tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82582088935588878102024-02-07T20:02:37.758-08:00Doodle's Book ReviewsAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00584880055914407029noreply@blogger.comBlogger241125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8258208893558887810.post-50054705206945663742018-01-11T20:17:00.000-08:002018-01-11T20:17:11.898-08:00Thursday Thinks: The Divine Comedy<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi44lT0dgdKHflCoqrjIp9DJ1BtLC2abpfXjuIdEkJYt3Z0pBFPgjPAYrVwdTv0NDu5FFZakiUqc7VWpqeKUHe7nmzl6e7tVZVE88uibrBavouWfk3Q2n-ZoLR57rQFcnXuq74BkVXIuMbK/s1600/dante.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="290" data-original-width="192" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi44lT0dgdKHflCoqrjIp9DJ1BtLC2abpfXjuIdEkJYt3Z0pBFPgjPAYrVwdTv0NDu5FFZakiUqc7VWpqeKUHe7nmzl6e7tVZVE88uibrBavouWfk3Q2n-ZoLR57rQFcnXuq74BkVXIuMbK/s320/dante.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
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I'm not usually one to point out my own flaws (I'm awesome, and that's that), but many of you know that I don't do well with poetry. Give me the most-difficult-to-read novel that you can think of and I'll get it done, no sweat. Give me Julius Caesar, and I'm lost.</div>
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We never really studied poetry in school-- we read poems, sure, but never learned to properly read them and/or decipher the meaning when they don't say what they mean, and you have to rad between the lines.</div>
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Poets such as Edgar Allan Poe; Alfred, Lord Tennyson; Henry Wadsworth Longfellow; and my personal favorite, Robert Frost? Those I can handle! Shakespeare? Super old poetry? Not a chance.</div>
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That said, I have wanted to read Dante's INFERNO for years now, and never picked it up because I wanted to find it in a nice hardback. Well, I found a gorgeous copy of THE DIVINE COMEDY, and my parents got it for me for Christmas, so I've begun working on it.</div>
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I can positively say that it is going to take me for. Ever. To get this done. There's an average of ten pages per chapter thingy ( I DON'T KNOW POETRY OKAY), so I'm thinking of reading one chaptery thing a day. That would leave me finishing the trilogy in about three months.</div>
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BUT THAT IS SO LONG. THREE MONTHS TO FINISH THREE BOOKS? </div>
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UNSPEAKABLE!</div>
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So, I'm hoping that by the time I get a bit into INFERNO, it'll start to come easy and I can speed through it.</div>
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Such are my hopes and expectations. </div>
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Have any of you read INFERNO? PURGATORIO? PARADISO? If so, I want to know!</div>
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Happily,</div>
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Stephanie</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00584880055914407029noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8258208893558887810.post-73704346904405209372018-01-09T05:30:00.000-08:002018-01-09T05:30:06.891-08:00Tuesday Reviews: Poe: Stories and Poems: A Graphic Novel Adaptation by Gareth Hinds<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUDOgYNd-VO7pbtxY89LC0y5YEq6pRuSUGXGb23D_OOfz3ywvw14jDGpt293Zf8ZVGg-5KAP90MB4mL0umFUh39Gv5OIZ7KACrHefCLWNgnG8ZNHkQS0amUNUw6sV2ypgTitwp0W-HdcEX/s1600/poe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="306" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUDOgYNd-VO7pbtxY89LC0y5YEq6pRuSUGXGb23D_OOfz3ywvw14jDGpt293Zf8ZVGg-5KAP90MB4mL0umFUh39Gv5OIZ7KACrHefCLWNgnG8ZNHkQS0amUNUw6sV2ypgTitwp0W-HdcEX/s320/poe.jpg" width="206" /></a></div>
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Title: Poe: Stories and Poems: A Graphic Novel Adaptation</div>
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Author: Gareth Hinds</div>
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Publisher: Candlewick Press</div>
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Release Date: August 1, 2017</div>
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Format Read: Paperback</div>
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Rating: Three Stars</div>
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<i>Description from Goodreads: In a thrilling adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's best-known works, acclaimed artist-adapter Gareth Hinds translates Poe's dark genius into graphic-novel format.</i></div>
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<i>It is true that I am nervous. But why will you say that I am mad?</i></div>
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<i>In THE CASK OF AMONTILLADO, a man exacts revenge on a disloyal friend at carnival, luring him into catacombs below the city. In THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH, a prince shielding himself from plague hosts a doomed party inside his abbey stronghold. A prisoner of the Spanish Inquisition, faced with a swinging blade and swarming rate, can't see his tormentors in THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM, and in THE TELL-TALE HEART, a milky eye and a deafening heartbeat reveal the effects of conscience and creeping madness. </i></div>
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<i>Alongside these tales are visual interpretations of three poems, THE RAVEN, THE BELLS, and Poe's poignant elegy to lost love, ANNABEL LEE. The seven concise graphic narratives, keyed to thematic icons, amplify and honor the timeless legacy of a master of gothic horror.</i></div>
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OKAY SO.</div>
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I am not a fan of graphic novels. </div>
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I've read my fair share of manga, I tried reading comics for a while (Captain America, wuuut), and I do own a few graphic novels that I've read, but I'm just not in love with them. </div>
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See, there aren't enough words for me. In my opinion, we should leave the illustrations for children's books and those random black and white inserts in the classics and leave it at that. That said, graphic novels have blown UP in the last two years. Even my 11 year old cousin is reading graphics, but I've still yet to find one that piqued my interest.</div>
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That is, until I saw Poe.</div>
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I may not read a ton of classics, but I do have a strong appreciation for those authors, ESPECIALLY Edgar Allan Poe.</div>
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Most kids had THE RAVEN as required reading in middle school, if not high school. For us, it was seventh grade, and while 2/3 of my grade was memorizing THE RAVEN for a grade, the other 1/3 of us (who had the best English teacher e v e r) were reading and discussing the Tell-Tale Heart, which is my favorite of all of Poe's works. </div>
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To this day, I've still never read THE RAVEN to the end.</div>
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But I noticed that TELL-TALE HEART was part of this graphic novel, so I picked it up.</div>
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Turns out, I love this graphic novel. The illustrations were AMAZING-- I was surprised at how realistic the pictures were, and how the expressions on their faces were so perfect, especially during scenes of horror.</div>
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My favorite part of this graphic novel, though, was the key. In the beginning of the novel, there are a set of symbols, and then on the title page for each work, you find some of them. It's basically a key for the thematic elements in each story, so for, like, stories with insanity, there will be a little straight jacket, and for stories with angels and/or demons, there's one angel wing and one demon wing. It was a fantastic element to add-- that little touch made for so much fun upon getting to the next story.</div>
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It was so interesting to reread these stories with such detailed and intricate illustrations; even if they were condensed versions of the stories and not the entire thing (more words! more words!)</div>
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In conclusion, it was good, but graphic novels still aren't my thing. However, if you have friends or family members who love graphic novels but don't like reading, this is the perfect gift for them! It's a great way to expose them to some of the classics (there are more of these than just Poe, ex: Grimm Fairy Tales) without making them have to read the entire novel!</div>
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Happily,</div>
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Stephanie</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00584880055914407029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8258208893558887810.post-76386442017743584602018-01-04T05:30:00.000-08:002018-01-06T00:45:18.807-08:00Thursday Thinks: Happy New Year!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNM81SooTNXZmdZChSO6i1TQnQjtU_Dtc0NePvRBTuZ_UMdK9eO1BVs99cnlcijMff52y5pZpKVZ5MAVeaVF3RJBB7LvhjoNEimjQVI63O7jiWviIycZnAfSQQwKgGn9vDqVSj8Ap4qR-a/s1600/swny.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="440" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNM81SooTNXZmdZChSO6i1TQnQjtU_Dtc0NePvRBTuZ_UMdK9eO1BVs99cnlcijMff52y5pZpKVZ5MAVeaVF3RJBB7LvhjoNEimjQVI63O7jiWviIycZnAfSQQwKgGn9vDqVSj8Ap4qR-a/s400/swny.gif" width="400" /></a></div>
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Congrats, guys! We made it to 2018! </div>
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In our house, we have a New Year's Eve tradition. We grab some sparkling juice, play Rummy, and watch Dick Clark's New Year's Rocking Eve. We do this every year, and even though we'd been traveling (nine hour drive) that day, and were all nearly falling asleep, we held up our tradition.</div>
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Or at least, we tried to.</div>
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See, we'd been gone for Christmas, and this was our first day back, meaning we had no sparkling juice. Therefore, we made a trip to the local grocery store at like 10pm. It was cold-- I'm talking like -5-- which one should expect from a Chicago winter, but I was not ready for this and wanted to move to Florida immediately because this week is supposed to get down to -15.</div>
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Anyway.</div>
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So we go to the store, pick up stuff for dinner and made sure to get that sparkling juice. Our house is only a few miles from aforementioned store, so within ten minutes we were carrying things in, which is when one of the bags broke, and the sparkling juice fell in slow motion onto the sidewalk. You heard it hit the sidewalk with a hard thunk, and then all of a sudden this ShAtTeRiNg, and there went the sparkling juice.</div>
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The store had been ridiculously busy, and it's right next to a pizza shop which was also ridiculously busy, and it had taken us like half an hour to get there and back. Plus, we still had to shower those traveling germs away before we could get down to business, and did I mention how cold it was? </div>
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Yeah, there was no way we were going back for more</div>
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We were now on crisis alert, because jUICE. HOW CAN WE TOAST THE NEW YEAR WITHOUT JUICE?</div>
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But we had to move on-- get things done before we started with our tradition. So I gave the dog a bath (she'd been traveling with us), took a quick shower, waited while the parents took their showers, and then dinner. We had fishsticks and I was like that gif of Pooh, so I turned on the tv while we ate and searched for Dick Clark on the channels, but </div>
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he</div>
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wasn't</div>
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on.</div>
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Instead, Steve Harvey was doing a NYE special, so I thought maybe they'd replaced it. I put Steve on. It was NOT the same, there were like four songs total and I knew like two and it was more talky talky than singy singy and that was sTRIKE TWO for our NYE.</div>
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It wasn't too long before we finished eating, and that means it's card time. At this point, its like 11 or so, maybe a bit after, so I go grab a deck of cards.</div>
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See, I love playing cards. It's rare that I win at Rummy, but it's my faaaavorite, so I'm all excited and grab my new deck of cards, themed: Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2-- Baby Groot. THESE CARDS ARE ADORABLE. I'd flipped through them before to see what they looked like, and they were so cute.</div>
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What I didn't pay attention to, however, was the numbers. </div>
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I take first deal, get everything set, pick up my cards, and Dad points out that the numbers are so. hard. to. see. They're done in this weird script and the black isn't dark enough to stand out good against the blue and red and it's obviously going to be a struggle. Especially for my dad, who needs glasses, and my mom, who has contacts but did not have hers in at that particular moment.</div>
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But we play anyway, because it's like the only deck of cards in the house that we could locate within two minutes.</div>
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We play, watching Steve and having to bend over the table to read the cards, until like fifteen til Midnight, at which time mom gets up and goes into the kitchen. She returns with three mugs-- Tinkerbell for her, Grumpy for Dad, and Rey for me-- and they're filled with Kool-Aid. </div>
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Thank God for Mom. It wasn't sparkling juice, but it was something, which was better than what I'd thought we were going to have.</div>
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So, we continued on with our tradition, toasting with our Kool-Aid at midnight and and finishing up our game of Rummy, which mom ended up winning. Texting everyone HAPPY NEW YEAR at 12:00 and being surprised at who answers and who doesn't (It always seems to be the opposite of who you'd think).</div>
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It wasn't quite what we were expecting, but it was still a great NYE. I went to bed around 2am on January 1, 2018 feeling pretty pleased with our evening.</div>
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That is, until one of my friends texted to see if I'd seen the Imagine Dragons performance.</div>
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The one that had aired just before the ball drop</div>
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on Dick Clark's New Year's Rocking Eve</div>
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that had apparently aired for everyone</div>
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but</div>
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us.</div>
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Happy New Year,</div>
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Stephanie</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00584880055914407029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8258208893558887810.post-37205316050769694962018-01-02T05:30:00.000-08:002018-01-02T05:30:41.043-08:00Tuesday Reviews: Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin4rsQOjmyfh5IyyYtlTlLrG3dz0kWT8XJ0JN6r75jZXCUsgyQrT1G4BhxQQjmOdgPl_xAdnAfF30nrlqllhvUJHES___o8UuBjmBwOeSBG4vIUpFRdeXsX_7Gzr2Jde5ZkTa6_U2KwhVJ/s1600/longwydowna.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="316" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin4rsQOjmyfh5IyyYtlTlLrG3dz0kWT8XJ0JN6r75jZXCUsgyQrT1G4BhxQQjmOdgPl_xAdnAfF30nrlqllhvUJHES___o8UuBjmBwOeSBG4vIUpFRdeXsX_7Gzr2Jde5ZkTa6_U2KwhVJ/s320/longwydowna.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
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Title: Long Way Down</div>
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Author: Jason Reynolds</div>
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Publisher: Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books</div>
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Release Date: Ocotber 24, 2017</div>
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Format Read: Hardback</div>
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Rating: Four Stars</div>
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<i>Description from Goodreads: A cannon. A strap.</i></div>
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<i>A piece. A biscuit.</i></div>
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<i>A burner. A heater.</i></div>
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<i>A chopper. A gat.</i></div>
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<i>A tool</i></div>
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<i>for RULE 3.</i></div>
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<i>Or, you can call it a gun. That's what fifteen-year-old Will has shoved in the back waistband of his jeans. See, his brother Shawn was just murdered. And Will knows the rules. No crying. No snitching. Revenge. That's where Will's now heading, with that gun shoved in the back waistband of his jeans, the gun that was his brother's gun. He gets on the elevator, seventh floor, stoked. He knows who he's after. Or does he? As the elevator stops on the sixth floor, on comes Buck. Buck, Will finds out, is who gave Shawn the gun before Will took the gun. Buck tells Will to check that the gun is even loaded. And that's when Will sees that one bullet is missing. And the only one who could have fired Shawn's gun was Shawn. Huh. Will didn't know that Shawn had ever actually USED his gun. Bigger huh. BUCK IS DEAD. But Buck's in the elevator? Just as Will's trying to think this through, the door to the next floor opens. A teenage girl gets on, waves away the smoke from Dead Buck's cigarette. Will doesn't know her, but she knew him. Knew. When they were eight. And stray bullets had cut through the playground, and Shawn had tried to cover her, but she was hit anyway, and so what she wants to know, on that fifth floor elevator stop, is, what if Will, Will with the gun shoved in the back waistband of his jeans, MISSES.</i></div>
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<i>And so it goes, the whole long way down, as the elevator stops on each floor, and at each stop someone connected to his brother gets on to give Will a piece to a bigger story than the one he thinks he knows. A story that might never know an END... if WILL gets off that elevator.</i></div>
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I'll be honest-- I never thought I'd like this book, and I had my reasons:</div>
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1.) I knew nothing about it other than it was a BIG DEAL, and usually the books that become a BIG DEAL before I read them don't end up being a BIG DEAL to me.</div>
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2.) It's written in verse, and I hate poetry. If it's in verse, odds are it'll take a pretty strong push to get me to read it. (I'm stubborn, I know)</div>
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3.) I'm very white. I haven't had any experience with life in the ghetto, or the fear of territorial gangs, and so I worried that I wouldn't appreciate the book. </div>
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However, I LOVE learning about people other than me. Religions, walks of life, races, because all we ever really know is our own lives, unless we look for more. I'm always looking-- I want to learn as much as I can about about our world, and that includes the people. </div>
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So LONG WAY DOWN was on my tbr, it just wasn't high up.</div>
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And then, I just kept hearing more and more about it. Kirkus reviews, awards, nominations, raving tweets, and suddenly it was one of (if not THE) biggest book of 2017. So, naturally, I thought it would be a good First Review of 2018.</div>
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Like I'm sure most of you did, I sped through this book and ended up loving it. It was written in verse, but not the way I expected-- it wasn't rhyming poetry and ridiculous "ne'er" type stuff that really just sounds the same as when you say "never"-- it was a story being told in shorter lines, clipped sentences, and it was GrEaT for emphasis.</div>
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And most of you guys know, I LOVE emphasis.</div>
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Plus, all but like ten pages of this book takes place in a single elevator ride. The book begins with floor 7 and ends on the ground floor, and I have always loved the idea of a book that takes place over one day, let alone a single. elevator. ride.</div>
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As well as this, the story is evocative in a way that I didn't expect. The pages aren't riddled with details, but I could see everything so clearly, and it was surprising.</div>
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Something else is that this is like a 300 page book, but I read it in an hour. Partially because of the writing style, but also because I wanted to know more. I wanted to know who the people were as they got on the elevator. Who they were, how they related to Will, how they related to Shawn-- it was all necessary information that Reynolds expertly teased out of them, and I couldn't wait to find it out.</div>
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AND THE ENDING. WOWOWOWOW.</div>
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Not saying W O R D about that.</div>
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This was my first Jason Reynolds book, and he executed LONG WAY DOWN perfectly. I have nothing but wonderful things to say about it, which was a pleasant surprise and definitely not what I was expecting. </div>
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I give this novel-in-verse four stars and suggest that everyone go read it so that you can have that major WOW feeling that I had when I finished the book. Seriously, I was amazed.</div>
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Have you guys read this one? Tell me what you thought/think!</div>
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Happily,</div>
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Stephanie</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00584880055914407029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8258208893558887810.post-12793366506171976442017-12-19T05:30:00.000-08:002017-12-27T23:20:08.879-08:00The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVEkP-ctUgb9AdefuKCuvgUm5LtFq72L7jS5FhQ8JXAH0m4wJDcfZO_-rASM0oHUvUUK6VD32nQuyJ-2IVmqMHdYzS1IkBiQvudwkJeaArKFlk0Q03_NuFp9GgEqHjLePhbjt2n7f91vvz/s1600/giftofthemagi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="294" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVEkP-ctUgb9AdefuKCuvgUm5LtFq72L7jS5FhQ8JXAH0m4wJDcfZO_-rASM0oHUvUUK6VD32nQuyJ-2IVmqMHdYzS1IkBiQvudwkJeaArKFlk0Q03_NuFp9GgEqHjLePhbjt2n7f91vvz/s320/giftofthemagi.jpg" width="198" /></a></div>
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Title: The Gift of the Magi and Other Short Stories</div>
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Author: O. Henry</div>
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Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks</div>
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Release Date: October 1, 2003</div>
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Format Read: Paperback</div>
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Rating: Five Stars</div>
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<i>Description from Goodreads: One dollar and eighty-seven cents is all the money Della has in the world to buy her beloved husband a Christmas present.. She has nothing to sell except her only treasure-- her long, beautiful brown hair. Set in New York at the turn of the twentieth century, this classic piece of American literature tells the story of a young couple and the sacrifices each must make to buy the other a gift.</i></div>
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<i>***Disclaimer***</i></div>
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<i>The jacket print above and the information are from the Scholastic Paperbacks edition, which I read. However, said edition is a collection of O. Henry's short stories, and the description on it's Goodreads page is merely a short sentence teasing each story. The link to this edition is <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/177461.The_Gift_of_the_Magi_and_Other_Stories?from_search=true">HERE</a>. Because of this, I took the description for GIFT OF THE MAGI from a different edition of the book. The link to that one is <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/143534.The_Gift_of_the_Magi?from_search=true">HERE</a>.</i></div>
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THE GIFT OF THE MAGI is one of my favorite ever Christmas stories. Every year, I watch the movie or read the short--some years, I do both!-- and it never gets old. It's the perfect Christmas tale because it shows that giving is more important than getting. It shows love and humbleness and sacrifice in a way that most stories in today's world seem to leave out. It's only seven pages long in my book, but so worth the quick read. </div>
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And normally I wouldn't have reviewed something so short, but I think that O. Henry's short story is super underrated! It's a wonderful just-before-bed story to give you the warm fuzzies before you fall asleep, and I'm so excited that I have my own copy of it this year in actual book form instead of textbook form!</div>
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If you haven't read the story, but you watch Hallmark Channel, you've probably seen the movie. Here's the poster for it:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz4wPATJruuW_aQG4DntVrwyhPg-Oa3AFLuA6_bLnqsJG5tLIpi8xIQN3n8TVi_r76ZgCw2t_AciqTPUUuRJQwBmdNNLws0VNP0xuqcQ9-YYyyC4fEUooHa0MLhscS7MfAl9a07qlUIgCI/s1600/Gift+Of+The+Magi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="749" data-original-width="535" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz4wPATJruuW_aQG4DntVrwyhPg-Oa3AFLuA6_bLnqsJG5tLIpi8xIQN3n8TVi_r76ZgCw2t_AciqTPUUuRJQwBmdNNLws0VNP0xuqcQ9-YYyyC4fEUooHa0MLhscS7MfAl9a07qlUIgCI/s320/Gift+Of+The+Magi.jpg" width="228" /></a></div>
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Anyway, it's super great and I hope you guys can pick it up before next Christmas so that you can enjoy it just as much as I do!</div>
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Happily,</div>
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Stephanie</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00584880055914407029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8258208893558887810.post-35173756020041028252017-12-14T05:30:00.000-08:002017-12-14T05:30:34.528-08:002017 Debut Author Bash: Caroline Leech<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj58RD-J_TaRkioAPMkZEQ5xJnOPHFAxc8A2L-1NlFmB4SPlw_nVuYoghOJavUt-HCW9jRUOBY14bhrbbNQ2wcQcVgjTDWSgeRL6l-_skjjhUZwoa3abP20oLJw93pWMMrl1VBHo9vpCuYo/s1600/2017+Debut+Authors+Bash+Banner.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="130" data-original-width="500" height="102" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj58RD-J_TaRkioAPMkZEQ5xJnOPHFAxc8A2L-1NlFmB4SPlw_nVuYoghOJavUt-HCW9jRUOBY14bhrbbNQ2wcQcVgjTDWSgeRL6l-_skjjhUZwoa3abP20oLJw93pWMMrl1VBHo9vpCuYo/s400/2017+Debut+Authors+Bash+Banner.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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Welcome to my stop on the 2017 Debut Author Bash! I'm proud to share my post with you today, as I was able to work with Caroline Leech, whose debut novel is a WWII story based in Scotland in 1945. And you all know how I feel about WWII books. SO. Read on! Below you'll find goodies such as an interview and giveaway, plus all the information you could ask for on both the book and the author.</div>
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Have fun, and don't forget to check out the other posts on the Bash Tour!</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><u>The Book</u></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxnI_RgeGKny-gOHp3nFDjbQZwWspgIOkTYPg85YNZOyilRREr4rrypszO4CNnQtzH1gA8NrBpldZALfm5IFjDX678_zutoU4QZAz8ziS06s2nqOHcW3KcdmzhJS_x4wtYFoAjj3B1sNLB/s1600/wfm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="314" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxnI_RgeGKny-gOHp3nFDjbQZwWspgIOkTYPg85YNZOyilRREr4rrypszO4CNnQtzH1gA8NrBpldZALfm5IFjDX678_zutoU4QZAz8ziS06s2nqOHcW3KcdmzhJS_x4wtYFoAjj3B1sNLB/s320/wfm.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
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Title: Wait for Me</div>
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Author: Caroline Leech</div>
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Publisher: HarperTeen</div>
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Release Date: Jan 31, 2017</div>
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Format Read: Hardback</div>
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Rating: Four Stars</div>
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Description from Goodreads: The perfect blend of sweet romance and historical flavor, WAIT FOR ME, from debut author Caroline Leech, brings a fresh new voice to a much-loved genre.</div>
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It's 1945, and Lorna Anderson's life on her father's farm in Scotland consists of endless chores and rationing, knitting Red Cross scarves, and praying for an Allied victory. So when Paul Vogel, a German prisoner of war, is assigned as the new farmhand, Lorna is appalled. How can she possibly work alongside the enemy when her own brothers are risking their lives for their country?</div>
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But as Lorna reluctantly spends time with Paul, she feels herself changing. The more she learns about him-- from his time in the war to his life back in Germany-- the more she sees the boy behind the soldier. Soon Lorna is battling her own warring heart. Loving Paul could mean losing her family and the life she's always known. With tensions rising all around them, Lorna must decide how much she's willing to sacrifice before the end of the war determines their fate.</div>
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Buy Links</div>
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<a href="https://www.bookdepository.com/Wait-for-Me-Caroline-Leech/9780062459886?ref=grid-view&qid=1512716331770&sr=1-2">Book Depository</a> | <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Wait-Me-Caroline-Leech/dp/0062459880/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1512716249&sr=1-1&keywords=wait+for+me+caroline+leech">Amazon</a> | <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/wait-for-me-caroline-leech/1123722314?ean=9780062459886#/">Barnes & Noble</a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><u>Author Bio</u></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo_XvtiyYdgMzYqMZUYKBKJGsJL7m6m69144C1sga_p3nkk-svSUWVG71EDyLbWHG4T96VL5wVg9ca_q5H2dtYziAk1Wl8i8UbnyicfLYNptXybCGIux1qKcs6Y5gTdxAVDNqqea7asRDm/s1600/caroline.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="330" data-original-width="265" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo_XvtiyYdgMzYqMZUYKBKJGsJL7m6m69144C1sga_p3nkk-svSUWVG71EDyLbWHG4T96VL5wVg9ca_q5H2dtYziAk1Wl8i8UbnyicfLYNptXybCGIux1qKcs6Y5gTdxAVDNqqea7asRDm/s320/caroline.webp" width="256" /></a></div>
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Caroline Leech is a Scottish writer not living in Texas. She writes YA historical fiction, and her first novel, WAIT FOR ME, won SCBWI's Joan Lowery Nixon Award in 2014, as well as the YA categories of both the RWA Emily and Lone Star contests, and was published by HarperTeen in early 2017. Her second novel-- IN ANOTHER TIME-- will be published in August 2018.</div>
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During Caroline's previous career in performing arts public relations in the UK, she edited a glossy photographic book, WELSH NATIONAL OPERA- THE FIRST SIXTY YEARS. </div>
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Caroline lives in Houston with her husband and three teenage children. You can find her online at <a href="http://www.carollineleech.com/">http://www.carollineleech.com</a> and @carolinesblurb. </div>
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<u><span style="font-size: x-large;">Interview</span></u></div>
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I had the chance to sit down and ask Caroline a few questions, and I thought I'd share them (and her answers!) with you....</div>
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Q1.) When/where were you when the idea for WAIT FOR ME popped into your head?</div>
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A1.) A chance comment by a friend of mine originally exploded Lorna and Paul's story in my mind. She mentioned that her father had grown up on a farm in South Wales during World War Two and that they had been sent a German prisoner-of-war to work as a farmhand. The German had given her father a gift which he had made by hand, and it was something her father still treasured. I'd had no idea that prisoners were let out of the POW camps to work, so I immediately went off to do more research about it. Unlike Allied prisoners, who were generally determined to escape and return to Britain to carry on fighting-- I grew up reading about such escape stories in books like COLDITZ and THE GREAT ESCAPE-- many of the German prisoners captured were so relieved that they were not part of a war they had been conscripted into and did not believe in, they were happy to work out the rest of the war in the British countryside. Many of them spent their evenings making gifts for their British hosts, especially wooden toys for the children, and many lifelong friendships resulted between the Germans and for the British people they worked alongside. Having discovered all of this, it wasn't too long before my brain swam with the vision of a young and handsome German soldier being dropped off in a farmyard where there was a pretty farmer's daughter... and well, you know the rest!</div>
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Q2.) Where did your inspiration for the book come from?</div>
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A2.) I have always loved reading books set during World War Two, fiction and non-fiction. Both my parents were involved in the war-- my mother was evacuated as a child from London on the day that war broke out, and my father followed his four older brothers into the Army in 1944 as soon as he turned 18. My grandmother had to watch her five sons go off to war, and sadly, only four of them came back. With so many family members to tell me stories as I grew up, about air raids and rationing, basic training and dawn patrols, it felt very natural for me to set a story of my own in that period of my country's history.</div>
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Q3.) Did you have a particular character you enjoyed writing about the most? The least?</div>
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A3.) Of course, I love Lorna and Paul, but Nelly was a joy to write. Being a Londoner, she has a brash self-confidence that Lorna could never hope to have, and there are wonderful moments when it's clear that this city girl has been thrown into a countryside setting she's not quite ready for. That's the perfect fuel for some comic relief. Nelly is endlessly funny and enthusiastic, and a bit raunchy too, and even though she makes some<i> really</i> poor life-choices, she remains loyal and sweet to the end. Definitely the big sister that Lorna never had. As for my least favorite character? I loved Lorna's best friend, Iris, but I got very frustrated with her at times. I'm sure you can understand why.</div>
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Q4.) I have to know your favorite scene-- Mine was Lorna and Sandy's walk!</div>
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A4.) How interesting! That was a fun scene to write for sure, as I tried to capture that natural teasing banter between siblings, even as they were talking about serious issues. But I think my favorite scenes to write, and now to read out loud at events, are definitely the afternoon where Lorna and Paul dance in the barn (As I was writing it, I was blushing just as much as Lorna!) and the fight she has with her oldest brother, John Jo. Family arguments are wonderful to write, because siblings can usually let all their fury loose on one another, while knowing deep down that they still love each other. Lorna certainly pays for what she shouts at John Jo, but still, it was a great release of so many pent-up emotions for her.</div>
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Q5.) I LOVE how Paul isn't the typical YA love interest. While he shares some of those qualities, he's not perfect and flawless on the outside. Did you know early on that he would have this specific appearance?</div>
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A5.) I'll admit that Paul started out as straightforwardly handsome as any other YA love interest, even if he had been damaged emotionally by his dreadful experiences in the war. And for a long while, he stayed like that. But the idea that he might be physically injured too came to me one evening as I was working again on the first page of the book, trying to pack the opening lines with more punch. Although the first line ultimately changed by the time we went to print, for all sorts of reasons, it suddenly came to me that night as, "Lorna Anderson was ankle-deep in cow-shit and milk when she first saw the boy with the steel grey eyes and only half a face." I had no idea where that last phrase came from, but immediately I could see Paul's dreadful burns in my mind. It also dramatically changed Paul's story for the rest of the book, and meant that Lorna's immediate shock at having an enemy soldier standing in front of her in her own farmyard was doubled. Of course, by the end of the book, she barely sees his injuries anymore. He's just Paul.</div>
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Q6.) One of my favorite things about this book is that there isn't really one big pivotal MOMENT when everything blows up. There are minor explosions all throughout the chapters, which makes the story so much more realistic. Was the original way you planned the novel, or was there one big MOMENT in the first drafts?</div>
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A6.) WAIT FOR ME is very much a story set in a real place at a real point in history, but it's populated with fictional characters. It's not a war story full of battles and bombing raids, but even so, I hope it shows the enormous effects that being at war has on a family and on a small rural community, even one far from the front lines. Therefore, it felt natural to write a series of "minor explosions," as you nicely put it, because that's how life is for most people, whether we live in wartime or not.</div>
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Q7.) Was there a particular scene or chapter that was difficult for you to write, for one reason or another?</div>
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A7.) There were scenes in this story when I felt very emotional, particularly the later scenes, but I don't think there was any that I really struggled to draft. I did however have a very hard time when it came to revising the book once it had been bought by my editor at HarperTeen. I know I write long-- she bought it as a fat manuscript of 108,000 words and asked me to cut it down to 80,000 for publication. While I knew she was right, and that it needed some serious tightening, I still struggled. Cutting the first 20,000 words was relatively straightforward. But those last few thousand words? That felt like I was cutting my own heart out!</div>
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Q8.) Would you rather have John Jo, Sandy, or Paul as your older brother?</div>
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A8.) Oh, good question! I have a sister, four years older than me (could you tell that I was channeling some of our real teenage arguments in Lorna's fight with John Jo?), so I'm not sure what having an older brother would be like. But of course, I know that either Sandy or Paul would be perfect big brothers. They're both so protective and loving, without being suffocating. But John Jo? To be honest, I'd rather have him as a boyfriend! Perhaps not the John Jo as he is in this story, when he's having to deal with his own emotional wartime damage, but certainly the John Jo from before the war. Loud and sociable, fun and hard-working, and of course, broad-shouldered and darkly handsome-- definitely my kind of guy!</div>
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Q9.) What does your writing process look like?</div>
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A9.) In terms of story development, I'm definitely a plotter. I spend a lot of time creating an outline of the whole book, chapter by chapter, before I ever start writing. The thought of sitting down to write the first page without any clue of where the story is headed gives me a panic attack. That's not to say that the story never changes as I write it, but having a rough map of the path that I'm following makes it a lot easier to stay focused. And in terms of where and when I write... well, most of the time, I write in a Barnes & Noble coffee shop when my kids are at school, or in my local Starbucks, starting at 6am on Saturday and Sunday mornings. I find writing at home very difficult because no matter what deadline I am facing, there are too many distractions. You have no idea how vital the laundry can suddenly become when you are struggling on a tricky chapter!</div>
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Q10.) What would be your #1 piece of advice to aspiring authors?</div>
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A10.) Read, read, read! And also, when you are writing a first draft, turn off your inner editor. You really have to get your first draft on paper (or screen) without any editorial judgement at all, from yourself of anyone else. We all write dreadful first drafts-- every author will tell you that-- and it's only once you get to the end of the draft that you can start on the real work of making it all beautiful. After all, you can't perfect and polish words that haven't been written yet.</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><u>Giveaway</u></span></div>
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Caroline and I have partnered up to give you guys the chance to win a YA WWII package! Don't forget to enter, or you'll miss out on some goodies!</div>
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<a class="rcptr" data-raflid="e0c7d4ff7" data-template="" data-theme="classic" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/e0c7d4ff7/" id="rcwidget_pxsi0b93" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a>
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Happily,</div>
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Stephanie</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00584880055914407029noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8258208893558887810.post-50558508959603330532017-11-16T05:30:00.000-08:002017-11-16T05:30:02.917-08:00Thursday Thinks: #TBTBSanta <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It's that time of year again, folks.... #TBTBSanta Time!</div>
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For those of you that may not be familiar with the hashtag, Jamie over at <a href="http://www.brokeandbookish.com/">Broke and Bookish </a>sets up a lovely bookish secret Santa every year. After you fill out an application, Jamie will get back to you with your Santa, sending along their application so that you know a little bit about them and what they like. </div>
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From there, you SHOP. </div>
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This year, I chose the 2+ Books and Goodies category, which means that I get to go all out for my match. I've got a list made, items ordered that I can't get locally, and I am so ready to get these things in so that I can see everything together!</div>
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Like most YA lovers, my person is Disnerd, so I'm having a blast finding the cutest little things to throw in her box.</div>
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AND WRAPPING PAPER. I found the best wrapping paper ever for someone who loves both reading and Disney.... BELLE. READING. </div>
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Anyway, follow me on twitter to watch as progress is made on my #TBTBSanta gift(s). I'll be be back with an update when this is all over and I have a package of my own!</div>
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Happily,</div>
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Stephanie</div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00584880055914407029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8258208893558887810.post-48364391121100482392017-11-14T11:25:00.000-08:002017-11-14T11:25:23.950-08:00Book Blitz: Mad Magic by Nicole Conway<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcHoBi7omzDrbzNSW3M0aSCTpVRSxsr8u_mvvE9L0vpdQHY5zW2u5xAzTn85QHuWdXJgxrLjcUjLBZwuf2lVERRRnaNc8UU4SQku7ARf7IHI1_kJbLWgI7BPIODlvv-2Jlt6uVyQTtqobA/s1600/MadMagicBlitzBanner-1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="851" height="146" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcHoBi7omzDrbzNSW3M0aSCTpVRSxsr8u_mvvE9L0vpdQHY5zW2u5xAzTn85QHuWdXJgxrLjcUjLBZwuf2lVERRRnaNc8UU4SQku7ARf7IHI1_kJbLWgI7BPIODlvv-2Jlt6uVyQTtqobA/s400/MadMagicBlitzBanner-1.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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Hello! And welcome to today's bLitZ for Nicole Conway's new release (out today!), Mad Magic! Most of you probably know that I A-D-O-R-E Nicole's Dragonrider Chronicles, so I'm super exited to help spread the word about this fantastical new book!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjajM3b0kgUaWmwLsc3Q4iKI143Eo3O8lSiMkCo2-KdlqdE1IewOVOQxXMNNTnTQ2PYqFrx7ld_BFW8bHQM3r8KwMuN0npgwcyw_Fo2EEwrgUauEnZeTrylyESdugZlr0Gc_RfYAwggt24w/s1600/mm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="305" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjajM3b0kgUaWmwLsc3Q4iKI143Eo3O8lSiMkCo2-KdlqdE1IewOVOQxXMNNTnTQ2PYqFrx7ld_BFW8bHQM3r8KwMuN0npgwcyw_Fo2EEwrgUauEnZeTrylyESdugZlr0Gc_RfYAwggt24w/s320/mm.jpg" width="205" /></a></div>
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Title: Mad Magic</div>
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Author: Nicole Conway</div>
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Publisher: Month9Books</div>
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Release Date: November 14, 2017</div>
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<i>Description from Goodreads: </i>Mad Magic <i>is a beautifully dark and rich Young Adult fantasy from Nicole Conway, bestselling author of the</i> Dragonrider Chronicles.</div>
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<i>Josie Barton is a high school student living in terror. Invisible creatures torment her everywhere she goes, constantly getting her into trouble at school, and even haunting her apartment. But just when Josie thinks that things couldn't get any worse... she meets the guy from across the hall.</i></div>
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<i>Zeph Clemmont is a changeling with enemies in all the worst places, fighting to undo a curse that threatens to end his life. Survival means he will have to swallow his pride and trust Josie with all his darkest secrets.</i></div>
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<i>With the help of a gun-slinging shaman and the enigmatic Prince of Nightmares, Zeph and Josie are only a heart beat away from defeating one of the most diabolical faerie villains their world has ever known.</i></div>
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Mad-Magic-Nicole-Conway-ebook/dp/B072JZSQ35/">Amazon</a> <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/mad-magic-nicole-conway/1126532877?ean=9781946700131">B&N</a> <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/mad-magic/id1246437004?mt=11">iBooks</a> <a href="https://www.kobo.com/ca/en/ebook/mad-magic">Kobo</a></div>
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<u><span style="font-size: x-large;">Excerpt</span></u></div>
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Here's an excerpt from MAD MAGIC, titled What is Magic?</div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><i>“Magic is like water. It’s required for all things on this earth to<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><i>live and it cycles through the world to be reused over and over again.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><i>Some things, even some people, soak up more of it than others or<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><i>require more of it to live. Children are usually more attuned to it<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><i>than most. They soak it up like little sponges.” Each word from his<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><i>lips carried a weight I could feel hanging in the air. “Any being on<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><i>earth is capable of using it, although humans lost interest and forgot<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><i>how to do that a very long time ago. Most of them can’t even see it<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><i>or feel it anymore. Their minds have turned to things of metal. It can<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><i>be that way for faeries, too. In fact, a lot of us have fallen from our<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><i>former glory to be fed by the machines of the modern world.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><i>A strange, wild hunger rose up in me so suddenly it made my<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><i>body stiffen. If magic was real, then surely it had something to do<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><i>with all the strange things that had been happening to me. I needed<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><i>to know more—I needed to understand.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><i>“Where does it come from?”<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><i>“The moon.” He paused, holding a liquor bottle in each hand as<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><i>he turned to look me in the eye. “Or at least, that’s what the old songs<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><i>say. No one knows for sure. But magic is raw energy that we can use<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><i>as we choose. Even a small amount can accomplish miraculous or<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><i>even terrible things.”</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><u>About the Author</u></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEnv4jahi6BIzokOaC15QSiVc5xNkVR0pUszpW6KeUu_8OSRI-EwxPbWAfwCrOsRRucEuJMNNpaZ6mspao-wnX1tyigrGixsNyl5QmoIMgr6HNgafVvTzJt8erX8XRzQl6jENYZKOaMFje/s1600/Nicole-Conway-298x300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEnv4jahi6BIzokOaC15QSiVc5xNkVR0pUszpW6KeUu_8OSRI-EwxPbWAfwCrOsRRucEuJMNNpaZ6mspao-wnX1tyigrGixsNyl5QmoIMgr6HNgafVvTzJt8erX8XRzQl6jENYZKOaMFje/s1600/Nicole-Conway-298x300.jpg" /></a></div>
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Nicole Conway is an author from North Alabama. She graduated from Auburn University in 2012, and has previously worked as a graphic artist. She is happily married and has one son as well as a cat and a dog. She enjoys blogging, traveling, cooking, and spending time with her family.</div>
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Visit Nicole <a href="https://www.authornicoleconway.com/">Here</a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><u>Nicole's Playlist</u></span></div>
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For this giveaway, the ONE winner will recieve a $25 gift card to the place of their choosing! Enter below!</div>
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<a class="rcptr" data-raflid="d04251232157" data-template="" data-theme="classic" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/d04251232157/" id="rcwidget_dkr7k0ze" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a>
<script src="https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js"></script></div>
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That's it from me, today! If your attention and interest have been piqued as mine have, scroll up and click on those buy links! </div>
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Happily,</div>
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Stephanie</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00584880055914407029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8258208893558887810.post-81553522480615486622017-10-03T05:30:00.000-07:002017-10-03T05:30:03.879-07:00Blog Tour: Savage by Nicole Conway<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Welcome, welcome! I'm thrilled to say that, for my first post since I've been back, I'm presenting you with the blog tour for SAVAGE by Nicole Conway. As you guys know, the Dragonrider Chronicles is one of my absolute favorite series, so when the companion series was announced, I jumped on my chance to participate in the blog tour.</div>
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Believe it or not, this is my fourth tour for Nicole's books. The only book in the Dragonrider Chronicles that I didn't participate in the tour for was the last book, IMMORTAL, which came out during the surgery time of last year. </div>
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So, without further ado, and because I'm dying to tell you about this book, here's my review!<br />
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But DON'T FORGET that this is a companion series, which means the descriptions as well as my review will contain spoilers to the first series! </div>
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Title: SAVAGE (Dragonrider Legacy #1)</div>
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Author: Nicole Conway</div>
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Publisher: Month9Books</div>
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Release Date: September 26, 2017</div>
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Format Read: E-book</div>
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Rating: Four Stars</div>
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<i>Description from Goodreads: Never send a hero to do a monster's job.</i></div>
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<i>Forty years have passed since Jaevid Broadfeather brought peace to Maldobar and Lunthards. But that fragile truce will be tested as darkness gathers on the horizon. The vicious armies of the Tibran Empire have crossed the far seas and are threatening to destroy Maldobar completely. Not even the dragonriders can match the Tibran war machines. And after an attempt to awaken Jaevid from his divine sleep fails, the fate of Maldobar is looking grim.</i></div>
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<i>Reigh has never known what it means to be a normal human. Raised amongst the gray elves in the wild jungle of Luntharda, he's tried everything to be fit in. But the dark power within him is bursting at the seams-- refusingg to be silenced. And while his adoptive father, Kiran, insists this power must be kept secret, Reigh knows he's running out of time.</i></div>
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<i>As Maldobar burns, the world is desperate for a new hero. Destiny has called, and one boy will rise to answer.</i></div>
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So, having finished the last series, I had expectations from this new book. I LOVED the way the last book ended, and even though I knew that this series would be focused on a new character, I wasn't sure how I'd feel about having a narrator that wasn't Jaevid or Felix. Starting out with this new Reigh kid, I was hesitant. Being forty years after the last series, I was sad that I wasn't going to get any of these characters that I'd come to love, but after only a page or two, we find out that Kiran is actually a big part of the story! HUZZAH, KIRAN!</div>
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This excited me, so I kept reading (Like I'd stop???), and I'm so pleased that I did, because you guys, WOW. I adore this kid. Not as much as I adore Jae, yet, but I'm a bit more attached to Jae (After, you know, four-five years). </div>
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Anyway, I want to start out with the characters. As per usual, Conway gave us wonderful characters. They're all so loveable, and relatable, and I'm left wanting more of them already. I can't wait to see what happens with Reigh and his "problem", as well as his emotional state from here on out, as he'd definitely had his share of ups and downs just in this first book.</div>
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I don't normally comment much on the descriptiveness of novels, as I don't feel like I need a lot of details on setting, etc. to fall in love with a story. I've said it before, and I'll say it a million times again, but characters are what make a story amazing for me. So setting really is meh. But THESE BOOKS. Conway's descriptions are so good, ESPECIALLY when she's describing Luntharda and the creatures within, and I can't get enough of it.</div>
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And I'll just go ahead and say, this is only book one and it's already broken my heart and repaired it about 75% of the way. I'm already so attached, it's ridiculous. But I do have a soft spot for these fantabulous novels, you know.</div>
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In a Nutshell, SAVAGE was a great contribution to the Dragonrider books, and I'm over the moon to know we'll have more time in this world. If you've read the Dragonrider Chronicles, then you HAVE to read this series, too. YOU GET TO SEE SOME OF YOUR FAVORITE CHARACTERS AGAIN, PEOPLE! So if that's you, and you're ready for your mind to be blown and for that suspicious warning from Ulric at the end of IMMORTAL to be explained... well... you may wanna click on one of these buy links.</div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><a href="https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Nicole_Conway_Savage?id=aOEkDwAAQBAJ&hl=en">Google
Play</a> | <a href="http://www.booksamillion.com/p/Savage/Nicole-Conway/9781946700469?id=7020344669460">BAM</a>
| <a href="https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/savage/9781946700469-item.html?ikwid=savage+by+nicole+conway&ikwsec=Home&ikwidx=0">Chapters</a>
| <a href="https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781946700469">Indies</a> | <a href="http://a.co/cQ08Dyl">Amazon</a> | <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/savage-nicole-conway/1126450504?ean=9781946700469">B&N</a>
| <a href="https://www.kobo.com/ca/en/ebook/savage-37">Kobo</a> | <a href="https://www.bookdepository.com/Savage-Nicole-Conway/9781946700469?ref=grid-view&qid=1506269338452&sr=1-1">TBD</a>
| <a href="https://geo.itunes.apple.com/us/book/savage/id1245348334?mt=11">iBooks</a></span></div>
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<u><span style="font-size: x-large;">About the Author</span></u></div>
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Nicole is the author of the children’s fantasy series, THE
DRAGONRIDER CHRONICLES, about a young boy’s journey into manhood as he trains
to become a dragonrider. She has completed the first two books in the series,
and is now working on the third and final book.</div>
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Originally from a small town in North Alabama, Nicole moves frequently due to
her husband’s career as a pilot for the United States Air Force. She received a
B.A. in English with a concentration in Classics from Auburn University, and
will soon attend graduate school.</div>
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She has previously worked as a freelance and graphic artist for promotional
companies, but has now embraced writing as a full-time occupation.</div>
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Nicole enjoys hiking, camping, shopping, cooking, and spending time with her family
and friends. She also loves watching children’s movies and collecting books.
She lives at home with her husband, two cats, and dog.</div>
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<a href="http://anconway422.wix.com/anconway" target="_blank">Website</a> • <a href="http://www.twitter.com/ANConway" target="_blank">Twitter</a> • <a href="https://www.facebook.com/JaevidDragonriderChronicles" target="_blank">Facebook</a> • <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6498865.Nicole_Conway" target="_blank">Goodreads</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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<u><span style="font-size: x-large;">Giveaway</span></u></div>
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Kindle Fire + Drawing Dragons Book + signed art from the Author</div>
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<a class="rcptr" data-raflid="c08c9e8e646" data-template="" data-theme="classic" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/c08c9e8e646/" id="rcwidget_cqevk7uo" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a><br />
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Thanks for stopping by! Be sure to check out the rest of the tour... you can find the rest of it <a href="http://www.chapter-by-chapter.com/tour-schedule-savage-by-nicole-conway-presented-by-month9books/">HERE</a>!<br />
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Happily,<br />
Stephanie</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00584880055914407029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8258208893558887810.post-60151026163753845982017-10-02T05:30:00.000-07:002017-10-03T10:39:22.828-07:00Review: Immortal by Nicole Conway<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHH7PGS22sTQYZGM9n10Hds8LcKqPQTd6BPYINeR-FVQNFZk7MxmlXM1ZIZ1q4LGa8RCEcypqSL3HesZy-ADxO7TRl-c857X2SpVex5u77Gh6jVj10mhbrz1oHD-Fdp-_QGL5-w67SkI9Q/s1600/immortal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="316" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHH7PGS22sTQYZGM9n10Hds8LcKqPQTd6BPYINeR-FVQNFZk7MxmlXM1ZIZ1q4LGa8RCEcypqSL3HesZy-ADxO7TRl-c857X2SpVex5u77Gh6jVj10mhbrz1oHD-Fdp-_QGL5-w67SkI9Q/s320/immortal.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
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Title: Immortal (Dragonrider Chronicles #4)</div>
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Author: Nicole Conway</div>
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Publisher: Month9Books</div>
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Release Date: November 8, 2016</div>
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Format Read: Paperback</div>
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Rating: Four Stars</div>
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<i>Description from Goodreads: Destiny has called.</i></div>
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<i>With Jaevid Broadfeather forever lost to the depths of Luntharda, Felix Farrow struggles to stand on his own. He begins a violent downward spiral which causes him to abandon his post as a dragonrider, hiding in the halls of his family estate. His one hope for redemption lies within the heart of someone from his past-- and the very last person he ever wanted to see again.</i></div>
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<i>And now the time has finally come.</i></div>
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<i>Hovrid, who has ruled Maldobar as a tyrannical imposter, is preparing to make a decisive assault against Luntharda that will destroy what remains of the elven race. Only Jaevid, Felix, and their trusted friends are able to stand in his way. They have only one chance to end the war, and only one hope to absolve the curse that threatens to destroy their world. The stage is set. The plan is in motion.</i></div>
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<i>What began as one boy's adventure will now end in blood.</i></div>
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So, until a couple months ago, I didn't even know this book existed. I'd been between surgeries and hospital visits when it came out, and while I've been over here wondering when we're going to get the next installment, Nicole Conway's been hard at work on a companion series (Stop by the blog tomorrow to see my stop on the blog tour!).</div>
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So, I ordered the book and sped through it in about five hours, and now I'm freaking out. IT'S OVER??? I CAN'T EVEN??? I want MoRe. More Jae and Felix and, dang it, more Lyon (Still crying, okay? Still crying.) </div>
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But, guys. What a conclusion. It ripped my heart out, fed it through the shredder, and then started working to stitch it all back together, and I'm left speechless. </div>
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As much as I hate it, this is going to be a super short review. Because there's literally not that much I can say about this book without spoiling everything entirely, but I'll have you know that this was one of the best series conclusions I've EVER read. I can't get enough of it, and even though the book was a great finisher, I don't want it to be over. </div>
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I've been reading these books and participating in the blog tours for five years now, and I've gotten SO attached, that all I can do is praise God that there's a companion series. I don't know what's in store, but I do know that if it's Nicole Conway's writing, and Jaevid's world, we're in for a nice little adventure that I can't wait to start.</div>
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Go out and buy this series. Show some support to Nicole, so that we can have moreandmoreandmore dragonrider books. Because I don't know what I'll do when there aren't any more coming my way!</div>
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Happily,</div>
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Stephanie</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00584880055914407029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8258208893558887810.post-74229730666556234462017-09-30T17:00:00.000-07:002017-10-01T20:38:55.677-07:00Why I Haven't Been Active<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht43Gsf4HbJ8oTmEicpwRkUN8zBRL2fv3Zdkv1Qpb-_d2KUgKyZDPvDJ1Tyh1sF7uaxn-KDQ2-yQXax0znCxWTNo9rs9iyk7IZSQv6UBTi9bYcNCNyZOnoHI4yUeDnPqc8R2AXeh-EZFGX/s1600/hbg.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="364" data-original-width="400" height="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht43Gsf4HbJ8oTmEicpwRkUN8zBRL2fv3Zdkv1Qpb-_d2KUgKyZDPvDJ1Tyh1sF7uaxn-KDQ2-yQXax0znCxWTNo9rs9iyk7IZSQv6UBTi9bYcNCNyZOnoHI4yUeDnPqc8R2AXeh-EZFGX/s320/hbg.gif" width="320" /></a></div>
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Hey, there! It's been a while, hasn't it?</div>
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This past year has been pretty bad for me in terms of blogging. I've been semi-active since taking time off of college, but then you may have noticed that I kind of dropped off the face of the earth around May. Let me explain why...</div>
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Right around March, just as I started to finally heal after December's surgery, I started feeling iffy. I was tired all the time, but the most important thing was that I was showing the number one sign of advanced heart failure-- sleeping with upwards of three pillows a night to try to breathe better.</div>
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Because of this, I called my doctor and managed to get an appointment. Once there, we found out that my heart was definitely getting worse, and they wanted to administer a new medication that I'd have to be admitted to the hospital for. This would be the true test, because my body's tolerance of the medication would determine just how bad I was getting.</div>
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A week or so later, we had our answer. Turns out I'm allergic to the med, but while I was waiting to see if the med would do it's job or not, the doctors started a slew of tests. Only a couple days had passed before I had a letter in my hands that said I'd officially been put on the list for an Organ Transplant.</div>
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I was elated, though obviously surprised, and was sent home to await my new heart. I'd have to wait until they found the perfect match, which could take even up to two years, so we continued life as normal.</div>
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It was three weeks later, June 9th at 11:38 at night that I got a phone call from the hospital, offering me a heart. Everything was already packed, and we threw the bags into the car and made the five hour drive.</div>
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I went into surgery around 6am on the 10th. I was excited, happy, and not nervous at all. I knew that whatever happened during the procedure would be God's will, and I trusted Him completely.</div>
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When I woke up, I was ridiculously hungry and thirsty. More doctors than I could count were coming in and out, talking to me as if we were friends and telling me how much better I looked now, and I felt like something was missing. There was a piece missing in my story line. </div>
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Not too much later, I found out that the surgery had gone great, and then... it hadn't. My new heart was stiff from being on ice during transplant, and it hadn't wanted to beat. I'd come out of surgery with my chest still open, and I'd been on life support. For three days, machines had kept me alive until I began to do well enough that they wanted to close me up and take me off of the life support. At that point, it was only later that day that I'd woken up.</div>
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I'd also learned that while I'd been on life support, I'd been awake. Awake and writing to communicate and taking pictures with family. None of which I remembered until bits and pieces began filtering through later.</div>
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I only stayed in the hospital for a total of two weeks before they released me and allowed me to go to a hotel that connected to the hospital. I stayed there for almost three weeks, and then they finally let me go home.</div>
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I won't lie, recuperating from that transplant was rough. I threw up nearly everything I ate, which made it hard to take my twenty-something medications. I was dehydrated, but drinking was difficult since it felt like I couldn't possibly drink any more. I was exhausted, I had no energy, I was all kinds of emotional due to the hormone fluctuations, and all of that had put me in a bad mood.</div>
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It was weeks before that got better, and we found out six weeks post-transplant that I' been feeling so bad because my new heart had still had issues taking to my body, and it had only just gotten settled. Seven weeks post-transplant, I started to feel better.</div>
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It's nearly four months since transplant, and I have never felt this good in my life! I can do things that I'd never been able to do before. I'm currently on my way back from vacation in Colorado, and I spent the week walking around the Royal Gorge, Pike's Peak, Cave of the Winds, and taking an 8 hour train ride. I got my first good bit of exercise since 2011, and it felt amazing to be able to walk so much without having to stop to breathe every ten feet. I got up early and went to bed late, and I didn't wake up the next morning feeling like death run over.</div>
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I tell you, guys, normal may be overrated, but being medically normal is so underrated. </div>
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All that said, I'm back now! I have all kinds of signings and things to go to, all kinds of trips planned out for next year, because I finally CAN. And I'm so glad that you guys get to come along the ride with me. I do have a Facebook page for all things health-related if anyone wants to keep up with things. Click <a href="https://www.facebook.com/MyJourneyFromOneHeart2Another/">HERE</a> to go to it.</div>
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Be expecting things from me! I have a nice little giveaway coming your way soon, as well as some blog tours that I can't wait to get into, so be sure to keep checking back here or checking twitter for all of the things! I'm so excited to be back better than ever.</div>
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To borrow a line from Ed Sheeran, "Welcome to the new show/I guess you know I've been away/But where I'm heading who knows/my heart will stay the same"</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH5RmZNaTHCaMX6nO8L-gdBjZ3-QSkU97xVkbTB6fGEr7kQkK926sZzlUitqSBSG6v6NJy_iCKXM9NtzdVLysc1pI1xE9JBqVqHaChVMldt3RGzeKiHkPt7ddxkS0IncJ0OIzv3XB22T9w/s1600/ed.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="281" data-original-width="500" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH5RmZNaTHCaMX6nO8L-gdBjZ3-QSkU97xVkbTB6fGEr7kQkK926sZzlUitqSBSG6v6NJy_iCKXM9NtzdVLysc1pI1xE9JBqVqHaChVMldt3RGzeKiHkPt7ddxkS0IncJ0OIzv3XB22T9w/s400/ed.gif" width="400" /></a></div>
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Happily,</div>
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Stephanie</div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00584880055914407029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8258208893558887810.post-51057500118747802042017-04-25T05:30:00.000-07:002017-04-25T05:30:25.059-07:00BLOG TOUR: Blood Road by Amanda McCrina<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXknUv7TUUrzyRssgt3ttr2LbHeGruPij-uhWzUS322gTa5VtUrf_zNukXXErGnY7bWpT3rXQ8Nx9z8WZ7mRmA3dN2pgOqY32AFKC_slE8hSOacNa4v2vpTbrky3k8OM-oF5NL6Jfs9hId/s1600/brtb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="155" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXknUv7TUUrzyRssgt3ttr2LbHeGruPij-uhWzUS322gTa5VtUrf_zNukXXErGnY7bWpT3rXQ8Nx9z8WZ7mRmA3dN2pgOqY32AFKC_slE8hSOacNa4v2vpTbrky3k8OM-oF5NL6Jfs9hId/s400/brtb.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Welcome, welcome to my stop on the blog tour for BLOOD ROAD (Blood Oath #1) by Amanda McCrina. Be sure to read through the whole post... there's a nice little giveaway towards the end </div>
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*wink*</div>
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Title: BLOOD ROAD (Blood Oath #1)</div>
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Author: Amanda McCrina</div>
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Publisher: Month9Books</div>
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Release Date: April 25, 2017</div>
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<i>Description from Goodreads: <span style="font-size: 12pt;">Nineteen-year-old Torien Risto has seen
dissidents dealt with before. He knows the young local girl who just knifed him
will hang for assaulting an Imperial officer, unless he can stop it.</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><i>Someone inside the provincial government
is kidnapping Imperial citizens and selling them across the desert to the salt
mines, silencing anyone who tries to intervene. The girl’s brother is one of
those who has been taken. Rejected by the corrupt courts, she’s waging a
personal war against the Empire.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><i>Determined to save her life, Torien sets
out in search of answers on the Salt Road, the ancient trade route running deep
into the heart of a desert—territory claimed by the hostile Mayaso tribe.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><i>Now, Torien is no longer sure where his
own loyalty lies, or how far he will go to break the cycle of tyranny,
political bullying, and social injustice in an empire that seals its borders in
blood.</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><u><b>About the Author</b></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Amanda McCrina has studied in Italy,
taught English in Japan, and currently tutors Latin in Atlanta, Georgia. She
received her BA in History from the University of West Georgia, and is now
pursuing her MA. She writes stories that incorporate her love of history, languages,
and world travel. She drinks far too much coffee and dreams of one day having a
winning fantasy-hockey season. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://fly-casual.net/"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Website</span></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"> | </span><a href="https://twitter.com/9inchsnails"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Twitter</span></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"> | </span><a href="http://pinterest.com/9inchsnails"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Pinterest</span></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"> | </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://goodreads.com/9inchsnails">Goodreads</a></span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><u><b>Excerpt from BLOOD ROAD</b></u></span></div>
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A cavalry
troop was just coming in to the stable yard from the Road. It was an irregular
troop, not a standard column—scouts, judging by their light harness. Torien
stood and watched with Alluin while they dismounted. He had supposed them to be
local auxiliaries, as scouts typically were, but when the dust had settled he
picked out Vareno faces among them, and one face that might have been Cesino,
though he could not tell for sure. One man’s eyes fell briefly on Torien’s,
across the yard. His gaze was hollow. In his dirt-streaked face, Torien
recognized the same look of resignation as had been in the woman’s face that
night in the shanty in Modigne. The scout turned his head away without
saluting.<o:p></o:p></div>
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When they
rejoined Tarrega in the street, Torien said, “Auxiliaries?”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Tarrega
said, “<i>Signi</i>.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Torien’s
steps slowed. He looked back over his shoulder to the stable yard.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Tarrega
said, “You’ve never seen <i>signi</i>
before?” As an afterthought, he added, “Sir?”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“They don’t
post <i>signi</i> to Vione.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“But to
Cesin?”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Perhaps to
the Outland, to the furthest reaches of the mountains where the rebellious
Brycigi still thrashed against the Imperial yoke; Torien did not know. “Is the
Road so dangerous, then—that you use <i>signi</i>
as scouts?”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Unexpectedly,
Tarrega flashed a cool knife-blade smile. His teeth were very white. “The
Mayasi,” he said, “make it their peculiar habit to leave their prisoners
stripped and staked out in the sand and dead of thirst or sun sickness or
jackals, whichever comes first. Or they hold them alive, for interrogation, and
from what I’ve seen of the few poor souls we’ve recovered—better to die in the
sand. So the <i>signi</i> are useful twice
over.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Torien
looked at him. “They aren’t citizens,” Tarrega said. “It doesn’t matter how
they die. And they don’t know anything to give up under torture.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><u><b>Giveaway</b></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">1 winner will receive a 1 month
subscription to Owl Crate, US Only.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a class="rcptr" data-raflid="e2389ba2573" data-template="" data-theme="classic" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/e2389ba2573/" id="rcwidget_rkg50tjj" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><u>Tour Schedule</u></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span>
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<b><u><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Week 1:</span></u></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">4/24/2017- <a href="http://rockinbookreviews.com/" target="_blank">Rockin' Book Reviews</a>- <i>Review</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">4/24/2017- </span><a href="http://month9books.tumblr.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Month9Books</span></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">- <i>Excerpt</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">4/25/2017- </span><a href="http://www.twochicksonbooks.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Two Chicks on Books</span></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">- <i>Interview</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">4/25/2017- </span><a href="http://doodlereviewsbooks.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Doodle's Book Reviews</span></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">- <i>Excerpt</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">4/26/2017- </span><a href="http://dontjudgeread.blogspot.ca/" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Don't Judge, Read</span></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">- <i>Interview</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">4/26/2017- </span><a href="http://hollymbryan.tumblr.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Book-Keeping</span></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">- <i>Review</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">4/27/2017- </span><a href="http://abackwardsstory.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">A Backwards Story</span></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">- <i>Review</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">4/27/2017- </span><a href="http://hazelwest.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Hazel West's Character Purgatory</span></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">- <i>Excerpt</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">4/28/2017- <a href="http://www.lilbooklovers.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">LILbooKlovers</a>- <i>Interview</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">4/28/2017- </span><a href="http://www.wishfulendings.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Wishful Endings</span></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">- <i>Review</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Week 2:</span></u></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">5/1/2017- </span><a href="http://mjohnsonstories.net/" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Exploring
the Inner Universe</span></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">- <i>Review</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">5/1/2017- </span><a href="https://sofewbooks.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">So Few Books</span></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">- <i>Interview</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">5/2/2017- </span><a href="https://bookreviewbecca.wordpress.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Book Review Becca</span></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">- <i>Review</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">5/2/2017- <a href="http://bibliobibuliya.com/" target="_blank">Bibliobibuli YA</a>- <i>Interview</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">5/3/2017- </span><a href="http://readingforthestarsmoon.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Reading for the Stars and Moon</span></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">- <i>Review</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">5/3/2017- </span><a href="http://www.iamnotabookworm.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">I am not a bookworm!</span></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">- <i>Review</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">5/4/2017- </span><a href="https://yaandwine.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">YA
and Wine</span></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">- <i>Guest Post</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">5/4/2017- </span><a href="http://www.mundiemoms.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Mundie
Moms</span></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">- <i>Review</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">5/5/2017- </span><a href="http://www.never2many2read.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Never Too Many To Read</span></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">- <i>Review</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Be sure to check out the other stops on the tour, and don't forget it runs for two weeks! </div>
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Thanks for stopping by, all!</div>
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Happily,</div>
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Stephanie</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00584880055914407029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8258208893558887810.post-197490434426095072017-03-30T05:00:00.000-07:002017-03-30T13:53:03.308-07:00Thursday Thinks: UCM Children's Literature Festival<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1HwN3Rw6FgaDOMm39nKS-7Gmo9Ee3Fs-RFa-eJ9B6S5ruohv86y6ifXYd770YL5hNXTIFvwnrd-1R_ruijjQogZFJEN9chyphenhyphenVixznH5gBXB21A-VuiRRyxiD6vXG2mT2MyZDROm3NlrrGB/s1600/clf-logo.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1HwN3Rw6FgaDOMm39nKS-7Gmo9Ee3Fs-RFa-eJ9B6S5ruohv86y6ifXYd770YL5hNXTIFvwnrd-1R_ruijjQogZFJEN9chyphenhyphenVixznH5gBXB21A-VuiRRyxiD6vXG2mT2MyZDROm3NlrrGB/s320/clf-logo.png" width="304" /></a></div>
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A couple weeks ago was the University of Central Missouri's Children's Literature Festival. In a nutshell, it was a gathering of (mostly) middle grade authors who participated in a luncheon, panels, and autographing sessions.</div>
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Of course, as soon as I found out about this, I knew I had to go. I immediately made plans with a friend to go, but as the days drew nearer, said friend became unable to come. This meant that I had an extra ticket and absolutely no one to give it to. So when friends fail you, you go to family. Or, friendswhomayaswellhavebeenfamilysinceyouveconsideredeachothersiblingsforfiveyears. </div>
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Anyway, I shoot a text to my brother. It went a little something like this:</div>
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And no more was said about it. So I'm just like, "Great, I'll just go by myself, how wonderful." (my parents were coming as well, but I had really been looking forward to taking one of my non-reader friends to the event with me. And it would have been even better if my bro would have said yes, because... okay, it's not that he HATES reading, it's just that he only enjoys certain books. For instance, WWII books, good mysteries, and Civil War stories. </div>
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But he knows how much I love the bookish world, and I really thought he'd go to the festival for me. If not for any other reason than to make me happy.</div>
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The morning of the festival, I got up, started running around getting ready, making sure I had all my things in the car, and I had just sat down to check snapchat when the door opened. My mom had gone to take my pups for a grandpa-doggy day while we were gone, as it was quite a drive to UCM and we'd be there all day, and I hit replay on a snap from my dad as I felt her standing beside me.</div>
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"Look at your husband." I said.</div>
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"Nope," A voice answered, "Not my husband."</div>
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Suffice it to say that I was totally freaking shocked to see my brother standing there. Apparently he and my mom had been conspiring behind my back, and he was going to go to the festival with us.</div>
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The drive took a few hours, but we finally got there, signed in, and hit the sales area. Throughout the day, my mom and brother swapped the camera back and forth to take pictures, so I have quite a few for you. I also used the Snapchat Story feature for, like, the first time ever, and chronicled our day, though I have been forbidden by my brother to put any pictures on the internets that include him.</div>
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From there, we moved to stand in line for the luncheon, and they ended up letting us in super early, so we didn't have to wait long.</div>
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As we walked into the room we'd be having lunch in, we found tables with author names on a centerpiece. All attendees got to choose their seats with an author, and the first one I looked for was S.A. Bodeen. She wrote books like THE COMPOUND and THE GARDENER, and I'd been trying to meet her for five years. </div>
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Aaaaand of course her table ended up being one of the first to fill. For a moment, I stood reading table names before eventually landing on Angela Cervantes. I wasn't familiar with her works, but we took our seats at her table and actually had the most pleasant time just talking and asking her questions about her books. She gave us so much insight on the publishing industry, and even a good chunk of advice on getting agents and book deals. We ended up talking back and forth around the table for a good hour as we ate, until the guest speaker moved up to the front of the room.</div>
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I remembered hearing all kinds of good things about the Al Capone Does my Shirts boosk in middle school, but I never had that much of an interest in them. Let me just go ahead and say that after hearing Gennifer Choldenko speak, I will be reading that series. </div>
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Her talk was about knowing what your story to tell is, and I took a video at one point because I loved what she said. It's pretty self-explanatory.</div>
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After the speaking, it was SIGNING TIME! I was pretty excited for some of these authors--even the ones I'd met before--so I couldn't wait to get started. </div>
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<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0a4N_BXEgNsydiETdVLWyl6VM2kaXsEiQGzb16nu_OEFTniGkVBkBgZ5jerXPn2jFGytXg6StkIvba7JWIQ3Z1HfLkEWlY9J-jjvkmzA_66_Z0kq-vXO8d9jTZWHwFhTmlYa9KLgEd4OY/s1600/IMG_4748.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0a4N_BXEgNsydiETdVLWyl6VM2kaXsEiQGzb16nu_OEFTniGkVBkBgZ5jerXPn2jFGytXg6StkIvba7JWIQ3Z1HfLkEWlY9J-jjvkmzA_66_Z0kq-vXO8d9jTZWHwFhTmlYa9KLgEd4OY/s400/IMG_4748.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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First, I found R.W. Alley. In case the name isn't familiar to you, he's the illustrator of the beloved Paddington Bear books. He had the second longest line-- second only to Choldenko-- and the wait was worth it to meet such a sweet person that took the time to sketch in each person's books, no matter how many they had (I had like 6).</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkOXxdSPHpFWFqfwLnu9VJzooimLE11SEKReJKbZbPtvQ8OOvY5dDFg3JmZPdxQ72d8cBDz_GyXVUkvMogpkS-UZFgXYU74PcJJuTnjljhNzifmB0BDtCLsiefsUSQECMfnF5d5eIo7tms/s1600/IMG_4755.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkOXxdSPHpFWFqfwLnu9VJzooimLE11SEKReJKbZbPtvQ8OOvY5dDFg3JmZPdxQ72d8cBDz_GyXVUkvMogpkS-UZFgXYU74PcJJuTnjljhNzifmB0BDtCLsiefsUSQECMfnF5d5eIo7tms/s320/IMG_4755.JPG" width="320" /></a>From there? Cheryl Harness. She wrote these wonderful books for National Geographic that were basically stories and collections of writings from important historical figures, such as George Washington Carter, Myles Standish, Narcissa Whitman, Daniel Boone, and my favorite president-- Teddy Roosevelt. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7FSPhKJZfohYtsPUQngxcrT8PvpuP22tDmWHiVYQmXdLtdsyQwlczqN1KYydh5zr_ViF6Mh7lfm1h3cnVVo2cTwZ0UeMB2NLbbyGtZ9Zr_EQQe7fgJqkrpF0gvYIy9n30FpigS0isVIKW/s1600/IMG_4761.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7FSPhKJZfohYtsPUQngxcrT8PvpuP22tDmWHiVYQmXdLtdsyQwlczqN1KYydh5zr_ViF6Mh7lfm1h3cnVVo2cTwZ0UeMB2NLbbyGtZ9Zr_EQQe7fgJqkrpF0gvYIy9n30FpigS0isVIKW/s320/IMG_4761.JPG" width="320" /></a>Next. Oh my gosh. Next, I met Mary Downing Hahn. I don't know if you guys were like me and spent your middle school years patrolling the library for new finds, but we were required to choose form a set of books at one point. We would read it, do a project on it, and then discuss for a grade. One year, I chose TIME FOR ANDREW. It's a ghost story for ages 8-12, and I loved it. So, naturally, I found her section in the library (I still remember exactly where it is. Follow the right wall as you walk in until you see the windows of the computer lab. Halfway down that wall starts the Hahn section, and it lasts around two top shelves.) and started at one end and worked my way to the other. I read everything my library had of hers, and TIME FOR ANDREW remained my favorite. That's why I was so excited to finally get to meet the author, who was truly lovely and became one of the hilights of the day.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5rkKiBepgg2J8Ub9KHP0itAENk6fTmCK4qbkbJPDYiI7tg-AHben-Y71FbOa9JJ2T_DP9nSIuil2wETm8VY8yUOVZ18McnZyCynKafHm-H0aH01lHjBeByJNbDmmAVSv3NKBfzEw4SY1P/s1600/IMG_4771.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5rkKiBepgg2J8Ub9KHP0itAENk6fTmCK4qbkbJPDYiI7tg-AHben-Y71FbOa9JJ2T_DP9nSIuil2wETm8VY8yUOVZ18McnZyCynKafHm-H0aH01lHjBeByJNbDmmAVSv3NKBfzEw4SY1P/s320/IMG_4771.JPG" width="320" /></a>From there, I moved on to Roland Smith. I've had the pleasure of meeting Roland three times now-- twice when he came to my school for speaking events, and once at the CLF-- and he has yet to disappoint. I remember the first time we met, he signed my copy of SEA OTTER RESCUE. The second, PEAK (lovelovelove), and now, THE EDGE. It's always a pleasure chatting with Roland, and one of the things I love about it is that he doesn't just sign and send you on your way-- he actually takes the time to talk to you, and it's great.</div>
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From there, we moved on to Michael Spradlin, Roderick Towney, E.B. Lewis, and finally to the moment I'd been counting down to all day-- S.A. Bodeen.</div>
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I've been trying to meet S.A. Bodeen for a grand total of five years now. Each time, something got in the way (Last year, a surgery). But after some email correspondence, I was finally going to get to say hello. Not only that, but I was going to get to interview* her.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj68C-rf96ptSHODj8bRCnhFADO9onZedu2VBjamMOwvZW55bVt_K25dul8L3uOmdytkpb4x5UJneAJdQDEwqS6wVi3CxR5G7vCmT_ZHYJO4YUXsiqYSSIXJu9TwJngE3rPDoG5cfom2RiB/s1600/IMG_4816.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj68C-rf96ptSHODj8bRCnhFADO9onZedu2VBjamMOwvZW55bVt_K25dul8L3uOmdytkpb4x5UJneAJdQDEwqS6wVi3CxR5G7vCmT_ZHYJO4YUXsiqYSSIXJu9TwJngE3rPDoG5cfom2RiB/s320/IMG_4816.JPG" width="320" /></a>So as I found all my books to be signed, I headed for her area. I'd actually spotted her earlier, but I'd put on a pair of blinders so I could save her for last. Finally, I carried my bag down the hallway and got to meet one of my faves. Graciously, she signed the stack I had, which included allllll of her YA/MG books, and after getting everything signed, we made our way to the staircase (where it was slightly less noisy) and got down to business.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtcVi1IcDqXiNiEcLK7YcJxPpaKmduMQj8q3Pc-43yn5pvcoih1s8rlIm5wHMt6lBBgD_NfuWExxHFyhrbAwpKC0TfvMPO6UvYucm9z1gRg_47JE1TvvbEtsoUTSmM3KfgBy0X-nzXg_fl/s1600/IMG_4847.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtcVi1IcDqXiNiEcLK7YcJxPpaKmduMQj8q3Pc-43yn5pvcoih1s8rlIm5wHMt6lBBgD_NfuWExxHFyhrbAwpKC0TfvMPO6UvYucm9z1gRg_47JE1TvvbEtsoUTSmM3KfgBy0X-nzXg_fl/s320/IMG_4847.JPG" width="320" /></a>The very last thing I did before leaving was find the author I'd had lunch with, Angela Cervantes. I had a copy of her first book, and wanted to end the day just as I'd started it-- talking with Angela. We'd had a great time at lunch, and I can definitely say that I left CLF with one more author friend than I'd come with. That's one of the best things about going to an event like this where you have a luncheon-- the fact that you get quality one-on-one time with an author that you might never have met before, which is exactly what happened with Angela. I do read MG occasionally, but not often enough that I'd be super familiar with a current MG author. I'm glad I took that seat at Angela's table.</div>
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With my time at the festival over, I stopped by the University of Central Missouri's trophy case to take a picture with the UCM sign to commemorate my day there. </div>
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All in all, Children's Literature Festival was a great experience. I attended one of the three days, and I'm positive that the other two were just as nice. If you're ever in the MO area around March, you should definitely look into the festival. You can clinky <a href="http://clf.ucmo.edu/">this linky</a> to check out the fest's webpage, and keep tabs on next year's event.</div>
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Happily,</div>
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Stephanie</div>
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<span style="text-align: center;">*You'll have that interview coming within the next couple weeks... Cooking up some plans over here ;)</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00584880055914407029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8258208893558887810.post-54843075755837141932017-03-14T05:00:00.000-07:002017-03-14T05:00:05.540-07:00Tuesday Reviews: The Edge of Everything by Jeff Giles<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsuB5eBe1gDJMUPWykv7SmOUBoeiXcx7EldMsOA7nZIOqiP7MjkKa6LZaXoTtyRCLKdJ7-BibaYZXrlsEROKwc_dodpEbpzS_SpNnLg3ugRQFUpZZV7C0ghKOOKkAYacoaMFCiJuX1f8qR/s1600/eoe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsuB5eBe1gDJMUPWykv7SmOUBoeiXcx7EldMsOA7nZIOqiP7MjkKa6LZaXoTtyRCLKdJ7-BibaYZXrlsEROKwc_dodpEbpzS_SpNnLg3ugRQFUpZZV7C0ghKOOKkAYacoaMFCiJuX1f8qR/s320/eoe.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
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Title: The edge of Everything (#1)</div>
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Author: Jeff Giles</div>
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Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Children's</div>
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Release Date: January 31, 2017</div>
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Format Read: ARC</div>
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Rating: Two Stars</div>
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<i>Description from Goodreads: For the perfect love, what would you be willing to lose?</i></div>
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<i>It's been a shattering year for seventeen-year-old Zoe, who's still reeling from her father's shockingly sudden death in a caving accident and her neighbors' mysterious disappearance from their own home. Then on a terrifying sub-zero, blizzardy night in Montana, she and her brother are brutally attacked in a cabin in the woods-- only to be rescued by a mysterious bounty hunter they call X.</i></div>
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<i>X is no ordinary bounty hunter. He is from a hell called the Lowlands, sent to claim the soul of Zoe's evil attacker and others like him. X is forbidden from revealing himself to anyone other than his prey, but he casts aside the Lowlands' rules for Zoe. As they learn more about their colliding worlds, they begin to question the past, their fate, and their future.<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;"> </span></i></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">I've started to see this everywhere. It's been all over my insta feed (beautiful pictures, you bookstagrammers, you), and I had my copy of it, so decided I'd see what all the hullabaloo was about.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">To be frank, I still don't know.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">I mean, the concept was FANTASTIC. I loved the idea of the Lowland bounty hunters, and I love (some of) the characters. Banger, Ripper, Regent, Dallas, JONAH. But the two main characters were kind of lost on me. I feel like I didn't have a good enough grasp of who they were, and though I read from cover to cover, I just didn't really like either of them.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">Normally, insta-love doesn't bother me (Hello, Twihard central over here), but in EDGE OF EVERYTHING, it definitely did. I think it's because, with insta-love, sure they may like each other from the very beginning, but they generally aren't smooching and cuddling within like three days. Especially when they know nothing about each other. Especially when one of them just saw the other try to kill someone.</span></div>
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The plot was great, but I didn't enjoy the execution of it. Nothing happened that really made me root for the characters. In fact, the only reason I was even remotely okay with not DNFing this book is because of the secondary characters that made pop ups. Banger, Ripper, Regent, Dallas, JONAH. It was them that I liked, even if they only got a few pages total of spotlight.</div>
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And what's sad is that this story had some REAL potential. Like, the synopsis and the blurbs made me so hyped to read it, but I was disappointed at what I found. It's sad when you read a book and can't get invested in the main characters, can't cheer them on, can't enjoy it. And sadly, that's where I was at.</div>
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I also feel like the world building of the Lowlands needed a lot more whipped cream. I finished the book, and I still know very little about what it's like there, or how the rules work, or who runs the place, and I have so many questions about it. </div>
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As for the ending? It didn't make me go OMG I DIDN'T LOVE THIS BOOK BUT I'LL READ BOOK 2 SO I CAN FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENS. It made me sigh because I was glad it was over.</div>
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I give THE EDGE OF EVERYTHING a single star review, and that star is for the secondary characters that shine like gold.</div>
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(Un)Happily,<br />Stephanie</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00584880055914407029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8258208893558887810.post-54636702899141350142017-03-09T05:00:00.001-08:002017-03-11T17:02:24.005-08:00Thursday Thinks: Bloggers Matter<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpRK2VTn6FelyvlljXfRG5e9rPqsDVs_IYjh5AjOQalMvmwS-XbtzN6IgK2DfLGNe_xKaYale4-pT1kMnGTqiHD7zWoS3T4PuYfqu3ihGV6lOhr6ITUo4iVOiv-hVA0ka6blnytcJgGJzB/s1600/dancing+books.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpRK2VTn6FelyvlljXfRG5e9rPqsDVs_IYjh5AjOQalMvmwS-XbtzN6IgK2DfLGNe_xKaYale4-pT1kMnGTqiHD7zWoS3T4PuYfqu3ihGV6lOhr6ITUo4iVOiv-hVA0ka6blnytcJgGJzB/s400/dancing+books.gif" width="400" /></a></div>
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Sometimes you make really good author friends. Sometimes, those author friends write new books. And sometimes, those author friends ask you to beta their WIPs.</div>
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That's when you go</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVbs8J7jV4fkhtmST2bFlezyDb_MVoq-AJa_AN2JHGjhPlmOdHavvCgoggIYzvX-gUkAGAW6ugYAfYuW0nZATfsjRo6Ehm7JKWRwTVRek8CdW-vPCSNFMSTHRAHtJtyMoIyznoz1hDRhte/s1600/xtine.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVbs8J7jV4fkhtmST2bFlezyDb_MVoq-AJa_AN2JHGjhPlmOdHavvCgoggIYzvX-gUkAGAW6ugYAfYuW0nZATfsjRo6Ehm7JKWRwTVRek8CdW-vPCSNFMSTHRAHtJtyMoIyznoz1hDRhte/s400/xtine.gif" width="400" /></a></div>
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Immediately followed by</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO7fG_9t5OXLiJCg2fNOpQKY9r_qm4e3csGFWDoGpfh1azCOVHScha8Yduoz03CCfSdxhyphenhyphen7C9XbgZzzeZYSejXSfgcEHMGRXNkOfCPp7EfQT09KkKKlwaocbxsvmk3ehGpe73re0FS13AR/s1600/stitchy.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO7fG_9t5OXLiJCg2fNOpQKY9r_qm4e3csGFWDoGpfh1azCOVHScha8Yduoz03CCfSdxhyphenhyphen7C9XbgZzzeZYSejXSfgcEHMGRXNkOfCPp7EfQT09KkKKlwaocbxsvmk3ehGpe73re0FS13AR/s400/stitchy.gif" width="400" /></a></div>
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It's a special kind of thing, to be asked to look at someone's work and give feedback. Even more so when you have a great relationship with that person and you know that they are genuinely interested in what you think.</div>
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And I know I've made a post about this before, but I think sometimes bloggers fall into a rut and they stop wanting to do posts and reviews and interviews. Blogging is a lot of work. It truly is-- posting isn't a quick, five minute ordeal. It can take hours just to get one post right, and it's a real labor of love. </div>
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Sometimes you get to where it feels like it's just too much. You get overwhelmed with schedules and finding time to read and time to blog, and you stop. </div>
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I did, but I had the intention of coming back. A lot of people don't.</div>
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And I just wanted to tell you bloggers out there that what we do DOES matter.</div>
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Beta reading is only one of the perks of doing our job, but it's a fantastic thing, to be asked. Relationships with publishers. Bookish friends. Knowing your review helped sell a book.</div>
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Don't undervalue yourself. It's hard, but the rewards are always worth it.</div>
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Happily,</div>
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Stephanie</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00584880055914407029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8258208893558887810.post-11389654180907658012017-03-07T05:00:00.000-08:002017-03-07T05:00:06.641-08:00Tuesday Reviews: Caraval by Stephanie Garber<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6B6VLX5Td24YHqqJKPfem85RJnP_jb3AZqFmHRMwZ9HqDIX-YDMHu2wS0A9OfrW2Zl2WNqNe0WrY9CEf-dmYm40lPz2egAd3acxN-y7tOBbPgQMg8mOeqvjhUft78jOLbuZAtJL5sCetp/s1600/Caraval.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6B6VLX5Td24YHqqJKPfem85RJnP_jb3AZqFmHRMwZ9HqDIX-YDMHu2wS0A9OfrW2Zl2WNqNe0WrY9CEf-dmYm40lPz2egAd3acxN-y7tOBbPgQMg8mOeqvjhUft78jOLbuZAtJL5sCetp/s320/Caraval.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>
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Title: Caraval (Caraval #1)</div>
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Author: Stephanie Garber</div>
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Publisher: Flatiron Books</div>
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Release Date: January 31, 2017</div>
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Format Read: ARC</div>
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Rating: 4.5 Stars</div>
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<i>Description from Goodreads: Whatever you've heard about Caraval, it doesn't compare to the reality. It's more than just a game or a performance. It's the closest you'll ever find to magic in this world...</i></div>
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<i>Welcome, welcome to CARAVAL-- Stephanie Garber's sweeping tale of two sisters who escape their ruthless father when they enter the dangerous intrigue of a legendary game.</i></div>
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<i>Scarlett has never left the tiny island where she and her sister, Tella, live with their powerful, and cruel, father. Now Scarlett's father has arranged a marriage for her, and Scarlett thinks her dreams of seeing Caraval, the far away, once-a-year performance where the audience participates in the show, are over.</i></div>
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<i>But this year, Scarlett's long-dreamt of invitation finally arrives. With the help of a mysterious sailor, Tella whisks Scarlett away to the show. Only, as soon as they arrive, Tella is kidnapped by Caraval's mastermind organizer, Legend. It turns out that this season's Caraval revolves around Tella, and whoever finds her first is the winner.</i></div>
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<i>Scarlett has been told that everything that happens during Caraval is only an elaborate performance. But she nevertheless becomes enmeshed in a game of love, heartbreak, and magic with the other players in the game. And whether Caraval is real or not, she must find Tella before the five nights of the game are over, a dangerous domino effect of consequences is set off, and her sister disappears forever.</i></div>
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Lemme tell you something before we get started here.</div>
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I LOVE a good fantasy. Strangely enough, though everybody had their own fantasies, good ones are hard to come by. When you find them, though, they blow up. They're the next big thing. And as this started happening with CARAVAL, I grabbed it off the shelf. I'd wanted to read it for a long time, but I hadn't had a chance to get to a nice, longer book in a while. Now, I did.</div>
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People. My ARC had 401 pages, and I read it in less than a day.</div>
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LESS. THAN. A. DAY.</div>
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I stayed up until like 2:30 for this bad boy, and I have no regerts (Intentional typo. If you haven't seen that Milky Way commercial, click below my sign-off).</div>
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So I start the book. I get about, eh, 60 pages in, and I've already decided that this book is weird. </div>
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W E I R D.</div>
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Mom asked how it was so far, and I literally told her, "It's weird. But, in a good way?"</div>
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I had no idea what was in store for me.</div>
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I read a but more, and found myself on page 103, texting my brother to tell him I was completely in love with this character, Julian.</div>
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BUT HOLD UP. LEMME TELL YOU BOUT JULIAN.</div>
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He's horrible. Egotistical, arrogant, slick as oil.</div>
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So, naturally, I love him.</div>
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So once I decide I love this character, we start down the path of CARAVAL, learning how it works and trying to find Tella. </div>
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Amongst this, I decide three things: Julian is a snake (luvs), Tella is selfish, and Scarlett is much like me.</div>
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As we're going along this journey, I can't help but marvel at how well Stephanie Garber had crafted this world. Everything was so intricate and perfect and delicate. The strings were tied in so many places that you could snip one in half and still have enough attached to hold the story together. The descriptions were specific, but there wasn't so many of them that I found myself wanting to skip paragraphs, which often happens for me in fantasies.</div>
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That could have been because I had other things tempting me to skip paragraphs. Snakes and such. But that's not the point.</div>
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And then I'm reading along and my world gets totally flipped. PLOT TWIST NUMBER ONE, AT YOUR SERVICE.</div>
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I start questioning everything I thought about everything I knew and I'm just sitting there with my mind spinning. Surely not. But... surely so.</div>
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And those are my favorite moments in a book (besides the nice snakes). When I think I know what's going on, but then suddenly, I don't. Suddenly, something I read made me question EVERYTHING. It's one of the most magical experiences a book can give you, and it was so incredibly fitting for CARVAL, because... well, go back up and read that description for me, will you?</div>
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You back? Good.</div>
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The entire point of the game of Caraval is that it's just that-- a game. No matter what happens in the game, it will always remain a game.</div>
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I mean. Unless, of course, it <i>wasn't</i> just a game.</div>
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You're not supposed to get swept up in Caraval. You aren't supposed to let it sweep you into madness. It was just a game.</div>
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Or was it?</div>
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THE WHOLE TIME I'M READING THIS BOOK, I'M STARTING TO QUESTION EVERYTHING. IS THIS REAL? IS THIS NOT REAL? IS ANYTHING REAL?</div>
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And the plot twists. You guys. I counted at least five that knocked me on my butt. I don't think I've ever been so ingrained in a book that I've had plot twists get me like this. They come out of the shadows and just shove you into somewhere you never expected to be. And then, they leave you to figure out what happened.</div>
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As I read, my mom kept looking up at me because I'd be laughing or shrieking at a twist, at my own shock of being deceived, and it had been ages since I'd felt stricken enough to react to it out loud.</div>
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And then we get to the ending, and I'm whirling. I'm trying to piece things together as I read, and I'm lost, and then suddenly, everything is cleared. </div>
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The book ends. But in the back of my head, I remembered Caraval. It was just a game, it wasn't real.</div>
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Or was it?</div>
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I cannot say enough about this book. If you enjoy fantasy, you NEED to get your hands on this. I haven't found a story like this in a long time, and it deserves to be told and shared with as many people as it possibly can be. Four point five stars, and the five is only because of something I can't share with you without spoiling literally everything. But I loved it. And I bet you will, too.</div>
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Happily,</div>
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Stephanie</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00584880055914407029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8258208893558887810.post-47413913782502893482017-03-02T05:00:00.000-08:002017-03-05T12:06:20.067-08:00Thursday Thinks: Rewriting Process<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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That's not Kermit you see up there. That's me. </div>
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As most of you know, I've written a contemporary YA ms. It's been setting on my shelf for a while, because I knew it was missing something-- I just didn't know what. Something about it was just... off. It wasn't right.</div>
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About a month ago, I picked it up, looked through it, started thinking on what would make it better, and came up with nothing. So, I started to rewrite it, seeing if I liked the way it came out more this time, and I did. After the first couple pages, I figured out what one of the things bothering me about the other ms was, and I fixed it. After the first chapter, I realized another thing. And after the fourth, another thing. </div>
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Guys, I'm on a roll over here. 25k has gone by quickly, and I spend every moment of my free time writing. It's gotten so bad that I've had to force myself to pick up a book or two so I can keep the blog going, because my head is just so stuck in, quite literally, my own little world.</div>
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It's my goal to finish it by the end of April. I'm not even halfway in, so we'll see what happens, but I think I can do it. </div>
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Now, I'm going to sign off and get started. I keep thinking about my current chapter, and I'm getting distracted.</div>
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Happily,</div>
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Stephanie</div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00584880055914407029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8258208893558887810.post-90600828902077296642017-02-28T05:00:00.001-08:002017-02-28T05:00:10.031-08:00Tuesday Reviews: The Detour by S.A. Bodeen<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs7gKW_Tw0WwZ0R_9gHtZv6klIhE00aAhX-DrBffkL23qvG6UJrjllpAIjf_53HnxKyz9foDKMdTmFXpz00IFfhC0rk-9z7BdcMSkz6BAbrYVycso-LSTPIdgj1oWxtUqPu9E_7paBDE_7/s1600/detour.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs7gKW_Tw0WwZ0R_9gHtZv6klIhE00aAhX-DrBffkL23qvG6UJrjllpAIjf_53HnxKyz9foDKMdTmFXpz00IFfhC0rk-9z7BdcMSkz6BAbrYVycso-LSTPIdgj1oWxtUqPu9E_7paBDE_7/s320/detour.jpg" width="214" /></a></div>
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Title: The Detour</div>
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Author: S.A. Bodeen</div>
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Publisher: Feiwel & Friends</div>
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Release Date: October 6, 2015</div>
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Format Read: Hardback</div>
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Rating: Four Stars</div>
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<i>Description from Goodreads: Livvy Flynn is a seventeen-year-old bestselling author whose YA fiction has sold all over the world. People in the industry kiss up to her. She's rich, she's famous, and she's full of herself.</i></div>
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<i>When she's invited to an A-list writers' conference, she decides to accept so she can work on her next book and enjoy the admiration-- and envy-- of the writer wannabes. Plus, she has a new, cute sports car, and it'll be fun to drive there by herself.</i></div>
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<i>And then she hits the detour. Before she knows it, the car is wrecked, she's hurt, and she's trapped in a basement with no idea where she is. A woman and her apparently manic daughter have kidnapped her. And they have no intention of letting her go.</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;"> </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">I bought THE DETOUR when it first came out in 2015, and I've had it on my shelves all this time. You guys know that I absolutely adore S.A. Bodeen's THE COMPOUND, and sequel THE FALLOUT, so I've collected each of Bodeen's novels throughout the years, and just never realized I hadn't read this one. SO, I did.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">I started it a few hours ago, and now I'm writing this. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">I'll be honest-- I had my doubts. A YA book about a teen YA writer? It seemed like it would be a bit corny. But holy geez, you guys. THIS BOOK.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px;">As much as I'd love to give this thing a full review, I'm not going to, because this was such a fresh and interesting story that I want all of you to pick it up. This story is so relevant to today's society, and my goodness, talk about a thriller. AND THE WHODUNNIT PLOT. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px;">The main character, Livvy is super transparent and it was great to see the world through her eyes, especially considering her status in the world was something I'm so involved and interested in. Along with that, you also got a nice look inside the publishing industry. Not super detailed, obviously, but enough to feel like you have a slightly better understanding.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px;">There's something, also, about Bodeen's endings. Unless you've read her works, it's hard to explain, but she does this thing with her standalones that end on a cliffhanger, and I love it. But I also hate it at the same time because I need more information and I know it's not going to be given to me.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px;">I give THE DETOUR a four star rating. There were a few things that I didn't like so much, but in all honesty that superb ending more than made up for it. I'm so pleased with this read, you guys! It was nice to read something that didn't feel at all familiar, even if I did have half of the plot figured out early on (but the other half??? Whoa.)</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px;">Anyway, it's a good thing I'll be meeting Mrs. Bodeen soon. I have a bone to pick with her over this book...</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px;">Happily,</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px;">Stephanie</span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00584880055914407029noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8258208893558887810.post-74814360726475858572017-02-23T05:00:00.000-08:002017-02-23T18:53:58.070-08:00Thursday Thinks: The Outsiders House Renovation Fundraiser<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It's easy for me to pick my favorite book. A lot of people say they can't-- that that's like asking them to choose between their children-- but I can. There are two books that have been outstandingly instrumental in my life. One of them is a highly unpopular YA standalone, and the other is THE OUTSIDERS by S.E. Hinton.</div>
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In case this one has slipped through the cracks of your read-dar, here's the description from Goodreads: <i>According to Ponyboy, there are two kinds of people in the world: greasers and socs. A soc (short for "social") has money, can get away with just about anything, and has an attitude longer than a limousine. A greaser, on the other hand, always lives on the outside and needs to watch his back. Ponyboy is a greaser, and he's always been proud of it, even willing to rumble against a gang of socs for the sake of his fellow greasers-- until one terrible night when his friend Johnny kills a soc. The murder gets under Ponyboy's skin, causing his bifurcated world to crumble and teaching him that pain feels the same whether a soc or a greaser.</i></div>
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In middle school, seventh grade to be exact, I was in Third Hour English with my favorite teacher, and that's when she told us that we were going to read a book as a class. It was required for our grade, and we'd go through it chapter by chapter every day; popcorn style. We started, and I remember being hooked immediately by the writing style and the internal narrative of the main character, Ponyboy Curtis. </div>
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After class, we were asked to hand in our books so that they could stay in the classroom, and I remember my teacher looking at me and making sure I knew that she did not want me reading the book out of class. That teacher knew me and my reading habits well, so her warning was not unnecessary. I stuck it out all week, and then that Friday we didn't finish our chapter in class, and were told to take the book home to finish the day's reading. We were a little less than halfway through the book at this point, so I took it home... and totally blew threw the last half over the weekend. It was the first book to bring me to tears. The first book to bring about so much emotion in me that I cried over the words on the pages. And that Monday when I went back to school, my teacher just looked at me and said, "You finished it, didn't you?" </div>
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Like I said, she knew me well.</div>
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The rest of the class still had to finish, so I reread the last half of the book with them, and after we finished, we watched the movie in class. I remember sitting on top of the desks in front of the screen with one of my closest friends, and just being completely entranced by the way the story was unfolding right before my eyes, and how it was so close to how things happened in the book (The Theatrical Version of The Outsiders is highly accurate, though it does leave out some key parts. One of them being when you find out WHY Pony is telling the story. I now know that there was a Director's Cut released, known as The Outsiders: The Complete Novel Edition. You can buy it <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Outsiders-Complete-Novel-Various/dp/B000A0GOE6">here</a>.).</div>
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Shortly after that, I bought my first pair of Converse. Shorter after that, I picked up a jean jacket. And from then on out, I've had my head in the world of greasers and soc's. Years have passed, and Converse are still the shoes you'll find me in the most (other than my cowboy boots, bc #FarmersGottaFarm). They're the only shoes I've worn so much that the rubber is falling off of the sides.</div>
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I'm always checking around for S.E. Hinton signings, and anytime someone mentions The Outsiders, you can bet that I'm jumping in on that conversation. That's why, when earlier this year, S.E. Hinton retweeted a link to a GoFundMe page mentioning the Curtis Brothers' House (Ponyboy's house from the movie) I had to click on it. What I found was the most amazing thing.</div>
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The house used for filming was in pretty bad shape. Dilapidated and falling down. Until Danny Boy O'Connor, band member of La Coka Nostra and House of Pain as well as founder of film/television/true crime-site scouting team Delta Bravo Urban Exploration, decided to do something about it. O'Connor purchased the house, and together with members of Delta Bravo, he's set forth to bring the house back to life. Their endgame is to revamp the house so that it looks as it does in the movie, and then turn the house into an Outsiders Museum, full of donated Greaser memorabilia. </div>
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The reactions and responses they've gotten have been insane. From tweets from the actors, to volunteer work and donations in terms of landscaping, security systems, drywall, and most recently, a new HVAC system for the house. As well as physical <i>labor</i> for the house, there have also been physical <i>donations</i>, such as crew jackets, magazines featuring the cast from movie release year, international editions of the book, switchblades like the ones carried by the greasers, and even an original script.</div>
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<a href="https://www.gofundme.com/theoutsidershouse">The GoFundMe page for the Outsiders House</a> has been up for ten months now, and in that time, 479 people have been generous enough to donate. So far, $32,140 has been raised towards the $75k goal, and the number grows on a (generally) day-to-day basis. Still, renovating a house takes a lot of cash. We're in the middle of doing so with an old farm house, so I understand the things they're struggling with-- it can be slow going if you don't have the money for it. </div>
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That said, O'Connor and crew were in need of renovation funds, so they set up a fundraiser event. The event would take place in downtown Tulsa, with a silent auction for Outsiders-related items (Set photos signed by Ralph Macchio; a signed copy of Rob Lowe's LOVE LIFE; multiple pieces of original artwork from local artists; a reprint of the script, signed by cast members such as Patrick Swayze, Matt Dillon, Emilio Estevez, C. Thomas Howell, Tom Cruise, Ralph Macchio, and Rob Lowe; and many more items, possibly the best of all being a copy of THE OUTSIDERS signed by S.E. Hinton herself. The fundraiser would feature local cover bands, have an area to purchase tshirts, and a full bar for those over 21. </div>
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But wait, there's more.</div>
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As an addition, special appearances would be made by O'Connor, two of the 52 Pick-Up boys (memorable scene from the opening of the movie, when Matt Dillon plays 52 card pick-up with three boys and then chases them across a lot.), Darren Dalton (One of two main soc's from the movie), and C. Thomas Howell.</div>
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Yes. </div>
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You read that right. </div>
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C. Thomas Howell, AKA Ponyboy Curtis, would be attending the fundraiser.</div>
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Of course, as soon as I heard about this, my mind started turning. I'd known about the house renovation for some time before the fundraiser was announced, and one of my close friends and I had planned on going to Tulsa as a sort of Senior Day-Trip to see the house before it became fully renovated and turned into a huge tourist trap. Because I'm such an Outsiders fan, I also talked said friend into agreeing to go to the many different filming locations. It had been our plan to do this on July 22nd, because it's Ponyboy's birthday, and things were set in stone, but when I heard about the fundraiser, I called him up immediately and convinced him that changing the date was the best idea ever. So things changed. August 6th was the new date for our trip. I bought tickets for the fundraiser for us, as well as my parents who wanted to attend as well, and proceeded to count down the days until the event.</div>
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***Disclaimer: This trip happened August of 2016, but due to health issues and school, it's just now coming out into the world.***</div>
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As the days passed, I got my Outsiders tshirt ready, made up a list of the filming locations and their addresses (Thank you Delta Bravo, that map is a lifesaver), and stayed up-to-date with the <a href="https://twitter.com/OutsidersHouse">Twitter</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/theoutsidershouse/?fref=ts">Facebook</a> feed of the House. </div>
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Soon, they released information that there would be a screening of The Outsiders on the 7th, followed by a Q&A with C. Thomas Howell and Darren Dalton. So again, I made a call to convince my friend that we should stay the night in Tulsa to attend the screening, which would be at one of the theaters featured in the movie. It took two days for us to find out whether he could get off two days in a row. In that time, the theater opened up two more auditoriums for the screening, and then sold out of all three just before I could grab tickets. We would be missing the show, but we'd get to meet them the night before, so even though we would have liked to go, we weren't complaining.</div>
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And then finally the time came. After what seemed like a year's worth of waiting, my 5am alarm went off and I stepped into my old converse, donned my Outsiders tee and jean vest, and hit the road. We met up with my friend (who will henceforth be known as Friend Grant, and is the aforementioned friend from my 7th grade English class), I hopped into his truck, and we started for Tulsa. We were driving for maybe a half hour when the clouds opened up and began pouring. It didn't take long for things to get crazy enough that it was pretty difficult to see through the windshield, so we pulled into a Cracker Barrel to have breakfast and sort of wait things out. By the time we finished, the rain had chilled out enough for us to continue, so we made our way towards Tulsa, making a few stops before I set the GPS to the first filming location on our agenda.</div>
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**Note**</div>
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Pictures below with the words "The Outsiders" typography are not mine. They are pictures taken by Delta Bravo, all credit goes to them. Pictures with my face in them, however, are mine. They are pictures taken by my mom, all credit goes to her.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">"Take the 3:15 train to Windrixville. It's a... It's a freight. There's an abandoned church on top of Jay Mountain."</span></div>
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Aforementioned first site was the approximate location of the Windrixville Church stood. Believed to be in Black Dog Park, the church was torn down quite some time ago and the area is now under water. After a few minutes of looking around and trekking through poison ivy and comparing pictures to landscapes, we found two prospective locations where the church could have been. Of course, neither of these are certain, and the church could have been at either or none of these locations. These are the best two options we found, though. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd-93ptgg3SHdnrGU1S9O4luJZQ96J6R0EBHW4NFaLh0q_A3FDOKvFVjTgCEzlQA369wIebkZoreDe_4wN8cXeDfaoWLLI9hd7bHJZAbl5yHjKikWQoe5LzrCi8vzaMjaVbnz5_JmZUJXw/s1600/IMG_4357.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd-93ptgg3SHdnrGU1S9O4luJZQ96J6R0EBHW4NFaLh0q_A3FDOKvFVjTgCEzlQA369wIebkZoreDe_4wN8cXeDfaoWLLI9hd7bHJZAbl5yHjKikWQoe5LzrCi8vzaMjaVbnz5_JmZUJXw/s400/IMG_4357.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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From there, we made our way to Sperry, OK, where we found the Rexall Drugstore that is shortly featured in the movie. It's now closed down, but there are still signs and knickknacks in the windows from before it shut down.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">"You kids ever play 52 Pick-Up?"</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUi_xKA_ZU2C8OIdiN_OWLPzpLKjLGM8N6wPXgm1h28gdNOJbxNAM-CvwNgmJwKiwx4rXo2C47POOREMiM5Fy05CgmxJiCZTdbAGVQ0kP0MzmLVWlAlhWuqjvbv12ulnIS1RSfakS6Qfa9/s1600/VoiceOutsiders-52-pickup-SMASH-ebb40c1f.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUi_xKA_ZU2C8OIdiN_OWLPzpLKjLGM8N6wPXgm1h28gdNOJbxNAM-CvwNgmJwKiwx4rXo2C47POOREMiM5Fy05CgmxJiCZTdbAGVQ0kP0MzmLVWlAlhWuqjvbv12ulnIS1RSfakS6Qfa9/s400/VoiceOutsiders-52-pickup-SMASH-ebb40c1f.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Directly behind the Rexall is the lot where the 52 Pick-Up scene took place. As we walked and took pictures, I couldn't keep from saying, "I don't like little kids, I just don't like 'em." Because Dally is one of my all-time favorite fictional characters.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwkkRih_s4ROfk1GbgrH_JqiFx2NS-RE1UzRHeDwNCIWvj5CT_VIRyvnY43_7ur3-jxnU0tK0t6Ko6bsWgWIOUec4CWqe88p2DGcHNHMzYZFKpmmqYLmDVIgM7uMqWoLOVz28iOuxLuGPY/s1600/IMG_4417.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwkkRih_s4ROfk1GbgrH_JqiFx2NS-RE1UzRHeDwNCIWvj5CT_VIRyvnY43_7ur3-jxnU0tK0t6Ko6bsWgWIOUec4CWqe88p2DGcHNHMzYZFKpmmqYLmDVIgM7uMqWoLOVz28iOuxLuGPY/s400/IMG_4417.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCGoPjfpLiJN4yY4aeA8elnDFV8dfjq4iprReb0_mtf08ozVFj9W5uBzQ7gcHnHgk-fbff7p91S3Ht70jFu7EAb8HiSm5ChcJOtVVENxTTi-mbZtr9flE8peKZqtNNVGLFMJqHoe-FwKWD/s1600/IMG_4420.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCGoPjfpLiJN4yY4aeA8elnDFV8dfjq4iprReb0_mtf08ozVFj9W5uBzQ7gcHnHgk-fbff7p91S3Ht70jFu7EAb8HiSm5ChcJOtVVENxTTi-mbZtr9flE8peKZqtNNVGLFMJqHoe-FwKWD/s400/IMG_4420.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">"Your brother Soda, he works at a gasoline station, right? A DX?"</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgP6uvQMMcW0iTFGdaVr7KCMpycgz8p7lttaOxw6x1sv5quA3PeEBXW2US229vte_JejYbEGhS70syDkUtqMnOb2kCNj6LndIcLX261RXXGAQt_PbKw32pOAKYU0eFsmpZeMeK94yz6evw/s1600/dx.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgP6uvQMMcW0iTFGdaVr7KCMpycgz8p7lttaOxw6x1sv5quA3PeEBXW2US229vte_JejYbEGhS70syDkUtqMnOb2kCNj6LndIcLX261RXXGAQt_PbKw32pOAKYU0eFsmpZeMeK94yz6evw/s400/dx.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Just a few yards down the road from the Rexall was the DX station that Sodapop and Steve worked at. This was the first of the locations that we visited that really blew my mind. This was the first scene in the movie that Rob Lowe, Tom Cruise, Matt Dillon, C. Thomas Howell, and Ralph Macchio were together in. Not all of the greaser crew, but a good amount of them. The DX is now an empty, unused building. Standing where the gas pumps used to be, I heard Steve say, "Hey, Soda. Here come the Hobos."</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQdYIcGlJIVwxgt6a3Sp7hgkCPx7fXGyZST-Um4uTy-r0F1i6RHSWhngjYr9X0-dCRRWCm72KWInwpq0cTjnN10x7mf4ywIOfuHmiCfeyPtWdzdsOrI4VFbAYAC7z7cfrHMCqgCIPIpe_U/s1600/IMG_4441.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQdYIcGlJIVwxgt6a3Sp7hgkCPx7fXGyZST-Um4uTy-r0F1i6RHSWhngjYr9X0-dCRRWCm72KWInwpq0cTjnN10x7mf4ywIOfuHmiCfeyPtWdzdsOrI4VFbAYAC7z7cfrHMCqgCIPIpe_U/s400/IMG_4441.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0pBIuHCk8qc7Z2NeLhLg6cAjIYS_x5c7Tals1WiomEwR7Ywd_SXVo_A6gWOxVreQzc6fmD-g9L0jxtVXUG0ta-_D6Fic57w9knyeEXKXCUVuUsUJZHd1qBeRe0-vdxXin0YJnwlxsCUR5/s1600/burger+stand.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0pBIuHCk8qc7Z2NeLhLg6cAjIYS_x5c7Tals1WiomEwR7Ywd_SXVo_A6gWOxVreQzc6fmD-g9L0jxtVXUG0ta-_D6Fic57w9knyeEXKXCUVuUsUJZHd1qBeRe0-vdxXin0YJnwlxsCUR5/s400/burger+stand.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
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After the DX, we traveled to Owasso, OK to find the Burger Stand. It's now a Kum & Go, but the football stadium in the background is still there. This was perhaps the most entertaining place to take pictures, as there were still people going in and out of the convenience store, and the looks they gave us as they read our signs and stared were hilarious. </div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">"He's just a kid!"</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnbfabZRU9obIVOZ4Z11_a4DxnaU2uwzVD0AEV1EXa58fDW19CkBpiFGp3o1uwSIoWn-fdzkW5hDRR3Iv_RuJ1ywLiPmpT-tTWxOs2W_a_KBrwh9r62L9_kITNmGt_9YpCGVPhhApOP76U/s1600/dallygobyebye.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="396" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnbfabZRU9obIVOZ4Z11_a4DxnaU2uwzVD0AEV1EXa58fDW19CkBpiFGp3o1uwSIoWn-fdzkW5hDRR3Iv_RuJ1ywLiPmpT-tTWxOs2W_a_KBrwh9r62L9_kITNmGt_9YpCGVPhhApOP76U/s400/dallygobyebye.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
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From Owasso, we headed for Crutchfield Park. On the way there, we passed Lowell Elementary, which served as a production office throughout the filming of the movie, and through we got turned around (I'm so bad with maps, guys. So bad.) we did find the park. Here, I was in a more solemn mood. This is the location of Bob's death in the movie, but it's also the location of Dally's death. I mentioned earlier that he's one of my favorite fictional characters, so being at the place where they filmed his death scene was a bit heavy for me. Friend Grant is all smiles, but not me.</div>
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At the same park, just on the other side, is the location of the scene where Johnny kills Bob the soc. The fountain was gone, but you could still see the place where it had stood. Unfortunately, it was hard to make out on camera, so we took our picture by the park sign.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">"It ain't a rumble without me!"</span></div>
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Not too far away from the park (Literally just down the street) was the site of the rumble with the soc's. The lot that this was filmed in is now someone's yard, so we didn't go into it. But we definitely did stand on the sidewalk to get a picture. Just a few yard down was Johnny's house, but someone was living there so I didn't want to disturb them. I was happy with the rumble lot. </div>
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On the next street over, we found St. Louis. There, on the corner, sat the Curtis Brothers' House. We parked along the road, and walked across the street, stopping to take pictures with the brand new, less-than-12-hours-old street signs that now read The Outsiders Way and Curtis Brothers Lane. The night before, O'Connor and C. Thomas Howell, along with S.E. Hinton herself attended the unveiling of the signs, with a large group of fans that turned out. I didn't even know this was happening, or you can be sure that I'd have been there, but it was so amazing to walk up and see the signs. What was crazy is that we later learned that one of the neighbors actually stole the signs in the middle of the night, and O'Connor's crew had to go and retrieve them the morning of the 6th.<br />
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So we take our pictures, and turn to admire the house. It was then that we met Zachary Matthews, one of the guys that Danny bought the house with. He gave us some Delta Bravo stickers and said hello, before we were distracted by a man who had pulled up alongside the house. His name was Jim Thompson, and he had been talking to one of the men accompanying Matthews. We found out that he had actually been an extra in the movie. He'd been the one driving the car in the flashback scene showing the Curtis Parents' death, and he spoke of how it took so many adjustments of the vehicle and it's position before Francis Ford Coppola gave him the okay. Apparently, everyone who helped out with the movie was given tickets to the premiere, and Thompson went to the theater with his wife to see the movie and spot himself, and it turned out that the scene only lasted for about as long as it takes to blink. Thompson said they laughed, and his wife told him that he'd better keep his day job.<br />
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After listening to Thompson's story, Matthews turned to us and asked if we'd like to see the inside of the house.<br />
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Of course, I jumped on the opportunity, and walked up the steps to the front porch.<br />
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Stepping over that threshold was like something out of a dream.<br />
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Here I was, standing inside the house that so many of the scenes of the movie were filmed in, and it was amazing. I looked at the layout of the house and watched as countless clips played in my mind, and had them brought to life when Matthews instructed me to stand in a certain spot in the living room, and then proceeded to hand me a photo. Holding the photo in front of me, I could line up the windows in the picture with the windows of the house, and be transported into the film. I saw Sodapop in front of me, hanging out in the chair, and then Matthews walked to the kitchen, where he showed me another photo and we marveled at how the wood pattern on the threshold's trim matched the pattern in the photo taken during one of the movie scenes. I traced it with my finger. Standing there, Matthews showed me where the stove would have been in the house, and I channeled my inner Ponyboy as I re-inacted the scene where Tom Cruise as Steve, and Emilio Estevez as Two-Bit pounce on Pony in the kitchen as he's cooking breakfast, and the eggs go flying to the other side of the room. Next, Matthews took me to the bedroom, showed me where Ponyboy's desk had been placed. The place where C. Thomas Howell as Ponyboy wrote the words, "When I stepped out into the bright sunlight from the darkness of the movie house, I had two things on my mind: Paul Newman and a ride home." Slowly, I made my way back to the living room, knowing that our tour had come to an end. On the way, I passed the bathroom where Rob Lowe infamously stepped out of the shower as Sodapop and nearly flashed his goods on camera, and then proceeded to listen to Mr. Thompson retell his story about being in the movie (no matter how few seconds he appeared, it was still a fantastic account to hear!).<br />
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After taking one last 360 in the living room, we left the house. I'd been on the verge of tears when I walked in (Never in my wildest dreams did I expect to be allowed inside the house) and as I walked out, I had the biggest smile on my face. Zachary had given us the go-ahead to take all the photos we wanted on the porch (No photos allowed inside) so we spent the next ten minutes or so getting our snapshots in so we'd always be able to remember the special time we spent there.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">"Then pity the backseat!"</span></div>
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From the Curtis Brothers' House, we headed for lunch. After that, Friend Grant had an errand to run, so he split from us and we planned to meet up at the fundraiser in just a short couple of hours. By the time lunch had finished, we had just about an hour before things would be getting started with the event, so we made our way to the Admiral Twin Drive-In. Closed at the time, we managed to get a good many photos of the place, including one of my favorites just a few yards down the road from the entrance, at the place where the soc's followed Ponyboy, Johnny, Two-Bit, and the girls from the Drive-In. One of my absolute favorite lines from both the book and the movie happened in this scene-- it's when Randy (one of the soc's, played by Darren Dalton who would be at the fundraiser) calls the greasers bums, and says that they have four more (soc's) in the backseat. That's when Two-Bit says, "Then pity the backseat". It's always been one of my favorite parts, and I was so happy to have gotten a picture at that location.<br />
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After hitting up the Admiral, we made our way to downtown Tulsa. By this point, I'm getting jumpy, and waiting in line outside the club in the middle of August wasn't feeling too great, but what made up for it was the people around me. As people added to the line, and the car show across the street grew in size, I began seeing Converse. Jean jackets. Leather jackets. Outsiders themed tshirts. Knowing that everyone standing behind me, and in front of me, were fans of the book, movie, or both, was a pretty incredible feeling.<br />
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We stood in that line for at least an hour. Not too long into the wait, Friend Grant met back up with us, and we all endured the heat together. The music coming from the car show was loud, the sound of people talking and laughing filled the air, and I took out my copy of THE OUTSIDERS and dove in. In that moment, I was glad that my friends were used to me reading when they were over. Later, as I went through the pictures, I found that Mom had caught me.<br />
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Just as I decided to take off that jean vest, the door opened. It took probably fifteen minutes for us to get inside (they had to give everyone wristbands and check ID; Friend Grant and I were gifted big UNDERAGE Xs on our hands). Inside, there was a cover band playing, as well as a that list of items I mentioned that were up for auction, so we grabbed a table and perused the many things that would be bought over the course of the night. It wasn't long before I found the signed copy of THE OUTSIDERS. So far, no one had taken up the starting bid of $100, and the gears in my mind started turning. I'd brought a stack of bills with me just in case, as I wasn't planning on leaving without that book in my hands, and went back to our table to think.<br />
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Drinks in hand, I told my parents about the items and we began discussing the book. I didn't want anyone getting it but me, and I'd had bad luck with silent auctions before, so I was planning on making a big bid to start off, hoping that no one would push it higher. I went back to the book and wrote down my max bid of $300, knowing that if someone took it father, I'd immediately be out of the picture.<br />
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It was a risk I was willing to take.<br />
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We hung out for a while, headed to the "gift shop" and purchased tshirts and pins, and went through more soda than we probably should have, and then they changed bands. That's when things started to get sticky. As you guys know, I have a pacemaker. Due to that, there are things I need to watch-- things that affect me that wouldn't necessarily bother a normal person. One of those is bass, whether it's in the car or coming from the stage, and it was definitely strong at the venue. We sat there, and only got through part of a song before I felt my pulse speed up. My chest constricted, it became hard to breathe, and I couldn't sit still. I made it through three songs before I knew I had to leave.<br />
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I had two major concerns at this point.<br />
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Number One: The auction. There was pretty much only one rule: You had to be there at the end of the night to accept the item and exchange the money. If you weren't, you didn't get it and it went to the person who had bid before you. Thank God for parents who have more common sense than I do, because while I cleaned up and gathered our belongings, Mom went to talk to someone overseeing the auction. She came back a few minutes later with news that she had explained the situation and they had allowed her to write her phone number next to my bid. If no one outbid me, they'd call and I could transfer the money to them electronically. <b>They were more concerned with my health than with the details of the auction-- a rarity in today's society.</b><br />
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Number Two, and quite possibly the most important: The meet and greet. If I left, I would lose my chance of meeting C. Thomas Howell and Darren Dalton-- the entire reason we'd moved the trip date in the first place. I didn't want to sacrifice that... meeting Ponyboy in the flesh? These were the actors that made up my favorite movie. These were the actors that I could quote nearly all of their lines from all of their scenes, and the opportunity was going to slip through my hands.<br />
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But, like any medical patient knows, sometimes you have to give up the things you want in order to stay safe.<br />
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We left the venue and I could instantly breathe better without the bass, but I was a mixture of angry and distraught as we walked to the car and went to grab dinner (Taco Bell > Taco Bueno ANY day). My parents felt bad, even though it wasn't even close to their fault that we had to leave, but it was my hope that they'd have another event sometime soon, and just maybe the actors would come back.<br />
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The four hour drive that ended the day ended on a pretty great note. As I played DJ in the front seat (and nearly caused a car crash when I played Let It Go and rook Friend Grant's attention away from the road), my mood started to lift, and when we stopped for gas, Mom and Dad revealed to me some amazing news-- The book was mine. No one out bid me, and I was the proud new owner of a signed copy of THE OUTSIDERS.<br />
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Only a few days later, a yellow bubble envelope came in the mail, and I was about to burst with excitement. As I ripped it open, I was in shock at what came out. Not only did I have the book in my hands, but I also had a stack of Delta Bravo stickers, pins from the fundraiser that I hadn't bought when we were there, Outsiders movie stickers, a VIP lanyard from the event, and a playing card signed by two of the three 52 Pick Up boys.<br />
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Yet again, another person associated with the Outsiders House who was kind, thoughtful, and who is much appreciated. Big thanks to Donnie Rich for that package-- it was incredible to receive.<br />
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So now, it's 2017. As I've been typing this, I received the news that <a href="http://circlecinema.com/portfolio/the-outsiders-50-a-celebration-with-booksmart-tulsa-sat-325-at-2pm/">S.E. Hinton is having a book signing and movie screening</a> on the 25th of March, and that there is going to be a new fundraiser event on May 6-- <a href="http://www.cainsballroom.com/event/1435195-outsiders-50th-anniversary-tulsa/">A 50th Anniversary Celebration</a>, at which C. Thomas Howell, Ralph Macchio, and Darren Dalton will be attending.<br />
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The hope is alive, my friends. I already know by the dates that I won't be able to go to either of these events, but the hope is alive. I'll watch social media, and when the next event pops up, I'll be there. Until then... Stay Gold, O' Connor and team. Stay Gold.<br />
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Happily,<br />
Stephanie</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00584880055914407029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8258208893558887810.post-71786010707239364692017-02-21T05:00:00.000-08:002017-02-21T05:00:34.347-08:00Tuesday Reviews: The Graces by Laure Eve<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Title: The Graces (The Graces #1)</div>
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Author: Laure Eve</div>
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Publisher: Amulet Books</div>
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Release Date: Septemer 6, 2016</div>
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Format Read: ARC</div>
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Rating: One Star</div>
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<i>Description from Goodreads: When a glamorous family of teenage witches brings a mysterious new girl into their fold, they unwittingly nurture a powerful black magic that could destroy them all. This paranormal YA fantasy features intrigue, spells, and a devastating twist. In THE GRACES, the first rule of witchcraft states that if you want something badly enough, you can get it... no matter who has to pay.</i></div>
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<i>Everyone loves the Graces. Fenrin, Thalia, and Summer grace are captivating, wealthy, and glamorous. They've managed to cast a spell over not just their high school but also their entire town-- and they're rumored to have powerful connections all over the world. If you're not in love with one of them, you want to be them. Especially River: the loner, new girl at school. She's different from her peers, who both revere and fear the Grace family. She wants to be a Grace more than anything. But what the Graces don't know is that River's presence in town is no accident.</i></div>
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<i>This fabulously addictive fantasy combines sophisticated and haunting prose with a gut-punching twist that readers will be dying to discuss. Perfect for fans of We Were Liars as well as nostalgic classics like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the 1996 movie The Craft, THE GRACES marks the beginning of a new wave of teen witches.</i></div>
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Let me just go ahead and say that THE GRACES was one of the books I was most excited to receive an advanced copy of. The Goodreads description up there is good and all, but the one on the back of my ARC is about 10x more alluring and it made me so hyped. </div>
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After finishing it, I'm just sitting here like... what the crap did I just read?</div>
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Honestly.</div>
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This is probably going to be a super short review, guys. More like a tangent.</div>
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My problems with the story were these: </div>
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-I didn't fall in love with any of the characters-- they were all kind of detached and distant. </div>
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-That big reveal mentioned up above? It was so obvious. </div>
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-Literally had it figured out by chapter 5.</div>
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-The plot was... boring.</div>
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-Everything was very dragged out.</div>
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All that said, I'm highly disappointed in this book. I had such high hopes for it, and it felt like such a let down. And honestly, this would have been perfectly fine as a standalone. I'm not sure why they're making more of these, I feel like the plot is done. </div>
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Actually, hold on.</div>
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The one good thing I found in this book was the ending-- even though another book doesn't feel quite necessary, the ending was pretty killer. The last like... chapter? Made the whole book. Even though I didn't really enjoy the story, I'll have to read book two simply because of the ending. The last few sentences were killer.</div>
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I give THE GRACES a single star, and that star is only because of the ending. Oops. </div>
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I wanted so badly to love this one, but I just didn't. And that is a sad, sad thing.</div>
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(Un)happily,</div>
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Stephanie</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00584880055914407029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8258208893558887810.post-29443944691543026412017-02-16T15:21:00.000-08:002017-02-16T15:21:03.269-08:00Thursday Thinks: An Update<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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As you guys found out last summer, I have a pretty intense heart issue. A heart attack, multiple surgeries, and a flat-line on the table have all been things that have happened since 2012, and now I'm here to tell you some more fun info.</div>
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Something else you know is that I've been pretty absent due to school. Last semester literally gave me no time to do anything fun or book-related, and so I took a break from blogging. </div>
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Obviously, I'm back *Insert sunglasses emoji*</div>
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BUT</div>
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Some medical stuff also happened last semester, so I figured I should tell you that I had another heart attack in September. I was fine, had just parked my mower and was texting with one hand and taking a drink with the other, and the next thing I knew I woke up on the ground. We went to the ER (standard procedure for if I pass out) and found out that it wasn't because of low blood sugar, or because I'd gotten dizzy, but because my heart had gotten up to 333 beats per minute. As my heart had gotten out of control, I passed out, and then my defibrillator swooped in to save the day.</div>
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Once we knew this, they med-evac'ed me to my hospital (hours away) and when I got there, I was totally fine. They sent me home a couple days later, and it was about three weeks before we heard back from the hospital. They wanted to send me a little monitor and have me wear it for 24 hours so they could see if I was having any issues.</div>
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I did, and turned out... I was.</div>
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So they pulled me back into the hospital, started me on this new medication that could have some rather unpleasant side effects, and made me stay for a few days so they could make sure my body could handle the med. </div>
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Spoiler Alert: It did.</div>
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I went home on Halloween, and went back to school after a few days.</div>
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Fast forward to December. First day of Christmas Break and I'm in the hospital getting the battery replaced on my pacemaker. We were supposed to go to Disney over break, but the doctors didn't think it was a smart idea. Apparently my battery was so low that if I needed it in Florida (so many hours away from my doctor) that it may not have a juice to keep me alive until we got to my hospital.</div>
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So I had it replaced, and it took me a little over a month to recoup from that. Just in case you wondered, they slit me open on my old incision, pulled the device away from the pluggy things that lead to my heart, scraped out all of the scar tissue from where it had formed around my old pacemaker, put a new one in, and sewed me back up.</div>
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Suffice it to say, that was some terrible bed-ridden recouperation right there-- I even still have two stitches that really need to dissolve already because I'd like to be able to wear shirts without being like, "hm, I wonder if this will rub on my stitch enough to pull it out today." </div>
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But yeah.</div>
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So.</div>
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I'm all good now. Just thought I'd keep you guys updated!</div>
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Happily,</div>
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Stephanie </div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00584880055914407029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8258208893558887810.post-16387264589871506312017-02-14T15:31:00.000-08:002017-02-14T15:31:04.375-08:00Tuesday Reviews: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Title: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Harry Potter #1)</div>
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Author: J.K. Rowling</div>
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Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books</div>
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Release Date: June 26, 1997</div>
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Rating: Four Stars</div>
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<i>Description from Goodreads: Harry Potter's life is miserable. his parents are dead and he's stuck with his heartless relatives, who force him to live in a tiny closet under the stairs. But his fortune changes when he receives a letter that tells him the truth about himself: he's a wizard. A mysterious visitor rescues him from his relatives and takes him to his new home, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.</i></div>
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<i>After a lifetime of bottling up his magical powers, Harry finally feels like a normal kid. But even within the Wizarding community, he is special. he is the boy who lived: the one person to have ever survived a killing curse inflicted by the evil Lord Voldemort, who launched a brutal takeover of the Wizarding world, only to vanish after failing to kill Harry.</i></div>
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<i>Though Harry's first year at Hogwarts is the best of his life, not everything is perfect. There is a dangerous secret object hidden within the castle walls, and Harry believes it's his responsibility to prevent it from falling into evil hands. But doing so will bring him into contact with forces more terrifying than he ever could have imagined.</i></div>
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<i>Full of sympathetic characters, wildly imaginative situations, and countless exciting details, the first installment of a series assembles an unforgettable magical world and sets the stage for many high-stakes adventures to come.</i></div>
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As crazy as it may seem to some of you, I've never read the Harry Potter books. Okay, actually, I take that back-- I've read Deathly Hallows.</div>
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Don't come after me with a pitchfork, I know I shouldn't have done it, but in my defense I was like 13 and I watched Deathly Hallows pt 2 in the theaters and couldn't wait a year to find out what happens. So, logically, I read Deathly Hallows.</div>
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That was years ago, and now I've finally got all the books in my possession and on my new and gorgeous shelves, so I picked up Sorcerer's Stone and got to it.</div>
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I used to hear people talk about how the first movie is so much like the book, and the second one is as well, and they don't start changing from the book much until PoA, and guys... reading the book was like watching the movie, except Peeves. They were SO CLOSE. I was really proud. </div>
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Why can't we get adaptions of other books to be like that?</div>
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That said, there's really not a lot for me to review because you all know I have a huge Harry Potter obsession and have seen the movies about 4 billion times.</div>
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Anyway, I did LOVE the book. It was amazing to experience the writing of Jo firsthand instead of the snippets I got from the social worlds.</div>
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I don't even care who you are, you should read Harry Potter. And if you're one of the people who says Harry Potter shouldn't be allowed because they're withcraft books, hit me up. I'm a Christian too, but let me tell you why you're wrong.</div>
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Happily,</div>
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Stephanie</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00584880055914407029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8258208893558887810.post-72577451252476753092017-02-07T05:00:00.000-08:002017-02-11T15:02:15.285-08:00Tuesday Reviews: Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy by Cassandra Clare<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz_yJtj08G2bax-uYsL7UVjmisCIATUKrjYZq-2mExN_KU81FO7J5T-jgL59xrbH3hUCgqmmWCav9L9HBsW3-JbjJsU2bfCJv0ET2z8E6_fanKDVEkoChi0ykEO0lBjLGJQgJgFFLHr2bM/s1600/tales.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz_yJtj08G2bax-uYsL7UVjmisCIATUKrjYZq-2mExN_KU81FO7J5T-jgL59xrbH3hUCgqmmWCav9L9HBsW3-JbjJsU2bfCJv0ET2z8E6_fanKDVEkoChi0ykEO0lBjLGJQgJgFFLHr2bM/s400/tales.jpg" width="265" /></a></div>
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Title: Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy</div>
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Author: Cassandra Clare, Sarah Rees Brennan, Maureen Johnson, Robin Wasserman</div>
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books<br />
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Release Date: November 15, 2016</div>
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Rating: Five Stars</div>
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<i>Description from Goodreads: Simon Lewis has been a human and a Vampire, and now he is becoming a Shadowhunter. But the events of City of Heavenly Fire left him stripped of his memories, and Simon isn't sure who he is anymore. He knows he was friends with Clary, and that he convinced the total goddess Isabelle Lightwood to go out with him... but he doesn't know how. And when Clary and Isabelle look at him, expecting him to be a man he doesn't remember... Simon can't take it.</i></div>
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<i>So when the Shadowhunter Academy reopens, Simon throws himself into this new world of demon-hunting, determined to find himself again. his new self. Whomever this new Simon might be.</i></div>
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<i>But the Academy is a Shadowhunter institution, which means it has some problems. Like the fact that non-Shadowhunter students have to live in the basement. And that differences-- like being a former vampire-- are greatly looked down upon. At least Simon is trained in weaponry-- even if it's only from hours of playing D&D.</i></div>
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<i>Join Simon on his journey to become a Shadowhunter, and learn about the Academy's illustrious history along the way, through guest lecturers such as Jace Herondale, Tessa Gray, and Magnus Bane. These ten short stories give an epilogue to the Mortal Instruments series and provide glimpses of what's in store in the Dark Artifices.</i></div>
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If you're reading this, and you haven't read The Mortal Instruments series, as well as the Infernal Devices series, the door is below. Please see yourself out and come back when you have become an expert on all things Shadowhunter.</div>
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If you HAVE read all of those books, including CITY OF HEAVENLY FIRE, then WELCOME. GUESS WHO THIS BOOK IS ABOUT. SIMON FREAKING LEWIS. </div>
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After COHF, I really needed some Simon. It was hard enough having to dive into LADY MIDNIGHT without reading the short stories (curse you ebook-given migraines), so when the book finally came out, I snatched it up, and I couldn't be happier with what I read.</div>
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Not only do you get new characters like George Lovelace, but you also get cameos from some of our beloved-- Clace, Malec, Izzy, Wessa, Jessa, IT IS ALL THERE. It's so wonderful.</div>
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What's great about this book is that it's short stories, right, but together they're one big story. It starts with Simon's entering the Academy and follows him all the way until his moment of... well, you'll see. </div>
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Each of the plots were intricate and delicate and reading this was almost like watching one of those episodes of your favorite show when the main character gets these flashbacks from their past. Except this time, you're just living them out with the character, and watching as the plot of the whole book is exposed just as the plot for each mini story comes alive.</div>
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Cassie writes so beautifully, too. Being immersed back into the Shadowhunter world is literally like no other fandom. The way she weaves the stories like webs and makes you feel things even from the side characters... It's rare, and real, and I can't ever and will never get enough of it.</div>
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I have a favorite story, but I will tell you nothing of it. Instead, I want to hear YOUR thoughts. Tell me what you loved, because I loved it all. Tell me everything. Let's fangirl out together.</div>
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Happily,</div>
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Stephanie</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00584880055914407029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8258208893558887810.post-32307949177194703232017-02-02T05:00:00.000-08:002017-02-02T14:41:46.693-08:00Thursday Thinks: A Dog's Purpose<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFgcQUDLUNLdUWY3Rud7cHs7ipZiAdwNUgjf3HcrNU0pEuT5s0qjqBkgUX3rQGtpgcq12n2urBA_dWgJfdOyJiuZyTsSAVgIaBbE1t7i4_t0yLHvZ7ZUu3KOurjkUMw7Gmpu4Y_T71Vgwf/s1600/baileybaileybailey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFgcQUDLUNLdUWY3Rud7cHs7ipZiAdwNUgjf3HcrNU0pEuT5s0qjqBkgUX3rQGtpgcq12n2urBA_dWgJfdOyJiuZyTsSAVgIaBbE1t7i4_t0yLHvZ7ZUu3KOurjkUMw7Gmpu4Y_T71Vgwf/s320/baileybaileybailey.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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So, I'm not sure if you knew this or anything, but.... A DOG'S PURPOSE CAME OUT LAST FRIDAY!</div>
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I have been so excited for this release. When I found out it was in production, I was in celebration mode, because I hadn't met many people who had read the book, and now everyone would understand the greatness of it. </div>
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In case you don't know, A Dog's Purpose is about a dog who lives many lives in different forms. Male, female, big dog, little dog, one owner, a family of owners, loving homes, and ones that aren't so loving. All throughout his many lives, this dog tries to find an answer to one question: What is his purpose in life?</div>
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<i>Here's the Description from Goodreads: This is the remarkable story of one endearing dog's search for his purpose over the course of several lives. More than just another charming dog story, this touches on the universal answer to life's most basic question: Why are we here?</i></div>
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<i>Surprised to find himself reborn as a rambunctious golden haired puppy after a tragically short life as a stray mutt, Bailey's search for his new life's meaning leads him into the loving arms of 8 year old Ethan. During countless adventures, Bailey joyously discovers how to be a good dog. But this life as a beloved family pet is not the end of Bailey's journey. Reborn as a puppy yet again, Bailey wonders, will he ever find his purpose?</i></div>
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<i>Heartwarming, insightful, and often laugh out loud funny, this book is not only the emotional and hilarious story of a dog's many lives, but also a dog's eye commentary on human relationships and the unbreakable bonds between man and man's best friend. This story teaches us that love never dies, that our true friends are always with us, and that every creature on earth is born with a purpose.</i></div>
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It was a very emotional read, so I came to the theater prepared. A box of tissues and a stack of napkins accompanied me to my showing, as well as my mom and my three best friends. </div>
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Let me interrupt myself for a PSA: Don't assume guys don't want to see a movie because it's borderline chick-flicky. My three best friends are dudes and they were down to see A Dog's Purpose whenever I wanted. Granted, one of them only came because he knew I'd cry, but by the end of the movie he said he loved it. </div>
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So we filed into the theater, and whoa. Let me tell you. It was a nearly spot-on adaptation. Everything was perfect-- I couldn't have asked for a better movie out of it-- and I was impressed. </div>
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Though, I was glad I brought the tissues, because I cried a grand total of four times throughout the show. The positive thing about going to emotional movies with close guy friends is that they also bring napkins and provide shoulders to lean on.</div>
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If you have any connection to a dog, if you've ever loved one, this movie will get you. You could hear sobs echoing around the room-- it even made one of my guys cry, and none of them are even remotely emotional. </div>
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If you're a dog lover, a Dennis Quaid lover, or a Britt Robertson lover, I suggest you watch this beautiful adaptation. </div>
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Check out the trailer below! </div>
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<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/1jLOOCADTGs/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1jLOOCADTGs?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
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Happily,</div>
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Stephanie</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00584880055914407029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8258208893558887810.post-58525894766297499242017-01-31T05:00:00.000-08:002017-01-31T05:00:22.520-08:00Tuesday Reviews: Gilt Hollow by Lorie Langdon<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh656nqkAZrGi9wQ1HegpETAN8HQMfw0j8_sJ0RJgXlKEw0f3DDNICyw6-q_rqzfCxpZ5432_QNzurAmfVjpIKkz79oujbY4RXE6Wd0G7gwxnDsGUy_d8O8N1D8jyTaiKouQY4JLbODp0R/s1600/gilt+hollow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh656nqkAZrGi9wQ1HegpETAN8HQMfw0j8_sJ0RJgXlKEw0f3DDNICyw6-q_rqzfCxpZ5432_QNzurAmfVjpIKkz79oujbY4RXE6Wd0G7gwxnDsGUy_d8O8N1D8jyTaiKouQY4JLbODp0R/s320/gilt+hollow.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>
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Title: Gilt Hollow<br />Author: Lorie Langdon</div>
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Publisher: Blink</div>
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Release Date: September 27, 2016</div>
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Format Read: ARC</div>
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Rating: Five stars</div>
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<i>Review from Goodreads: Willow Lamott's best friend is a murderer, and no one in the small town of Gilt Hollow will let her forget it. For four long years, she's tried to fade into the background-- but none of that matters when Ashton Keller comes striding into school, fresh out of juvie and fueled by revenge. The moment their eyes meet, Willow no longer feels invisible. Drawn tot he vulnerability behind Ashton's mask of rage, she sinks deeper into his sinister world and begins to question whether he's a villain, a savior, or both. </i></div>
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<i>Ashton thought he wanted vengeance, until Willow reminded him what he'd been missing. Noe he longs to clear his name and become the person she sees in him. But the closer they get to uncovering the truth, the darker the secrets become, and Ashton fears his return to Git Hollow will destroy everyone he loves, especially the girl he left behind.</i></div>
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GILT HOLLOW was one of my top three plucks from BEA. I'd been super excited when I found out it was going to be there, and this is one of those books that I sacrificed a few drops for, because there was no way I was leaving without it.</div>
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Let's go with characters first. I love me some contemporary, and usually the contemporary love interests are pretty great, but guys... ASHTON. I finished that book and dreamt about him when I went to bed. He's so great. Far from a typical, flat love interest, Ashton Keller is well-developed and easily lovable, and he stole my heart from page one. Literally. Page one. </div>
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Willow is also pretty great. She reminds me a lot of myself, and I was able to relate to many of her struggles, which made reading the story so much fun. She, too, is more than just a page character, and her development is pretty spot-on as well.</div>
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Plot. Plot can be summed up like this...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPJ3DRZu5-ldAQ-1NOY-WqghMxshyAGCMORcjnuty43hyphenhyphen3ZFycnwMhYem165UsH0_fPVWGwjqk2UgEksFd2HP24jQd8NCuudcgDdEM5lDR3tey-PMzT0iUDwPwQIJTdPJcMPS5RDEOWS4h/s1600/dundun+dun.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPJ3DRZu5-ldAQ-1NOY-WqghMxshyAGCMORcjnuty43hyphenhyphen3ZFycnwMhYem165UsH0_fPVWGwjqk2UgEksFd2HP24jQd8NCuudcgDdEM5lDR3tey-PMzT0iUDwPwQIJTdPJcMPS5RDEOWS4h/s1600/dundun+dun.gif" /></a></div>
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The mystery was fantastic. I thought I had the killer picked out from early on, and I ended up being close, but still wrong. The way Langdon crafted the story was perfect-- not obvious from the beginning, a big shock when you figure it out, and even if you make the killer out early, the way she goes about the rest of the story should definitely be entertaining enough to still keep you intrigued.</div>
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I absolutely LOVED this one. If you like a little romance with your mystery, then this is absolutely a book for you. Tall, Dark, and Dangerous is at your service.</div>
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Happily,</div>
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Stephanie</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00584880055914407029noreply@blogger.com0