Beautiful Creatures

Today, like yesterday, I spent most of the day engrossed in a book. The book I was reading today was absolutely FANTASTIC. Like, I'd put the book down, walk by a mirror, and be like "...wait a second. That's me. Oh, right, this is the real world. Becky, not Lena and Ethan." It's that well-written. You can completely forget about the real world and just get lost in the characters and their story.

BEAUTIFUL CREATURES, written by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, tells the story of Ethan Wate and Lena Duchannes. The people of Gatlin, South Carolina are pretty much stereotypical Southerners. Their families have lived in Gatlin for years and years and years, and they still have Confederate flags and talk about the War of Northern Aggression or the War for Southern Independence, and nothing ever changes. Ethan Wate is the only one who seems to want to leave. So when Lena Duchannes moves to town and things start happening, Ethan can't help but be drawn to her.

A strange song called "Sixteen Moons" keeps popping up on Ethan's iPod. The weather goes crazy around Lena. And strangest of all, they have the same dreams - about each other. As their friendship grows and changes, they discover a mystery, a curse, and things that Ethan never could have dreamed he'd encounter in Gatlin. Danger, mystery, romance, magic, and a sense of something bigger coming... this novel has it all.

I know I rant and rave a lot about great books, but when I say a book is good, I mean it. And when I say a book is great, I mean it. And when I say a book is Seriously Fantastic and you Must Go Read It Right Now, I most definitely mean it. BEAUTIFUL CREATURES falls into that last category. The conflict, the mystery, and the danger are all wonderfully developed, and the story moves quickly (so don't let the length of the book scare you off). But the action does not at all take away from the characters. Ethan and Lena are two very complex, very real characters who really can make you forget about yourself for a few hours. I completely adored this book. Not an exaggeration. Read it, you guys, it is made of awesome. BEAUTIFUL CREATURES is a beautiful book.

The sequel, BEAUTIFUL DARKNESS, is slated for release on October 12, at which time I will most definitely need to acquire a copy. You can find out more about the authors and the book at their website.

I love finding super-mega-awesome books like this one.

Love,
Bex

Radiant Shadows

So we're gonna call this the Saturday, May 29 post, because I didn't realize it was this late.

Today, I did something that was very enjoyable. I woke up, ate breakfast, and then curled up in my room with the windows open and a lovely breeze, and I read a book. This book was Melissa Marr's Radiant Shadows, the fourth volume in the Wicked Lovely series.

It was fantastic. And awesome. And all sorts of other lovely adjectives. I loved it.

The Wicked Lovely series is about faeries. There's the Summer Court, the Winter Court, the High Court, and the Dark Court. There's a great cast of characters, and so far none of the books have had the same main protagonist (Aislinn was key in both Wicked Lovely and Fragile Eternity, but FE was really more about Seth...but if you haven't read them, then you don't know what I'm talking about, and if you have, then this is an unnecessary explanation, so. Moving on).

Anyway, the fourth book, Radiant Shadows, is about Ani and Devlin. Ani's a halfling. Her mother was mortal, and her father is Gabriel, the leader of the Wild Hunt. Ani is different because she survives on both touch, like the Hounds of the Hunt, and emotion, like the Dark Court. And she can feed from both faeries and mortals, which is pretty much unheard of. She's different. And she's not supposed to be alive.

Enter Devlin. Devlin was supposed to kill Ani when she was an infant, but at the request of Rae, a dreamwalker, he didn't, thereby betraying the two faeries who created him. He watches Ani, and struggles to fend off emotions that as High Court, he shouldn't feel.

Ani and Devlin's lives become intertwined, and...well...all sorts of interesting things happen. Don't want to tell you too much more because then you'll think you don't need to read the book (and you know how I detest spoilers). Radiant Shadows can pretty much stand on its own, I think, but I say this having read the other three books - and you won't want to read just this one because they're all so good!

It's a faerie story with courts and rules and a Faerie realm, and no mention of Titania or Oberon, which is a pleasant change. And the characters are just spectacular. And there is so much more to all of it than battle scenes and dark romance. There is plot. There is intrigue. There is humor. There are characters who are absolutely unforgettable. And there is a whole fictional world that you will just want to get lost in. It's a spectacular series, you guys. I'm not just saying that.

The first book is called Wicked Lovely and you should all go read it now. Find out more about the series and the author at Melissa Marr's website and her blog. The fifth and final book, Darkest Mercy, is slated for release sometime next year. I hope I can wait that long.

Love,
Bex

Mini-Blog: Dodgeball

My father has just insisted that we watch the pilot episode of the old TV show Freaks and Geeks. It portrays the geeky kids as hating dodgeball.

Kid on TV: Dodgeball is a really stupid game.

Me: Yes. I agree.

Little Brother #2: You're a geek!

I don't see how that's a problem.

Love,
Bex

Make a Wish

It's 11:38 now. But a little while ago, it was 11:11. Which means, make a wish. In honor of 11:11, I have created a wish list to share with you:

-Air conditioning. My mother has decided that we don't need A/C until it's something like 95 degrees outside. It's in the low 80s right now. I don't want to waste energy or anything, but my room is disgustingly hot. Not sure why. I want it cool.

-Time to write/read without feeling like I should be doing thesis instead. Of course, that's not gonna happen until December of this year. And at that point, I'll feel like I should be doing college/financial aid applications instead of thesis instead of writing or reading. Guilt is something I'm gonna have to get used to.

-A solution to these story issues. Right now I feel like I'm writing a completely different story from my old one, but it's just a rewrite...the characters and the basic premise are the same. But it's so vastly different. Wow.

-More openness from people. I think there are a lot of people who are very accepting and other people just don't realize it. I wish that people didn't feel like they had to be afraid to say things because of what someone else was going to think or do.

-A strawberry or watermelon slushie. Some sort of cold, fruity drink. Have I mentioned it's like a boiler in here?

-To not have to worry about college yet. Because seriously? I don't know where I want to go, or what I want to do, or anything. And I am definitely not old enough for college yet. Am I? There's no way. Time is insane. Eek.

And those are my wishes for the night. Some of them are a bit more simply stated than others, some are rather more profound than others, I'll leave it up to you all to determine which are which. For now, I'm trying to figure out New Chapter One.

Love,
Bex

Space Cowboys!

So, since KD is already feeling all vindicated, I'ma give her one more outlet and credit her here too. Love you bunches K.

What, you may be wondering, is the mysterious and wonderful KD feeling so vindicated about, you might ask? The answer is: because I watched the pilot episode of the show Firefly and admitted that she was completely and utterly right to work so hard at convincing me to watch it.

Seriously, you guys. It is AMAZING.

Nathan Fillion, and space cowboys, and plastic dinosaurs, and legitimately funny jokes, and Wash (who is seriously the best character likeever), and ahhh it's fantastic. Watch it watch it watch it. ♥

Ahhh Firefly = awesome.

Also CH has convinced me to try Skype. I was under the impression that Skype was just for video chats, but apparently it's got regular IM too, so I've been figuring out Skype this afternoon. It'd probably more interesting if I had more contacts than just CH and KD, especially since KD's laptop is in the shop so she can't use Skype. Hmm.

Does anyone else out there use Skype? What do you think of it?

And what do you think of FIREFLY?! It's amazing, riiight? Yes. You know it is. XD ♥

Must get some sleep, I have to take a pre-cal final in the morning. Much love,
Bex

Drafts

So, remember that vampire story I've told you guys about?

Yeah. That one. The one that I kind of quit working on because I got so sick of "Good Vampires" (even though there are a lot of really awesome good-vampire stories still out there, such as the Vampire Academy series and the House of Night series and the Evernight series and the Blue Bloods series and a lot of stand-alone novels like Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side, and yes, even Twilight - someone remind me to tell you about my thoughts on Twilight later). There are good ones out there and they are fun to read, but I was tired of being hit over the head by Good Vampires every time I walk into Barnes & Noble. I didn't want to write one.

But I missed Eliza. And Ben. And Greg.

Well, I had a brainstorm. And it involves Bad Vampires. YAY!

I lovelovelove this new idea. It's gonna do wonderful things for the character development and I think it's gonna make the story a lot more focused and a lot better in general and I'm really excited about writing it.

But it's gonna take some major restructuring and rewriting. There are going to be favorite scenes that I'm going to have to completely get rid of or at least alter significantly. I knew this was going to happen when I started writing. So so so many writers have said that you have to "murder your darlings" and be prepared to get rid of bits you like for the sake of the story. But it is sad.

At least now I'll have some deleted scenes to share if I ever get famous for it. XD

Also, the following entertaining videos were shared with me by my father. You should watch them. They're funny.

Bronte Sisters Power Dolls video
OSU Flash Mob: Don't Stop Believing

Now I'm gonna go figure out this new storyline. Because it's awesome. At least, I think so. G'night, all!

Love,
Bex

Spirit Bound

Okayokay so I know I have a limit of One Post Per Day, but consider this make-up for not having posted at all this weekend. I just finished reading Richelle Mead's newest Vampire Academy novel, SPIRIT BOUND, and I kind of had to post something.

I will warn you now that there will be a large part of this post that is gonna be highlighted because it contains SPOILERS. So please, if you haven't read the book and are planning to, don't highlight it, don't read it, just don't touch it. I don't believe in spoilers, but I have to get this out of my system.

SPIRIT BOUND picks up essentially where BLOOD PROMISE left off. Rose is still trying to decide between the two most important people in her life. Only now, it's a lot more intense. This right here is only a minorly spoilery synopsis, so if you've read the other four books and just haven't read this one yet, this bit should be fine. Very little that the book jacket won't tell you: So, Rose is on her Impossible Quest to save Dimitri from being a Strigoi, and they set Victor Dashkov free from prison to get information on how to do it. And when this quest puts Lissa in danger, Rose has to make some tough decisions about what matters. Meanwhile, there's all sorts of drama at the Court, not the least of which is Adrian Ivashkov. (Personally, I am now leaning toward Team Adrian, but I was a little that way to begin with.)

And THIS is where the mega-spoiler rant is gonna be (I'll keep it brief), so DON'T READ THIS unless you've finished SPIRIT BOUND: *ahem.* 1. I wanna know where Victor Dashkov has gotten off to. They kind of ditched that storyline halfway through. I want! 2. Tatiana = mystery woman. And now she's dead! What?! So, I wanna know who set Rose up. 3. I think I'm Team Adrian. But Dimitri...ooh this situation is tough. 4. Who set Rose up as the killer?!?! Oh wait - did I mention that already? >_>

*Ahem.* Okay. I think I'm done. (CJ, I'm calling you tomorrow. Expect it.) If you haven't read the Vampire Academy series, you really should. They're fantastic. And yes, they're vampire novels, but it's a totally different spin on vampires than TWILIGHT. If you're just as sick of "oh yes vampires are all lovely people!" as I am, fear not. Yes, there are good vampires in the VA series, but there are bad ones too, and there are no werewolves at all. (I don't mean to be hating on TWILIGHT. I just feel like it's overdone.)

Okay, I'm not making my point very well. Rose Hathaway, the VA protagonist, is possibly one of my favorite fictional characters ever. She's so much fun to read (she's gotta be fun to write - I should try a charrie like her sometime), and she's so real, and the stories have just the right blend of action and mystery and intrigue and romance and it's FANTASTIC. The first one is called VAMPIRE ACADEMY and they're by Richelle Mead, and you can find out more about her on her blog or her website.

Readreadread. ♥

And now I really am done blogging for today. Promise.

Love,
Bex

The End

So, I'd like to apologize for the conspicuous lack of posting over the weekend, but I was veeery busy. With thesis, with an AP Lang essay (seriously, why would you make an essay due the same day as a major thesis deadline, right before exams start?) and with thesis.

So this weekend marked the ends of lots of things. Probably the biggest "ending" was that of the academic portion of my junior year, except for the pre-calculus final on Thursday. Oh my gosh I am a rising senior now. How did that happen?! Seriously, freshman year was like yesterday.

The part of thesis that I have readily available teacher help for every other day for an hour and a half? That's over.

AND. LOST is over.

Last night was the series finale. And wow. I'ma not post any spoilers here because I don't know if CH has seen it yet and I know SH hasn't, but - ahhwow. A lot of people think that it really didn't work or that it sucked or that they wasted six years of their lives on this show, but personally, I liked it. I thought that lots of the ending stuff was really sweet, and I felt like the way they chose to wrap it up worked really well. I didn't like that Ben stayed outside (which is not a spoiler because you won't know what I mean anyway if you haven't seen it), but other than that, I felt like it worked.

I will warn those of you who haven't seen it, though - don't expect to have every question answered for you. There's a lot you won't find out. But they wrap up what matters.

It's kind of sad to see it over, but I think they ended it well.

Now I get to start FI - aghhh forget it, I give up on capitalizing show titles. I'ma start Firefly now. Tee hee mua ha ha.

Love,
Bex

The World According To Garp

...apparently consists of nothing but sex and death. So, the jacket-flap said it was a comedic novel about the son of a famous feminist struggling to become a writer in the post-WWII era. And I guess it was about that, so the jacket-flap didn't really lie...

Still, I wish I'd had a warning of some sort. At one point in the novel, Garp's editor, John Wolf, describes some of Garp's work as "an X-rated soap opera." I'd pretty much apply that to the novel as a whole. The plot in a nutshell: Jenny Fields rapes a dying soldier so she can have a kid without having to deal with a man in her life. Then she gets a job at a boarding school where her son, named Garp after his father, eventually goes to school. Beginning in his senior year of high school, Garp starts having sex with practically every other girl he meets. He eventually gets married and has children, but still has several affairs. People die. There's a lot of sex. More people die. His life sucks. There's some more affairs. Then he realizes that he still loves his wife, and instead of having sex with everyone he meets, he decides to start a campaign against the Ellen Jamesians and gets assassinated because they think he's an anti-feminist.

That said, I didn't hate the book. I thought there was entirely too much sex, and I disliked that it was always "f*** this" and "f*** that" when there was really no need for it, but on the whole it was okay. It was just...really tragic, and really X-rated. Not something I would have chosen to read, personally, but I know people who would probably like it if they picked it up on their own. (SP, you are one of them.) I also think I'd've enjoyed it a lot more if it hadn't been keeping me from the books I really wanted to read. School requirements do not do much to endear books to me.

Not my kind of book, perhaps, and not, in my humble opinion, one of the best books out there, but there were certainly parts that were laugh-out-loud funny and parts that were undeniably true. I'm going to put it out there as something that you might pick up if you don't have anything else to read and don't mind a tragedy - and I'm going to put a huge huge huge "X-RATED CONTENT" label on it.

Mostly, I'm just glad to be done because now I can read SPIRIT BOUND without feeling guilty. Too bad I won't see the wonderful and amazing CJ (who has agreed to lend it to me, which only adds to her fabulousness) until Monday. (C, dear, I love you muchably.)

And now, I'm going to go listen to "Awake and Alive." Again.

Love,
Bex

Awake and Alive

I have recently discovered (well, rediscovered, sort of) a song. Many thanks to KD, who introduced me to it. This song has been stuck in my head all day. Like, even while we were watching the very well-made documentary of a very horrible situation known as 9/11 in APUSH, my mind was playing this song.

(Incidentally, that documentary was just kind of...whoa. Like, everyone knows 9/11 was horrible, but it really kind of put you there. Wow.)

The song, as you may have deduced from the title of the post, is called "Awake and Alive." It's by a Christian rock band called Skillet, and it's quite awesome. My only warning is that it could get irreversibly stuck in your head. But guys, it's fantastic, and you should go listen to it right now.

"I'm awake, I'm alive, now I know what I believe inside. Right now, it's my time, I'll do what I want 'cause this is my life. Right here, right now, stand my ground and never back down. I know what I believe inside, I'm awake and I'm alive."

Ahhh such a good song. Listenlistenlisten.

Now, back to my thesis summer plan. Which would be MUCH EASIER to make if the other classes' summer assignments were on the website as I was told they would be. It wouldn't matter as much if they hadn't told me that they'd be there.

I mean, I'm not annoyed about this at all, nope.

Anyway. Going now. G'night, y'all.
Love,
Bex

Lack of Books

I haven't finished Garp yet.

Once I finish it, I will tell you about it.

I miss blogging about books.

But I haven't been reading anything. Except Garp. And various thesis sources. Mostly I've been avoiding reading Garp. And sleeping. And playing Paper Mario with my little brother. Oops.

Richelle Mead's new Vampire Academy book, SPIRIT BOUND, came out yesterday. I really want to read it.

Stupid Garp.

Love,
Bex

Mini-Post, Re: LOST

Someone please tell me that you watched tonight's episode maybe please?

And I wanna know where Miles is. And Jack - and Jacob - and Desmond - and Ben - and I really need to shut up because two of the people actually read this blog I know have not seen it yet (AF and CH: love you guys...). But erk. Quiero hablar con alguien sobre el programa! (Translation: I wanna talk to somebody about the show!)

Series Finale. This Sunday. 7pm. I bet it'll be right smack in the middle of Mom's birthday dinner. If I miss it, I might cry.

Love,
Bex

Spies...and Summer

The CASTLE Season 2 Finale was tonight. There were spies. There was a real-actual put-together plot for the murder case. There were authors (including James Patterson). There was comedy. There was romantic tension. There was...

...an ending that did not make me happy. I would like Season 3 now, please. September seems so far away...

...and then I think about the "summer plan" I made today for thesis (due, signed by my advisor, on Monday, along with an updated draft of my introduction, lit review, methodology, and anticipated findings), and realize that September's not so far away after all. Especially when you consider how much I'm doing this summer.

Up until now, summer was about the only time I could read and not feel guilty. Bye-bye, guiltless summer pleasure reading...

I thought this wasn't supposed to be an issue until we got to The Real World that school is always trying to prepare us for. I'm not out of high school yet! It's not time for The Real World!

Or college apps. Or possibly retaking the SAT. Or maybe taking the ACT. Or thinking about summer jobs. Or taking my driver's test. Or thinking about how to fund a college education. Or something like a car.

Ahhhhh I am being attacked by The Real World and Growing Up.

I have gotten rather sidetracked from CASTLE, it seems. You should watch it because it is awesome and I love it and I am very sad that it is gone until late September. *sigh* I shall miss you, Richard Castle and Kate Beckett...

Okay, I'm weird. And the second-to-last episode of LOST is tomorrow night as well. More eekness.

I'ma start rambling in a second, so I'll take this opportunity to bid the internet farewell for the night and maybe get some reading done before I go to bed. (School reading, of course. Not one of the Very Tempting Library Books on my floor. Sigh.)

Really shutting up now. Good night! Love,
Bex

Weekend Sans Internet

Apologies for the lack of posting, but this is really the first time I've been online all weekend. I know I know - me, all weekend, with no internet? Believe it or not, it can (and does) happen.

So, you may ask, have I suddenly gotten a life?

The answer, unfortunately, is "no." I slept. And then I took a nap. And then I played Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Paper Mario with my brother, which is the first time I've been on the Wii in a long time. And today was church, nap, youth group, blog post. Since, you know, I'm sure you're all very interested in a play-by-play of my weekend.

Seriously though, it was kind of nice going a long time without the internet. I did other things. I realized that at least one of my brothers is actually still fun to hang out with. I caught up on some sleep (ish). Didn't do much reading, although I need to - I have 600 pages to get through in the next week, and it's not a Harry Potter 600 pages, it's a Garp 600 pages, so it'll take longer. Didn't do much writing, either - one of the side effects of not being on the computer. Still, I feel like it was a good weekend. Relaxation is something that I've kind of been missing out on lately.

Try it sometime. Just shut off your computer and don't worry about it for a day or two. I bet you'll feel better.

Love,
Bex

Book Update

So, I will probably maybe finish GONE WITH THE WIND at some point, but 139 pages a day was going to be ridiculous. I have talked to my English teacher and I have switched to a long but not nearly as long book called THE WORLD ACCORDING TO GARP.

So far, it's a little weird. Read: a lot weird. It reminds me a little of Catch-22 but less...paradoxical. It's interesting enough to keep me reading, anyway. Which is good since I have to write an essay about it by next Monday.

I hope I finish before that, seeing as just about everything that I put on hold at the library back before they had it came in at the same time. So I have eight books lined up to read once I finish this one.

Love,
Bex

Pages and Pages and Pages

Sooo I'm reading GONE WITH THE WIND for my AP Lang class...turns out this monster of a novel is 1448 pages long.

And the first 62 pages are spent on Scarlett whining about the fact that Ashley Wilkes isn't marrying her, and explaining that Gerald O'Hara came over from Ireland.

I have another 1386 pages to get through by May 24th, because that's the day my style analysis essay about the book is due. In that time, I have to generate lots of progress on thesis for a major thesis deadline also on May 24th, the series finale of LOST airs, the season finale of CASTLE airs, I have to study for a pre-calculus exam, I take the End-Of-Course test for US History, we celebrate my mom's birthday, there's a youth group lock-in at my church, and my library books apparently sit on my bedroom floor begging me to read them even though I can't because otherwise I'll never get through GONE WITH THE WIND.

I apologize for whining. It's just that I have a stack of books that I really want to read, and I have to spend the next ten days reading this book and writing an essay about it.

Oh gosh...ten days...1386 pages...that's about 139 pages each day, assuming that I don't even start the essay until the night before it's due.

Maybe I should see if I can switch to a different book.

G'night, all. Love,
Bex

Do I Read Too Much?

The answer is a definite "maybe." I finished another book today, guys. Incidentally, it's one that I bought about a week ago for my dear friend SH's birthday (even though her birthday was back in April. Love you, S) and then borrowed when she shoved it into my hands and said "Read this." (Okay, I asked.)

It's called THE IRON KING and you should read it if you are even remotely interested in faerie tales. (Not fairy tales. I'm not talking Rumplestiltskin or Sleeping Beauty. I mean Mab and Oberon and Titania and all that. Faeries with an e.)

THE IRON KING is about Meghan Chase. On the day before her sixteenth birthday, she is thrust into the world of faerie when her four-year-old brother is replaced by a changeling. Meghan sets out to rescue Ethan, but she finds more than she bargained for in the faeryland, including a heritage she never knew she had.

Okay, so that summary was crap. But it's more than the back of the book told me, I had to discover the rest for myself, and you will too. You guys, it was awesome. Read it.

At first I was a little wary of another faerie story that was dropping names like Mab and Oberon and Titania and Puck. Something like this: "Really, you guys? Seelie and Unseelie Courts, changelings replacing children, and Puck as the merry prankster? What next, she's the faerie princess? I have heard this before." But then there were the Iron Fey. I'd never heard of those before. And the characters. Like Ash. And Puck. And Grimalkin. Oh my goodness, Grimalkin. Teehee. "I am a cat." Julie Kagawa does an excellent job of taking familiar mythology and twisting it to make it her own and mixing it with her own creations. Yes, there's stuff in here you'll recognize if you've read any faerie stories, but there's also stuff that's new and original. Which is a very nice change these days.

I'm eagerly awaiting the sequel, THE IRON DAUGHER, due out this fall according to the author's website. You can also check out her blog. I will be reserving judgment on the romantic interests from the series until then. Maybe. No comment on whose team I'm on right now.

Ah, see, there I go talking about romance. Yes, there's an element of it, but guys - THE IRON KING has a PLOT. It is NOT a romance novel. You're not gonna find anything that has no romance whatsoever. This does a nice job of adding PLOT.

So, in conclusion, you should read this book, because it's awesome.

Love,
Bex

Announcements

First of all: Tenth Avenue North's new album The Light Meets the Darkness is out today. Check it out on their website or on iTunes (or Napster, or wherever it is you buy your music). It's awesome. Awesome awesome awesome. Seriously you guys. I adore that band.

Also: my final AP exam of this year is tomorrow morning. AP Lang. To all of you out there who are taking that AP exam or another one, good luck! And if you've already taken one/some, I wish you luck anyway, and I'll use my time turner to send it back in time for you?

AND(!), as if the new Tenth Ave. North CD wasn't awesome enough, Maggie Stiefvater, author of SHIVER, has posted a video trailer for the upcoming sequel, LINGER:



Very very cool, no? AND(!) she's running a contest on her website. You can win lots of cool things. You should go check it out. (The link's for her blog, not the specific post, because I copy-pasted the wrong thing and I'm too lazy to go back and change it, but the blog is awesome too.) I can say this, because I've read an ARC of LINGER: It is awesome. Maggie Stiefvater is awesome.

I think that's it in the way of announcements right now. New music! AP exams! AND a totally awesome book trailer and contest thingy! Gonna go watch LOST now. Love to you all,
Bex

It's Not Monday Yet

One of my bestest friends turns 17 today. Happy birthday, KD! I love you! ♥

And speaking of "happy," I'm almost done watching the second episode of ABC's new show, HAPPY TOWN. It's kind of weird, but I like it. Mystery and intrigue and murder and creepiness...very awesome. Check it out.

I should be doing work right now. I should be working on the illustrations for my children's book for creative writing, or maybe my precal homework, or I should be updating my thesis paper because I have a long way to go before the deadline two weeks from tomorrow and my mentor still hasn't emailed me back. Mostly I should be working on the children's book, because it's barely started and I have to turn in a finished, bound book on Tuesday.

(Incidentally, I think requiring the creation - not just the writing but the creation - of a children's book is kind of a stupid assignment. Some of us like our stories a bit too mature for five-year-olds. Some of us cannot draw worth beans. Some of us would rather be writing novels about spies than little kids' stories. Sure, I love reading children's books and I love playing with kids and I would never give anything inappropriate to a little kid, but I don't want to write a children's book. I want to write about Chelsey and Gavin and Matt.)

But anyway, my point was that I really need to be working, and I'm not. And I can work on all of that stuff after school tomorrow, but I have 3 different places to go after school tomorrow (one of which is Staples, where I will bind my children's book). Agh. Mondays. But today is not Monday. Not yet.

Never do today what you can put off until tomorrow....right? Today's for worrying about it. >.<

In case you hadn't noticed, that was me acknowledging that my habit of procrastinating and worrying is a BAD IDEA. Don't try it. Please. Trust me, it does not work out well.

Random side note before I go: If you have not ever read the webcomic xkcd, you should. Go go go.

Love,
Bex

Your Body Is Here, But Not Your Soul...

I'd like to apologize for my absence over the last couple of days. What with the stress of the AP U.S. History exam (which I think went reasonably well, if you're interested) and the Combined-Late-Birthday-Party-for-SH-and-Early-Birthday-Party-for-KD-and-No-More-APUSH Party of Awesome at KD's this weekend, blogging has been not so much at the forefront of my mind.

But hopefully I can make it up to you by sharing an awesome book. It's called THE DEVOURING, it's by Simon Holt, and I don't recommend reading it after dark if you scare easily.

Regina "Reggie" Halloway is a huge fan of horror stories. Stephen King to Edgar Allen Poe, she's read it all and she loves it all. So for Reggie and her best friend Aaron, the journal about the Vours is nothing unusual. They scare themselves with chilling stories of demonic beings who possess those who are most afraid on Sorry Night - the winter solstice - and then confront their own worst fears in a joking effort to tempt the Vours to them.

But the next day, Reggie's little brother Henry starts acting weird, pulling the hair off his favorite teddy bear, lying to their father, playing with fire and avoiding the snow. When Aaron looks into Henry's eyes and sees his darkest fears, Reggie and Aaron begin to suspect that the Vours may be all too real - and that one of them may be possessing Henry. The problem? The woman who wrote the journal didn't know how to get rid of them.

I'll admit it took me a little while to get into the story, but once I did, I did not want to put the book down. It was very very good, and I will definitely be looking for the sequel (SOULSTICE) at the library as soon as I get the chance. I would absolutely recommend THE DEVOURING - but if you tend to freak yourself out easily, be careful with it. I didn't think it was that bad on the "scary" scale, but then again, I don't scare easily, so I dunno. I really really enjoyed it and I think you should go read it. :) Find out more at the series website.

I do think it would make for an excellent horror film. Not a slasher movie, because those are stupid and this is totally NOT like that. But a genuine scary movie that you wouldn't want to watch alone after dark? Oh yes. Definitely. As SH described it, I made the Becky-Happy-Writer-Pose when I mentioned the idea, so I see a potential adaptation in the works. XD Seriously, guys, it was a GOOD BOOK. You should read it.

Love,
Bex

Shade

This morning I finished yet another excellent book. I've been blogging about books much more often since I stopped having a book-centric blog...perhaps I should try again with that, make this my "random bits of a teenage writer's life" and then have another blog that's just about books. Thoughts?

But back to the amazing book I was reading. I actually found it through the Simon & Schuster PulseIT website, a program that lets teens read books online for free in exchange for feedback about the books. They used to send out free books once a month, but then they switched to the e-books program to save money. Honestly, it made me kind of sad, because I really don't like e-books - I can't carry them to school or read them at the dinner table or curl up on the sofa with them, I have to sit in front of my computer with internet access. But my rant about e-books is for a different time.

Anyway, so I went on the website, saw a book that looked interesting, opened the e-book to read the inside jacket and see what it was about. I swear I never meant to get sucked into it and just keep reading...but I did.

The book about which I am speaking is SHADE by Jeri Smith-Ready. It's an absolutely fantastic book and you will not - repeat, will not - want to put it down. The premise is this: Almost seventeen years ago, on the night of Aura Salvatore's birth, a mysterious event called the Shift occurred. Everyone born after the Shift - "post-Shifters" can see ghosts. Ghosts can only interact with the living, and they contact post-Shifters so that they can accomplish whatever they need to do to be at peace. Most of the post-Shifters are more annoyed and/or frightened by their violet visions than interested in helping. Aura included. Until her boyfriend, Logan, dies.

While Aura is mourning Logan's death and attempting to carry on a relationship with ghost-Logan, exchange student Zachary Moore arrives and is assigned to be Aura's partner on her thesis project (another school that requires senior thesis projects! Yay for relating to the characters!), which is about megaliths. Aura wants to find out more about the Shift. Which means finding out more about Zachary as well. Throughout SHADE, Aura struggles to balance her relationships with the living and the dead, all while searching for clues to the event that has made her and all the other under-seventeens of the world able to see the dead.

I think what I really loved about this book were the characters. While the premise is blatantly fictional - people don't see ghosts, definitely not everyone under seventeen - the characters were hauntingly (haha, bad pun) real. Aura's grief, Logan's frustration, Zachary's frustration, Aura and Megan's friendship - all of it is wonderfully, painfully real. I also love that the readers aren't being hit over the head with the fact that "YES. THIS WORLD IS WEIRD. THERE ARE GHOSTS." The ghosts and the supernatural aspects of it figure in significantly to the major plot - there'd be no book without the Shift and the ghosts - but it's all just there. It's part of the world. There are no lengthy explanations of why this world is so different; it just is, and we understand that.

And then there's the fact that I am now desperate for a sequel, which considering this one just came out is not a good thing. I don't wanna have to wait!!! SHADE does wrap up a complete storyline in and of itself, but it also leaves a lot of unanswered questions about the Shift and Aura's past that could(/should) lead to a sequel. Plus I really don't want to give up Aura and Zach and Logan just yet. So - please, Jeri, can we have another one? :)

Definitely read SHADE if you get the chance. It's a wonderful, well-written book that I absolutely recommend. I will caution you that there is some strong language, but I think it only makes sense for the story and I don't think it distracts from the rest of the book at all. Readreadread, people. It's awesome. Find out more at author Jeri Smith-Ready's website (her blog is pretty cool too). 

Catch ya later, interwebs! Love,

Bex

Mini-Blog: Friends

I know I posted something somewhat similar to this a while ago, but I just want to say it again: I really think I have the best friends in the entire world ever. Not gonna name names (er, initials, because I don't do people's names on the internet) because I'd accidentally not list someone and that would be bad, but you guys know who you are.

I love you guys. I really do. I honestly don't know where I'd be without you. ♥ ♥ ♥

And to the rest of you out there who maybe read this blog, I apologize for my atypical sappiness. It's just that my friends are really really awesome....if you've got someone out there who's really really awesome for you, maybe you should let them know, too.

G'night, everybody. Much love,
Bex

BooksBooksBooks

I'm kind of torn. I know I promised to blog about THE RECKONING ages ago, and then I kind of forgot, so really I should talk about that one first. But I finished this other amazing book today (BEFORE I FALL) and I kind of really want to talk about that one too. I want to talk about both of them, but I suspect that would take up a lot of room and I'd hate to go on for so long that I get boring and fail to interest you in these awesome books.

So I propose the following solution: A COMPROMISE! I'll try to be brief, if you'll keep reading and trust me that these books are worth it. Kay? Kay.

First up, THE RECKONING by Kelley Armstrong. I should start off by telling you that it's the third book in a trilogy, so please please please don't just go out and pick up this book from the shelves of your library or Barnes & Noble unless you've already read THE SUMMONING and THE AWAKENING.

The premise of the series is that Chloe Saunders sees dead people. She gets put into a group home for troubled children. But Lyle House turns out to be a home for supernaturals - kids with magical powers. Supernatural powers are hereditary in this world that Armstrong has created, but Chloe, Simon, Derek, Liz, Tori, and Rae (among others) are special. And the Edison Group made them that way through genetic experimentation. The kids' superpowers scare them - and so they want them gone.

I'm really not sure how much more I can say without providing way more spoilers than I am remotely willing to give, but you'll just have to trust me that the fast-moving storyline and incredibly well-developed characters make these novels compelling and interesting and lots of fun to read. I absolutely recommend them. But please read them in order. Also definitely check out Kelley Armstrong's website and the Darkest Powers trilogy website.

Now I'm worried that I didn't do a good enough job pitching them. They're awesome, guys. Readreadread.

And now I get to talk about BEFORE I FALL by Lauren Oliver. Oh my gosh, you guys. It was amazing.

So, I have to confess, for the first quarter, maybe the first third of the book, I didn't like it at all. I was reading it because my dad (who read it for a YA lit class that he teaches) asked me what I thought of it (IknowIknow - reading chick lit because my dad told me to? Weird, right?), and what I thought of it was "typical trash novel. Sex, alcohol, pot, the popular crowd. Yuck."

I was wrong. Yes, at the beginning of the novel, Samantha ("Sam") Kingston and her friends, Lindsay, Ally, and Elody, are - there's no other word for it - bitchy. They're mean to everyone, they're bullies just because they can be, they can get away with anything and do whatever they want. They talk about sex a lot, and they drink a lot just because they can, and they smoke and cut class and all that other stuff that gives teenagers a bad reputation.

But then Sam dies. And after her nightmarish last day, she wakes up again the same morning. She relives her last day seven times over. During this miraculous final week, she changes. Sam starts to understand things about the world around her, and about herself. The question is, will one day be enough to change everything?

By the end of the novel, I didn't hate Sam or her friends. I will confess that there were a couple of parts near the end that almost made me cry. I sat down and read the entire second half of the novel this afternoon, even though I had(/still have) a DBQ to do for APUSH. It was fantastic. Lauren Oliver has some kind of magic with storytelling, to be able to create a character so real and to change the reader's attitude toward her so completely. It is absolutely worth suffering through the first couple of long chapters (although the prologue may be compelling enough on its own; very well set up) to get to the rest of the story. READ IT. Please.

You can find out more about the author and the book on Lauren Oliver's website. You guys, I cannot get this story out of my head. Read it. It's fantastic.

Love,
Bex

College Searching: Sewanee

I have now returned from Sewanee, Tennessee. As I mentioned, I was there to visit The University of the South, aka Sewanee. I can tell you right now that the campus is gorgeous. So much nature! As much time as I spend in front of my laptop or on my couch with various books, I love nature. And the architecture is lovely. Here are a few pictures, to prove my point:

The All Saints Chapel

McClurg Dining Hall

Another view of the chapel

Another building. And grass. And trees.

The stone architecture and the arches and towers and everything is very castle-like. And the trees and grass and everything, and you could see stars at night...it was beautiful. Which is definitely a strong selling point. Plus it looks like Hogwarts and if you have a high enough GPA you get to wear a black Harry-Potter-like robe ("gown") to class. Which for a Potternerd like me is pretty awesome.

Other pluses included:

-the dorms/rooming situation. The dorms were nice, and after your freshman year you get to pick your roommate, and the students said that freshman roommates are usually matched up really well.

-the size. It's a pretty small school, and I like that. Everyone knows everyone, and you get to know/work with your teachers pretty closely, and it seemed like a really close-knit community.

-the theater program. Oh my gosh. I have fallen in love with the theater program. Acting + playwriting and screenwriting + directing + set design + costume design + lighting + learning how to dance (including ballet, which I've always wanted to do) + it's mostly applied to film and TV, which is definitely an area I'm interested in.

-the sciences. The impression I got was that I could fill the general distribution science requirements with astronomy and a lab course involving exploring plant life in the forest. Stars + nature + significant lack of chemistry = YAY.

-they'll teach you how to ride a horse.

-the fact that they have PE credits that I would take even if it weren't required. Sewanee requires two PE credits (one freshman year, one sophomore year), which would normally not be a good thing since I'm ridiculously uninterested in sports, but you can earn PE credits through courses like fencing, beginning riding, beginning ballet/tap/jazz, and principles of aviation. Umm, yes please.

-everything in the curriculum seems very writing-intensive. This is a good thing for someone who writes as much as I do.

But there were some things I was not so impressed with, as well:

-Granted, I did not eat much of the dining hall food, but I wasn't particularly impressed with what I did eat. The desserts were great, though, and there were lots of options that I didn't try which I'm sure would have been good.

-The English program was a bit of a letdown. I mean, it's kind of their big thing and it's all very writing-intensive, but creative writing courses don't count toward the major and it's a lot more focused on specific types of literature than I necessarily want. All of the English courses are literature-based. Don't get me wrong, I love literature and reading and all that, but there don't seem to be any courses that are specifically about writing. Except creative writing. Which, like I said, doesn't count toward the major.

-AP credits count as electives. You can't get out of any general distribution classes with AP classes. Which kind of sucks, because I was hoping that taking AP Calc next year would get me out of college math.

-It's kind of out in the middle of nowhere. I don't think I'm exactly a big-city kind of girl (traffic eeek), but I like to be around civilization. I love nature, but I want to be somewhere that I can do other things as well. It's heavy on the nature and significantly lacking in manmade entertainment. Which means not as much TV (probably good), but no bowling or swimming pools or anything like that (bleh).

And then some things I'm not really sure about. It was impossible to tell what the atmosphere is really like. Everyone was being really nice and friendly and all, but that's probably because for this weekend, that was their job. And academically...I'm really not sure if this is what I'm looking for.

I think it'll be easier to tell once I have something else to compare it to. I didn't fall instantly and immediately in love, but it did seem like a very nice school (and I adore the theater program, I think) and I have by no means crossed it off my list yet.

Unfortunately, I still have school tomorrow, so I need to go work on my homework. Until tomorrow, interwebs!

Love,

Bex