Quick Update | Busy Bee

For the past two and a half weeks, I have fallen off the face of the earth. Today is the only time I have found myself able to resurface. For the time being, I'm going to paint you an incredibly boring picture of what I have been up to and why I have been absent.

• As some of you know, a few weeks ago I mentioned on Twitter that I was going off to college and moving into my dorm. Yeah...that's happening tomorrow. I'm a nervous wreck.

• My early academic performance in high school-- along with the fact that I'm one of the only people in my family to go to college--has led me to my current situation in which I have to participate in a program that requires me to: move in a day before everyone else, go to a math prep and study hour every day before school starts, attend random group meetings, and disregard certain welcome week activities as well as regular ones, such as attending football games.

• The day before school starts I have to partake in a community service project. I agree that it's a great way to help out and meet new people, but we have no say in what project we work on so I hope I get something I'm good at! 

• I had to say my 'goodbyes' and 'see ya laters' to my mom and stepdad on Friday. It was tough. I didn't think I'd be that emotional. And then I was.

• The wifi here doesn't work well with my laptop so I haven't been able to post the past few days.

• I haven't been reading anything other than school related emails and notices. I miss books. Therefore, I'm bringing two Harry Potter books with me, The Unbound by Victoria Schwab, and my ARC copy of Althea & Oliver by Cristina Moracho! I hope I can find time to read all of them before the end of the first quarter.

• Speaking of books, I still have to buy the book for my classics in lit class and maybe the one for my computer literacy class...except that one is about 200 bucks. No thanks.

• I want to make friends. That's all I want because none of my friends from high school are going to the same college and it kind of sucks. Kind of.

• For some reason, I'm more excited for the first week of classes than these first few days of my program orientation. Is that bad or weird? 

• I've left home before for somewhat extensive periods of time. Those times were fine. Now that I'm leaving for almost two months, I'm freaking out. The homesickness is kicking into high gear and I'm not even at school yet. 

• I CANNOT WAIT TO COME HOME IN NOVEMBER FOR THE BASTILLE CONCERT AND THANKSGIVING BUT I NEED TO GO TO SCHOOL FOR AWHILE BEFORE I MAKE ANY FURTHER JUDGMENTS. I'M TYPING IN ALL CAPS BECAUSE THIS IS HOW I FEEL ON THE INSIDE. I AM A HOT MESS.

Thank you to everyone who put up with reading this. I understand that I run a book blog with bookish related content, but my next few blog posts are probably going to be more personal. Hopefully they'll be written at a higher caliber than what I have just written. Again, thank you to my awesome followers, friends, and family--I don't think you realize how much I appreciate the support, especially during this hectic time. Wish me luck! Or pray for me. Or go to college for me. Just kidding about that last one(;

Book Review | The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

Christopher John Francis Boone knows all the countries of the world and their capitals and every prime number up to 7,057. He relates well to animals but has no understanding of human emotions. He cannot stand to be touched. Although gifted with a superbly logical brain, Christopher is autistic. Everyday interactions and admonishments have little meaning for him. Routine, order and predictability shelter him from the messy, wider world. Then, at fifteen, Christopher’s carefully constructed world falls apart when he finds his neighbor’s dog, Wellington, impaled on a garden fork, and he is initially blamed for the killing.

Christopher decides that he will track down the real killer and turns to his favorite fictional character, the impeccably logical Sherlock Holmes, for inspiration. But the investigation leads him down some unexpected paths and ultimately brings him face to face with the dissolution of his parents’ marriage. As he tries to deal with the crisis within his own family, we are drawn into the workings of Christopher’s mind.

I was hesitant to read Mark Haddon's critically acclaimed novel. I had heard that the story was “weird” because it was from an “odd” perspective. What I think everyone might have been trying to articulate was that it read differently because it was from an autistic perspective. People said it was alright, terrible, or good. Very rarely did I hear that it was astonishingly well written. My personal experience turned out to be a mixture of both positive and negative aspects.

Truthfully, this book was super short but I read it with the speed of a tortoise. I found the voice of Christopher to be quite gripping. One of my good friends has a brother with autism and I think Mark Haddon stayed true to what behavior is often displayed by people who have autism or similar syndromes. Christopher was quick as a whip with complex concepts and clueless when it came to simple social situations. It mirrored the reality of someone with Asperger syndrome, as well as anyone who struggles socially.

I liked that Christopher's condition was never directly mentioned. There were hints here and there yet it remained inconclusive. I think that left a door open for people to perceive the story more universally. As for the setting, I didn't find it particularly interesting that the characters were located in England. I thought that it might as well have taken place in New York. I will say, I did love the mention of London and how it played a larger role as the novel progressed.

Honestly, I can see how others called the entirety of the novel weird. I don't think it was Christopher's condition but rather what was included in the narrative. Sure, there were moments where I felt as though I learned something new and that was awesome. To say that everything Haddon wrote was necessary would be a lie. It wasn't. Christopher had some cool bits of knowledge to share but the middle of the book seemed to drag on once in awhile.

The character development wasn't mind blowing. However, the characters themselves were easy to follow. I liked Christopher's dad and mom for who they were: mistake making people that counterbalanced poor decisions with love for their son. I liked that the plot branched off of the dog, Wellington, and grew organically from that. All in all, I'm happy to have finally read this since, ya know, it came out in 2003. Better late than never!

3.75 out of 5 stars 

Trailer Reveal: TWELVE by T.M. Franklin

September is a new month which means brand new things are going on. To start the month off right, I give to you a trailer reveal for TWELVE, book three in the MORE trilogy!

About the book:

Goodreads page

Here are the trailers and buy links for the first two books

MORE

Buy links - Amazon | Barnes & Noble | TWCS | Kobo | iBooks | Goodreads

The Guardians

Buy links - Amazon | Barnes & Noble | TWCS | Kobo | iBooks | Goodreads

Synopsis:

Ava Michaels is gifted, powerful, and — whether she likes it or not — part of a plot to take over the world.

It’s only been a few months since Ava Michaels discovered she has ties to an ancient people living in the shadows of the human world, despite their superior gifts and abilities. A select few don’t like hiding, however, and think it’s time to take control.

Now Ava’s caught up in a conspiracy in the works before she was even born. In fact, her birth was an integral part of the plan. She’s one of the Twelve, the most powerful Race ever created, and they were created for a purpose.

Turns out, Ava doesn’t like being told what to do.

All she wants is to start a new life with her boyfriend, Caleb Foster, but before they can even think about that, they must join forces with former enemies, seek out some powerful new friends, and figure out what exactly the Twelve, and their power-hungry leader, are up to.

Then, they have to find a way to stop them.



About the Author:

T.M. Franklin started out her career writing non-fiction in a television newsroom. An Emmy-Award winning Seattle TV news producer, Franklin is the author of the award-winning YA adventure, MORE, and its sequel The Guardians. In addition, Franklin penned the Amazon best-selling short stories A Piece of Cake and Window. Her new YA romance,How to Get Ainsley Bishop to Fall in Love with You, is Franklin’s first love story without a paranormal element, although she believes love is the best kind of magic.

TWELVE, the final installment in the MORE Trilogy will be released October 9, 2014. 

The Giveaway:

a Rafflecopter giveaway