberheardt Trailer

Well, I decided to share a little something with you. The Eberheardt trailer! Now, this thing took me hours to make. It's awful, but I spent a long time on it, soooooo.........enjoy or do whatever else you'd like to do!
It may not sound like I'm flipping out, but really I am.
THIS. IS. BIG.
Remember that.

Current Music: This post is preset, so I've no idea what's in my head.
Current Mood: Hungry

Infinite Days Review

Hey Blogger buds!
I'm back from my Unplugging! I actually Unplugged not a moment too soon, as I got very sick and wouldn't have been able to post anyways. Don't worry; I'm better now!
So, I've got some stuff to talk about throughout the week, but as promised, I have my Infinite Days review. Before I get to the review, you possibly probably most definitely  noticed the new layout. I'm going for a blue color scheme this time around. There's still some more stuff that needs to be changed (like putting words on the actual header) but that comes soon, along with a button! I also have some new widgets, including a contest linky at the bottom of the page with awesome prizes, while donating to charity at the same time! Awesome? Awesome. I also have an MM coming up for Fallen by Lauren Kate.


But on to the review for Infinite Days by Rebecca Maizel! (I used my new notebook to take notes on the review! Be flattered!)

Blurby:
I release you, Lenah Beaudonte.
Believe...and be free.
Those were the last words I could remember. When I awoke, I immediately felt a cold surface on my left cheek. An icy shiver rushed down my spine. "Rhode!" I screamed. He had to be here. There would be no world without Rhode. A door somewhere near me opened and closed. Rhode loomed over me, but he was a blur. Even in the haze of that moment, his icy-blue eyes pierced me, down to my soul. 
After centuries of terrorizing Europe, Lenah Beaudonte, with the help of the handsome Rhode, has been able to realize the dream of all vampires---to be human again. Now, as a raven-haired sixteen-year-old, Lenah believes her greatest challenge is fitting in at her new school. But the challenges have only just begun. The vicious coven Lenah once ruled is threatening the new-found pleasures of her human life, including the one guy who makes her feel most alive: Justin. Can this ex-vamp survive in an alien time and place, or will her past come back to haunt her...forever? 


Short but Sweet Review:
One of the best books I've ever read. It has many unexpected twists, but they are not irritating, but satisfying. Lenah is a very human character (no pun intended) with flaws and strengths like everyone else. I recommend for both Twilight fans and non-fans (is that a word?) alike.


Long Review:
Overall, Infinite Days was an incredible book. I had to wait a while before starting to think about the review because the initial "wow" feeling I had upon finishing it stayed with me  for a long time. It still lingers. (And I can never say the word "lingers" without thinking of this book.) My thoughts upon reading the first chapter were "This book is incredibly written." Upon rereading the beginning, I thought "It really is."
Lenah is a very like-able protagonist. The book is riddled (I just wanted to use the word riddled) with flashbacks to her vampire years, and they are well-placed. Lenah is flawed like all of us. One aspect of her that I liked was that she wasn't a martyr, like other book MCs, but she wasn't selfish, either. And she accepts and realizes her flaws.
Rebecca Maizel is a fearless author, in my opinion. She came up with these brilliant descriptions of vampires and the ugly side of being undead, and she didn't sugarcoat any of it. She puts the reader inside the mind of a non-sparkly vampire. Rebecca is also not afraid of tragedy. She will put in sad parts without hesitation (or so I'm guessing). Rebecca wrote a book oozing emotion.
There were two things that I didn't like in the book, but one is personal preference. You meet Rhode for around 4 pages and then he dies (not a spoiler, it's supposed to happen). I liked Rhode from the get-go, and I was sad when such a likeable character died. It threw me out of the story a little bit.
My second problem with the book is with Justin, initially. When Lenah first saw him racing boats with his brother, she fell for the handsome, popular guy. That felt so fake to me. Their love wasn't real. It seems out of character for Lenah to fall for a guy based on looks.
But these flaws are not great enough to detract from this incredible, original book. The prose are gorgeous, the thoughts are deep, with all that happened it still wasn't confusing, and:
Overall, it was just so, so wonderful!
It had an incredible ending. In my opinion, it doesn't need a sequel, but I'm dying for book 2 just so I can be with the wonderful Rebecca Maizel once more. Rebecca is a cook who perfects her recipe and combines precisely enough romance, emotion, depth, and paranormal to bake a delicious and lovely debut novel. (I came up with that metaphor myself!)


I recommend this book for everyone. Romance lovers and romance haters. Twilight lovers and Twilight haters (hard to recommend to this). Paranormal lovers and dislikers alike. Adult or young adult. Werewolf or vampire or goblin fan. Humans, immortals, undeads, and canines. Read. This. Book. (I would say "now' but it's not out yet.)

**********10 stars easily. If you're not in your bookstore on August 3rd, reserving this at your local library instantly, or running over to Amazon to pre-order right this minute, I'm sending my undead gummy-bear army after you.
And trust me, they're ruthless.


I received this book through Goodreads.com




Peace,
RR


Current Music: Rose's Turn by Glee
Current Mood: Sore throated


Go to Rebecca's blog

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I want to get the title scoop on the Claire De Lune sequel by Christine Johnson!

I'm pausing my Unplugging (yes, I capped it for fun) to tell you about a contest! Personally, I've never read Claire De Lune, but I've been meaning too, and CJ is going to tell a book blogger the title for the suquel! And, if she gets more entries, she'll add awesome stuff, like bookplates, bk 1, and even an ARC!!!

So, yeah, go HERE, like, right now.

Peace,

Riv

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Unplugging

Hey Blogger buds,
So, I'm going to say this plain and simple, without any fine print or sob stories.
I'm a teenager. I'm still in school. I've got a life. A job, a family, friends, a book, whatever. Life hasn't been any more stressful than usual, but I need to chill for a bit.
So I'm going unplugged. I'll still be replying to comments and checking the blogs I follow, but I need time to set up my August posting schedule, and do what I love best: read, write and sleep.
I'll be back Sunday or Monday, with my Infinite Days review (finally).
To leave off on a happier note, here's one of the cool liked loved beloved coveted worshipped xkcd comics! It just came out today.

subtext:
The exact cause of the phenomenon is unknown, but it's thought to be linked to atmospheric refraction and you getting a really cool car.

Peace and buh-bye,
RR

Current Music: A cheer from camp...
Current Mood: Stressed, Sleepy, and Barely Having Written Ten Words in Main WIP in the past week!!!

Linger

I stupidly forgot to mention something very important:
Linger came out today!
The release date was moved up a week; you may have seen it in bookstores already, if they accidentally put it up early, but it's officially available!
*pause for readers to let out a fangirl scream*
*also fangirl screams*

Peace and Wolves,
RR


Current Mood: Wolfish (does that exist?)

Character Cast Tuesday (3)

CCT is a meme hosted by me, in which you cast one of your characters every week, if you were to be making a movie. You can sign up here.
I've casted the vicepeg, and the unipeg, the two Head Honchos. This week, I'm switching over to the Resistance.

Commander Gabriel

He's the guy in charge of the Resistance, the, well, Commander. Mid-thirties, pretty average looking, a couple of war scars. Plain Jane Joe. But he also has to keep intense looks and be nice and fit.

For those of you who didn't know, I'm a Newsies fan. Meaning: Christian Bale=Awesome dancer + Awesome [Fake] New York Accent.

Just look at him in this picture. I see you staring. Those eyebrows knitted in thought, those brown eyes staring in at you. *Sigh*

Note: I do NOT have a celebrity crush on him. *cough cough*

Wasn't he a cutie, though?

Undisputed Casting:

Christian Bale

Peace,

RR 

Current Music: Sante Fe by-you guessed it!-Newsies MC Jack Cowboy Kelly, played by Christian Bale

Current Mood: Hungry

Once Upon a Read-a-Thon Mini-Contests

Hey Blogger buds,

So, a review for Infinite Days in coming as soon as my "wow"ing stage is finished. (It's been a while, but it was an awesome book!)

So today I'm going to do entries for the Once Upon a Read-a-Thon challenge! There are three mini-challenges today.

The first is hosted by the Eager Readers.

Part One: Your favorite fictional couple.

Sam ad Grace from the Wolves of Mercy Falls. Predictable of me, but they work together perfectly! And, one little detail, it describes Grace as "stoic" and Sam as "emotional." Not like a typical story where it's vice versa.

Part Two: Favorite crossover couple.

After coming up with Sam and Grace, I thought of other Maggie Stiefvater books, since I love her. I decided on James from Ballad, and Jenna from The Adoration of Jenna Fox. I'm only partly through Jenna Fox, so fans might be staring at this and tsk'ing,.

The second is hosted by Book Crazy.

I'm going to go with Wolves of Mercy Falls (again). The challenge is to pair it with a song or picture that reminds you of it. I'm going with Out Come the Wolves. I actually found this song through Maggie's blog.

And the third mini-challenge is hosted by I Just Wanna Sit Here and Read.
Now, I'm just posting this here for fun, even though I'm SUPPOSED to post it as a comment. You pick a chapter in a book you're reading/read during the Read-a-Thon, and choose music to match it, along with a book blurb, spoiler free.
Chapter 65 in Maximum Ride: Angel Experiment by James Patterson.Blurb: The flock is trying to escape from the School, with help from some old friends.
Good ol' fashioned Mission Impossible!


Peace,
RR

Current Music: Jump by Simple Plan
Current Mood: Hungry and Exhausted (life)

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Inkpop entry

I've got my entry up! I finished it with a few hours to spare! (And I'm exhausted.)
We're going for a family trip tomorrow today, so I wanted to finish up in case we got back after midnight.
Here's my story, Apples.
http://inkpop.com/contests/2/forbidden-love-the-poison-diaries-writing-contest/entry/1641/

It's a typical slave-boy meets upper-class girl story, but they're brought together with apples. It was fun to write!

Peace,
RR

Contest and guest blogging, yada yada. check the post below for links ;)

Non-IMM

I won a contest last week from Candace's Book Blog. It came on Thursday. Pictures courtesy of my vampire camera*.

I got a notebook that say "thoughts" in pretty handwriting. (Very pretty inside, too. I took multiple pictures, trying to get the pages to come out normally.)

A bookmark! (Yay!)(It's good material; hard plastic).

A tag (It's blank on the other side, for writing on.)

And I don't have a picture, but I love it when the contest host sends a little post-it or note saying Congratulations. It makes me feel special. Here's all three together:

 Just a short post today! I plan on doing a page-a-day thing in my pretty new notebook. I'm going to start Sunday.

Peace,
RR

*I've recently come to the conclusion that my camera is a battery-power vampire. It's heard waaay too much about Twilight. It sucks my batteries dry in about five minutes.

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Get to Know Your Characters: High School

Hey blogger buds,
Tomorrow I plan to do a non-IMM (In My Mailbox) of a lovely package I won in a contest. (Including bookmarks! Yay!) On Sunday, I should havy my inkpop.com entry finished (I really want to enter!) in which case you'll have a spam post about that.
But today, I'm here to give you an idea for getting to know your characters! I've seen many different suggestions involving asking your characters questions, but today I'm here with my own idea!
This only applies to writers working in ether-realms and such. If the character you want to get to know is IN high school, this isn't for you. But I am totally doing this for my characters.
Basic idea:
Your un-schooled character in a high school in 2010*. (Recent times. Not, like, the 1400s.)
What to do:
1)Choose a character. Remember, if the character is in HS in your book, this will be boring.
2)Choose what the character keeps. Meaning: Does he keep his clothes and/or weapons? Or only his appearance (hair, eye, skin, height, weight, etc) and personality.
3)Public or Private? Will your character be in a public school or a private one?
4)The Deets. Work out the details. What grade? What courses?
5)Write it. When you finish picking all of this, open a new Word document and write how your characters day will be. It doesn't have to be a whole novel. It can be just a rough-draft. You don't even need descriptions of much; just get your character and their opinions in there! It could be 200 words, it could be 20,000. Just write it.
6)Comment and blog it! I'd love to know if you choose to do this challenge thing! Post it onto your blog, so everyone can get to know your character, and leave a comment here letting me know that you're trying it out!
Note: It doesn't have to be high school. If your character is junior high age, or college, don't stick to high school! Do whatever fits!
How you gain: Your character was stuck in their own world (literally). This is your chance to see what they're like outside of their comfort zone

As for me, I haven't had a chance to write it yet, but I'm brainstorming. I've got plans, a character, and I'm quite sure that this will help you get to know your character!

Peace,
RR

Current Music: Since U Been Gone by Kelly Clarkson
Current Mood: A bit hungry (I should fix that...)

*Soz bloggy buds, I know it's summer!

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Up Next...

A little update post, so you know what to expect...

Infinite Days review. It was sooooo good! I lurved it! I'm still in the "wow" stage, and I finished it two days ago! I'm waiting for the initial shock to fade before I write my perfect review.

Maximum Ride Audiobook! I have my first ever audiobook on my iPod. I'm halfway through Maximum Ride. (It's easier than reading the whole thing, which is somewhere near the bottom of my massive TBR pile.)

Me being interviewed! SA Larsen of Writer's Alley is posting up an interview with me on her blog. Linky when she posts it!

I'm entering the inkpop contest! I'll soon have a linky to my Forbidden Love entry (I hope!) I've been working on it for the past few days, and I'm writing hard to have it in on deadline! (My first ever non-school deadline!)

Peace,

RR

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Book Blogger Appreciation Week

I spent a while debating about it, but in the end I decided that I had nothing to lose, so I'm signing up for BBAW,  in the last hours. I'm entering two categories.

Best New Book Blog
Looking Forward Friday
Catchup Week: Tyger, Tyger
Extra:
Hundreds of Dimly Lit Corridors...
Darn You, Writer's Block
The "Let's Talk" Blogfest

Best Speculative Fiction Book Blog
Reviews:
Catchup Week: Tyger, Tyger
Dawn, Twilight, and Other Times of Day

The Review You've Been Waiting For....LINGER!!!

Other:

Hundreds of Dimly Lit Corridors...

Looking Forward Friday

Peace,

RR

Current Music: Maximum Ride eBook (first ever!)

Current Mood: Hot with a cold.

Character Cast Tuesday (2)

Hey bloggy buds,
Sorry about yesterday. It was very hectic :(. But don't worry, I'm back today with some cute actors ;)
Character Cast Tuesday is a meme hosted by me, in which every Tuesday you post an actor that you'd choose to play various characters, if your book were to be made into a movie.


Last week we had blue eyed Chace Crawford leap in and steal the part of the vicepeg. This week, we take a look at actors from an awesome TV show; Legend of the Seeker. (And if you love LotS so much, we're pulling another actor from the show in a different CCT!)

The unipeg. He's the head honcho of Emberhard. He's the big man, the one in charge. Evil. Very. In retrospect, he's very one-dimensional, and doesn't get much page time so far. I should fix that one-dimension thing...He's an incredible sword-fighter,
I pulled up the description specially for you:

Becca turned her full attention to the man in the throne; the unipeg. He was of average height, jet black hair cropped close to his skull. His grey eyes, along with his hair, contrasted deeply with his deathly pale skin.

 As I mentioned before, I was looking at some LotS cast, and came upon Craig Parker. He played the evil Darken Rahl, and can pull off evil very well. So, as they’re unfortunately considering ending the show, I’ve got another evil part for Craig to play. Lucky you, Craig! You get to be star in my non-existent movie! Doesn't he just look evil as Rahl?

Cast:

Craig Parker

Peace,

RR

Current Music: Piano Man, Gleed version

Current Mood: Bored, tired, NOT writing, and trying to write an inkpop contest thingy.

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Happy Fourth of July and an Important Message

Hey bloggy buds,
Well, first off, have a happy fourth of July, even though I didn't get a chance to post this until after midnight here in New York.
I was planning on writing a nice, cheery blog post on my first ever trip to the Strand and the barbecue my family had, but something more important came up. I'll talk about it tomorrow.
Around two short blocks away, a house had a fire in it. I went to watch, along with many others. There were around ten fire trucks working to put out the fire, and the top of the house was severely damaged. The fire started, maybe, an hour and a half ago. I went to watch. By now, it's under control I think, but I still see a firetruck outside my house and smell some smoke.
It's summer now. It's July Fourth weekend (well, it's over now, but not for partyers). It's very hot out. We all have our air-conditioners on full blast. There's a lot of electricity shooting around.
Be careful. Please.
Take precautions and be safe. Don't attach a timer to your AC. There's a lot of electricity running through those wires and if you plug it in to a timer the same way you plug in your lights, it could be a problem.
I feel bad for that family, and I don't want my bloggy buds to have a problem  like that.
Stay safe!

Peace,
RR

Current Music: Two is Better Than One by BLG
Current Mood: Tired, Excited, and Distressed (lots of mixed emotions)

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Catchup Week: Percy Jackson Midway Mention

Hey bloggy buds,
Well, I didn't plan on doing PJ, but I'm not halfway through any other book at present, so I'm doing this one.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief
I mentioned this yesterday, I think, but I hate plot-driven books. They get on my nerves. I like a book with an active character. Yes, I understand, certain things have to be plot-driven, but I think a lot of it should be done by Percy. And I'm just not seeing it.
PJ seems to be doing stupid things and getting on my nerves. Besides for accepting everything and taking it all in stride (something I noticed in Tyger, Tyger, too), he's acting dumb. Someone died early on and now, without a second thought, Percy has decided he's going to go to the Underworld and rescue this dead character. Never mind that they're dead, he wants them out. Very irritating.
Yeah, I get it, he's upset and 12, but think. Plus, I feel like he's going about things the wrong way.
But I do like the basic idea. Rick Riordan is brilliant, but he could put it together better.
So far, 3*

Peace,
RR

Current Music: The Minstrel's Prayer by Cartel
Current Mood: Tired Exhausted

Catchup Week: Break Review

Hey bloggy buds,
As promised, it's time for Break by Hannah Moscowitz.

Blurby:

The first feeling is exhilaration.
The second feeling is pain.
The feeling that never comes is regret.

Jonah is on a mission to break every bone in his body. Everyone knows that broken bones grow back stronger than they were before. And Jonah wants to be stronger—needs to be stronger—because everything around him is falling apart. Breaking, and then healing, is Jonah's only way to cope with the stresses of home, girls, and the world on his shoulders. This is the story of his self-destructive spiral, his rock-bottom moment, and how he finally learns to accept help and find true strength through recovery.

Review:

I don't have much to say, really. On the Midway Mention for Break, I said most of my thoughts on the books. I thought there was too much swearing, but I've already spoken about that, and I want to do a full rant post sometime on swearing.

It was a fun read but the plot shifted halfway through. One thing that I hate is when a plot shifts, and the goal is different. It was pretty well written, and I did enjoy it, overall. It was a quick, fun read.

Jonah is an interesting character. He's completely selfless, and the most normal one in his messed up family. He has a weird relationship with his non-girlfriend that really confused me. The way she acted, and the way his and her feelings changed was...strange. She was impulsive, and they acted differently before and after.

One scene really jarred me. Jesse, Jonah's brother, was injured, but everyone was ignoring him and focusing on Jonah. Jonah kept saying "he's hurt" but everyone just focused on Jonah and didn't actually listen to him. Another thing jarred me was when Jonah's baby brother finally stopped crying. It made zero sense.

Like I said, Break was a fun read and I mostly enjoyed it. It was like no other book I've ever read, but I suppose it can be loosely related to Willow (which I'm reviewing soon, too). Messed up families, self-mutilation, etc. Not something I would recommend.

*** 3* An interesting but not incredible book.

Peace,

RR

Current Music: Jump by Simple Plan (haven't heard it in ages)

Current Mood: Frustrated...at life

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Catchup Week: Tyger Tyger Review

Like I said, I won't bail on you guys!
I recently finished Kersten Hamilton's book, Tyger Tyger.



Blurby:
Teagan Wylltson's best friend, Abby, dreams that horrifying creatures--goblins, shape-shifters, and beings of unearthly beauty but terrible cruelty--are hunting Teagan. Abby is always coming up with crazy stuff, though, so Teagan isn't worried. Her life isn't in danger. In fact, it's perfect. She's on track for a college scholarship. She has a great job. She's focused on school, work, and her future. No boys, no heartaches, no problems. 

Until Finn Mac Cumhaill arrives. Finn's a bit on the unearthly beautiful side himself. He has a killer accent and a knee-weakening smile. And either he's crazy or he's been haunting Abby's dreams, because he's talking about goblins, too . . . and about being The Mac Cumhaill, born to fight all goblin-kind. Finn knows a thing or two about fighting. Which is a very good thing, because this time, Abby's right. The goblins are coming.

Short Review:

Overall, it was an incredible book. It had the subtlest mention of romance, humor, tension, emotion, and everything in between. I highly recommend it for those who like action, but romance is not a priority.

The Long Review:

I really enjoyed reading Tyger, Tyger. It had bits of romance, which I enjoy more than romance being the whole plot. I read the book in one weekend, I think (and I slept a bit!).  Rereading the back-cover blurb, I felt that it didn't summarize the plot well. The book leaps right in, which I liked. But, according to the blurb, there's a lot of talk of things happening in the beginning. For example, Abby doesn't go on ranting for days on end about her dream; which I expected. And she doesn't think that Finn is insane...well, not for too long at least.

I liked the action and humor mixed in. For example, Abby who is Italian, has friends in low places. Very low places, like ally-lurking Maphia-type places. Which adds in humor (especially when her cousins are named after the Mutant Ninja Turtles!) And then there's Aiden, described as the "human iPod." Whenever anyone sings a song, he immediately picks up and starts singing too.

Which reminds me, this book was filled with a lot of foreshadowing. Thinking back, that aspect of the book was incredible. But there were some things that I'll get to in a moment.

Teagan. Overall I found Tea to be a like-able protagonist. She was intelligent, capable, and independent. It was the first time I'd ever heard the name "Teagan" before, so it took some adjusting to, earlier on.

Now, on to what irritated me.

Besides for the whole "Teagan" thing, I found emotions to not always be well places. I've noticed this a bunch of times lately, but the protagonist took many things in stride. "So how  was your day, Tea?"----"Great. Any news?"----"Yeah. Goblins exist."----"Really, that's cool. I've got some homework to do, see you later." Well, it didn't go quite like that, but she accepted many things. Finn started bantering about cat-sidhe, and Tea's only thought was okay, he's crazy. And then she found out the truth and her thought process was something along the lines of, Huh. I guess he's not as crazy as I thought, because I've seen them too!

One thing that really got on my nerves: around a hundred pages in, tragedy struck Tea's family. It happened right before school was out. The book skipped those three months and went straight to September/October again. I would have liked to read about those three months and how Tea coped. It mentioned her sadness a drop when it began narrating again, in the beginning of the last year of school, but not a lot. I would have liked to see her emote more.

Another problem I had with the book was the amount of characters. There were few present characters, but many of legend and lore. The book is based on the Fenian Cycle, and there are many characters mentioned. I got confused with all of the names, lessening my enjoyment.

But overall, I liked the characters, the plot, and the references to different things. (Tea's mother's storybooks, Irish lore, Shakespeare)  I thoroughly enjoyed it, and I eagerly anticipate the sequel. The book will be available in November, by Clarion Books.

*****somewhere between four and five stars, but I'm leaning towards 5*

Peace,

RR

Current Music: Go by BLG

Current Mood: Meh

Disclaimer: This ARC was provided by the author, free of charge, in exchange for an honest review.

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