The story of Thanksgiving, and the Escapades That Came With.

Ok, so I haven't been on in a while. In my defense, I've been semi busy. Mostly reading and staying up late and writing stories and pranking people. Especially pranking people. How was your Thanksgiving? Because mine was fun and different and cool and all that awesome stuff! I ate a Thanksgiving potluck lunch with a bunch of people I didn't know then went home, played Scene It with my family. We had Thai food, of all things, for diner. I must admit, so far, BEST THANKSGIVING EVER!!!!! Seriously, when you go off the beaten path, tings tend to get fun...and funny, even though I lost at Scene It. I don't watch movies much. Mostly I read books in my basement where no will can find me...that sounded strange. I was thinking that someone needs to invent a game called Read It, because I would win that every time and I usually loose everything, and I like winning, so yeah.

I actually managed to read a ton of books including:

1. The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate. (didn't care for it but it was surprisingly good)
2. Wild Things (Highly recommend, it was very good and so far my all time favorite out of all the 20 books I have to read).

Lord...I forgot what else. Hmmmmm. Oh, and I've started reading:

1. Powerless ( SO happy about that, I've been waiting for it for a long time.)
2. Rangers Apprentice: The Lost Stories (John Flannagan is one of my Fav. authors when I saw that this had come out, I had to read it.)
3. Marcelo in the Real World. (It's very interesting, but not the best so far.)

I am so mad because I have to borrow the last Eragon from my dad and he's only on like page 50. This is going to take a while. Any longer, I fear I might explode, which wouldn't be a good thing.

I need help deciding on my next 1oo book though. Care to help? I've already done Lord of the Flies, but I need a new one. This must be done!

As for the stores I've started, one of them refers to the pranking that I've been doing. It will be called The Genie Project, and I'm hoping that it will be as funny as I'm planning on it to be and Le Vie de Ruhtra, which is a play on words from a famous book that you might know of concerning a round table. 

 That's it for today, sorry, but I plan on putting down a whole lotta story pieces down tomorrow to see what you think, so, I'm signing off.

Children and Writing

Who haven't I talked about yet? Boy this is hard. Not to be all gossipy and such, but talking about authors can a strike inspiration in the hearts of...others. I'm starting to dread Thursdays. No one is that interesting right now. Not really. No offense to those lovely people who are authors, but who am I suppose to discuss???

*elevator music*

Who knows about Christopher Paolini? besides common knowledge that is? I basically worshiped the guy when i was little. Big inspiration. I wanted to finish writing a book before I was 14, just so that I could beat him by a year and be the youngest novelist ever. My dreams were crushed when I discovered someone had beaten me to it. I was honestly devastated. Back then it was all about the fame, not the story. Since then I've changed my views, but I have yet to actually read the books that sweet little 13 year old wrote. Nancy Yi Fan. I vowed to never forget the name. I'm always amazed when I find a kid who's written a book. The idea is just unheard of, but then again, why not? Who else would know, better than kids do, what we want o read? I could probably count on my fingers how many novelists there are under the age of 18, and that, i think, is pretty darn cool.

So to make for the fact that i was being boring and basically have nothing to talk about. I decided tow rite about Mahria. That was the name I liked best. Thank for helping me Stephanie!!! I really needed it.  So here it is...and now i feel self conscious....

Mahria leaned forward on her knees. Sarha so had Charlie now. Any moment, and then she just dismissed him!
"Sharana!" Maria whispered to herself. She quite fancied the elves ways of cursing. Sharana literally meant:spit of my cats
Sarha turned on her.
"I was expecting better language from you of all, child."
Mahria bowed her head. So Sarha knew. Then again, Sarha always knew. Mahria's face argued otherwise, the instant she had seen Sarha approaching it had become as empty and smooth as a mirror. The only emotions she might convey was that of pallid disinterest. Mahria knew she was about t be shot down from her high flying schemes, but she would fight and act otherwise until the very end.
Sarha spoke again. "One would almost assume that you wanted Charles to get in trouble."
And yes, Mahria had to admit that had been her aim. No one who offended her as Charles had that past week went unpunished. Sarha, of course had done nothing about it. Pride,as she often said, would be Mahria and her own undoing.The began walking down the hall and towards the stairs that would lead to the pleasant aerial courtyard on the roof of the palace.
"Pardon?" Mahria asked.
"Oh don't play games with me child. You and I both know of your crimes. Now the faster you admit that you have done wrong the sooner we can all get on with our lives! We are at war for goodness sake, there is no time for your pettiness!" Mahria was surprised at Sarha's outburst. The elderly queen usually managed to withhold her temper, but this was an act completely out of character. Mahria stopped and openly glared at her adoptive mother. 
"Sarha, I will not tolerate they way he treated me, the way they all treat me!"
"Mahria men will be men, there is nothing you can do about it! Charles was joking, that is all and you know it! When the others say harsh words against you you do not try to dmage them in such a way! What has come over you child? you are a great warrior, and the fact that you would strike out with such paltriness astounds me, considering that Charles is someone you have told me you almost consider as a brother! I had thought for sure that a Journeyer, a Nithagrian Journeyer at that, would act better, but no! Must you reduce yourself to the standards of a Samborodan?"
That was blow. The Somborodans were know for their extreme love of war. Mahria also saw them a idiotic and ignorant. For several long moments Mahria stared a Sarha,  speechless.

The Random Life of Me

My life is weird/annoying/changing/dramatic.
Seriously, it is. I spent most of Sunday afternoon contemplating the state of my life. I was highly pathetic, so please don't ask about it. Secondly, the world is filled with inconveniences. Like the fact this was supposed to go on Monday but for some reason my blog was having issues and it was just being a no-go thing. Thirdly, I keep on finding the exact right book I need to read. Like how I just finished Forever (great book, talking about it soon) and I picked up a book that seems to be connecting with my life like bagels and cram cheese (its a thing with me, one day I'll find a way to post the picture, but for now, its bagels+cream cheese= love).
Frankly, the beauty and irony of it all continues to amaze me.
Now I need help. For a very long time I've been spelling the name of the mane character in my book (the one I'm writing) M-A-R-I-A. It recently came to my attention that I should probably change it, seeing as it doesn't quite match up with how it's pronounced. M-are-ee-uh is how you say it...sorta, and I am splellingly challenged. Spellingly? Hmmm. There's a word for the bottom of the page. Anyways,  I need an answer to this enigma. If you can help me, it's be greatly appreciated. seriously, I'm not joking.

Finally, I am taking on a challenge. I will read 20 different books by a certain date in February as well as maintaining my progress on the 100 best book for college bound readers ( a task that I want to ditch but moral prevents me from doing) as well as continuing by beloved life of fictional reading (real books). It will be hard, but I will get there.

Here for the heroes

Today is veterans day. It's also the day I'm going to talk about the Son of Neptune. The two of them seem to go together if you ask me, hardly anyone eve does, but no matter.

First, a salute to our veterans. Currently America is fighting in a war and the day will come when you're children come to you and say can so and so come to my veterans day? It's funny to think that although we live in a time when the war is current events, the day will come when it will reside in history books. It amazes me how few veterans remain from the WWII era. Soon, that too will only be a dusty memory where the idea of someone who has actually fought in it. The sad thing is that few people actually caw about these wars. These people who. Gave our lives haves no real natter to us. Recently. My grandfather died. I hardly knew him, but I wish I could have. He seemed like an interesting man from what my mother told me about him, and I wish I could've hears some of the stories he could've told me about serving in the marines and other such stories of his life.

Now onto our fictional heroes. I think that it is fair to say that all of us who enjoyed the Percy Jackson books were quite relieved when Mr. Riordan invents these new heroes to occupy our imaginations and relieve our souls so we weren't always wondering about the second prophesy.

I know that I've done a whole bunch of reviews lately, but I've been waiting for like a month to do this one and it was about time that I did it.

The Son of Neptune

By Rick Riordan

Pages:  513

Characters: Percy, Hazel, Frank

Stars:   

Rick Riordan is one of my favorite authors. Percy Jackson and the Olympians is my favorite series. I was exceedingly happy, in fact, to use the word of the day, I exulted when Heroes of Olympus came out. I waited forever for this book, and I'm happy to be able to share it.

In The Son of Neptune, we are reintroduced to Percy Jackson. From Lost Hero, we know that Hera has been messing with the "Leaders" of the camps. Jason popped up in the 1st book without his memory, and now Percy has done the same. In this all new adventure, the only thing Percy is seriously sure of is that he dates a girl named Annebeth, which I thought was really sweet. After a semi-dangerous journey involving salesladies of doom, Percy makes it to the Roman camp. There he meets 2 kids named Hazel and Frank and we run into Nico. (Nico's a dirty little traitor now :( ) Long story short: After some interesting events ( A visit from a God, a sacrifice of pillow pets) , Percy Hazel and Frank head off on a quest to Alaska with the strangest sights off all time ( A horse with more cus words than I'm willing to say and Killer Blue Cupids)

Frankly, I thought this was a pretty good book, the characters are interesting (especially Octavian) and Mr. Riordan returns with his sense of humor. It's a lot of fun to read, and I cannot wait for the next book. My only grievance is that that the ending ends right before something big happens. 

To see a bit more on all of this hero stuff, he can check out this site.

Crossing Condie's Matched

Yesterday I met Ally Condie...sorta. She signed the copy of Matched my LA teacher gave me (he's a very generous man and probably one of my favorite teachers of all time. He would say that I'm using a trite platitude, but seriously, HE IS AWESOME) and then, she being the  nice lady that she is, she answered some questions for me. Three questions that you guys are going to think are really lame, I do too, but I'm writing a report about writing (kinda like thinking about thinking) and I wanted to hear some stuff from a real author. My Questions?

 Here they are:

1.  Q: How long does it take you to write a book?        
     A: Between 6 months and a year

2.  Q: How much time do you spend writing everyday?
     A: 3-4 hours when I don't have a deadline and 5-6 when I do.

3.  Q:What do publishers expect of you?
     A: That you edit your own work. Your editor can give you suggestions, but otherwise you do it on your own.

Really, I' just proud that I had the nerve to talk to her in the 1st place. Writers who I meet are like sacred prophets from the promise land. They leave me in awe because they've managed to get to the place that I dream of. Which is why I plan on continuing to write on here once I'm published. Humble beginnings people, we gotta keep in touch with them. Anyways. Cool stuff now, not my utter failure and awestruckyness when I met my first well know famous author.

Matched Review (as promised)

By: Ally Condie (Very nice person)

Pages: 336 (Hardcover)

Stars:  

If you like love triangles, read this book. If you liked Hunger Games, read this book. If you like dystopias, read this book. If you like future societies, read this book. If you like books about people breaking free from the bonds of society, read this book. I only gave this book 4 stars for a few reasons. Many are because I'm already biased against it. I like battles. I like hearts stop adrenaline stopping moments. Not a lot here. True, it is a bit slow,but honestly, not big on the whole love-triangle idea. Mrs. Condie went a bit over the top, but otherwise, this book was all good. I love Cassia, I love the struggles she faces, they're struggles we all face at some point or another. There's that big identity question. Cassia is someone the readers can relate with, and that's great.

Matched is about a girl named Cassia. She lives in a very controlled society. The society decides where she works, what she eats, who she loves. The decision making process has almost completely been eliminated. Few decisions, if any, are needed. On her 17th birthday, Cassia is Matched. That means she is shown who she iis going to marry. She gets matched with her best friend, a boy named Xander. She is given a chip with all his information n it and when she goes to learn more about him, something strange happens. Another by's face comes up, and she knows that boy too. The rest of the book is Cassia struggle to decide whether or not the Society is always right.

It's one of those beautiful metamorphosis books, and I honestly cannot wait to get my hands on the sequel.

Oh, one more thing, you know that " Do not go quiet..." poem I posted a few days ago? That poem plays a key role in this book. I suggest you take this book slowly. It's like a peace of chocolate, every word is beautiful.

Now a bit on Mrs. Condie. I know that I keep saying that she's a nice person, and as far as I'm concerned, it's true. She took the time to come to my school, then let me ask her some silly questions.  I have to say this though: she talks more about her inspiration than the books and the whole why-I-wrote-this thing and "oh yeah, funny story about that..." than the books and the things that seemed more interesting. For those of you who want to know, Matched is based off of three main elements:

1. The beautiful designer dresses the sorority girls she looked after wore
2. The Junior prom at the school she used to teach that took place at City Hall
3. The fact that cursive is a skill that s becoming less and less common. 

Frankly, I thought these little tidbits were OK , but you might think that they're cool. I almost forgot, I learned some things about Crossed that I thought were interesting.

• Cassia and Ky run away to some canyons because of all places, even though the government is so advanced, it will take a while to find them and get them out of there.
• There's going to be a new character named Vic who is either Ky or Cassia's guide through the canyons
• There will be a stronger focus on the visual arts, and one of the characters is a secret painter. 

To find out a bit more about Matched, you can visit the official site by clicking here.

Sorry to the Millionth Degree

So I know that I haven't been on lately, but hey, we all must say one thing: Life Is Hard. I  know that my 5th grade teacher always told me that there is no such thing, only difficulties, but hey, it's true. So I promised the review for looking for Alaska, sorry it's late, but these things happen AND I HONESTLY CANNOT COVEY THE DEGREE OF MY SORRINESS. Is that even a word? Sorriness? It should be if it isn't. Speaking of words that should exist but don't, I'm making  a dictionary at the bottom of the page about said words. It may be a waste of space, but I feel the need. Please, feel free to give me words, more the merrier.

Looking for Alaska

By: John Green (Cool guy, I suggest you watch Vlogsbrothers, Check out the Nerdfighters website, and READ HIS BOOKS!!!!)

Pages: 221 (paperback)

Main Characters: Miles, Alaska, Colonel, Takumi 

Stars: + 1/2

Rated:  PG-13

So Looking for Alaska is about Miles Halter, AKA Pudge. Miles is on quest for the "Great Perhaps". He finds it in a boarding school called Culver Creek and especially the people he meets there. Most specifically, Alaska. The first half of the book is everything that leads up to the event that causes the "Great Perhaps", or so I think. The second half is what happens after. What happens because of it. The Great Perhaps. 

This book reminds us that, not only is everything subject to change, but life (like in the Great Gatsby) is fleeting. This is a lower great/upper good book, but please note that it's rated PG-13. I put that there for a reason people, respect it.  

Also: Sweet news- ALLY CONDIE IS COMING TO MY SCHOOL!!!!!!!!!! and I have a slight potential to meet her. Probably. Maybe. Hopefully. Let's just say...I REALLY WANT TO. Life long dream and only cement plan for life=BE A WRITER. I was put down when Riordan and Flanagan never wrote back, and I realize that, well, like most things in life, these things happen, but seriously, every now and then, we require some positive reinforcement from the big shots of our world. So, although they lost some-of my respect, I'm still looking for the advice...FROM ANY WRITER WHO"S MADE IT SOMEWHERE. 

For those of you who don't know much about Ms. Condie, she wrote Matched, which is basically an amazing book.  And the second book in that series came out, like, 2 days ago, and it's called Crossed. I highly suggest you read these, I'll talk about them both...well, eventually.

Finally I have one more thing for you: MY writing. I decided this weekend that it was high time that I put something that I wrote instead of talking about others stuff and weird reading tricks and just overall prattling about my life. (love that word. Prattle. Prattle. Prattle.) So here it is. Don't know what to call it or where it's from, but this, this is me.

Yesterday is not today and today is not tomorrow. My life is confused, like a bunch of tangled red string that I played with when I was a little girl. I took the end and made it the beginning and watched it twisted into an inseparable tangle. That is my life. No end, no beginning, just miles of red string that stretch to the horizon, to the morning stars and the midnight sun. There are parts though, where the red string stretched smooth and even, rushing as easily as a clear-water brook. These are things that I remember, in the vast white desert of my mind, few of these exist, but they are there, and I cling to the, hoping that there may be a way for me to make sense of them. 

I am old. Very old. I know it because when I touch my face, I feel the wrinkles, and when I go to read my  poetry, I cannot see it, and when I try to play the twinkling notes of the piano, I play loud, for I cannot hear the notes as well as I once could. I fear that the red string is the sign of my dying, but then I know better, I may not know my age, but I can still feel the strength in my bones, the power of my words as they resonate inside. I still am this world. I still belong...

As a closing note, I wanted to add this poem that got stuck in my mind. It's by Dylan Thomas. Enjoy.

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on that sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.