My absence...

I am so sorry that it's been so long since I've written a post! A few weeks ago I was diagnosed with carpal tunnel from typing so much. So I was told that I needed to take a break for at least a month and type as little as possible and that's why I haven't been posting at all. My month is almost up and my wrists have been feeling a lot better! I'll start up again the first Monday of April! :)

Keep reading!
-Delanie

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling

Yes, I finally started reading Harry Potter series. I know this is book two but I didn't like book one, I couldn't finish it. It was too much like the movie which I've seen so many times. Although I didn't read it I was impressed with it's similarity in the part I did read.

I honestly feel like I don't need to explain what this book is about. There is so much hype around this wizarding world that if you haven't heard of Harry Potter then you've mastered a skill I wish I could have. In this book, Harry and his friends find out about a secret chamber created by one of the founders of Hogwarts that supposedly contains a beast so vicious it was impossible to defeat. This chamber can only be open by an heir of Slytherin, and no one knows who that is. Harry is worried that something bad is going to happen and knows he needs to try to stop it. 

Clearly there are many many reviews of this book, most of them being positive. I want to talk about the negative ones I've found. Most of them are just magic haters, don't really get into the magic 'thing', or it wasn't adult enough for them. All valid reasons. Others trash J.K. Rowling's writing and the way she goes about writing the book. I disagree but okay. Then there are the people who start to get too personal. They hate the characters, one specifically stated that she felt Harry shouldn't even be in the book at all and that he is so dull and predictable that it made the whole series "fall flat" in her mind. Wait what? 

I personally loved this book, but I can see how it may not be for everyone. So far I am in love with the characters and I can't wait to keep reading these books! If you're into magic, and fantasy you'll love these books. I especially recommend these books to middle schoolers. Being in high school and reading many different reading levels I can see that this book/parts I've read so far is definitely catered to younger kids in the difficulty levels. That being said, I know many adults who have loved it and have claimed that it made them feel like a kid again. So who really knows. 

The last thing I want to say is: don't let the coverage and media around this series decide whether you read them or not.

Books like this:
I'm not going to do this. I have honestly never read or heard of anything like this.

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Unforgiven by Lauren Kate

Now that Luce and Daniel have found their happy ending Cam is left wanting to find his own. Cam wants to find Lilith, the girl he almost married years ago.  When he finds out that she is being put through hell by Lucifer he does everything he can to get her out. Lucifer gives Cam 15 days to get Lilith, who remembers nothing about him, to fall back in love with him. It is much harder than he could ever imagine but with Luce and Daniel as his inspiration, he keeps fighting no matter what.


I LOVED THIS BOOK!!! I always liked Cam throughout the whole series and when I found out that there's a book just about him I was so excited. There were many people that were excited about this book too, even people that didn't like the other books. This book allows you to see a different side of Cam and that's what I loved most about this book.

I recommend this book to readers who loved Cam in the other books. Although I do think this book is for readers who liked Cam I also think that if you like Lauren Kate and the Fallen Series I think that you'll still like this book. It really gives you another step into that world and if you didn't like Cam before I bet you will after reading this book.


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The Beginning of Everything by Robyn Schneider

Ezra Faulkner believes that everyone will have some tragedy in their life that marks the start of your life. Ezra's tragedy was getting into a car accident after finding out his girlfriend cheated on him. Ezra was a star at his high school. Top tennis player, and popular. His accident ended his tennis career and completely changed the corse of his life. He makes new friends, joins the debate team and even gets a new girlfriend. But everything still doesn't play out the way he thinks it would.

This book was surprising, you don't really know what to expect with this book. There's absolutely no predicting with it, no guessing. Which makes it really hard to say much about it, so I've turned to others. In a few reviews they mention how this book is funny but not easy to laugh at. I agree, there were many parts that made me laugh out loud and it's not like the book ended unhappily. But it was just a very weird story line and I still don't know what to think of it.

I don't know who to recommend this book to. It's kind of a mix between Me and Earl and the Dying Girl and We Were Liars because Ezra has a very similar voice to Greg from Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, he has similar feelings, opinions, and acts very similar in some ways. But this book also has a sort of tragedy aspect to it like We Were Liars and that's why I'd compare the two. Honestly, I don't really know but look, I've filled 3 paragraphs.

Books like this:
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews
When You Were Here by Daisy Whitney
My Life After Now by Jessica Verdi

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Short Story Saturday!

It’s hard for me to write about myself and then share it with other people. Sure I’ve put parts of myself into characters but that’s different. Not everyone knows everything about me and when I put small things like opinions or feelings in my writing someone reading it won’t always know. This is me using my safety net to break away from my comfort zone a little. Writing allows me to branch out and move forward, to grow. I’m thankful I’m a writer because it makes me feel good to write. Whenever I’ve had a rough day I can always go and write about it or just sit down and write something, and then I feel better. Writing is something that allows me to be creative and express myself. I’ve never considered myself a creative person or an artist but I’ve come to realize that there are many forms of artists; there’s painting, drawing, music, photography but mine is writing. Writing is the way I make something, and even though I rarely share all of it with people I still feel great doing it. Putting pencil to paper, fingers to keys, no matter what way it happens it clears my mind. When I write it feels like I’m taking words out of my head and putting them somewhere else. My mind is cleared and I feel better. I can escape from everything and dive into something else. I love how you can write about anything you want to. If you don’t want to be where you are in the moment you can put yourself on a beach somewhere or anywhere else you want to go. If I don’t want to be sitting at home, doing homework, I can take a break and write about being somewhere else. I could go anywhere with a piece of paper and pencil. I am thankful I’m a writer.

Me & Earl & the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews

Greg has managed to make it to his senior year in high school completely invisible. He has one friend and that's Earl. Earl and Greg make movies together that nobody is ever allowed to see. Everything is fine until one day Greg finds out that his childhood friend, Rachel, is dying of cancer. Greg's mother forces him to hang out with her and cheer her up. Eventually Rachel decides to stop treatment and let things run it's corse. This is when Earl and Greg decide to make her a movie. This movie brings Greg out of his veil of invisibility and into the spotlight, and the movie isn't even good.

This book is told by Greg and he constantly talks about how he hates writing it. Greg's voice is relaxed and nonchalant. He goes back and forth from him telling the story to the story being told in script form. Many people, myself included thought that this book was absolutely hilarious. Which is true! Greg is a typical teenage boy out of touch with his emotions and at times obliviously in denial, but that's what makes this book so good! 

I recommend this book to people who liked The Fault in Our Stars but could have done without the romance. What Earl and Greg do for Rachel is sweet but there's nothing romantic about it. Every time you expect something romantic to happen it doesn't. The story is great and funny, but don't expect it to be romantic at all. It's a perfect read for non-romance lovers and I'd say from ages 13 and up.


Books like this:
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green- but with less romance
The Beginning of Everything by Robyn Schneider- the main characters have a similar voice and view

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There's also a movie but I haven't seen it so I can't compare the two...

The D.U.F.F. by Kody Keplinger

Bianca Piper is the Designated Ugly Fat Friend. All this means is that in her friend group she is technically uglier than her other two friends. When she is told this by Wesley Rush, a guy she absolutely hates, she actually throws a drink in his face. Bianca's home life isn't doing too good, her mom keeps leaving, and her dad keeps thinking she'll come back. So Bianca is in desperate need of a distraction. That's when she ends up kissing Wesley, who ends up being her perfect distraction. Bianca still hates Wesley but she continues to use him until she realizes that he may be more than just a distraction. 

I started reading this book because I watched the movie and thought it was really good. I loved the book just as much but I do have to warn you: they are nothing alike! There is almost no resemblance between the book and the movie, and I can't figure out any explanation of why they did it that way. There are a lot of mixed reviews on this book and I don't even know how to explain them. Some say Bianca's voice as a character is very strong and really brings you into the story but some think that that's not true. They're all conflicting and I'll just say this. This was a good book but don't compare it to the movie or expect them to be alike. 

I recommend this book to people that like high school stories. Bianca is an awkward, cynical girl who doesn't really fit in. Her voice is what separates all of the other books like this. If you like that sort of story then you'll like this one too.

Books like this:
Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
The Probability of Miracles by Wendy Wunder
Geek Girl by Cindy C. Bennett

Check it out!