Book Crumbs

Hello Everyone!

2012-01-01T21:11:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! I know I haven't been here for a while, but I am hoping to start blogging again this year. Yay!!! I have a couple reviews that I'd like to write too, so we'll see how that goes...

More New Covers!

2011-05-26T16:55:00.001-07:00

Two covers have come out this week for two of my favorite series! The first one is for Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare:

Jem kind of looks like a mad scientist with the hair, but I still love the cover!

The second cover is for The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan, which I CANNOT wait for October to read! The cover looks so beautiful and epic, and I really want to know where all this ice is coming from!

The first chapter of The Son of Neptune is also up here. What do you think?

My Sparkling Misfortune

2011-04-17T12:20:00.000-07:00

by Laura Lond

My Sparkling Misfortune is the hilarious and quirky tale of noted villain Lord Arkus and his struggles to become the most evil villain ever. When Arkus' attempt at becoming invincible goes wrong, he embarks on adventure that somehow involves saving damsels in distress and helping little princes realize their dreams. Somewhere in all of this, Arkus starts wondering: is he really cut out to be a villain?

This was one of the most original middle-grade fantasy reads that I have encountered in a while. It was refreshing to read from the viewpoint of an antagonist and really understand the motives behind their actions. Lord Arkus also has a wonderful personality and voice- sarcastic, witty, and humorous, with subtle undertones of kindness and compassion.

Another one of the characters, goody-two-shoes Jarvi, had a great personality as well. He often interfered in Arkus' plans and it was fun to see the friendly-insults kind of relationship between the two.

The ending was unexpected, so I'm hoping that a sequel is coming! But overall, this was such a lovely and wonderful read (quite similar in mood to the Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia C. Wrede) - if you're ever looking for a fun fantasy book, My Sparkling Misfortune would be a great choice!

(pdf provided by author)

afternoon

2011-04-01T17:03:00.000-07:00

I spend an eternity in liquid porcelain,

a quiet but wildly spun

dance of time and

cold light, always turning.

frozen, time-piercing.

I fall

like voices of smoke.

I love twitter magnets! It's such a great way to come up with poems.

Adventure at Simba Hill

2011-03-28T12:14:00.000-07:00

by Susan Runholt

If you haven't read this series yet, you have to! All of the books are really fun mysteries set around the world. Adventure at Simba Hill is the third book in the series, and it takes place in Kenya. The story follows the two main characters, Kari and Lucas, as they attempt to find out who stole a bunch of ancient artifacts at a nearby archeological dig. Their adventure takes them into close contact with angry natives, stampeding hippos, lion heads, and more.

What I absolutely love about this series is the level of difficulty of the mysteries. They are complicated enough that you spend the whole book guessing what might have happened, but they're easy enough that you have a couple hunches yourself. Although I love mysteries, I always like the book less if the mystery is so convoluted that I have no idea who the culprit could possibly be. This is never the case with Runholt's books. In Adventure at Simba Hill, I was able to make some guesses. Most of my guesses were right, but I was wrong in a couple of them too.

I also really enjoy the fact that each book is set in a different country. I've never been to Africa, let alone Kenya, and I learned A LOT about the lifestyle, culture, and wildlife there. So this book was educational and fun at the same time.

Bottom line - this series is definitely something to check out! I think it's marked as YA, but it's great for middle-grade readers as well.

Sneak Peek at HP7 Part 2 Movie!

2011-03-18T16:23:00.001-07:00

It looks amazing!

Inside Out

2011-03-11T16:09:00.001-08:00

Sorry for not posting in weeks... tennis season for girls just started and I've been at tennis practice every day after school.

Anyways, I just got a bunch of books from the library, and the first one I read was Inside Out by Maria V. Snyder. I'd seen so many reviews for this book, it's surprising that I never picked it up until now! Inside Out is about a girl named Trella, who is one of thousands of scrubs, who work in the lower levels of Inside to keep them clean for the rich and dominating Uppers. Known as the Queen of the Pipes for her superior knowledge of the inner workings of Inside, Trella keeps her head down until a series of events result in her starting a total revolution.

Inside Out is fresh and original. It was literally suffocating to read about an entire society that lives inside and has no idea what the outside is like. Metal walls on all sides, no windows, doing the same menial tasks every day, thousands of identical weeks stretching out in front of you... ugh.

A simultaneous pro and con of Snyder's novel is the constant action. There's never any sitting around. While it made the plot more exciting and interesting, it was also a bit overwhelming. Trella hardly ever slept, she was constantly running around, and she always had things to do. I don't know how she managed to keep track of everything she had to do and get everything done without much sleep, and while leading a rebellion! I wanted to hand her a planner or something, but I don't even know if she would have time to open it. :-)

The ending was disappointing for me... shocking at first, but then a bit anti-climatic. I'm planning on reading the next book though... I want to know what happens!

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!

2011-03-02T14:51:00.000-08:00

On the fifteenth of May, in the Jungle of Nool,

In the heat of the day, in the cool of the pool,

He was splashing... enjoying the jungle's great joys...

When Horton the elephant heard a small noise.

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!

City of Fallen Angels excerpt

2011-02-22T15:58:00.000-08:00

As a teaser, the first chapter of City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare is up on her website! Go check it out! I'm counting down the days until April 5th...

Pretty New Covers!

2011-02-20T13:51:00.001-08:00

The past few weeks, there have been so many pretty cover releases! You've probably seen most of these already, but here are my favorites:

The sequel to Heist Society... I love how it follows the theme of the first cover with the same model and sunglasses, but the color scheme is different. I love the purple and the teal!

The sequel to Paranormalcy... the dark reds are gorgeous!

And this one is my absolute favorite - the last book in the Theatre Illuminata series. Everything about this is amazing. :)

It doesn't help that I can't WAIT to read all of these! Only a couple more months...

Breakage

2011-02-18T09:25:00.000-08:00

I go down to the edge of the sea.
How everything shines in the morning light!
The cusp of the whelk,
the broken cupboard of the clam,
the opened, blue mussels,
moon snails, pale pink and barnacle scarred—
and nothing at all whole or shut, but tattered, split,
dropped by the gulls onto the gray rocks and all the moisture gone.
It's like a schoolhouse
of little words,
thousands of words.
First you figure out what each one means by itself,
the jingle, the periwinkle, the scallop
full of moonlight.

Then you begin, slowly, to read the whole story.

-by Mary Oliver

(Poetry Friday roundup here.)

Happy Valentine's Day!

2011-02-14T17:03:00.002-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone! I hope you had a wonderful day filled with lots of candy and sweets. :)

A couple updates:

First of all, I'm going to be doing another CSN review soon! CSN is a chain of online stores that sells a variety of goods from office desks to yoga mats. I would highly recommend checking them out!

Second of all, my sister Maya and I were the featured guests on the Seedlings show on the Bit by Bit podcast. The show is hosted by three teachers and basically is all about education and technology in the classroom. Here's the link to our show if you're interested in listening. By the way, I read this poem at the very end.

Enchanted Ivy

2011-02-06T17:29:00.000-08:00

by Sarah Beth Durst

Lily Carter, age 16, just wants to finish high school and get into her dream college, Princeton. As everyone knows, the admissions process can be very difficult - however, her grandfather, a Princeton alumnus, has signed her up for the Legacy Test, which, if she passes, will grant her automatic admission into Princeton. Her task? To find the "Ivy Key." What's that? Who knows. As Lily struggles to complete the test, her magical past is revealed and she realizes that the world is nothing like she thought it was.

Enchanted Ivy was yet another entertaining read from Sarah Beth Durst. With witty writing, a fast plot, and a cast of admirable characters, this book was so much fun to read. I appreciate how closely readers can identify with Lily - college admissions is definitely a big part of high school and it was nice to see a character who finally cared about their education and wasn't constantly off having adventures and not doing their homework.

However, I felt like Lily was so skeptical whenever she encountered magic. She was always looking for secret controls and speakers, even when there obviously were none. I understand why she would deny that magic exists at the start, but after being exposed to it several times, she still refused to admit that magic exists. That was annoying.

I still tremendously enjoyed the book though, and I would recommend it to anyone who loves YA, fantasy, and gargoyles. :-)

The Princess and the Frog

2011-01-24T19:52:00.000-08:00

I FINALLY got a chance to watch "The Princess and the Frog" at the beginning of January. It was such a cute movie! I didn't realize until I watched it that it was set in the New Orleans bayou. Disney did a really good job of depicting the setting and bringing it to life - I could almost feel the warm, muggy air. It reminded me of our stay at the Port Orleans Resort in Disney World last summer (the resort has a Southern mansion/bayou theme).

The story was quite unique. I enjoyed the new aspect of Louisiana voodoo, although I was a bit surprised to see it in a Disney movie. I was also surprised by some of the scenes involving the villain, like when he called up creepy shadow monsters. They were actually rather scary, and I can imagine several younger children getting extremely frightened.

However, I did like Disney's fresh take on the movie. The main character, Tiana, is not born a princess - rather, she grows up in a poor community and has to work hard to achieve her dreams. I liked all of the other characters as well, including Ray the firefly. There are no fireflies here in Washington so I have to get my fill of them through books and movies! I've always wanted to see a real firefly...

I liked some of the songs, but they were definitely a bit disappointing compared to many of Disney's other songs. I had trouble figuring out the words several times, especially since many of the voices (unique as they were) were a bit hard to understand.

The main thing I liked about the movie was the message of working hard - not just having a goal, but actually doing your best to reach it. This is something that never really comes across in any other Disney movie, so I was glad to see it here.

"The Princess and the Frog" was definitely not my favorite Disney movie (in fact, "Tangled" was much better in my opinion), but it was still adorable and entertaining and worth the time.

Harry Potter Calligraphy

2011-01-21T18:04:00.000-08:00

Finals are over, so I'm back to blogging! One thing I wanted to share with you was a calligraphy manuscript that I did in art class in December. I decided to write the Harry Potter school song from the first book.

By the way, it's much harder than it looks - everything has to be perfect and if you even make one teeny tiny mistake (spelling mistake, writing a letter in the wrong font, having one letter look weird, smudging), you have to start over because you're using India Ink (which is permanent) and "calligraphy" means 'beautiful writing,' so it HAS to be exactly perfect.

Anyways... here it is!

(you can click on the pictures to enlarge them)

Bleh... studying

2011-01-13T16:52:00.001-08:00

Finals are coming up next week, so I'll be off this blog until next Friday the 21st. Sorry... see you then!

Blizzard

2011-01-02T18:34:00.000-08:00

I discovered this poem in the January edition of Cricket Magazine and just wanted to share:

Above and around us
the white dragon howls,
hoarse and hollow.

Ice-claws click
at the windows.
We cower inside.

Sudden silence.

The monster sprawls
across our lawn;
the dragon drowses.

Our boots crunch
on mounded shoulders,
crush diamond scales.

Winter's spell:
now we
breathe out dragon-steam.

-by Sandi Leibowitz

The Butt Book

2011-01-02T12:43:00.000-08:00

by Artie Bennett, illustrated by Mike Lester

The Butt Book is a fun, cute picture book for little kids... all about butts. Funny without being crude or inappropriate, this book uses colorful pictures and great rhymes to entice young readers, for example:

Patches found on baboon rumps
help them when they sit on stumps.

On their butts, skunks have a gland
that sprays a stink no one can stand.

So it's educational as well as entertaining! I also learned a few new synonyms that I never knew before. :)

I can see how this irresistible book would encourage reluctant young readers to pick up books and read more. However much we deny it, this is the type of stuff that little kids love and find hilarious, and if it results in more books in their hands, awesome! I would definitely recommend this to younger children, and even teens and adults will probably get a kick out of it.

(pdf provided by author)

Interviews and Guest Posts

2011-01-01T13:04:00.000-08:00

Author Interviews
Ingrid Law (Savvy)
Janet Lee Carey (The Dragons of Noor)
Lauren Mechling (Dream Life)
Lorie Ann Grover
R.J. Anderson (Wayfarer)
Shannon Hale (Calamity Jack)

Blogger Interviews
Cate (Sparrow Review)
Danielle (Seeking Neverland - now blogs at Sesquipedalian)

Interviews of Me
Notes from the Nerdette
Sparrow Review

Guest Posts
L.M. Preston on Trusting In Yourself

Happy New Year!

2010-12-31T19:26:00.000-08:00

As 2010 comes to a close, I would like to thank all my readers, everyone who has ever visited this blog and left a comment, sent me an email, etc. Your support and encouragement motivate me to keep on blogging. You guys are the best!

Happy New Year!

Favorite Books of 2010

2010-12-30T10:42:00.000-08:00

This year, I read a total of 92 new books, and I just wanted to highlight some of my best reads this year. I had trouble narrowing the list down, but here are my top favorites (in no particular order):

Books Published in 2010:

Heist Society (Ally Carter)
Mystery, adventure, history, art, and thievery come together in this book for a fast-paced and exciting read.

A Conspiracy of Kings (Megan Whalen Turner)
I've always loved the wittiness and clever twists of the Attolia series, and this newest release did not disappoint.

Perchance to Dream (Lisa Mantchev)
Shakespeare, magic, legends, costumes, mischievous fairies, and lovely words... what more could you ask for? I adore this series (and the covers are amazing as well!).

Scarlett Fever (Maureen Johnson)
Maureen Johnson's writing is so much fun to read. Her characters are so endearing and hilarious, making this a great feel-good book.

Mockingjay (Suzanne Collins)
Although I despised the ending (I'll always be Team Gale!) and was very disappointed in Katniss at the end, this was such an anticipated, mind-boggling, EPIC read that I had to put it in.

The Dragons of Noor (Janet Lee Carey)
Rich in storytelling and magic, Janet Lee Carey's new book is imaginative and original - a must read for anyone who likes fantasy!

The Heart is Not a Size (Beth Kephart)
I actually read this last year, but it's still one of my favorite books. I enjoyed reading about Juarez and the surprising strength of the people there, and this book was written in a simple yet touching manner.

Dangerous Neighbors (Beth Kephart)
Can you tell by now how much I love Beth Kephart and her writing? :D Dangerous Neighbors is a wonderful showcase of her amazing writing talent, and the story kept me reading until the very end.

The Lost Hero (Rick Riordan)
Although this book was a bit of a letdown after the Percy Jackson series, it was still nice to reconnect with the characters and dig deeper into the history and mythology of the Greek gods. And the ending.... all I can say is that I can't wait for the next book!

Clockwork Angel (Cassandra Clare)
A great prequel to the Mortal Instrument series with well-developed characters and a unique story. I would recommend reading City of Bones/Ashes/Glass first though.

Books Read This Year (but not published in 2010)

Study series (Maria V. Snyder)
This is one of my favorite series - it's so full of adventure and exciting escapades and magic that I could never put the books down!

City of Glass (Cassandra Clare)
Thrilling and suspenseful... I don't know how Cassandra Clare does it every time. :)

Leviathan (Scott Westerfeld)
Before reading this book, I barely knew anything about WWI, and I hadn't read anything in the steampunk genre. Leviathan was surprisingly interesting and informative at the same time, and I loved all of the drawings that accompanied the story.

The Mystery of the Third Lucretia/Rescuing Seneca Crane (Susan Runholt)
I discovered this series through another blogger and immediately got hooked! The characters are great and so much fun to read about, and the stories are exciting as well. These books are perfect middle grade mysteries for the average sixth or seventh grader.

Clockwork Angel

2010-12-27T16:01:00.000-08:00

by Cassandra Clare

I can't believe I didn't read this book until now! Clockwork Angel is just as good as the Mortal Instruments series. Set a few centuries ago in Victorian London, it follows the story of sixteen-year-old Tessa Gray, who arrives from New York and is immediately wrapped up in the wild and violent world of Shadowhunters and Downworlders. Even worse, an unknown figure known as the Magister is after her.

I didn't think I would like this book much, but I was proven wrong! It was so exciting to get back into the Shadowhunters' world, with a series of new and old characters. The characters were great - way too close to the characters in the Mortal Instruments, but still fun to read about. The plot was great as well, with some nice twists near the end.

My favorite part was seeing the parallels between the two series and having those aha moments when something I read in one of the Mortal Instruments books was finally explained or referred to. Overall, Clockwork Angel was a great start to the Infernal Devices series... can't wait to read more!

2010-12-25T00:00:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!

CSN Stores Giveaway WINNER!

2010-12-14T16:16:00.001-08:00

Thank you to everyone who participated in the CSN Stores giveaway this time! I used a random number generator to pick the winner, who is...

Amber Gi!

Congrats, Amber! I've already sent you an email. If I don't get a response back in 48 hours, then I'll pick another winner.

elapsed moon

2010-12-10T16:23:00.000-08:00

I wrote these two poems a few weeks ago. The first one was written when the moon was just rising, blurry and yellowy, and the second one was written about an hour later, when the moon was much higher in the sky and clear and white. Enjoy! :)

I.
the sky holds its breath
in anticipation of the coming snow,
tonight's stage prepared:
frosty cold air stagnant and muffling
while northern winds dance, frenzied,
among the upcoming performers

the moon a blurred pastel smudge
the color of yellow diamonds,
edges gray and foggy.

II.
moon of purest white,
like a diamond inlaid in a
stone of cold winds and
clouds of indigo blue.
all hardened edges and
rims of amber gold,
light reaching to all four
corners of the sky.

the night quietly waits,
and below, the cries
of a child and the
slamming of car doors
sound oddly out of place.

Tangled

2010-12-07T17:19:00.000-08:00

On Sunday, I went to go see the new Disney movie "Tangled" with my mom. I loved it! The story was the perfect mix of adventure, comedy, drama, and romance. All of the characters were so endearing and fun, the songs were wonderful, and the animation was perfect. I really liked all of the scenery in the movie. I also liked the fresh take on the classic Rapunzel story - the writers managed to maintain the original idea and feel while adding in a lot of great enhancements.

If you haven't seen it yet, I would definitely recommend going! It's in 3D too, which is always a plus for me. :)

winter dance

2010-12-03T16:14:00.001-08:00

It snowed a little while ago, and while watching snowflakes fall outside the window, I wrote this poem:

snowflakes giggle and
chase each other,
following gusts of wind and
swooping through the air,
performing their own ballet.

the choreographer is displeased.
they calm down and tumble quietly
to the snow-softened earth.

the music strikes up again.
frenzied, the winds roll
nimbly in the sky,
snowflakes spinning
around
caught up in their own
winter dance.

Another CSN Stores Giveaway!

2010-11-28T16:55:00.000-08:00

For those of you who aren't familiar with CSN Stores, it's an online store that sells a variety of products, from children's luggage to rugs to stationery. If you're looking for holiday presents, CSN Stores is a great option to get all of your shopping done. I just hosted a CSN gift certificate giveaway, and I've received the chance to host another one!

More info:

One person will win a $65 gift certificate to use at any of the CSN Stores!
Open only to US and Canadian residents (sorry!), and the gift certificate will not cover international fees to Canada.
Giveaway ends on Friday, December 10th, 2010.

Because this is a bigger giveaway than the last one, and because it's the holidays, I decided to add in the opportunity to earn extra entries! I want to thank all of my followers and everyone who has supported me so far on this blog. So here's how that will work:

+1 for simply filling out the form below and entering the giveaway.
+2 for being a follower of this blog, Book Crumbs
+1 for every time you link to this giveaway in a blog post, tweet, blog sidebar, etc. (So for example, if you link to this giveaway twice, you will get 2 extra entries.)

To enter, please fill out the form below. After the 10th, I'll randomly select a winner. Good luck!

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1

2010-11-27T20:00:00.000-08:00

I went to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 in Imax yesterday! I have to congratulate the director for finally sticking close to the book! I was glad that there were no big changes to the story, and the minor changes fit well and weren't awkward or weird at all.

One thing that disappointed me was how much sitting around there was. I know that most of the first half of the book was just sitting around and going from forest to forest, but I'd hoped that they would add more action in the movie. The action scenes were few and far between, and they were quite short and abrupt as well. Most of the movie focused on the emotional trauma and difficulties that Harry, Ron, and Hermione were going through. The only reason why I wasn't bored was that I knew what was going to happen next, so I could eagerly anticipate it.

I didn't like the casting for Yaxley at all (he was blond, I thought he should have had darker hair and a sharper face), the guy who played Mundungus Fletcher was weird and totally unexpected, but he still kind of worked. The casting for Bathilda Bagshot was spot on and even creepier than I imagined! The scene with her in Godric's Hollow was awesome.

Also, the scene where Dobby dies was so sad! I thought the dialogue in that part was absolutely perfect, especially what Dobby says right before he dies.

I thought that the decision to portray the Tale of the Three Brothers as a creepy animation was a great one - the animation definitely served its purpose and enhanced the story so much!

For those who have watched the movie, I also LOVED the scene with Hermione and Greyback, when she can see him and he can smell her perfume, but not see her due to the protective enchantments! Amazing!

One word of caution for people who are planning to see it - if you haven't read the books, then the movie is probably going to be confusing and/or boring (at least, that's what I think). The storyline can get complicated at times - before the movie, I was trying to explain the story to my dad and it took forever because I had to keep backtracking and explaining side stories of why this character would do this and how Horcruxes are different from Hallows, etc. I know that if I hadn't read the books, I would have had a tough time understanding what was going on. Especially since sometimes, with their British accents (as wonderful as they may be), the actors can be a bit hard to understand, and sometimes they swallowed the words at the end of their sentences.

Overall, though, HP7 Part 1 was a good, dark, and tense buildup to the last movie, which I can't wait to see!

2010-11-25T00:00:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving! Wishing you and your family a very happy holiday weekend. :-)

CSN Stores Giveaway WINNER!

2010-11-23T09:57:00.001-08:00

Thank you so much to everyone who participated in my CSN Stores Giveaway! I used a random number generator to pick the winner, who is...

Evelyn!

Congratulations, Evelyn! I've already sent you an email. If I don't get a reply after 48 hours, I'll pick another winner.

If you didn't win, I'm planning on hosting another CSN giveaway soon, so you'll have another opportunity to win a gift certificate. Keep your eyes peeled for that!

Dangerous Neighbors

2010-11-21T15:46:00.000-08:00

by Beth Kephart

Katherine and Anna are two peas in a pod, two sisters that are so close together than only death can really tear them apart. After Anna's tragic death, Katherine is so filled with sorrow, anger, and guilt that her desire to live fades away; it takes a series of surprises and near-disasters for Katherine to find her way. As we ride through Katherine's memories and current life, the story of her and Anna is slowly unraveled, until the thing that we've all been dying (pardon the pun) to know about is finally revealed.

Dangerous Neighbors is a quietly powerful and poignant novel that kept me enthralled the whole time. It's a lot shorter than I expected it to be - only 166 pages - but I feel that its brevity only enriched the story. Once again, the main thing that stands out in this novel - and all of Beth Kephart's novels - is the writing. All of the words were so deliberately picked, the descriptions were like poetry, and awkward phrases were nonexistent. Kephart can put things into words that the rest of us cannot, and in such a beautiful and touching way as well.

The characters were also a strong point in this novel. I could relate so much to the main character, especially since I have a sister as well, and even if you don't have a sibling, the characters were so endearing. The variety of people was wonderful.

In addition, I loved the setting. I learned so much about the Philadelphia Centennial Fair of 1876 and so much about Philidelphia in general too. The scenery was breathtaking and the events that occurred in the book felt so real to me, just because I knew that many of them had actually taken place in history.

Beth Kephart has this fantastic knack for details that is hard to come by in authors, and her attention to the little things - the meeting of eyes, simple gestures and words - is what truly makes her an exceptional writer.

Autumn

2010-11-11T11:41:00.000-08:00

A couple weeks ago, my sister and I took a walk around the neighborhood and snapped a couple pictures of the autumn leaves before they fell. Maya's posted a couple up already; here are some more:

The Lost Hero

2010-11-05T18:39:00.000-07:00

by Rick Riordan

The Lost Hero is the first book in the Heroes of Olympus series, which is the successor to the wildly popular Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. In The Lost Hero, we get to see new demigods as well as old. Percy, Annabeth, and their friends are still in the series and play major roles, but we have new main characters: Jason, Piper, and Leo (all demigods). And they have major obstacles coming ahead - an ancient enemy worse than Kronos is rising, and bringing the dead and all kinds of monsters with her.

The Lost Hero, although it didn't quite match up to the previous Percy Jackson books, was still a good beginning to the series. Riordan has made several huge leaps in his story, and although I'm not too fond of them, they did keep me entertained. The writing was just as good as usual - the humor felt a little forced, but I'm putting that down to the new narrators, who are a lot more flawed (and a bit more annoying) than Percy. There were a lot of twists in the book, and the ending was a depressing cliffhanger that will probably make everyone go, "What??? Noooo!!!"

It probably sounds like I didn't like the book very much, because I'm pointing out all its problems, but I really did enjoy it. I can't wait for the second book and if you're a Percy Jackson fan as well, this is a must-read.

CSN Stores Giveaway!

2010-11-02T17:11:00.001-07:00

You've probably heard me mention CSN Stores before in previous posts - it's an online store that sells almost everything! Contemporary coffee tables, handbags, artwork... you name it, they've got it. A few months ago, I got the opportunity to review a few CSN products. Now, as a CSN Preferred Blogger, I was given the opportunity to host a giveaway!

So here's how it goes:

One person will win a $45 gift certificate to use at any of the CSN stores.
~~Open to everyone~~ *eta: Open only to US and Canadian residents (and gift card won't cover international fees to Canada) ... sorry for the mess up!
Giveaway ends on Saturday, November 20th, 2010.

Since this is my first time hosting a giveaway, I've decided to keep it really simple - there won't be any extra entries or anything. To enter, please fill out the form below. A winner will be randomly selected after the 20th.

Boo!

2010-10-31T15:11:00.000-07:00

(Image credit)

Happy Halloween!

Hello again

2010-10-28T16:37:00.000-07:00

I'm so sorry for not posting in so long! October was a very hectic month for me, especially since I was preparing for a Level 8 piano exam (which I took yesterday). Things are calming down now and I should be back to regular blogging in a few days!

On another note, a friend and I were doing Indian art (Rangoli) demonstrations at the Seattle Art Museum (SAM) last weekend! It was a fun experience and we got to see the Pablo Picasso exhibit which is on display at SAM as well.

The art of Rangoli is an old and important tradition in India. The word “Rangoli,” which signifies colorful art in Sanskrit, refers to a drawing, pattern, or arrangement made on the floor. Traditionally, Rangoli is drawn in front of houses and front doorways, usually on religious festivals and occasions. However, more recently, Rangoli has also been drawn during birthday celebrations, weddings, and more. In certain parts of India, especially South India, drawing Rangoli is a daily practice.The main purposes of Rangoli are for decoration, to welcome guests, and to bring good luck.

If you're interested, here are some pictures from the event (all taken by my friend's mom):

My Rangoli design (done with flowers) :

My friend's design (done with lentils and colored rice) :

Interview with Janet Lee Carey

2010-10-15T16:24:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, I reviewed The Dragons of Noor by Janet Lee Carey. Today, Janet kindly consented to answer a few of my questions, so here she is!

In The Dragons of Noor, we get to see more of the amazing cultures and landscapes of Noor and Oth. How did you come up with such diverse and fascinating worlds? How did you create their language?

As a fantasy writer I’m always aware that I’m working within an ancient storytelling tradition. Many of us write of wild woods, strange creatures, fairy folk, and dragons. The challenge is to bring freshness to each new tale. World Building happens through a process of daydreaming and determined exploration. I put myself into the story; walk in it and through it as any explorer does. The world comes alive as I enter with my senses open. The practical side of World Building comes later as I try and create a consistent, vivid world. However, I’m keenly aware that the world doesn’t have to make complete rational sense. Our natural world is wild. Not perfect or neat. A perfect world is a sterile one. The worlds that evolve in my stories have to feel real.

You asked how I create the languages. I’m a very auditory writer. Language is music. In the beginning I hear the new words as a kind of music and spell them as I hear them. Language building like world building is a very slow process. I hope readers will enjoy writing messages using the Othic Alphabet in the back of the book. The letters correspond with our own so you can write coded messages in it.

Were any parts of the story based on old stories or myths?

The World Tree is an symbol used in many cultures and traditions such as Yggdrasil from Norse Mythology. You can see an illustration of Yggdrasil on this website [or on the right here]. Other Indo-European traditions and Native American tales feature a World Tree.

In the Noor books the World Tree, Kwen-Arnun, has its own cosmology. Kwen-Arnun is both male and female. In the second age a great quake shook NoorOth breaking Kwen-Arnun in two and splitting the worlds apart. The damage caused by the broken tree and the separation of the two worlds sets up The Dragons of Noor.

What is your writing process?

I do a lot of daydreaming before I ever go to the page. Once the story idea is strong and the characters are facing trouble, I dive in to see how they’ll handle it. I already knew Miles, Hanna, and Taunier from The Beast of Noor. This adventure had to challenge each of them in a new way. Once the first draft is finished, I circle back and read it to see what’s missing and what’s needed to strengthen the story. Later when I’m working with my editor, I rewrite it numerous times adding new scenes and cutting scenes (and characters) that no longer fit. I don’t toss out the cut scenes. An entire scene sequence from The Dragons of Noor ended up in another novel.

Which character do you relate to the most?

I’m close to Hanna. I felt unsure of myself growing up and somewhat out of place. Hanna is reluctant to take on a leadership role in this novel, but she’s challenged to do just that. She steps into her power. I learned something about how to step into my own power through her.

What was the most fun part of the book to write? What was the hardest part?

I loved writing the early scenes when the ancient forest is toppling down. I wrote those chapters in the hospital while my son was having surgery – they took me away from the hospital setting and the story seemed to echo in those places. Later I loved writing the scenes with the Dragon Queen who is powerful, frightening, and driven to do what she has to do to save her dragon pack.

You often do some kind of outreach along with a book launch. What are you doing for The Dragons of Noor?

Loss of the ancient trees is central to the book, so I looked for just the right charitable organization to celebrate the launch. I found a perfect fit with The Nature Conservancy’s Plant a Billion Trees.

Plant a Billion Trees' goal is to restore one billion native trees to Brazil's highly endangered Atlantic Forest over the next 7 years. “Tropical forests are the lungs of the earth, filtering out ten million tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere every year. Every day these valuable trees help reduce global warming.”

Readers who want to help restore the forest can check out the “Giving Back” page on my campaign page.

What can readers expect from you next?

I’m working on the sequel to Dragon’s Keep. In this medieval tale, currently titled Tess of Dragonswood, an abused girl charged with witchcraft escapes in leper’s garb and challenges powerful fey magic to craft life and love on her own terms. We’re in the final revision stages now and hope to see it hit the shelves in fall 2011.

Thank you so much for the interview, Janet!

For anyone in the Seattle/Kirkland area, Janet's launch party for The Dragons of Noor will take place at Parkplace Books in Kirkland on Saturday, October 23rd, from 7-9 p.m. Anyone is welcome to attend!

The Dragons of Noor

2010-10-14T19:33:00.000-07:00

by Janet Lee Carey

The old and ancient trees of Noor are dying, and the worlds of Noor and Oth are slowly tearing apart. Magic has started to disappear from Noor, and a mysterious and fierce wind has been picking up young children and carrying them away. Miles, his sister Hanna, and his friend Taunier, determined to find out what's going on and save Noor and Oth, travel to the forests of Jarrosh. There, they find the exiled dragons, who aid them in their quest to preserve the trees and "break beyond the boundaries of self to discover the ancient magic joining all to all."

The Dragons of Noor was one of the best books I've read this year. What I love about Janet Lee Carey's writing, and this series in particular, are the imaginative and fantastical worlds that the reader is introduced to. In this book, we get to see more of Noor and Oth as well as explore the ancient history between the two. The scenes are so magically and culturally rich, with original creatures and foreign words, songs, and customs.

The characters really developed a lot in this book as well. The dragons were amazing and so much fun to read about! I also enjoyed learning more about Miles, Hanna, and Taunier, especially the hidden powers they possess. I never found any of the characters annoying or unlikeable at all.

Janet is an absolute genius for coming up with such lovely ideas! The Dragons of Noor is such a unique and pleasurable read, and I strongly encourage everyone to run to the bookstore and get a copy NOW.

P.S. And that is one of the best covers I've seen so far. :-)

(Copy provided by publisher.)

Paranormalcy

2010-10-11T17:49:00.000-07:00

by Kiersten White

Paranormalcy is not your typical paranormal book - it's wayyy more creative and original. I'd seen nothing but good reviews for this book, so I decided to try it out. My opinion? I loved all of the characters as well as the overall concept behind it. The only thing I didn't like was the plot. Paranormalcy didn't seem to really have a strong story line, and I felt that nothing really happened by the end. A lot of the events that occurred were kind of random and I was a bit dissatisfied at the end.

It was still an entertaining book, but not as great as I'd expected it to be. I would still recommend it though, and I will definitely check out future books by this author.

Autumn

2010-10-01T12:20:00.000-07:00

(photo credit)

This year's autumn leaves

glow like winter candlelight,

still warm from the forge.

Happy October!

(Poetry Friday roundup here.)

Mackenzie Blue: Friends Forever?

2010-09-25T10:05:00.000-07:00

by Tina Wells

In the third installment of the Mackenzie Blue series, Zee and her friends are off for their school's annual camping field trip, where they have to spend a week in the wilderness. Zee is super excited when her best friend from Paris, Ally, joins the trip while visiting. But things aren't going as smoothly as Zee hoped for - her friends are acting weird, a mysterious Mountain Man is prowling around their cabins at night, and more!

Mackenzie Blue: Friends Forever? was certainly as cute as its predecessors, but it wasn't my favorite. Zee definitely grows a lot in this book, and it was interesting to see her relationships with her friends change, but some of the situations were just too unrealistic and shallow for me to sympathize and relate with. However, it was still an entertaining read that elementary and middle school kids are sure to enjoy!

P.S. Yesterday was my sister Maya's 13th birthday. She wasn't feeling well and had a nasty fever, so she didn't have a very good birthday. If you could please head over to her blog and leave a birthday greeting or comment, that would be much appreciated! Thank you!

Rereading

2010-09-23T15:35:00.000-07:00

Rereading The King of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner. This is one of my favorite quotes:

"There was a lull in conversation, and in the quiet, someone from a side table addressed the king. 'Your Majesty,' he asked innocently, 'is it true that your cousins once held you down in a water cache?' ...'Is it also true that they wouldn't let you out until you agreed to repeat insults about your own family?'...

"The king shrugged his shoulders slightly and said, 'I could send you to ask them.'

"The man laughed. His laughter was edged with contempt. 'It would be a long trip, Your Majesty. I would so much rather hear the answer from you.'

"'Oh, the trip would be quicker than you think,' said the king, pleasantly. 'Most of my male cousins are dead.'"

I'd forgotten how funny this book was!

TEDxRedmond

2010-09-19T15:26:00.000-07:00

I'm going to link to Maya's post here because I think she said it beautifully: TEDxRedmond last night was such a successful event - fun and inspiring for everyone! The theme was "Power to the Students!" and we had an amazing lineup of speakers and performers (all kids!) share their ideas and experiences at the event.

I was one of the speakers (the first one, in fact) and it was a wonderful experience - the other speakers and the whole audience were so supportive! It was so weird when during every break, I was called for interviews. I definitely was not expecting that! It was awesome when some kids asked me for my autograph though. And a few people Tweeted about my speech! :P

As one of the event organizers as well, it was relieving to see the event pulled off so successfully and professionally without any glitches. I think there will be videos of the event up soon - for those who didn't attend, I think everyone (students, teachers, parents, and more) can get something out of this conference by watching the talks online.

I think this event really proved to people how much potential kids have. The whole event was planned solely by kids (although we did need a little adult help for sponsorship, etc.), and when we see what amazing things all the speakers and performers were able to accomplish, it's very empowering and inspiring.

Here are a couple pictures to leave you with:

Maya and I standing next to a piece of the Berlin Wall, housed in the Microsoft Convention Center:

From left to right: Me, Jordan Romero (currently the youngest person to climb Mt. Everest!), Maya, and Zoe Sprankle (one of the performers at TEDxRedmond who has an amazing voice!)

Book suggestions, please?

2010-09-10T17:47:00.000-07:00

Does anyone know of a good historical fiction novel set in Europe sometime during the Renaissance Period? Preferrably one that's not extremely long or difficult to read, and the more exciting, the better.

Thanks!

September at Readergirlz

2010-09-07T16:46:00.000-07:00

This month at readergirlz, we're going to be discussing Suite Scarlett and Scarlett Fever (see my review here) by Maureen Johnson over at the blog. These books are hilarious, and Maureen is super funny and entertaining as well, so it's going to be a fun month! Come on over and join in the discussions!

Backyard

2010-09-04T18:03:00.001-07:00

Summer is basically over here (it's cloudy and starting to rain), but our roses and some of our other flowers are still in bloom:

This last photo was taken two months ago, when we still had pretty sunsets:

The Extraordinary Secrets of April, May, & June

2010-08-30T16:26:00.000-07:00

by Robin Benway

The Extraordinary Secrets of April, May, & June is basically a cute book about three sisters with superpowers - April can see the future, May can become invisible, and June can read minds. All three struggle with their powers at school and at home, but when April foresees disaster in the future, the three of them have to come together to save the day.

This book was so hilarious and entertaining - a lot of the situations that occurred were fun to read about and the narration was sarcastic and witty. I also liked how the point of view switched between April, May, and June, because it was more interesting to read about the events that happened from several perspectives. I haven't read Robin Benway's other book, Audrey, Wait! (although I've heard it's slightly better), but this was still a really cute and engaging book that I would suggest checking out!

Mockingjay

2010-08-26T14:23:00.000-07:00

by Suzanne Collins

I had mixed feelings about Mockingjay. Basically, I loved the beginning and middle and hated the ending. And I was very frustrated with the way most of the characters turned out, especially Katniss.

But it's hard to explain my position without giving away tons of spoilers, so I will instead direct you to my spoilery review on Goodreads. Feel free to also leave your thoughts in the comment section - a couple of us are having a fun discussion there.

Mockingjay excerpt!!!

2010-08-23T14:24:00.001-07:00

Scholastic has released the first few pages of Mockingjay! I wasn't planning on watching this, but I finally gave in to the temptation.

For anyone else who's unsure if they should watch it or not, there aren't any spoilers in the excerpt. At least, there isn't anything that you don't already know or haven't already assumed.

Book Update

2010-08-21T18:57:00.001-07:00

Whew! I'm back from vacation and have just started to get everything back in order, including my reading pile. I just finished the second book in the Kari and Lucas Mystery series by Susan Runholt, Rescuing Seneca Crane (these books are so much fun, I would definitely suggest checking them out), The Extraordinary Secrets of April, May, and June by Robin Benway (another great read and more exciting than I had expected!), and The London Eye Mystery by Siobhan Dowd (I got this free from the library and thoroughly enjoyed it).

I'm also looking forward to Mockingjay!!!! (Who isn't?) as well as Beth Kephart's new novel, Dangerous Neighbors. There's been a lot of exciting stuff going on in anticipation of Mockingjay... the YA Fantasy Showdown, the Hunger Games 13 District Blog Tour, and more. And the reviews coming in for Dangerous Neighbors makes me really want to read it too!

So what have you all been reading?

2010-08-08T16:11:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lack of posts- I'm going to be on vacation until the 17th. Regular posting will continue after that.

Updates

2010-07-31T14:29:00.000-07:00

Happy birthday, Harry! According to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, you would have turned 30 today. :-)

*****

Cate of Sparrow Review interviewed me as part of her "Under the Lamplight" feature, and the interview is up! Go check it out!

*****

I will be gone until the 7th of August. See you then!

Mockingjay Book Trailer!

2010-07-28T21:48:00.001-07:00

Scholastic has just released the book trailer for Mockingjay and it looks really good! I can't wait!

Tell Me a Secret Book Release Party Recap

2010-07-26T20:58:00.000-07:00

On Saturday night, my mom and I headed to Trinity Nightclub in Seattle for Holly Cupala's Tell Me a Secret booklaunch party! The venue was great and the party was a lot of fun.

We chatted with Katherine Grace Bond for a while...

caught up with Janet Lee Carey (who was incredibly nice and also introduced us to some other people)...

and quickly snapped a few pictures with readergirlz divas Justina Chen Headley and Dia Calhoun as well:

Holly talked about her book, previewed the book trailer, read an excerpt, and also made a very exciting announcement:

I finally got a chance to talk to Holly and get my copy of the book signed:

Afterwards, I gorged on all the delicious desserts there while Janet and my mom commiserated about the woes of driving in Seattle. (Really, it's like a maze there... full of one-way streets and crowded intersections and questionable parking garages...)

Anyways, the party was a lot of fun!

CSN Products Review

2010-07-23T18:17:00.000-07:00

A while ago, thanks to Jessica from the CSN Promo Team, I got the wonderful opportunity to review some products for the online CSN stores. With my $60 gift certificate, I got three things:

The Elite Products Single Round Bean Bag

This bean bag is really nice for sitting and relaxing in - it's surprisingly lightweight but also very durable and well made. It's also a good size - perfect for kids and teens. I'm not too sure about adults but my dad informed me that it was too small for him. So. Anyways, if you're looking to buy a bean bag, I would recommend checking out this product.

Second product: The Goodhope Bags Quilted Ladies Tote Bag

I bought the black one. I haven't used it yet, but it looks comfortable and useful. I was surprised by how big it was, though. Even though I noticed the listed dimensions of the bag before I bought it, the picture makes it look kind of like a big handbag. Well, it's not. It's a good size for traveling purposes, but probably not the right thing for a small outing.

I had a couple dollars left in the certificate, so I decided to spend them on a Uni-Ball Vision Exact Stick Roller Ball Pen.

(My handwriting was kind of messy because I was writing on top of a tower of rainbow paper. Sorry!)

The tip is very fine, which I like for school projects and maps where I have to do careful outlines in pen. The ink is good (and it's waterproof), and it writes really smoothly, so I'm happy with this.

Well, that's all! I had a great experience shopping at CSN Stores - they were really good about keeping me updated on all the shipping times and the statuses of the products - and everything shipped really quickly. I got free shipping on the bean bag too, which greatly lowered the costs. My mom also called customer service once to ask about the bean bag, and they were really informative. I suggest that you check out all the CSN sites if you get a chance!

Coffeehouse Angel

2010-07-20T19:03:00.000-07:00

by Suzanne Selfors

Katrina spends every morning and afternoon working at her grandmother's old-world Scandinavian coffehouse, and one morning, she spots a homeless guy in the alley behind the shop and offers him a cup of coffee. Turns out that the homeless guy is actual an angel who wants to reward Katrina's good deed by giving her one wish. What will she wish for? And as the book says, "What happens when you lie to an angel about what you most desire?"

Coffeehouse Angel was a really cute and sweet book. It had comedy, drama, coffee, giant rats, and more... what else could you want in a story? The main character, Katrina, could be a little annoying at times with her self-pitiying attitude, but overall she was an interesting narrator. If you're looking for a quick, fun read, then I would recommend this for sure!

Benjamin Zander on music and passion

2010-07-18T11:43:00.000-07:00

Ok, sorry for posting another talk, but you all HAVE to watch this. It's inspiring and truly amazing, and Zander's musical interpretation is wonderful.

A Midsummer Night's Dream

2010-07-15T19:01:00.000-07:00

by William Shakespeare

A Midsummer Night's Dream was a delightful and quick read for me. I loved the comedy and all of the characters, and the dialogue was quirky and fun as well. I also felt that the writing in this play was really simple and easy to understand when compared to many of Shakespeare's other works, so I would recommend this to people who are just starting to read Shakespeare.

The only thing that bothered me was that it seemed too short. Everything happened really fast, but I was hoping for more development. The super-fast way in which everything played out would probably be hilarious on stage, but it was a bit annoying when actually reading it.

Other than that, this is a classic! Definitely a must-read.

A question for all of you: I'm hoping to read a few more Shakespeare plays this summer (preferably shorter ones)... what do you recommend? I'm going to read King Lear in class next year, so I'm not going to bother reading that now. For now, I was thinking maybe Macbeth or Hamlet? I've also heard that The Taming of the Shrew and The Merchant of Venice are pretty good - so help me!

Greece Pictures: Part 4

2010-07-12T14:03:00.000-07:00

The next morning, we docked in Ephesus, Turkey! Famous rulers in history such as Caesar walked down the streets of Ephesus thousands of years ago, so it was amazing to see the ancient city! (By the way, one of the temples in Ephesus was one of the ancient seven wonders of the world.)

On our way to Ephesus, we got glimpses of modern Turkey:

(click all to enlarge)

And this is Ephesus:

The main street of Ephesus:

Some inscriptions:

Mosaics on the floor:

Intricate carvings on all of the columns and structures! (By the way, I had to do some retouching on this photo so you can see the carvings better.)

This is the ancient library of Celsus... absolutely stunning!

This is the Great Theatre of Ephesus. It was scary climbing up all those narrow, rickety steps, but it was even worse coming back down! The stairs don't really have any depth to them, so it's hard to get a strong foothold on them. We were nervously scooting down step by step... it probably took us at least five minutes or so to get down!

My teacher and her husband performed "Jabberwocky" by Lewis Carroll on the stage at the bottom there. The acoustics were really nice. :-)

Tbe lands surrounding Ephesus:

Exiting Ephesus. Aren't these trees weird? I'm still wondering why the bottoms are white. We checked and they weren't painted or anything...

Because Turkey is famous for its rugs and carpets, we visited a carpet store where we got to see how their carpets are made. We watched a weaver at work and we also got to look at a variety of rugs and walk on top of them:

And we also went to the marketplace! We were told that Turkish shop owners are pretty pushy, and we were (kind of) taught how to bargain. I'm pretty bad at bargaining in general... I bought a handmade silk and pashmina scarf (red and gold AND reversible) for 20 euros, and I'm still not sure if I paid too much.

Either way, it was really fun and an eye-opening experience! We had a scary experience in a knockoff handbag store, where the owner kept taking us to more and more rooms and wouldn't let us leave. :-/ And everyone would keep yelling after us. One guy yelled, "Hey! Are you girls Indian?" We kept walking without saying anything, but later on, we all wished that we had yelled back, "No! We're Scandinavian!" :-D

Anyways, here's a shot of the marketplace:

In the afternoon, we docked at another small island (I think it was called Patmos). There wasn't really that much to do there, so we headed for the beach to swim in the Aegean Sea!

As you can tell by my expression, the water was really really cold. (And yes, I am wearing a swimsuit under there.) :-)

Back on the cruise, relaxing with ice cream:

Lighthouse

2010-07-09T11:38:00.000-07:00

(This poem was inspired by the wallpaper on my Google homepage.)

Treetops in fairyland emerge from
morning fog in the crevices of
unknown mountain ranges, green
with pines and not a gap
to be seen. A ray of sunshine
penetrates to the autumn forest
below like a lighthouse
illuminating the path from
distant deeps to washed-out
shores of light, though
there is nary a boat in sight.

(Poetry Friday roundup here.)

Books I've Been Reading

2010-07-07T13:05:00.000-07:00

Perchance to Dream is the sequel to Lisa Mantchev's delightful debut novel, Eyes Like Stars. The writing is rich and quirky, the characters are just as wonderful as ever, and the story is captivating. Although I thought the ending was a little unsatisfactory, it was still an enjoyable read and I'm looking forward to more!

Charlie Bone and the Red Knight concludes the bestselling Charlie Bone series by Jenny Nimmo, which I've been reading for at least five or so years. The writing is definitely middle-grade, but the story is still fun and interesting, and I would recommend the series to anyone who loves fantasy. I thought this book was a great end to the series - it was a little too predictable and satisfying, but still interesting.

Once again, another sequel here. Princess of Glass is the follow-up to Jessica Day George's Princess of the Midnight Ball. I loved this book! It was fresh, funny, suspenseful, and just good, classic fantasy. I woudl have liked to see a bit more character development for one or two of the characters, but other than that, it was quite a lovely book.

I'd like to start this off by saying that I love the Percy Jackson series. And I don't think that anything else Rick Riordan writes is going to match up to it. That being said, The Red Pyramid was still an amazingly good book. It incorporated so much Egyptian mythology and was action-packed and exciting. I think the problem, though, was the characters. None of them were particularly interesting or endearing.

Anyways, I remember reading on Goodreads about someone who said something like, "It was a million times worse than Percy Jackson, but it was still really really good!" Yeah. That sums it up.

After reading When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead, I understand why it won the Newbery Medal. Yes, it's a "good" book that all students should read, but it's also plain ingenious. I knew that everything in the story was finally building up to some big revelation, but I never would have guessed what that revelation would be. This book is simply a gem. It may not be the most interesting or enjoyable book ever, but I think it's something everyone should get a chance to read.

Scarlett Fever

2010-07-03T18:12:00.000-07:00

by Maureen Johnson

As Scarlett Martin's rigorous sophomore year begins in New York City, her life takes a turn for the extraordinary. Her eccentric boss' demands are getting weirder and weirder, her brother suddenly becomes a notorious and hated TV villain... and that's just the beginning.

Scarlett Fever is the sequel to the hilarious novel Suite Scarlett, and it is every bit as witty and exciting as its predecessor, if not more. The main selling point for this book is its three-dimensional characters, all of whom were so easy to sympathize with. The sarcastic and funny exchanges between the diverse characters were very enjoyable, and they really made the plot work.

All in all, I loved this book. Yes, the story can be kind of unrealistic sometimes, but it was always fresh and fun. Sometimes we just have to read something a little different. :-)

(Copy provided by publisher.)

Greece Pictures: Part 3

2010-07-02T14:12:00.000-07:00

The third day in Greece, we went to the ancient site of Delphi to see the temples, treasuries, and more there. Delphi is best known as the place where the Oracle resided and offered advice to those in trouble. Unfortunately, my camera ran out of battery on the way there, so I don't have any pictures. :-(

So I'll move on to the next day. We boarded a cruise ship for a 4 day trip around several of Greece's islands. (I'm skipping all the pictures of the cruise ship - I'm sure you all know what a typical cruise ship looks like - pool, lots of tables, restaurants, etc.) Anyways, the islands are where you see the really beautiful parts of Greece! Our first stop on the cruise was at the gorgeous island of Mykonos. All of the buildings there (and I mean EVERY building) is pure white with bright blue roofs. We found out later that all the buildings are whitewashed twice a year.

(Click all to enlarge.)

We mostly stayed along the coastline:

We found out that at the other end of the island, there was a lovely little place called "Little Venice," which had pretty windmills and was a great spot to be at during sunset. Unfortunately, we left Little Venice before the sun set (although we got some great sunset pictures back near the cruise ship!), but it was still a fabulous scenic spot for photography:

I managed to get this picture at Little Venice while the sun was setting. Because the sun was too bright for my camera lens, I took this photo by placing my sunglasses in front of the lens. I really like the effect!

As we walked back to our cruise ship, I got some really nice sunset photos on the beach:

My attempt at a meaningful picture :-)

More sunset pictures:

The cruise ship, all lit up at night:

Hope you liked these!

News

2010-06-29T12:06:00.000-07:00

Remember when I posted about seeing an Edward Cullen Barbie doll at the beginning of the year? And remember when I said that there would be Bella and Jacob Barbie dolls soon? Well, my predictions have come true. At the store a couple days ago, I saw a Bella and a Jacob Barbie doll.

And remember the buzz about a Twilight graphic novel? I thought it was just talk, but at the bookstore a week ago, I actually saw the graphic novel. It's pretty thick... hopefully it appeases some of the fans.

On an entirely different note, the new Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows movie trailer just came out! It looks amazing!

Only the Good Spy Young

2010-06-26T06:54:00.000-07:00

by Ally Carter

After fighting against a terrorist organization a couple months ago, Cammie Morgan is now constantly in danger, and she doesn't know who to trust. Furthermore, shocking secrets are popping up about her most trusted allies and friends, and Cammie is forced to search for answers.

Only the Good Spy Young is the fourth book in the Gallagher Girls series, and although it was good, it definitely wasn't my favorite. I felt like there was a lot of suspense and tension, but nothing much really happened in the end. There were some shocking revelations, but I feel like those twists were the only things that moved the story along, and in the end, I was quite disappointed. I would suggest that you read it, but I wouldn't expect something amazing. (Or I don't know. You might really like it. According to Goodreads, most people are enjoying it.)

This book will be released June 29th, 2010.

(Review copy provided by publisher.)

Greece Pictures: Part 2

2010-06-24T12:43:00.000-07:00

During our second day in Greece, we first took a quick tour around some of the sites in Athens, then headed up to the Acropolis to see the Parthenon! (Sorry if some of the pictures are blurry - we were on a moving bus. And once again, you can click on any of these to enlarge them.)

A Tomb of the Unknown Soldier:

The Temple of Olympian Zeus (sorry for the bad quality!):

This is the Panathenaic stadium for the first modern Olympics, which took place in Athens in 1896:

More pretty architecture on our way to the Parthenon:

Climbing up to the Acropolis, we saw tons of olive trees. This picture reminds me of Megan Whalen Turner's The Queen's Thief series:

The view of Athens at the top of the Acropolis = amazing:

At the Acropolis - the Temple of Athena Nike:

The PARTHENON!!!! (Which, by the way, is a temple to Athena.) I was super excited to see this after studying it so extensively at school:

The back of the Parthenon:

Beside the Parthenon is the Erechtheion (a temple dedicated to Poseidon, I believe). It rests on many sacred sites, so its structure is a bit irregular:

I think these were stadiums or theatres... either way, they were right below the Acropolis:

The view at the bottom of the Acropolis:

The Acropolis Museum, which contains tons of sculptures, reliefs, and more from the Acropolis:

The museum also had these cool archaeological excavation models:

And finally, lunch! :) Greece has lots of yummy bread.

Sorry for putting up so many pictures - I didn't realize how many I'd been uploading. Hopefully I haven't bored you! I promise the next post will be very very short. (This post took me around 2 hours!)

Interview with R.J. Anderson

2010-06-22T10:23:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I posted my review of the delightful new novel Wayfarer. Today, here's the author herself, R.J. Anderson! Rebecca is so nice and friendly, and I'm excited to have been able to interview her.

How did you come up with the idea of the Oak and the faeries' world?

My experience was similar to that of C.S. Lewis with The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe -- it all began with a picture. Though in his case it was a little girl and a faun walking with an umbrella in a snowy wood, while mine was of a huge hollow oak tree in the countryside, with a human house nearby. I wasn't really conscious of "inventing" that mental image at all -- it was more like remembering something I'd seen before.

Of course, it took me some time after that to figure out exactly how the faeries lived and related to each other and how their culture and attitudes would be different from humans, and that was where all the research and planning came in. But the overall vision of the Oakenwyld as a place was there from the beginning.

All of the characters in Wayfarer have such unique personalities. Did you base the characters off of people in real life? How did you come up with each character's personality?

Thank you! It can be quite a challenge to keep characters distinct, and difficult for an author to know whether she's really managed it. I'm glad you think I have. As it happens, two of the characters in the Oak, Wink and Thorn, are loosely based on people I knew as a teenager. But they're really the only characters I've ever done that with.

Usually I get a mental picture of a character's appearance and/or personality in my mind, and the next step is to find out his or her name. Names are just as important to me as an author as they are to the faeries in my stories -- until I have the right name for a character, I just don't know him or her properly. But once I get that name figured out, the rest of their personality falls into place as I write.

I've tried making lists of character traits and doing "interviews" with my characters and so on, but none of that really works for me. I know it works wonderfully for some other authors, though. Everyone's different.

Which scene in Wayfarer was your favorite to write?

In Wayfarer, my favourite scene is the one at the House where we have Timothy, Paul and Peri, Linden, Rob and then Thorn all interacting with each other. I particularly enjoyed writing the dialogue between Peri and Rob as she lets him inside, and then some of the things Thorn says after she arrives -- it was such a fun dynamic to write.

I loved that scene! Do you ever write your books with a particular theme or message in mind?

I think very seriously about the emotional arc of my main characters, because that's something it took me a long while to learn -- that the character needs to go through an emotional journey that changes him or her in some way. And because I am a committed Christian, I'm interested in matters of spirituality and faith and morality, so those ideas tend to show up in my books as well.

But I didn't sit down and say to myself at the beginning of Wayfarer, "I'm going to write a book about a missionary's kid who struggles with his faith, and I'm going to have him end up in such-and-such a place, to teach the readers X and Y." Rather, Timothy's struggles and the way he responds to them came naturally out of my own life experience and things I was thinking about at the time. And once I realized I was going to be dealing with questions of faith and doubt, I was actually quite anxious not to come across as sermonizing or lecturing the reader. Because I don't believe that fiction is a good medium for that sort of thing.

According to your bio, you've lived in a lot of places! Do you think that your diverse experiences have shaped your writing?

I think they've given me a good sense of what it's like to be a stranger in a strange land, looking at things from the perspective of an outsider. Most of my books are about people who are outsiders or foreigners in one way or another, and have to learn to stand on their own and resist the pressure to conform to other people's expectations.

What were some of your favorite books as a teenager?

In my early teens I fell hard for the fantasy novels of Patricia A. McKillip, particularly her Riddle-Master trilogy and The Forgotten Beasts of Eld -- her writing is so gorgeous and poetic, I loved it even when I had no clue what was going on in the story! I also had a very strong response to C.S. Lewis's Out of the Silent Planet and especially Perelandra.

Any upcoming books?

Yes! My third faery book, Arrow, will be released in the UK on January 6, 2011. I've also sold a paranormal thriller for older teens called Touching Indigo, which is being published in the US by Carolrhoda Lab in Fall 2011. And then I've agreed to write a fourth book about faeries (though only loosely connected to the first three), called Swift.

Thanks for a great interview, Priya!

Thank you so much, Rebecca! I can't wait for Arrow and Swift.

Kidz Book Buzz Blog Tour: Wayfarer

2010-06-21T13:36:00.000-07:00

by R.J. Anderson

The faeries in the Oak are slowly dying due to their lack of magic, and the faery Linden is the only one who can save them. With her newfound human friend Timothy, Linden travels into the real (and highly dangerous) world to find a solution. Instead, she discovers, as the book states, "a potent evil that threatens the fate of all faeries."

Wayfarer is the sequel to Anderson's first book, Faery Rebels: Spell Hunter, and I'm pleased to say that it was just as good as the first book, if not better. I read Spell Hunter before reading Wayfarer, which I would recommend as it lets you understand the sequel better, but I don't think it is necessary to read the first book in order to enjoy Wayfarer. Either way, Anderson's storytelling and world building is captivating. Her carefully imagined faery world is magical, delightful, and most importantly, original. The characters are quite endearing, but varied and diverse, and the story is engaging and engrossing.

Overall, Wayfarer is charming and lovely - I would recommend it for anyone in middle school and up.

Check out the other blogs on this tour:

Whispers of Dawn, The Book Cellar, The Hungry Readers, My Own Little Corner of the World, KidzBookBuzz.com, Reading is My Superpower, Book Crumbs, Becky’s Book Reviews, Fireside Musings, A Christian Worldview of Fiction, Homeschool Book Buzz, Homespun Light, Book Review Maniac

This book will be released tomorrow - June 22nd, 2010.
(Review copy provided by publisher.)

CSN Stores

2010-06-19T12:03:00.000-07:00

I'm sure that all of you have seen a lot of blog posts about the CSN stores lately. I decided to go check out the website and there's actually quite a lot of cool stuff there! :-) Whether or not you're looking for a sleeper sofa, bookshelves, or even a trampoline, it seems like you can find it there. I'll be doing a review of one of their products soon, so keep your eyes open for that!

On a different note, I realized that I've been blogging for four years as of yesterday. :-D

TEDxRedmond

2010-06-17T16:33:00.000-07:00

TEDxRedmond is an independently organized speaking conference that follows the basic structure of a normal TED conference -- except for the fact that all its speakers are all children in grades 6 - 10. If you're familiar with the TED series, TEDxRedmond is a branch of it. If you're not as familiar with TED, you can visit their official site at http://www.ted.com/.

Here are the official details for TEDxRedmond:

September 18, 2010

Microsoft Campus,

Redmond, WA 98052

You can sign up to attend TEDxRedmond at http://www.tedxredmond.com/ (click the "Attend" button). You can also sign up to speak there by clicking on the "Attend" button and filling out the form at that link, but all speakers will be students in grades 6 - 10.

If you're in the Seattle-Redmond area, be sure to come! It will be a lot of fun, and there's going to be entertainment (and food, I believe) as well. Just make sure to RSVP at the website.

(This post was basically reprinted with permission from allegro, with a few edits and additions made by me.)

Greece Pictures: Part 1

2010-06-15T16:16:00.000-07:00

Since I have close to a thousand pictures of Greece, I've decided to split my trip up into parts. So there will probably be around 10 or so posts with Greece pictures.

Anyways, this set of pictures is from the first two days. (By the way, you can click on most of these to enlarge them.) We flew to Athens, walked around the area for an hour or so, and shopped in the plaka, which is the Athenian marketplace.

I took this picture on the plane. It was nice to see the coastline from so high up.

We had a layover at Madrid. Doesn't the airport look amazing? Those colored v-shaped structures went down the middle of the whole airport. Plus, if you go farther down, the structures change color gradually until they display the full color spectrum.

Athens:

No matter where you go, you'll always find references to American pop culture. This was on a random building wall in the streets of Athens:

The subway station:

A (blurry) view of the lit-up Parthenon at night:

The plaka:

Greece has so many lovely scarves!

This was an amazing art gallery that we passed. All of these are painted, but they look so realistic:

Tons of Greek curios, statues, magnets, and more:

Gelato!

In addition to all the cats in Greece, which you saw in one of my photos at the beginning of this post (in fact, there are so many cats in Greece that there are tourist shirts with cartoon sketches of "all the cats of Greece") ... anyways, there are tons of stray dogs too. The dogs are big. Huge. They look like wolves, not dogs. And we got into a scary encounter with them.

After we finished shopping in the plaka, we were waiting for taxis. A bunch of dogs were roaming around us, sniffing at our bags and weaving around our legs. (We ignored them.) Then, two of the jumped at each other (growling ferociously) and attacked each other savagely. We all screamed and ran, but luckily the dog fight broke up soon. :-)

Anywho, here's a picture of one of the dogs:

And that's all for Part 1! That was a lot of pictures... hopefully you enjoyed looking through them! I'll try posting up Part 2 (the Parthenon and more!) later this week, but these posts take a lot of time... either way, we'll be through all the pics by the end of July, hopefully.

A Rainy Morning

2010-06-11T14:43:00.000-07:00

A young woman in a wheelchair,
wearing a black nylon poncho spattered with rain,
is pushing herself through the morning.
You have seen how pianists
sometimes bend forward to strike the keys,
then lift their hands, draw back to rest,
then lean again to strike just as the chord fades.
Such is the way this woman
strikes at the wheels, then lifts her long white fingers,
letting them float, then bends again to strike
just as the chair slows, as if into a silence.
So expertly she plays the chords
of this difficult music she has mastered,
her wet face beautiful in its concentration,
while the wind turns the pages of rain.

-Ted Kooser

(Poetry Friday roundup here.)

P.S. The Greece pictures are coming soon! I'm still trying to organize them.

New Harry Potter Trailer!

2010-06-07T17:22:00.000-07:00

The newest Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows trailer debuted last night! It looks good, but a little depressing. And... I don't know, Harry isn't looking that much like Harry anymore. Does anyone else feel that way?

Beau Lotto: Optical illusions show how we see

2010-06-05T17:49:00.000-07:00

This is quite fascinating:

Hello

2010-05-30T13:49:00.000-07:00

I'm back! My trip was amazing... would you like to see some pictures?

I'm going to be busy for the next two weeks with my finals coming up, and then school will be over! I'm also trying to catch up on some reading - I bought Fablehaven by Brandon Mull to read during the flight and never got the chance to start, so I'm hoping to begin that soon. The next couple weeks are going to be crazy, but I'm looking forward to summer!

Traveling

2010-05-18T15:54:00.000-07:00

I'm going to be away for about 2 weeks (until the 30th) because I'm going to Greece! I haven't scheduled any posts and I doubt I'll get much internet access there, but I will have pictures when I get back!

Rome

2010-05-14T19:14:00.000-07:00

you said, i don't know if we will come back here

so i tossed a penny
backwards into the clear turquoise water and
watched as it sank down to the treasure below

and the sun shined down on the
detailed marble statues,
reflecting off all the
sunken pennies.

We tried ice-cold gelato in
new flavors
(banana and pistachio for me)
and sat on the steps of the marketplace,
watching the merchants
wheeling their carts through the crowd.

At night the fountain glowed with
gold and silver lights, and we
strolled down crooked cobblestoned alleys

fingering rich scarves and smelling the
starlight on the wind

p.s. (i never got to taste true italian pizza, but i
heard it was good.)

(Poetry Friday roundup here.)

* This picture was taken at the Trevi Fountain in Rome. Legend says that if you toss one penny backwards over your left shoulder (with your right hand) into the fountain, you will return back to Italy.

A Conspiracy of Kings

2010-05-11T19:44:00.000-07:00

by Megan Whalen Turner

A Conspiracy of Kings is the fourth book in The Queen's Thief series, and in my opinion, it's the best one. This book focuses on Sophos (one of the minor characters in the previous books) and his dangerous adventures and epic rise to power as the king of Sounis.

There were three main things that made me enjoy A Conspiracy of Kings: the characters, the writing, and the plot. I really liked Sophos' character in this book - he was easier to sympathize with than some of the other characters. I felt that he was more accessible to readers and more people would be able to connect with him and understand his actions.

The writing was wonderful as usual - suspenseful and fast-paced. The plot was also fabulous, with several twists and turns. Megan Whalen Turner has this amazing ability to completely fool the reader and take them on this journey only to reveal some secret or something. It's hard to explain - it's kind of the opposite of dramatic irony, where the reader knows something that the characters don't. Instead, in this book, the reader is unaware of many things that the characters know, and therefore believes that one thing is happening when actually, something else is occurring. And it's always shocking when these secrets are revealed! Turner's writing also aided in this; she used potentially two-sided words that had double meanings.

If you haven't read this series, you must! And if you haven't read A Conspiracy of Kings yet, I would highly recommend putting it on the top of your to-read list.

Links and Readergirlz

2010-05-07T11:23:00.000-07:00

I found this link through Sarah Miller's blog today about disabilities in children's books.

Via The Story Siren: an inspiring story about a couple of authors who banded together to raise money for flood relief in Nashville.

Chelsea at The Page Flipper is having a giveaway for $40 worth of books - and if you win, you can choose whatever books you want!

On an entirely different note, we're featuring Lisa Yee's new novel, Absolutely Maybe, at readergirlz this month! You can check out this month's issue here, and the live chat with Lisa is on Wednesday, May 19th, at 6 p.m. PST/9 p.m. EST. Come over and join in the discussions!

Spring Photos

2010-05-03T16:33:00.000-07:00

About two weeks ago, the weather was really nice. So, while my dad washed the car :) ...

I went outside with a camera and experimented with some of the macro settings (inspired by Q):

The Cinderella Society

2010-05-01T18:40:00.000-07:00

by Kay Cassidy

As an "outsider", sixteen-year-old Jess Parker has mostly felt invisible and ignored by everyone else (except for her enemy, who never wastes an opportunity to snipe at Jess). When Jess gets a mysterious invitation to join The Cinderella Society, a secret sisterhood basically based on girl empowerment and protecting people from bullies, she feels like she's finally fitting in someplace. But as Jess begins to explore her true potential as well as the people around her, she's filled with doubts and questions. Did she really make the right decision by joining the society, and will she manage to live up to everyone else's expectations?

There were some things that I really liked about The Cinderella Society, and then there were some things I didn't like. I liked the idea of the society, and I loved the idea of girl power and accomplishing great things as a part of the female gender. I also enjoyed seeing how Jess was impacted by the society and the changes in her personal and social life. Overall, I thought that the story plot was pretty good as well.

However, I thought that the book was lacking in many areas. Many pages were taken up explaining all the little details of the society, which was kind of boring and made the story drag. I would also have liked to see the characters developed a little more, because they seemed a little flat and surface-level. I think my main problem, though, was that The Cinderella Society was hard to believe. The idea of a society which competed against another society of bullies in order to protect victims of bullying and empower regular students was sort of unbelievable and cheesy, and I think that's what brought down this potentially great book.

In conclusion, The Cinderella Society is a fun and fluffy book that I would recommend, but I wouldn't go into it expecting something amazing.

NaPoWriMo #30

2010-04-30T21:36:00.000-07:00

May

As we turn the final page
of last winter's book,
indigo streaks bloom
above our heads like loose
paint strokes on a sky blue
canvas. The bursts
of fireworks crackle in the
distance, people watching
by the edge of the glossy
lake

the warm air surrounded
by the sound of crickets
and the telltale buzz of
bumblebees-

not yet summer, but
close enough.

NaPoWriMo is finally over! I'm really glad I did it this year- I think I got some pretty good poems out of this, and I enjoyed writing all the poems as well. Some days were tough and uninspirational, but I think it was a good learning experience for me, figuring out how to draw ideas from basically nowhere. Congratulations to everyone else who took part in NaPoWriMo this year and completed the challenge!

Lastly, I'd like to thank all my followers and commenters for sticking with me through this month and providing so much support and encouragement. I couldn't have done it without you!

NaPoWriMo #29

2010-04-29T19:51:00.000-07:00

goodnight

the sun sets behind imposing,
dark evergreens, pouring
a syrupy orange glow onto the
balconies and fences and
woodland trails

this part of the earth is
going to sleep now, goodnights
called as lights turn off one by
one, laptops shut down,

all of us enduring this
warm night together.

One more day to go!

NaPoWriMo #28

2010-04-28T20:55:00.000-07:00

stardust

purple reminds me of
lavender glitter and
stardust and happily-ever-after
fairytales, all blended into

that perfect spin when
you turn around in your
flowy pink dress, silver
sparkles fluttering
through the air and landing

in a perfect circle around
you, like fallen petals surrounding
a rose in bloom.

NaPoWriMo #27

2010-04-27T20:43:00.000-07:00

Art Studio

The color grows
darker near the
corners, and it is
obvious where
someone has spilled
water on the page.

A brush lies on the table
coated in dry blue acrylic
paint, and music is still
playing

as if someone has
gone missing
and left their painting
unfinished.

NaPoWriMo #26

2010-04-26T21:32:00.000-07:00

talent show preparation

Four students are wrapping
pale blue streamers around
imposing pillars, weaving color
around stark whiteness. Several
others are huddled
backstage, calling out names
and continually making marks
on official-looking clipboards. A
feeling of anticipation and
general panic hovers anxiously
over their heads

(like storm clouds
on the morning of a big game)

the building filled with
a sense of fullness.

NaPoWriMo #25

2010-04-25T19:55:00.000-07:00

(Photo credit)

train tracks

The train station is lit
by a series of bare lightbulbs,
casting a toxic green glow
down onto the semicircular tunnel.
Under the glare of the lights,
the train tracks are black-

weary of thousands of wheels
churning out their life stories on
frustrated tracks overflowing with
too many secrets. Early morning
commuters huddle under faint
directional signs, waiting for

a train, their passport through
holes of darkness to
French cafés and crisp bakeries

and small musty bookstores,

the shelves crammed with poetry books

full of train tracks that no one will read.

My inspiration for this poem came from here.

NaPoWriMo #24

2010-04-24T20:35:00.000-07:00

(Photo credit)

Evening in Paris

Rusty peach clouds
puddling on cobblestoned ground-

It's evening in Paris and
everyone has their umbrellas out,
gossiping as spindly tree branches
stretch out from behind lonely
old buildings.

The street is filled with a
hopeful sort of solemnity,
the bold lampposts illuminating
quiet reflections in the rain.

NaPoWriMo #23

2010-04-23T21:03:00.000-07:00

untitled

Sand kicks up behind
mountains of legendary
treasures and secret stories,
whispered at nighttime
bonfires and moonlight
forest meetings.

The minute hand on the
clock snaps around,
rhythms blending into a
whirl that dissolves to

a fine layer of dust in
an abandoned shed
and quiet words carefully
traced into the floor.

NaPoWriMo #22

2010-04-22T21:05:00.000-07:00

plum

Behind the bowl of

apples hides a deep purple

plum, sweet and juicy, with

fresh droplets of water running

down its sides.

NaPoWriMo #21

2010-04-21T15:29:00.001-07:00

the stationery store

indigo ribbon crossed
tightly over itself, still in
plastic wrap.

it looks woven, as if
it has gathered the
secrets of the rainbow
and taken them into
its folds.

NaPoWriMo #20

2010-04-20T19:56:00.000-07:00

(Photo credit)

one-point perspective

skyscrapers bending inwards,

edges curving and shiny walls

reflecting off one another

electric sky

all encompassing,

distorted but domed like

metallic toys in a little

globe, the glass tinted

bright blue.

Note- this is the first picture I've seen where the earth actually looks round! Just my opinion. :-)

NaPoWriMo #19

2010-04-19T20:22:00.000-07:00

escape

Free balloons,
the sign said, and
Only take one, please
but I took two balloons

painstakingly selected, a pink and a
yellow, and watched them
bob up on the ceiling
floating towards the
door as if they wanted to
escape.

so when we went outside
I let them go into the
gray sky, two splotches of paint
on a wet canvas.

NaPoWriMo #18

2010-04-18T15:16:00.000-07:00

Glimpse

A dark blue scarf is
twisted awkwardly around
her neck, its fringed ends
smothered between layers of
jackets. The young woman
purposefully crosses the
street, not bothering to look
both ways, and
disappears behind a
revolving glass door,
unwinding the scarf from
her neck as she goes.

NaPoWriMo #17

2010-04-17T21:29:00.000-07:00

April Showers

The rains are
just on time this year,
brightening plants to a
spring green. Raindrops

drip off soggy maroon
leaves, drumming a
steady beat on slender
wooden cymbals.

NaPoWriMo #16

2010-04-16T20:50:00.000-07:00

untitled

we are trying on
trenchcoats, but
nothing seems to fit.

strolling along deserted aisles,
lugging around an almost empty
basket, except for a hairbrush

we spray the air with
every kind of freshener
they sell, sweet pea and citrus and
coconut lime.

none of the dresses fit either,
but we laugh and
take pictures and make a
mess on the floor

the sun is out
but the day is chilly, and
there is absolutely nothing to do
this friday afternoon.

I can't think of a title for this... any suggestions?

eta: we have crossed the halfway mark for NaPoWriMo this month! Congratulations to everyone who's still participating!

NaPoWriMo #15

2010-04-15T18:16:00.000-07:00

two truths and a lie

twenty books stacked in front of
me and a coffee mug
balancing on top

the airport is crowded today.
everyone seems to have
black suitcases and designer watches

the air smells of french fries drifting
down from the fast food restaurant
fifty feet away.

i'd like to tell you that
most of this poem is a lie.

it's rainy and cold and my
blue umbrella is soaked-
yes, i'm telling the truth now.
today was quite a nasty day. maybe
tomorrow will be better.

I had a lot of fun with Kelli's prompt today!

Operation TBD: I Rocked the Drop!

2010-04-15T18:07:00.000-07:00

I rocked the drop today! I left The President's Daughter series (all 4 books) by Ellen Emerson White at a local coffee shop:

And come over to readergirlz right now and join the live chat!

NaPoWriMo #14

2010-04-14T17:54:00.000-07:00

kindergarten field trip

gritty sand beneath my feet.

I don't like mud,
or starfish, or
seaweed draped in clumps
over ugly gray rocks.

It's cloudy and
even the ocean looks
gloomy, quietly going in
and out without complaint

my wet shoes are
drying in the parched grass.
there are too many bugs-

please stop laughing, you're annoying me