Thoughts On Book Stuff...

After reading quite a few books over the past couple of months, I have developed a strong opinion on a few things.

Books in Series (specifically 3 or more):
Hate. I am not a fan of most books with sequels or many books after them. After the first book I don't want to be tied down to having to read the next book in the series. And sometimes you don't care anymore or are sick of the characters. But, if you're like me you feel compelled to at least read the others. Most of the time the 2nd or 3rd books are nowhere near as good as the opener to the series. Sometimes in very rare cases, they are needed, and they are good. But for me, a lot of times a well written epilogue can accomplish what another book could. This brings me to my next point:


Epilogues:
I am a strong believer in epilogues. Strong, strong believer in them. I think you shouldn't leave your reader hanging, even if you think you've wrapped the story up well. Trust me, your readers will most likely have a very different opinion about that.
Just wrap up the story and provide a little bit more about the main characters lives after the book ends. No need for a sequel, don't get crazy, just a few pages totally wrapping it up.


Prologues:
You'd think since I love epilogues so much that I wouldn't be opposed to prologues, but I am actually. I think the best fiction writers don't need prologues (non fiction is different, I realize sometimes you really do need prologues for those). They can incorporate whatever was in the prologue into the book itself. Don't give things away before you even start Chapter 1. That's no fun.


Books that are broken down in Parts, Chapters, both, or neither?:
I like when books are broken down into two or three parts, but I also like chapters a lot. Preferably, chapters and parts together. So yes, both is best in my opinion. I think you can do a lot with it, there can be more cliffhangers and things with parts.
I love chapters as long as they are longish chapters. I hate chapters that are only one page.
That being said, I also can't stand books with no chapters at all. Out of everything, that would be one of my greatest reading pet peeves. It's just so hard to read. And then you have to mark your stopping place by page instead of chapter and that's just annoying. Plus, then there's no good place to stop to go to bed, and that is really frustrating.


Well... that's it... look for some book reviews soon! Plus, I'm planning on having some new chapters up soon!

Book Review: Matched

Matched is written Ally Condie, and is you guessed it, another post-apocalyptic book.

Summary:
It is set in a world where Officials decide what the population eats, when they die, what jobs they get and maybe most importantly, whom they marry.
When you live in the society, you get "matched" when you reach fifteen. The person you are matched with is the person you will marry. You can be matched with anyone in the society, so to be matched with someone you know is extremely unlikely. So when Cassia Reyes is matched with her best friend, everyone is shocked.
Cassia is more shocked however, when 2 pictures are flashed on the screen by mistake. Xander, her best friend and Match, and another boy she knows, Ky Markham.
As the story progresses, Cassia has to decide if Ky's picture flashing was a mistake or if he could have been meant to be her match after all.

Profanity:
None.

Violence:
Talk about a boy who was murdered, talk about the fact that people are poisoned to control the population.

Romance:
Some kissing/hand holding.

Age Suggestion:
11+

1-5 Stars:
4 :)


It is a GREAT book. 

Book Review: Divergent

So, as you all know I've been on this post-apocalyptic, dystopian, kick recently. I've read Legend, The Hunger Games, Graceling, Enclave, The Giver, Matched (The Matched review is coming soon!!) and Divergent/Insurgent.
Now, Insurgent will get it's own review on a later day.
This one is for the book that opens the series, Divergent.

Summary: (No spoilers)
The book centers around Beatrice(Don't be scared by the name, she is later called Tris :)) who has just turned 15. When you turn 15, you go through a test which tells you which of the five factions you are best suited for. There is Amity (kindness), Erudite (knowledgeable), Abnegation (selflessness), Candor(honesty), and Dauntless(bravery).
You are born into whatever faction your parents are in, but when you turn 15 you have the choice to transfer to another faction or stay in your faction. People very rarely change factions.
When Beatrice turns 15, she takes the test only to be left with a scary decision. Normally on the test, 4 out of the 5 factions are ruled out so you know where you belong. On Beatrice's test however, she only rules out 2. Which leaves her to choose between 3 factions.
This story is about which faction she chooses, (the faction she comes from, the faction her father hates, and the faction that scares her) and how she has to find her way. She has to accept who she is, and that she will never be like others. For she is different.

Violence:
There is quite a bit of violence in this book. One guy gets stabbed in the eye with a butter knife, people have to fight each other until one person cannot fight anymore, people are hung over the end of a chasm. But if you could handle The Hunger Games, you can handle this.

Romance:
There is some kissing, hand holding and at one point the main character discusses "intimacy" with someone. Nothing comes of it, however. Really the romance takes a back seat to the plot, which I love. Of course in any book there's going to be some level of romance, but it annoys me when it becomes the focus of a book that could have so much potential.

Language:
No "bad" language. There's some name calling, but nothing really mean.

Age?
Probably 12 or 13. As I said, if you liked The Hunger Games, I swear you will LOVE this. It's awesome.

AND.... it's a series. Insurgent the second book, is out now, and I believe the third book is scheduled for release around next fall/winter. It's a long time to wait, but I know it will be worth it :) They are wonderful books.

The Post When Everyone Realizes Juliana Has Lost Her Mind

Last time I finished writing a book, it took me six months to come up with another plot to write about. 
This time it took me roughly 20 hours.
Hold on everybody, cause here we go again.
No promises this one will be good, but it's worth a shot, right?
:)

Part I: Lost

Plip. Plop. Plip. Plop.

Rain drums on the leaves above me. I turn onto my side, covering myself with more leaves. I peek out from them and look up at the stars. You can’t see many tonight, because clouds cover the sky. I pick out a few and watch them until a rain droplet falls into my eye and I curl back into a tight dry ball.

I don’t care for rain. I have bad memories associated with rain. I wish we didn’t have to sleep outside tonight, but we couldn’t find shelter before dark.  My brothers don’t care for rain any more than I do, I know.

I close my eyes and can’t help but play that night over in my mind. My throat tightens and hurts. I tell myself to calm down. It doesn’t do much good. I breathe deeply and try to sleep.

Not much chance of that though. The night’s cold and cutting. The leaves offer absolutely no protection from the bitter cold. I pull my red jacket closer to me and pull the hood up.

I lay like that for an hour before I realize I’m not going to get any sleep.

I push the leaves away from my face and roll over onto my side. Careful not to wake my brothers I stand up. I cover someone’s  arm and leg sticking out with the leaves I’m not using.

I tiptoe away from them. We’re in the middle of some sort of forest and I can’t see much in front of me. I find a spot where the trees cover the sky, blocking out the rain. I lay down on my back and close my eyes.

The silence is only interrupted by the sounds of the forest and that’s the way I like it.

All of a sudden a hand clamps over my mouth. It drags me to my feet. The person is taller than me and I am off the ground in this person’s grasp. I try to get away but I’m not strong enough. I can’t see who holds me but I’m almost certain I am doomed.

“Let her down,  Sophie. She’s too small to get away or do us any harm.”

I hate when people tell me I’m too small to do anything. Nothing makes me more angry.

 She drops me on the ground. I look up to see her towering above me. She has black hair and green eyes. She’s pretty, but in a strange way. She’s very tall and looks incredibly strong. I wonder what she wants with me.

“Who are you?”

I shake my head and look down at the ground. I’m not going to answer her. She lifts a hand to strike me, but stops at the sound of a boy’s voice.

“Don’t hit her. That won’t get us anywhere.”

“You’re going soft, are you? When did that happen, hmm?”

He steps out of the shadows. He’s taller than me as well, but not as tall as the girl. I judged the girl to be 4 or 5 years older than me, but he only looks 2 or 3 years older than me.

He has blond hair and the same green eyes as his sister. Or so, I believe it’s his sister. They look a lot alike. It’s a logical assumption.

The eyes are what strikes me. Takes my breath away. His eyes, and his sister’s. It’s like looking straight into a forest, the way the colors blend and mix.

He looks at me looking at him. He cocks his head, studying me. I look away from his gaze.

“I’m not going soft. But I’m not a cruel animal, either.” He says quietly.

She snorts. “Whatever.”

She stares at me. “What are you doing here?”

I really don’t want to answer this question.

And so, I open my mouth to scream.

Only, instead of a shrill scream filling the air, all I hear is hollow silence. I close my mouth.

I should have known I wouldn’t be able to scream. My throat hurts now. I lower my eyes to the ground. I can feel both of them staring at me, waiting for an answer.

An idea comes to me. I point to my throat, and make a motion with my hands like they’re talking. Then I shake my head no.

“I don’t think she can talk, sister.”

“I think you may be right.” She comes closer toward me. “Do you have family around here that I may speak to?”

I’m shaking my head no when my brothers break through the trees.

I just hit a snag in my book, and I have two options.
Kill someone.
Or write a sequel.

Oh dear goodness.

The Kind of Flower You Don't Have to Have a Green Thumb to Care For

Epiphany~ a sudden, intuitive perception of or insight into the reality oressential meaning of something, usually initiated by somesimple, homely, or commonplace occurrence or experience.

a literary work or section of a work presenting, usually symbolically, such a moment of revelation and insight.

This is one of my very favorite words, and I use it frequently, (just ask Madison Levine). I love it because it perfectly describes that feeling of joy you have when you have an epiphany.

I envision epiphanies a lot like flowers.

You have your weeds( like my 20 unfinished books in my basement) and you have your roses(like a sudden inspiration for a perfect photo).

I have a garden full of epiphanies. Some weeds, some roses, some sunflowers, and some tulips. 

They're all different.

But the important thing is to keep giving them sunlight and water.

Never let them die.

Challenge for you today: Have an epiphany. And don't let it die.

I'm Baccckkk!!!! :)

Hey guys! I've missed y'all so much! It just about killed me not being able to write on here!
But I learned and grew in the Lord a lot this week and that's what matters :)
He showed me a bunch of things I need to work on, one being spending more time in the Word, which I'm trying really hard to do better at.
I did take a notebook with me and whenever I had free time I wrote, so I'm copying all that work onto my laptop, and will hopefully have the next little bit of my book up today.
I'm glad to be back!
~Bird

Hey y'all! I just wanted to let you guys know that I'm headed off to youth camp and will be gone till Wednesday. *tear*
This breaks my heart because I post here 5 or 6 times a week, but there is no laptops or phone allowed at camp. (Yes, I already pulled my hair out over that rule, thanks for asking.)
But, I can bring books and notebooks (half my suitcase is filled with them), and so I will be cooking up a few book reviews to share with you upon my arrival (The Giver, and a few others).
I will miss you people and being able to write on the blog!!
Till we meet again,
Bird :)

Fourteen

I turn fourteen today. Or rather, at 7:21 tonight.
It doesn't feel real. Or different, really.
I'm still the shrimp I was yesterday.
My thirteenth year has been a roller coaster. I've lost a couple of best friends, had a couple crushes, tried to do well in school, and tried not to make my mom hate me.
There's been a lot of good in the past year, but it came with it's fair share of bad too.
I plan to make this year different. I want to make 14 a year I remember, but in a good way. I plan to rock all my school, and come out with straight A's (Hey, if I did got an A in Algebra it can be done!). I plan not to make my mother hate me. I plan to keep all my friends and make some new ones. I plan to not be so engulfed in liking someone. I plan to locate a college that lines up with my goals in life. I plan not to make people want to kill me. I plan on laughing more, and crying less.  I plan to remember this year till I'm old and dying.
You Only Live Once.
I plan on making it count.

Book Review: Enclave

*some older teen content in this review*

       I’ve become kind of obsessed with post-apocalyptic books as of late. The most recent one I got my hands on was Enclave written by Ann Aguire. It’s set in an underground world, after the rest of the world is gone. It’s narrated by a 15 year old girl, named Deuce.

      In this world, you are simply called boy or girl with a number after it it( like: girl26, boy17)  until you reach age 15 and have proved yourself. When you reach age 15, you are given a name and a job. There a three jobs, Builder, Hunter, and Breeder (I will address this later).

        Deuce is picked to be a Huntress, which is what she has prepared for her whole life. Hunters and Huntresses find food above ground, and also kill Freaks (human like creatures, but they’re nasty and well… freaky) She is doing just fine, until she gets paired up with a mysterious boy that the enclave found above ground. No one knows where he came from, and he seems incredibly bitter. But, she gets to know him, and they become good partners.

Okay, that’s the basis of the story.

       I would not suggest reading this book probably before 13 or 14. The freaks are pretty freaky (I pictured them as dinosaurs the whole time… I couldn’t help it, really.), and there is some talk about the Breeders. They assign Breeders to keep the population where they want it. And while they never actually say anything, there’s a lot of implying going around.

Like when Deuce gets captured by a gang. The gang takes females primarily to breed them. Disgusting, right?

Other than those few things, it’s a good book.

          The sequel to it is supposedly coming out this fall, which is wonderful because it left with a cliffhanger. There is an underlying meaning towards the end of the book, which could imply how it would end, but you would only find it if you were looking for it. Which I was because, I knew how I wanted it to end.

      It was unlike any other post-apocalyptic book I’ve read. It was full of twists and turns, with the author unveiling secrets at every corner. Definitely not one of my all time favorite books, but it was worth reading.

Book Review: Fever 1793

Fever 1793 is a novel written by Laurie Halse Anderson(Author of Chains and Forge (awarded the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction)) set in well, 1793 in Philadelphia.
 It's told from a 14 year old girl's point of view, right before, through, and during the recovery of the Yellow Fever that swept across the city.
Matilda(Mattie) lives with her mother(Lucille) and her grandfather in their coffeehouse. Eliza works in the coffeehouse, and is almost a member of the family.
When the Yellow Fever hits her mother, her grandfather and her, set off to go to a farm in the country where the air seems to be cleaner. But they never make it. Her grandfather gets Yellow Fever halfway there.
The story unfolds from that point. It's one of my very favorite books because the author pays attention to little details.
I would say the writing style(words used) is more towards 9-11 year olds. However, the topic is about a fever that killed thousands of people, so maybe around 11+ would be best.
There is no bad language, and only a hint of romance.
There is talk of beers and gambling, because they own a coffeehouse, but nothing horrible.
Overall, this is a great read :)