My Love Affair Continues...

Oh, hi guys!
I've finished Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, and yeah, it was great. What can I say?
As you may or may not know, I 've always had a major crush on the 16th president of our United States. Why? Because look at him, he's gorgeous. Tall. Distinguished.

And a vampire hunter.
Yes.
I am a believer. I don't feel like I should review this book the way I reviewed all the other books. THIS particular book is far too important. It was amazing.
All I can do is beg you to read the book. I cannot give you a rundown without feeling like I'm ruining the book. I really don't want it to seem cheap...because I honestly have no idea how to give it the proper respect that it deserves.

I don't know what I'll read next. This book was one of those books that makes every book you read after it seem mediocre. Maybe I'll re-read it just so I can get my fill.

I've been writing a lot though! I finished chapter 4 of my 'novel', as well as a few rather interesting poems. I wrote one about Elisabeth Bathory that has a whole lot of potential. (Hint hint...she's in my NEW favorite book!)

Anyway, I hope you all are well, and I hope at least one of you will read this book! And if you do, please comment on this post telling me what you thought!

Have a great day!

Still a Better Love Story than Twilight

As you all know, I recently started reading the book, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith. Let me just say that, no, I haven't finished the book. I am taking my sweet time. I waited until I was exactly 50% through the book before I wrote this. I NEVER blog about a book until I have completed it, therefore I can get all of my thoughts into one blog without getting all over the place.

I like organization. (Ask my mom about this and she'll say that I am the farthest thing from organized. I guess I should rephrase and say that I like organized writing. It's my thing.)

But, alas, I could not wait a single day more to express to you my complete and utter infatuation with this book. IF I COULD MARRY IT, I WOULD. True story.

I knew after I read the first paragraph that this book would suck me in. I knew I would not make it to the book's end before I shared my love of it with you. So, as I often do, I recorded some notes in my Justice League legal pad to better organize my thoughts. So, I will write them, as they are, for you. If there is any confusion, fear not. I will explain things to the best of my ability when I finish the novel completely. :) If you have any questions, PLEASE COMMENT. I want to answer questions about this book. I want to go to Hawaii on a romantic honeymoon with this book. I'll answer all your questions, plus some.

FROM THE SACRED JUSTICE LEAGUE LEGAL PAD OF KAYLA JOY:
-Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter...written by the same guy who wrote Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Interesting.
-I was expecting a comedy. This is not a comedy.
-Captivating from the start...don't even want to look away to take these notes. And knowing I'll have to to go to my next class in a few minutes has me in a panic. TOO. MUCH. HOMEWORK. NOT. ENOUGH. BOOK TIME.
-"In this sad world of ours, sorrow comes to all; and, to the young, it comes with the bitterest agony, because it takes them unawares." -Abraham Lincoln
-Made out to be a completely true story. I believe it. WOW.
-Historically accurate information.
-Infant mortality rate was 10% in the early 1800s.
-"I hereby resolve to kill every vampire in America."
-POST PICS TO BLOG! (Don't worry, I'm getting there.
-This book is truly amazing. It ties strange and true events in history back to vampires. Example: the disappearance of the Roanoke settlers. OMG I LOVE THIS BOOOOK.
-Henry...is Henry...DUH.
-Edgar Allan Poe is in this freakin book. YESSS!!!
-Poe's poems came from a better understanding of darknesss and life beyond death, thanks to Guy de Vere (see poem: Lenore) who was a vampire.
-And, Guy De Vere, hast thou no tear? -weep now or never more!
-"So long as this country is cursed with slavery, so too will it be cursed with vampires."

these are my initial unedited thoughts from this book. I am so unbelievably in love. (STILL a better love story than Twilight, might I add).

I'll end with a photo from the book, and then I must go off, into the wonderous unknowns of the Kindle world. :)

When I Found You

So, I FINALLY finished When I Found You by Catherine Ryan Hyde. The book revolves around Nathan and Nat. Nathan is an older gentleman in his 40s when he happens across a baby in the woods. It is late October and very cold. At first, Nathan thinks the baby is dead, until he sees him move his mouth. It is an immediate connection for Nathan, and he is determined that one day he will be a part of his life.
Nat, the baby, turns into a sullen and troubled teenager. When he is 14 years old, his grandmother decides she's had enough and drops Nat on Nathan's doorstep. Nathan vows that he will never turn his back on Nat, no matter what. Despite Nat's trouble making, Nathan never goes back on his promise.

I loved that the character of Nathan is very realistic and dimensional. His speech and actions are all reminiscent of a grandfather. He is kind, caring, and generous without being a push over. In fact, it seems that all characters over the age of 30 are believable. I'm not sure if it's because the author is older or not. However, the younger character's were not always so realistic. They seemed forced and their speech was irregular and strange. Maybe it's because I am a teenager, but I found it extremely odd.

The book overall didn't have an outstanding effect, but it didn't leave me with a negative one either. I would recommend this book if you have a lot of time on your hands or you have read books by the author and liked them. I would give the book 4/5 stars, but I probably wouldn't read it again.

Immediately after I finished When I Found You, I started Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith. So far, I am in LOVEEEE with this book. It is realistic and awesome. I half expected a comedy, but it is anything but. I'm excited to review it as soon as I've finished.
(PS, the movie is coming out soon, so read it ASAP!)
Talk soon!

I Love This Movie....Like Crazy.

SO. Apart from reading, I have quite the thing for movies. Any movie. Mostly, sappy romantic so-girly-you-wanna-puke movies. Like Crazy starring Anton Yelchin and Felicity Jones is one of those movies.

I should start by saying that the previews for this movie started playing around October or November. The first time I saw the preview for the movie, it made me cry. So you'd think that by the second or third time, I'd be fine. I would handle it. BUT NO. NOT ME. It made me cry EVERY TIME. And not just tear up, dab the tears away before everyone can see. I mean like full blown cry like my cat just died.

I don't know why.
I'm a girl.

So, last night I rented the movie from Redbox, genuinely expecting the worst. If the preview made me cry that hard, the real thing would surely kill me.
I was right.
I have never cried like that over a movie. Not when Mufasa died, not when Rose let go, and not even when Andy gave his toys to that little girl. This was on a whole new level. I thought I was going to die from dehydration. These also weren't the silent and graceful type tears, mind you. They were the whole face scrunched up, sucking air, asking WHYYYYYYY over and over.

I don't even think the movie was that sad, to be honest. I don't know what it was about this movie that touched me so completely. It was so genuine and real. There were no happily ever afters, only reality. It was so real. I think maybe that's why it upset me, because it was just like watching real life.

UGH.

Anyway. Be forewarned that the ending is one of those endings that after the credits start rolling, you rewind to make sure you didn't miss something. It was a little weird, but like I said it was very realistic.

I WOULD GIVE THIS MOVIE 5,000,999,554,333,234,543,673,675,000/5 stars. AMAZING.

On the book front, I'm about halfway through When I Found You. So far, so good! It's really touching, and I'm excited to see how it ends.

TALK SOON! :)

Don't Shoot!

I am becoming slightly amazed at my ability to read entire books so quickly. I've always been a quick reader but it seems like since I got my Kindle, reading is far too accessible. I download up to 2 books per day and I read them immediately! But it's a nice break. :)

Last night after my post I started Reading Don't Shoot! I'm Just the Avon Lady! by Birdie Jaworski. It's another autobiography type book that follows an animated and funny Avon representitive who lives in SoCal with her two young sons.

All in all, it was very comedic and touching. Birdie was raped in college and became pregnant with a daughter she was too poor and emotionally scarred to raise. The story begins with Birdie recieving a call that her daughter wants to know a little bit about her. Birdie is understandably afraid of the questions the young woman may ask, but she agrees to the meeting. The whole book comes back to this daughter she never knew, and her fear of meeting her.

 What I find interesting about this book is that people will divulge the strangest information, even with their Avon lady. Birdie meets the most amazing and interesting people in her life, all of which have stories that she can tie back to her past in some way.

It sometimes got a little 'dreamy' and wordy, going off on strange tangents and such. But I found that sometimes this was pretty nice. It was like the author literally just let her fingers do the writing, without thinking about things too hard. Sometimes, however, it was a little annoying.

I would give the book 4.5/5 stars. :)

Now I'm moving on to either another Distopian novel or a book by Catherine Ryan Hyde (Pay It Forward) called When I found You. I guess I'll start one of those tomorrow depending on my mood.

My mind is filled with other people's stories and words, and I'm loving it. :) I want to just talk to someone about all of the amazing things I've read lately, and how I carry each and every character with me everywhere I go, and relate every little seemingly insignificant detail of my life to them. It's glorious. It's hard to get lonely when you have so many friends.

That got creepy for a second there, but it's true. :)

I hope you all are having a great night, talk to you tomorrow!

Raising Abel

I realize that yesterday I said that I was reading Zomblog, but I'm sorry to say the book seemed to lose me. I made it over halfway through and I mentally couldn't do it anymore. There were too many names and not enough of a plot. It was zombie fight after zombie fight after zombie fight. I realize that if it were really the zombie apocolypse, this is how things would be. But does it make for a really interesting book? Not necissarily.

So, at about 4:00 pm yesterday, I picked up Raising Abel off of the EVER so wonderful site, Pixel of ink. It is told from the perspective of the author, Carolyn Nash. She gives an inside look at what it's like to adopt and raise a severely traumatized child, a boy named Abel.

The first thing that struck me is how it seemed that the author was a friend, just telling me her story. It didn't seem written, somehow. It just seemed like a conversation between good friends. I mentally and sometimes VERBALLY reacted to the things she said in her book.

THIS IS HOW YOU KNOW THAT YOU'RE READING SOMETHING REALLY IMPORTANT.

I barely have the words to describe it.

Carolyn doesn't attempt to gain any sort of sympathy, she just states the facts. She was lonely, a coworker recommended she become a foster parent, and she decides to go for it. She was completely unprepared for what would come her way. She is called almost immediately after her application is put in to go meet 3 year old Abel. A sweet, shy, caring boy who was sexually and physically abused by both of his parents.

Carolyn describes Abel in such detail, and I could practically see him in living room. I cheered along with his every triumph, and my heart ached every time he seemed to regress. This book even moved me to TEARS. That is something that never happens. It is extremely disturbing to think that this small little boy had to live through such trauma, a trauma that he never forgets.

The book follows the Nash family for 15 years, and in that time you grow with them. I walk away from this book feeling as if I have known them my whole life, and I've 'known' them for less than 24 hours! I would strongly recommend this book, but I warn you now, it is anything but a light read. It will leave you an emotional wreck, but the positive feeling that things can change with a little love far out weighs any tears that you'll shed.

150/5 STARS!

Anyway, I'm not sure what to read next! I have quite a few options. I got a 'young adult' novel off of POI today that seems pretty good, but I also purchased We Bought a Zoo. I have about 7 books in my Kindle library begging for my attention, and it's getting pretty out of control. :)

I'll talk to you guys again tomorrow! Good night!

Remembrance

Hello all!
It took me about a day and a half to get through Michelle Madow's novel, Remembrance. I will first start by saying that it wasn't a disappointment. And for the $0.99 it cost me, I would buy it all over again. It is a light read, it doesn't take much thinking. (However I found it inexplicably difficult to remember all of the cliche names of all of the different characters).

The basic rundown of the story line is as follows:
There's a high school junior named Lizzie who has been with her boyfriend for 3 years. However, all coincidence aside, he has been changing. He has become more 'rude' and 'distant'. Luckily for Lizzie, a hot new guy transfers into her school in the nick of time. She begins to notice that they have a strange sort of electric connection and she can't seem to get him out of her mind, regardless of the fact that he's dating her BEST FRIEND. As time passes, Lizzie realizes that her and Drew shared a life together...in 1800s Regency era England. Weird...right? Through a series of flashbacks and with the help of a creepily awesome shop owner named Alistair, Lizzie is able to piece together what happened in her past life with Drew...and what can happen now.

There were a few negatives I found in the novel. One was that there were a few scenes that very closely resembled Stephanie Meyer's novel, Twilight. For example, Drew gives Lizzie mixed messages. With lines like, "It's not a good idea for us to be friends.", Drew's old romantic nature mixed with his infuriating ability to be SO IRRISISTABLE while being so INCREDIBLY CRYPTIC draws too many parallels to Edward Cullen's nature. There was a second scene in Drew's car when he goes to turn on the seat warmers at the same time Lizzie goes to turn on the seat warmers. Their hands collide, and Drew pulls his hand away. HELLO! REMEMBER THAT SCENE FROM TWILIGHT WHERE THE SAME EXACT THING HAPPENS? OR AM I JUST INCREDIBLY OBSERVANT? While I know Michelle Madow is a huge Stephanie Meyer fan, I don't think that these similarities were intentional.

The second complaint I have isn't specific to this novel. I just get irritated by this in ANY book written for teenage girls. How come everything just always works out? Lizzie is a brat. In the real world, if you're with a guy for 3 years and he goes through a rap music phase and gets some friends, that doesn't mean you have to dump the guy! So he isn't exactly what you remember him being. THAT DOESN'T MAKE HIM A LOST CAUSE. And if your friend is dating a really nice, hot guy: BE HAPPY FOR HER AND HANG OUT WITH YOUR OWN BOYFRIEND. You don't have a weird romantic fling with her boyfriend. That's strictly against girl code. If they were never together, it's different. But if your friend tells you that she's in love with the guy, you need to get a schedule change so you don't have to be anywhere near him. Michelle tried to make Chelsea out to be a little trampy and a little obnoxious, but come on. She's your best friend. I just feel like if any of these things happened in the real world, Lizzie wouldn't just get away with it. She would be tormented the rest of her cheating life.

Just saying.

I would still give this book 4/5 stars. It's not in any way my usual style, but it allowed me to escape and relax. I know that Michelle worked her butt off to write this novel because she came to my school to talk to us about it, and she has every right to be proud of this book. I would read it again. :)
So there's Remembrance for you! If you're into Twilight, give the book a shot. It wasn't half bad. :)

Right now I'm reading yet another Pixel of Ink freebie called Zomblog by TW Brown. I'm not sure I'll review it though. I'm about 24% through (according to my Kindle) and so far it's just a lot of blood and gore. However, the narrator is inexplicably lovable and relatable, so I guess we'll see.
Talk soon!!

Divergent

Hi guys! Sorry it took so long to get back. I know I said I'd have Divergent reviewed by Wednesday but school was crazy this week. I had a hefty number of Anatomy assignments due by Friday and as usual I procrastinated, thus immensly increasing my stress. But I'm here now! And I'm ready to review Divergent.

It was amaaaazing! Think The Hunger Games mixed with The Giver. It is impossible to explain how amazing this book was. I mean...wow. Thank you, SAGIE POO, for recommending this book to me.

How it's like The Hunger Games:
1. The government is corrupt.
2. The main character is an extremely brave female.
3. There is a hot guy. A really hot guy. I mean, I don't know what he looks like, but I'm pretty sure he's hot.

How it's like The Giver:
1. When the main character of the book reaches a certain age, she has to choose a 'Faction' (I'll explain later). Jonah was assigned a career in The Giver. He didn't get a choice but it was a very similar process.
2. There is a complication for both Jonah and Tris, something that makes them special. Wink Wink.

Factions: Factions are difficult to explain. I'll do my best.
Abnegation values selflessness.
Candor values honesty
Dauntless values bravery
Erudite values intelligence
Amity values peace

Basically, Beatrice was born into the Abnegation faction. But, at the age of 16, each person is given an aptitude test that will tell them the faction they will best fit into. But, if they disagree, they can decide to pick any faction they want. The problem is, Beatrice is what they call a Divergent. She can fit into many factions. This is implied to be dangerous, but you don't find out why until later in the book.

I can't really say much more without giving anything away, but I can IMPLORE you to read this book. It was too good to be true. I wasn't sure I would like it, but I really did. I will read it again. It is the first of a proposed triliogy that is just as promising as The Hunger Games. :) I hope I've persuaded at least a few people to give this book a shot, because I'm really glad I did. :)

I'm starting Remembrance by Michelle Madow next and I'll review that as soon as possible!
Bye!