Breaking TWIG

Hello, again. How much could I have to say since yesterday? A lot. Believe me.

Shortly after blogging about the immense amount of books I had to read, I finished reading The Help, and began a book called Breaking TWIG by Deborah Epperson. It was yet another free download from the wonderful site PixelOfInk. The book itself only costs $2.99 now, it is no longer free, but I promise it is worth every penny. I will try to summerize it enough to get your interest without giving anything away.

The book follows the life of Becky. The book opens with a prologue where Becky tells about her grandfather telling her a story about the Pickers and the Picks. (This remains important throughout the whole story). The basic idea is that a Picker finds someone weaker than they are, and in a sense bullies them until they lose their identities. A Pick is the victim, the one who is bullied. As the story progresses, you learn that Becky's father had died and Becky now lives with her mother, stepfather, and step brother. Becky's mother is vile and abusive, yet I couldn't help but appreciate her character in a way. Her stepbrother is a demon. And her stepfather was a surprising hero to the story. He feels and intense connection to teenage Becky and does everything in his power to protect her from her own mother.

Becky's main concern in her confusing and tumultuous life is keeping a promise she made to her father as a child: To keep the family store in business and to take care of his garden when he passes away. A series of things happen that get in the way of Becky's promise, but she remains loyal to her father's wishes. This loyalty stands in the way of her safety and protection, which greatly concerns her stepfather, who wants her safe.
Becky devises a scheme to keep her garden and store safe that in turn affects her life in ways she never imagined. Becky finds unlikely strength in a controversial romantic relationship, and strives to 'beat' her dark past despite her mother's attempts at keeping Becky under her thumb.

 Overall, I'd give this book 5/5 stars. I was literally unable to put it down and finished it in about 5 hours. I strongly reccommend it to anyone who owns a Kindle. After finishing Breaking TWIG, I started another book called Elephant Girl: A Human Story by Jane Devin. I'm about halfway through now, and I will write a review as soon as I've finished. Thanks for reading! Have a lovely night.

DROWNING IN BOOKS!!!! *Help*

I will admit it here first, folks. I have a problem. My problem is I'm addicted to a site called Pixel of Ink. This website posts somewhere around 9 to 12 free Kindle books DAILY. So, needless to say, I have a library full of unread books that are begging for my full and undivided attention. Tell me, how in the world am I supposed to read all of these books and keep up with my homework? Because I surely don't know. I am hoping to start one of these books today, but I just started reading The Help again, and I'm one of those people who, once they start a book, cannot put it down until it's finished. (Unless, it seems, that it was assigned by a teacher. What can I say? They give us really boring books to read.)And let's be honest, if you've read The Help, you know that you become fully enveloped in each individual character's life. I adore books like The Help, because when there over, you feel as though you've gained a few new friends. Anyway, that's what I have to say today. I hope you all are well! Have a lovely day.

Stuff.

I'm TERRIBLE at keeping on top of this thing. I apologize. I've been fairly busy with homework and studying and that extra class I told you about. It hasn't been fun. But this is a good month. Because it's valentines day and my birthday, and Titanic in 3D comes out. Just about makes my life, not going to lie. I'm kind of dumb that way. Hmmm what else... Oh, I finished The Kite Runner. I was reading it for my Composition class. It started out iffy for me, but the ending was nothing short of phenominal. It reeled me in halfway through and I was so involved in the characters. Only problem is, now that it's finished, I have nothing to read. Fortunately, I was clued in on this awesome site called Pixel of Ink, and they give away free Kindle books daily, new books every day. I haven't found any that have the WOW factor yet, but I feel like it's only a matter of time. I really just need something great to read. I've resorted to re-reading The Help and Water for Elephants over and over and Over As much as I adore those books, there IS a such thing as too much of a good thing. I hope you all are well, and I hope the rest of your week goes fantastically. PS, I just realized it's Tuesday....THAT MEANS DANCE MOMS! Yay. Goodnight!

Bored, Exhilerated, Sorry.

I declare this week: New hair and makeup every day week. Why? Because I'm getting bored with my life. Pretty pathetic, if you ask me. And I've noticed that when my hair and makeup look good, I can focus better in school. How? I don't know. I have no idea how it works. So as soon as i've finished typing this, I'm going to pull out this month's Teen Vogue and look for new things to do. Maybe it will make me excited to go back to school. Now, apart from this, I've been getting a lot of letters from colleges. This is so exciting. I guess you go 17 years without getting any mail and then suddenly you're getting tons of generic letters from important individuals, it's exhilerating. That's all I have to say today. I realize my blog entries are less than fantastic, but I'm going to work harder to write more interesting things. I just need interesting things to happen first. :) Goodbye for now!

Revoltingly Young

Hello! As promised, here I am. I don't really have much to say, but I would LOVE to take a moment to talk about my favorite *ever* series. The Youth in Revolt series by CD Payne. They are honestly hilarious, somewhat confusing, and informative in certain ways. I can honestly say that my first daughter will be named Sheeni, since it is frowned upon by my parents to change my name to Sheeni. I would reccommend it to anyone, but ESPECIALLY teenagers. The books are $10 on Kindle, which is somewhat pricey, but it's worth it! Currently I'm reading the 5th book in the series, Revoltingly Young, and I've recently learned that CD Payne is working on a 6th book called (brace yourselves) The Son of Youth in Revolt. I'm rather excited to read it as well. Any way, that's all I had to say. Have a good day!

Another waste of space.

The last time I blogged, I talked about the "Smash Book". Needless to say, I fell in love. I've been Smash Book-ing as often as my schedule permits, and as soon as I'm done I'll post the photos here. On to the next thing. I'm going to start writing on here everyday. Maybe start posting the pros and cons of my day and whatnot, with a picture. I wont do that today though, I'm far too tired to THINK. I've taken on an extra morning class an hour before my actual first period so I'm beat. UNTIL TOMORROW, I PROMISE!

Smash Book

So, I've got an obsession. With K&Company's ever-so-clever 'Smash Book'. Basically, It's a journal...except that it's not. It's kinda like a scrapbook...except it's not. It's so much better. It's catch-all for the things in your life that you love the most. Kind of like the website, Pinterest, but in physical form. I ordered my first Smash Book (in Retro Blue) two days ago, and I'm STILL waiting for Amazon to ship it to me...I'm dying in anticipation. So i've taken to prepare for my special delivery as if it were a newborn baby. I've cut out pictures, poems, quotes. Sifted through stickers and scrapbook paper. And i've made a list of things I still need. Paperclips...acid free glue...pens...more stickers. And I need to photocopy some old family pictures. Here's the smash book I ordered...

And here are a couple examples of pages that would be in a smash book...

Anyway, I'm so excited to get it! Hope everyone had a merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!